How loud would you laugh if I did this....

[AwesomeJ10]

Ok so I have this ZZ code J20 sitting here in my driveway. It has no motor/tranny/case, but it does have a decent body, decent interior and good stock axles/brakes/steering. I pulled the 401 and put that into the waggy and it's killing me on gas.

So tonight I was looking at the Atlas and it occurred to me that I have this 700R4 and matching NP208 just sitting here. I got to thinking that a GM 4.3l V6 would bolt directly to the 700R4 right?

So why not pick up a cheap 4.3L V6 on craigslist and throw it in there?

I wonder what kinda MPG's I could get out of this combo?

[Stuka]

It would certainly work, and the economy would be better than a 401. Not spectacular though. I drove an Astro van with a 4.3L for work about 7 years ago quite a bit. On the HWY I was able to get it up to about 22mpg. But that was empty, and that thing was light. I would expect you to probably get 16-17mpg HWY with the 4.3L. Very similar to a good running 258/4.0. Power should be fine for most things, my 258 does fine.

4.3L's are cheap to buy, and the swap should be pretty easy to do. And best of all, the J20 would be back on the road where it belongs

[AwesomeJ10]

Yeah, that's kind of what I'm thinking. Get it back on the road and save wear on the waggy.

I know it's not gonna get spectacular MPG, but I bet it would get at least 15. I've found a few 4.3's around here on CL for ~$500. I bet I can get one for cheaper than that....

[carnuck]

small block will be about the same price and economy if you can keep your foot out of it. With 4L80E and 350 in my Grumman, it gets 12 in town and 16 on the highway and it's NOT empty! (getting it ready for the swap meet in spring)

[AwesomeJ10]

Well I found this one on CL http://fortcollins.craigslist.org/pts/3419375535.html

The guy says he pulled the engine last week and it has 135 compression on all 6. He says he has a video of it running just before it was pulled and it has 146k miles on it. Says it has a rebuilt transmission (which I think it a 700R4) that goes along with it. He bought it for a project and it using the S10 frame in a 53 chevy.

The plan is that he is gonna delivery the whole assembly (engine/700R4/wiring/accessories/etc) to me for $500. I'm gonna do a compression check when he gets here....

thoughts?

[Stuka]

Sounds like a good price with the Trans included and delivered.

EDIT: oh, but a '91 will be a non-Vortec engine. Those started in 92. So that one will have 160hp and 230lb ft of torque. The Vortec has 180-195 depending on year. But even the older one isn't much different than a smogged 360.

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[AwesomeJ10]

Well he says it's a 93 and that it's a TBI. I don't think the TBI was considered to be a vortec correct? I kinda hope it's the TBI, not MPI.

[Stuka]

Oh, it does say '93. 93 will be a 4L60E, and it should be a Vortec. The Vortec's are still TBI, but they have a roller valve train, different heads, few other things. But looking at the photo, it looks like a TBI. So maybe its a left over. As the Vortec's are CPI, kind of like an LT1. They operate in a similar manner, but they have the runners that come up into a central manifold.

So it could be a very early '93 that still has a 700r4 and a TBI non-vortec. But typically '93 was the start of the 4L60E and the vortec engine.

[AwesomeJ10]

Well I got the little 4.3

It's definitely a TBI, but it doesn't have a standard 7747 ECU. Looks to be a newer ECU. I dunno what kind of tranny it is, but it looks very similar to my 700R4. I hot wired the starter and cranked it over for a compression test. All were at 150 except the #6 which was at 125.

Wish I could play with it now, but my neighbor and I drug his J3000 into the garage. His J3000 needs a tranny mount fabbed up and the D20 needs a new bearing.

[MT1]

How about a 6.0 or 6.2 diesel? Great mileage. Should bolt up the the tranny and they came in Burbs and trucks and are fairly cheap used... Just a thought?

[mrtazwrench]

I had a 96 4.3 I was thinking about for a Wag a few years back, never did it. My 94 4.3 vortec got 18 in an S-blazer, I may use it later in a truck/buggy build for my oldest kid who is 13 now, but I need to find a trans since that was going and that is why we parked the blazer. I just lucked into a 5.3 while pulling the engine on the Wag so I think I'm going to give that a shot.