Ok, from what most of you guys have been saying, it'd be much easier to go to a 4.3l instead of a v8 in my rig. All that being said, i've also heard that the v6 that I'd want would be one from a Camaro. Scoping ebay for 4.3l v6's, most of the ones I come across are from s-10's and blazers. How can I tell outside of specifically looking for a Camaro pull, is there another way to tell the difference? What exactly is the difference? Is it just the accessories, or is it the whole engine design?

As much as I'd like to do a v8 drop, from what I understand, I'd spend a lot less money and wits putting the 4.3 in there. Being that I have a manual 4x4 96, currently behind the 3.2 SOHC powerplant, can I assume that I'll need to switch the whole drivetrain? Though I knew what the tranny model was on my automatic, I am still not sure what the transmission is on my manual.

Thanks guys.b <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Not real sure, but I think what you should be looking for is a 3.4 from like a 95-97 Camaro... not a 4.3 ... but I think you want the 4.3 throttle body on that motor... again, not sure. I started collecting the parts last summer, and found a 3.4 from a 96 with 60K on it. I'm hoping it's the right one...

With the 3.2L and a 5 speed, you're definately looking at pretty much a full drivetrain swap short of the axles. The 3.2 is an Isuzu-specific bolt pattern that doesn't match any of the GM motors.

With that said, if you're going to be going that all out on the swap, you may as well decide which engine you want to work with, or can get your hands on, and then find the parts you're going to need (transmission, t-case, bellhousing, etc) and go from there. For power, the 4.3 is a good option, and will fit with less of the longitudinal squeeze being found by those doing V8 swaps.

When people talk most commonly about doing a swap, it's the 3.4 Troopersphere was talking about in place of either the 2.8 in the Troopers, or the 3.1 in the early first gen Rodeos. Since this is not what you're looking at in any way, you may as well just decide what you're going to use. In some ways, it's potentially simpler to work within the GM family, as Isuzu pulled some parts and connectors from the GM parts bins, and there may be some plug-up parts, but it would be pure chance if it happened.

If you want the 4.3, look for S-trucks, Astros, Blazers, or even 1/2 ton full-sizes. The 4x4 variants of the trucks will get you the transfer case you need. You'll probably have to have driveshafts custom fabbed for the specific application, and motor mounts are going to be a custom job as well.

Make your plans ahead of time, and you'll save yourself some headaches. Keep us informed of the progress, and let us see what you're up to!

James

I once actually saw somebody went to all the trouble to put a vortec 4.3 in a 88 Camaro

There is one guy on this forum, Dallas, who transplanted a 4.3 and a 700R4 into an Amigo.

Also, if you are serious, there are a couple of people on the Mitsubishi site who have transplanted the 4.3 into there 1st Gen rigs. One is "BIG BLUE", another is "Don", both screen names. Big Blue's was completed a few years ago and Don's was just completed this year.

I'm very fond of the chevy 4.3 having run it in my amigo, and worked with one in the old RedBull RockIt. Its a tank of a motor and damn hard to kill. I also have one on the stand right now waiting for the buggy to be built around it The earlier TBI models are a little lower in HP but MUCH easier to wire up and work with. Its not gonna have much more HP than your 3.2, but the torque curve is a lot better. You'll need to swap the whole drivetrain though, and IIRC chevy didn't run any passenger side t-cases so you'll have to adapt to another t-case (eg. the D300 I run).

Dallas

No, the 3.2 and 3.5 Isuzu V6's use the 60 degree GM bolt pattern.

The 3.2 and 3.5 will "bolt up" right in place of a 2.8 or 3.4 and vice versa.
Input shaft length, converter spacing, and other things
may be a factor, but they will physically bolt up to each other.
The 4.3 chevy motor is a 90 degree V6 and will not bolt right up.

This sounds familiar <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" />. I'm looking for parts... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/zombie.gif" alt="" />

I think you meant the 3.2 5-speed is Isuzu specific? It is, but the motor has a dual pattern for the 60 deg GM bellhousing pattern.

--Dan

I've been told that the 4.3 went to a distributorless ignition at some point, would anybody happen to know what year is the break point?