Contents:

PAGE 1 - - 5.7 V8 Engine
PAGE 1 - - Custom Oil Pan
PAGE 1 - - Conversion Headers
PAGE 1 - - 2" Body Lift
PAGE 1 - - After Market Electric Fans
PAGE 2 - - Fan Wiring (for dual single speed)
PAGE 2 - - ECM Programing,
PAGE 2 - - Wireing Harnes,
PAGE 2 - - Transmission,
PAGE 2 - - Vortec Intake Manifolds and Fuel Injection
PAGE 2 - - First Radiator
PAGE 2 - - EGR Tube
PAGE 2 - - Exhaust Y-Pipe
PAGE 2 - - Water Pump and Flow Kooler disc
PAGE 2 - - Air Conditioning
PAGE 3 - - Corvette Radiator mounted in forward position
PAGE 3 - - Ford Taurus eFan Installation
PAGE 4 - - AC Condensor installed in forward position
PAGE 5 - - GM AD244 HO Alternater Upgrade
PAGE 5 - - Modifications List and Planned Mods List
PAGE 6 - - Photo Gallery

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I decided to create this place on the web to share my Blazer ZR2 project to others who may be interested in also doing the all mighty V8 swap. On these pages you will find info and images describing what and how I accomplished my V8 engine swap. First, here is the history of my ZR2. I traded in my '95 Sonoma for my '98 Blazer ZR2 in September 2001. I got it with 49k miles on it. Shortly thereafter I bought a 20' boat and wished I had a V8. But the 4.3 did alright pulling it. Fast forward to November 2006 and I got the dreaded Chevy intake manifold leak. By this time my Blazer has 112,000 miles on it. The faulty intake gasket leaked coolant into my oil damaging the bearings and possibly bending a rod. So I drove the Clackity Clack 4.3 for a month before it locked up. I knew it lock up eventually but when it happened a couple days before Christmas was a real bummer. However, this was my excuse I needed to do a V8 swap. I did my research over the month of JAN, got the JTR V8 swap manual, started buying the needed parts and joined all the usual S10 V8 swap forums to soak up all the info I could.

Photo taken after V8 installed (before fender trimming and 33's)

I decided I didn't want to do a backyard project, so I found a shop willing to work with my project. I did all the research, bought all the parts and they supplied the labor and experience, although this was their first S10/Blazer V8 swap. My Blazer went into the shop in the middle of FEB and was finished by the end of APRIL. Most of this time period was down time waiting for parts and reordering parts that did not work. The V8 wire harness was the big pain to find because most junkyards just cut the wire harness up when they pull the engines out of the trucks. I made the decision to get a 5.7 Vortec factory Chevy crate engine to keep costs and difficulty in check. Engine: 1996-2000 L31-R Vortec 5.7.

These photos above were taken after the swap was completed and the 2" body lift was installed.

Below are a couple photos showing the 5.7 V8 installed. It looks like stock accept you will notice where the radiator shroud was cut to allow the AC Compressor to fit.

V8 SWAP MANUAL - JTR
Link to Swap Manual at s10v8.com
The manual was not all that helpful and not specific at all for the later generation body style. Although it was good for ideas and comparison. It definitely helped to get a general understanding of what to do. The ZR2 having slightly different configuration of frame and mounts did lead to some extra steps not planned, such as having to use Advanced Adapters mounting plates over the 2.8 mounts JTR recommends.

OIL PAN
V8 4WD Canton Oil Pan - 7 quart
Link to Oil Pan at s10v8.com
Oil pan came with a regular pick-up tube but the Vortec 5.7 crate engine purchased has a high volume oil pump and required a larger diameter pickup tube. A call to Canton Performance tech support and they told my what part number to get, M211S if I remember right. It took me a few auto stores before I found it.

ENGINE MOUNTS
4.3 engine mounts with Advanced Adaptors swap plates part number 713123
Link to advanceadapters.com
These adapter plates are needed for the ZR2 application instead of the 2.8 mounts as described in the JTR manual. On a ZR2 the frame mounts are factory welded to the frame. At least mine were as well as others I have talked to. If you want to use the 2.8 mounts you will have to have the 4.3 frame mounts cut off with a plasma torch and grinder. Loads of fun if you have hours of free time.

Below you can see the engine mount adapters installed. It is basically a heavy steel plate that bolts onto the engine block and relocates the engine mount several inches back to match up with the factory frame mount.

HEADERS
Patriot 4WD Conversion Headers
Link to Headers at s10v8.com

It didn't take long for the black paint to start wearing off the headers. Especially on the driver's side. Below is the driver's side header after 500 miles.

Below is the passenger's side header after 500 miles.

Note above you can see a bolt-up for a mechanical fuel pump to the right. There is no opening, just left over from the castings of the original Chevy 350's. You must use an electric fuel pump with a Vortec 5.7.

BODY LIFT KIT
Performance Accessories 2 inch body lift
Link To Body Lift Kit at SummitRacing.com
The 2 inch body lift kit was a necessity for the ZR2 application in order to be able to have enough clearance to close the hood. This is because the Advanced Adapters swap plates raise the engine higher up in the engine compartment and the air conditioning compressor was too high. It would not have been a problem if I had not wanted to keep my AC Compressor on the Blazer. Without the compressor the hood would have closed. The kit comes with everything needed but we did get a longer gas tank filler tube. Also comes with brackets to adjust your bumpers to the correct height to match the body lifted. The only thing noticeable was the kit did not come with a steering shaft extension. There is enough play to not need an extension but the steering seems to bind up a little when steering to the left and the right and then it loosens back up. A search on the internet forums revealed others noticed this too but said that after driving a while this binding will wear and get less noticeable. There seems to be no safety complaints about this though. And after putting 500 miles on it I do seem to notice it has loosened up just a little.

ELECTRIC FANS
ProComp 12 inch electric fans(2) from White Performance - set up as pushers
Link to whiteperformance1 eBay Store
Link to whiteperformance.com Home Page

Below the fans are installed as pushers mounted with the supplied plastic mounting kit to the air conditioning condenser. Its not a great angle to see then as the the camera shot is through the front grill. But they are not noticeable from the outside at all.

UPDATE:
I have now changed my efan set-up to a single Ford Taurus efan because the aftermarket fans were having trouble keeping the radiator cool enough while the AC was running in stop and go traffic.

ZR2 MIKE's 5.7 V8 BlaZeR2 - Page 1

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