ecotec in a 3100?

[hotrod386]

with gas prices going up and down i`d thought i would look into an ecotec swap. from what i`ve found it can be done useing a custom built bellhousing and shoving a s10 t-5 behind it. i found on a british site that the s10`s weighed slightly over 4 thound pounds, and the 3100`s were in between 3500 and 3900 pounds. and i think almost every year s10 had a little 4 banger in them. take for example the 1998 s10 with the vortec 2200 4 banger has 120hp and 140lb-ft then you look at the all aluminum ecotec with has 145hp and 155lb-ft. i thought i`d wright this up to here what ya`ll think, and no i`m not into rice burners and i dont need to tow much just a john boat and like i said before with gas prices going up and down wouldn`t be nice to drive your truck anywere you want, not when you have gas to spare v8 guys. dont get me wrong v8`s are great just not on gas. this is my first time wrighting a fourm so be gently with me lol

[britnjc]

I have thought about fuel economy with my s10 swap on my 50 GMC. I am goin to stick with the stock 4.3 ltr s10 motor which was getting aroun 19 to 20 mpg with the s10 body. I am not doin it for fuel economy though its just a lack of funds to put a 350 in it at the present moment. But the better gas mileage will be a plus until that day comes. I am not sure what a ecotec is your talking about but just a thought that can be done easily on about all TBI and carb motor without to much work is a Natural Gas conversion. Natural gas is a cleaner burning fuel and better on motor life due to lack of sludge build up from petroleum fuels. You keep about the same performance and it just cool to say you are burning natural gas. While petroleum gas was over 4 bucks a gallon here in alabama natural gas equivilent was under 2 bucks. I have not put it on any of my vehicles YET but its something to think about. I work for a natural gas company and our fleet rruck had conversion kits put on them. The only thing is finding a fill station that has natural has pumps. or you could just put bottles in the bed and carry them to a gas company or somewhere the like and have your bottles filled.

[nickp51chevy]

I have honestly thought about doing that for a project. I have had a lot of ideas and I'm not even done with this one yet. It sounds like a good idea I'd like to know how it turns out for you so that I might do it as well.

[joeys66pickup]

i had thought about this but with some spunk to it for you know...the every day honda eatting an stuff:

Turbo Ecotec,t5 or t56 maybe a tiny shot of Nitrous and that would have done it but when i look at my 396 i then realize why i didnt do it that way

[hotrod386]

i wont be going very fast in a stock 4 banger, but it`ll sip gas. a buddy of mine had a 396 in his nova it ran GREAT! and heres to the other guy the ecotec motor is a gm production engine used in cars like the chevy cobalt, hhr, late cavalier, late alero. gm calls it the small block of 4 cylinders, and with some modifcations its not unhurd of to see 1000hp with a big turbo charger. my brother is a gm mechanic at elco chevrolet he says there easy to work on, and there damn good motors, and that is when i looked into them. like i said in the welcome area i`m here for information, i see some of you like the idea and thats great, is there anyone have any down falls to this swap other then its not original, slow, can`t tow, i`d like to here it. guy with the 4.3 i here yah on being on a tight budget i still havent found a damn truck yet, the cheapest one i found was 100 normal rust and payday was friday, it was GONE by then, boy i was pissed. i`ve got an s10 frame i`m waiting for 51chevy guy? to finish his swap and post diminisons and as far as the cost of the motor my brother has one in his garage with 15,000 miles on it, he`s going to sell it to me for $300 complete with computer, wires, and acc. that just leaves the bellhousing off the net for $495 yeah thats not cheap. if i here some really bad things about the swap i`ll be puting in a 1994 camaro 3.4 in it and run the s10 2.8 carb off of it theres a lot less work in doing that

[mylow53]

why not a cummins 4bt diesel you should get amazing fuel econ. and it might actually tow. and when opec takes over the white house you can brew your own fuel in the kitchen!
GT

[cajundragger]

Im putting a 600 horse 4100 inline 6 out of a trailblazer in a '56 truck this summer. I want to use the 4 cylinder bellhousing with a custom flexplate and a supra 5 speed.

should be neat. but we may end up going with a built "4L75E"

[pgf545]

That little Ecotech motor is a pretty good motor. My son has one in his Saturn Redline. His is supercharged and I call it a gocart...lol. I saw one at the race track last weekend that Bruno Massel was driving that went something like 7.35 in the quarter. I can't remember exactly what he ran but I know it was hauling the mail.

