inline 6 vs v6

I just bought an s10 for the 700r/4 transmission and the throttle body fuel injection and electronics to run it all. My original intent was to run the inline 6 but this 91 s10 has only 67000 miles on it. I just drove it home 180 miles and it is a sweet heart almost a shame to part it out. I have been drooling over the stovebolt headers and a clifford intake and if I'm going there the lump port heads with a mild cam. It just kind of snow balls on you. And then there is the 4.3 v6 with plenty of power already hooked up with ac and power steering. I paid $700 for the s10 and I would think I could get my money out of it by parting it out and keeping the transmission and fuel injection etc... what do you guys think?

In your case I'd pimp out the I6. If you had a 2nd gen, I'd consider the Vortec route.

Engine swap requires body work, cross member fabrication, lots of heavy lifting, taking apart the S10 in an orderly fashion, and installing things like a throttle position sensor. Then of course you got the chassis on the hand, which you may be able to pass off whole for that price.

In greater detail, just like a V8, the Vortec by nature is a bit too wide in the girth to fit into the dog house of a 1st gen w/o chopping into the dog house, or completely replacing it. Another thing is I don't know if the I6 cross-member matches up to the Vortecs engine mounts.
You'd also have to redo the gas pedal too so that you have an position sensor there too. Butterflys may still be cable operated though, so not all would be lost.

On the upside for the transplant it has all kinds of sensors that keep everything in tune, your throttle response is tuned for a great mix of power and economy, and you never have futz about tuning.
All I ever hear read about the Vortecs is how great they are, most posts/people praise it.

Going back to the engine mod route, you don't have to worry about much in the fit department as everything already fits. No wiring, no chopping, nothing! Just have to fiddle with the tuning of whatever car you want at the end of the day, and going through carefully when you're doing your head build.

I am definitely leaning towards the inline 6 just because I like the nostalgia of of a straight 6, and the way they sound. I think it's just part of the whole experience of driving one. That being said that 2 speed power glide going down the interstate I don't think I will miss that.

Yeah, that's definitely the reason why I still got my I6. It is a very nice sound and overall runs pretty smoothly, although I think my rig is a bit off these days, lord knows why... More tuning is required obviously!

As for the tranny a 200R4 would be the most direct swap to the point of not even having to have the drive shaft modified. Of course you'd have to come up with some mounting system which is fairly straight forward to be honest.

The 2004/r was my first choice but this is much less expensive. Now I can use my transmission money for pimpin out the engine.

Well yeah, there is that. I got lucky and got my 200R4 setup for ~250, 0 miles.

That is a great deal!

I love all my inline motors. all them newer, computer controlled vehicles can kiss my butt. I like to keep it simple in my engine bay. ive got no room for computer harnesses and problem causing sensors in my van. they always go bad and my inline gets 18-20 mpgs with a carb.

I agree with dave!! What are we after here with our older vans anyway?? If i wanted 25-30milea a gallon -Id by a toyota corolla.!! Then id just look like another blended in rice stick!

Yeah I'm driving a chevy cruze 35 mpg and if it wasn't for a great stereo it would be pretty boring. But I put 52000 miles on it in 2 years. So it's just a trade off. I will drive my van every chance I get. But for work and day to day driving it's cheaper to drive the car that gets 35 mpg.

The placement of the side mounts and the bell-housing bolt pattern of any chevy "family" engines are identical. That's why any chevy v-8 bolts right in place of an I-6....The stock rubber engine mounts in our six-cylinder vans bolt right to the side of v-8 blocks, BB&SB! The 4.3 is also a member of this family as it is just 3/4 of a SBC and the mounts are forward to the same distance from the bell housing mount surface as v-8's and I6's........This is the interchangeability scheme that makes Chevys the most popular vehicles for performance projects.....Little known fact: A SBC will fit into an astro-van as though the van was made for it (because it was!) Next time you get a look under an astro hood, just look at how long the fan shroud is!

Huuuuhhhh...
Totally bad-ass, and most definitely noted!

I bought a Clifford 6=8 intake on Ebay tonight. So I guess I'm more than leaning towards an inline 6 now.

We still learned a few things about interchangeability though, so it's worth it!

I was going to do the exact same swap when I started. The main reason for me was to gain room in front of the motor for an A.C. compressor.

One thing I forgot to mention is.....Only the 4.3 v-6 is part of this interchangeability family.... The smaller v-6's AREN'T, sooo.... If looking for an OD trans to fit the back of an I-6, it must come from either a 4.3 or a v-8.....Putting a 4.3 in an early van would free up huge space in the front of the box, but a first gen would still need humps added to the sides of the box......
The van in my 1980 Avatar pic had a 396 and t-350 swapped in using all stock mounts and driveshaft....The doghouse though...... while it was an awesome demo of engineering art......I couldn't get it sealed and the van was impossible to drive in the rain because the interior would steam so bad I couldn't see out!