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ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Suzuki 4x4 Forum => Topic started by: thefuzz on June 25, 2006, 07:31:19 PM

Title: 4.3 chevy in a sidekick
Post by: thefuzz on June 25, 2006, 07:31:19 PM
Well I was thinking of putting a 4.3L chev in my kick and wanted to know if any one has done this swap and if they have any problems. And any suggestions on a trans
Title: Re: 4.3 chevy in a sidekick
Post by: zukzilla1662 on June 25, 2006, 07:34:16 PM
you could use a 700r out of a blazer for the trans
Title: Re: 4.3 chevy in a sidekick
Post by: chet on June 26, 2006, 09:31:07 AM
you can use any trans that bolts to a small block chev. so t350,t400,th700,sm465 4 speed,
Title: Re: 4.3 chevy in a sidekick
Post by: dustyz on June 26, 2006, 05:38:30 PM
I am currently workin on it in my tracker.

At first I was gonna do it without a body lift... but quickly realized it wasn't gonna happen. I have some 3" tubing coming this week for a body lift. The tranny tunnel hasta be widened a bit to make room for the wide 700R bellhousing & exhaust. Fuel supply needs to be addressed if you go fuel injection like I am. Exstensive driveshaft mods... transfer case situations... wiring harness crap... crossmembers... etc...
Title: Re: 4.3 chevy in a sidekick
Post by: explosivo on June 26, 2006, 06:13:00 PM
You're going to be chewing up axles like crazy with a 4.3L and stock Sidekick running gear. You'd probably want to do some form of axle swap, like a steel front housing with Toyota CVs and a Toyota 8" rear or a Ford 9" rear to keep up with the power. Plus 5.12s gears combined with the gearing out of a Chevy trans will make for some deep gearing.

Of course I did it the other way around... I had a set of D44's (now 3/4 ton Chevy's) and went with a bigger motor ;)

(http://omghi2.us/up/files/1/07.side.jpg)
Title: Re: 4.3 chevy in a sidekick
Post by: dustyz on June 27, 2006, 09:44:27 AM
I have a spare sammy sitting on the farm if I wanna go straight axle... and several blazers I can use to rig something up if (read when) I run in to problems. Until then, I just wanna get it on the road... then I will worry about making it hold up. :-)

FWIW explosivo, mine will never look like yours. I wanna keep mine on the road, and I think yours would get noticed a little too much running down the highway! :-)
Title: Re: 4.3 chevy in a sidekick
Post by: explosivo on June 27, 2006, 11:40:44 AM
I have a spare sammy sitting on the farm if I wanna go straight axle... and several blazers I can use to rig something up if (read when) I run in to problems. Until then, I just wanna get it on the road... then I will worry about making it hold up. :-)

FWIW explosivo, mine will never look like yours. I wanna keep mine on the road, and I think yours would get noticed a little too much running down the highway! :-)
Just keep the drivetrain issues in mind before you go into the project ;)