Bernie

[hotrod386]

the diesel sounds good as far as mileage and power. but i`ve never worked on one and dont know much about them. i would think they would be a lot more expensive to buy and maintain?

[BigBlocksRule]

IMHO, you want a torque engine in a heavy truck, not a horsepower mill. It takes revs to make big hp with a small engine, without boost it'll be a slug in a heavy truck.

[hotrod386]

bigblocksrule, i fully understand that torque moves mass and with a truck that weighs between 3500 and 3900 pounds, it wont tow much or get to 60 very fast. thats not the idea behind this thought...from the research i did of some british web sight the s10 pickup with a 4 banger weighs 150-500 pounds more then the ad trucks and the ecotec has more power and torque maybe not low end torque like the s10 like it needs. i`m trying to find a motor to put in one of these trucks that will get good gas milage, better then detroit is building right now. and the ecotec seems like the best choise, till more people shoot this one down i`m still going to look into it, i want to be different. i want a every day go anywere driver not a weekend get up and go gas guzzler. hey man thanks for your input, if you have anything elce to say about it i`d like to here it. one more thing if money was no worry i`d put the biggest damn motor i can build in there, but it is with gas prices jumping around thanks again

[hotrod386]

personal update, i just enrolled in college, i`m taking combination auto body. talked to the instuctor he`s going to let me bring a project truck to work on. all my ducks are in a row now the search is on for a 47-53.

[BlueJeep]

I have a buddy who put a 3.9L cummins with an NV4500 5 speed into a 54 ford pickup. I can tell you that they're very expensive, he thought he got a good deal in paying $2500 for the engine. The truck is otherwise stock with stock leaf spring suspensions and the stock rear axle in it (9"), and gets 37 mpg on the highway. He's driven it probably 60,000 miles since doing the swap, and loves it. It's a heavy motor, and the front rides on the axle snubbers but it does ride really well for being leaf sprung.

With the ecotec, I'd guess the best you could do would be between 23-25 mpg, and you can do that with a properly set-up LS1.

[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by BlueJeep

It's a heavy motor, and the front rides on the axle snubbers but it does ride really well for being leaf sprung.

I'd be checking the frame for cracks, 60K on todays roads with basically a rigid suspension has to be stressing something. Or maybe its a SoCal truck where they don't have winter potholes!?

I think the whole discussion boils down to power to weight ratio and where you want the power. Higher hp per pound and the engine will run more efficiently in the power band. As said diesels have a lower power band, higher torque, gas engines higher power band. Same difference for say a 283 SBC vs 396 BBC, one you can rev the crap out of it with power in higher rpm range, BBC is all about low end torque to get you off the line.

[discodadee]

A few things to remember in the s-10 comparison, is although the weight is similar, an ecotec in a redline is using a front wheel drive transaxle. The set-up you're thinking about involves an older tranny through a driveline into a rear axle, all of which robs power. I like the idea of a non-standard engine swap, and since the hp of the ecotec is actually higher than the stock s-10 motor it may become a wash, but it is something to consider.

For reference look into the early (60-63) Pontiac Tempest where GM took a 396 and cut it in half to make an early 4-banger.

Sometimes too newer engines with the excess of computer and electricals can be a nightmare to attempt to retro-fit and get to run right, not impossible, but VERY difficult...

[discodadee]

A few things to remember in the s-10 comparison, is although the weight is similar, an ecotec in a redline is using a front wheel drive transaxle. The set-up you're thinking about involves an older tranny through a driveline into a rear axle, all of which robs power. I like the idea of a non-standard engine swap, and since the hp of the ecotec is actually higher than the stock s-10 motor it may become a wash, but it is something to consider.

For reference look into the early (60-63) Pontiac Tempest where GM took a 396 and cut it in half to make an early 4-banger.

Sometimes too newer engines with the excess of computer and electricals can be a nightmare to attempt to retro-fit and get to run right, not impossible, but VERY difficult...

[hotrod386]

i`m waving the white flag now. i`m a little stubborn, and quick to defend my ideas, but i`m here after all for information. and ya`ll made some good points, the more and more i look into the diesel idea it makes the ecotec seem like a waste of time. the 3.9 like bluejeep says is very heavy 745 pounds but is has 130hp and 355 foot pounds torque were any truck needs it. i`m trying to spend money wisly on a motor setup here with fuel economy in mind. a rough mpg i had with the ecotec would of been roughly 25-29 with low roll resistance tires and it would cost me $3800 to get to that (that includes used motor, custom bellhouseing, motor rebuild kit, custom computer and harrness, fuel pump and fuel rail adaptor setup,ect.) just about everything i would need. with all that said i have an open mind now. any suggestions on a motor setup that would get great gas millage on the cheap. i`ll be looking into the 3.9 diesel more, but i just haven`t been around diesels. thanks again guys

[66chevy PROSTREET]

ok, i'll be the one to say it.......are you crazy putting any thing but a sbc or bbc in that truck. the heck with gas prices, you want that thing to sound like a hotrod,not a civic! what will they think!!?


j/k, do what you want,its your truck.

[joeys66pickup]

hes kinda right....never gonna get the sound of a Big block from a ecotec, My vote returns to big block(smiles per mile wins over miles per gallon)

[discodadee]

Since you're already putting this into an S-10 frame, just get your hands on a 4.3l V6. That would be a super cheap, super easy way to go. Plus those were damn good v6's, supposedly it was just a sbc 350 with the back two cylinders chopped off. You would still get better mileage than most v8's, get a good amount of torque and hp, all for very few $$$$$$'s. Also if you get one of the TBI versions it would be an easier convert into CNG or e-85 or whatever later on...

[britnjc]

discodadee, my thoughts exactly check the begining of the thread. that is my plans

[hotrod386]

lol yeah thats also another big reason why i turned away from the ecotec swap, yesterday i was at a stop light and some kid in a cobalt pulled up next to me and reved his motor and of cource he had one of thouse ****ty mufflers on it. i`d shot my self if i did an ecotec swap and it sounded anything like that. i also thought real hard about putting a new 4.3 in it, the one i found new from gm cost 2100 thats with out my brothers discount. that would be the easiest motor to put in there. that will be my fall back motor, in case i cant find something better. i`m doin alot of reaserch on the cummins 3.3 and sounds pretty bad ass, but exspensive 85hp 215ftp and with the right gearing great gas mileage. i dont want a sb or bb in it. i know...i know it needs a big as motor and i agree, just in someone elces truck there not paying for my gas, plus i can convert the diesel to bio-diesel, this is just a thought guys same as the ecotec. the cost of this swap is the biggest downfall to this idea do i really want to fork out 8,000 for this? but it would be cool

[hotrod386]

a few more things to add....
how can i change the name of this blog or what ever its called? i`ve done a lot of talking about possible motors, and i haven`t said anything about my plans with the truck. in case anyone was wondering.....my plans are to smooth out the body (fill the cowls, smooth out the firewall, cut off the drip rails, ect) rust repair. get one of thouse french headlight kits with the chrome rings. chrome grill paint part of it to match the body. modern headlights, chrome bumpers `54 rear with the step. rear roll pan with licence box WILL THE GUY BEHIND ME SEE MY LICENCE PLATE? `54 led taillights. mar-k tailgate with hindges. all steal bed floor out of newer full size. line-x tinted i plan on useing the bed to haul stuff and it would kill me to scratch up the wood finish, gm 03-05 paint code 91 arrival blue metallic base coat clear coat. remote keyless entry, cruse controll. i`ll most likly get a ez-chassis swap kit to save time. interiour? tan seats out of something, its going to be a 5-speed no mater what motor i put in it. i know its a tall order. i`ll have 2 years to repair, paint and get a motor set up in there, i hope to have it all done or at least painted and ready for final assimbley but who knows. i`ve been dreaming about this truck sence i was 8 years old sence i helped my grandpa rebuild a 216 out of one, his was beautiful