Not really a truck question.. but opinions would be great!

[lukieg]

 Im looking to build a economic daily driver... my truck is quite savage on fuel. I can get my hands on a 4th gen monte carlo ls for a great price. I was thinking of ways to make it decent to drive.. yet decent on fuel. What about a 4.3 vortec swapped to 4bbl or even left efi. 4bbl would be my first choice for simplicity. I was thinking it would offer decent performance with good economy.. I know they came with the 4.3 and I had a vortec in a 98 and it was decent in a full size pickup. Any ideas?

[1980c10]

I dont think you could get an intake that will work for a 4.3 4bbl swap.
I'd keep the efi
another option would be to get a 305 vortech or 5.3
both would be fuel efficient and you could more than likely buy an intake to carb if need be.
It would also look a little better imo
while your at it swap an overdrive transmission if it doesn't have one or better yet a t5 or nv3500
Does this car not have an engine?

[Irish_Alley]

if you go too small your engine will have to work harder to push these big tucks. i have a 94 swb with 4l60e and 4.3 the best that i have gotten out of her is 14 mpgs. got some ideals on what to do next but yet to done them. on the other hand i know of some people who have swapped their 350s for 454s and gotten better mpgs due to the engine working less to move the same weight. now i also have a 04 impala granted its a lot lighter than the trucks but it has a 3.8 s/c and she sees 28 mpgs cruising 50-75 but it also has od. i would be thinking more of a o.d. transmission more than smaller engine. Just to help puch the truck when you don’t need all the power

[lukieg]

 Im sorry irish, but i must disagree to a degree. I recently did a big block swap.... a 350 wide open is roughly like driving this like my gramps. I had a 4.3 in a 98 and it had great mileage.. and it was abused alot so it was in less the cherry condition.. i always maintainted it and changed the oil and i was pulling way better mileage then the 305 tbi donor truck the big block found lodgings in. The monte carlo is alot lighter then a half ton pickup.. with likely a bit better gear ratio.. the 4.3 spec wise makes a fair bit more power then a standard 305.. non vortec. Since it snows alot here I wont be driving it much in winter .. rear wheel sloppy mess, I figured a well tuned qjet would offer similar mileage to a tbi set up. Again I mean no disrespect.. I just think people often over estimate the whole weight to power ratio thing.. or we could all remember the 229 cid gutlass cutlass...a danger on the road.

[Irish_Alley]

now your talking... gear ratios play a big part also. my 86 4x2 350 not sure of the gears but was mated to a th350 would get 12. my 79 4x4 with the same 350 that was in the 86 with 38s and 4.10 ratio mated to a 465 would get 8-9 towing or not if i was good. now my 94 4x2 which has over 300k mated to a 4l60e is getting 14-16. my buddy had a 98 6.2 with nv4500 4.10 it was getting 16 towing. the 4.3 is putting out about 200 hp i think the 305 is about the same but its not just the hp its the tq also. my impala has a ratio of i think 2.9? but due to aero dynamics and power its kind of hard to put that side by side with our trucks. but before i put my cold air intake on the impala it would get 25 after putting it on which makes the engine give it more gas due to the denser air = more power it went up to 28. cause it takes less time for the car to get up to speed due to the increase in power. when I changed my tires on my 79 from 38x16x16 to 37.5x12x16.5 my mpgs went up by a couple. This was due to less drag on the tires which interns makes the truck lighter in a physics way if that makes sense. Almost the same thing like if a racecar would turn down their spoiler at a track like dega to reach higher speeds but at a smaller track like even here at the monster mile it would be up more reducing the top speed but increasing the down force which makes the car heaver. E=mc2 the amount of energy it takes to move an object is relative to the mass of that object

[bake74]

     Heck, just join the ecko side and ride a bike.   

[lukieg]

 I figure,, with gas the way it is... there still has to be a way to run the daily drivers you want and still be economic to be realistic.. my big block truck is so bad it kind of ruins it..

[78 Chevyrado]

Try out a 6.2L diesel.  I hear about some guys getting 23-25MPG out of them.  thats the best Ive heard of so far in a fullsize

[chevymanrob]

iirc 4.3s came with a 4 barrel intake stock in 85 or 86 in C trucks. and as far as building a G body i may know a few things....
you can get 2.41 rears for almost free. also a 200r4 or 700r4 with a different rear and an efficent SBC should do well. my buddys 85 firebird had a ZZ4/700/3.42 and he was getting 24 mpg plus knocking down 12.60s.
my $ would go 2.41/th350/350 with GOOD flowing heads/intake/headers/msd etc. not cheap stuff but would give you some solid #s.

[wildcatjason]

Try out a 6.2L diesel.  I hear about some guys getting 23-25MPG out of them.  thats the best Ive heard of so far in a fullsize

In total agreement. I've heard of guys just losing power without gaining much for gas mileage with the 4.3. I would start thinking 12/24 valve cummins(and yes I've even seen this in an s-10), 4bt or if you want something that runs smoother the 4bdt1 or 2 isuzu diesel. There is an adapter available for all these engines to use your chevy transmission. The latter two you could potential see 30 mpg with alot of power potential. Good luck though.

[Stewart G Griffin]

i'm in love with this idea.  However:

1) i don't think they ever came with 4.3's unfortunately.  They came with the smaller 3.4 v-6.   However, i think you could get it in there without too much trouble---would just need different mounts.

2) The 4bbl would be MUCH easier.

3) Wouldn't it be easier to just get a rwd monte carlo (not that much heavier) or better yet a 3rd gen camaro---just as light as a 4th monte carlo.   i know you said rwd is bad in the snow, but that's what good snow tires and chains are for.

[lukieg]

 The 4th gen is rwd... the 3rd and 4th gen are almost the same... they did come with the 4.3 as did the regal in the late 80s' cutlass im nto so sure about.... im not a diesel man.. i'll stick to gas as much as possible... rural areal.. lots of old gas engines available... Im not sure what kind of truck was struggling with a vortec 4.3 ... ,my friend had a 93 4x4 ;long box on 33 inch tires with the stock 3.08 gears... and by no means was it fast... but it wasnt what I consider underpowered. I have swapped and run many different vehicles and many different engine combos... The 4.3 vortec is much more powerful then a 350 from the mid 80s and people can argue that is they wish , but on paper.. and in reality its true..Take a 305 in a trans am.... put a set of vortec heads and a decent cam/ exhaust.... tell your buddys its a mild 350... trust me... they wont know the difference! food for thought

[chevymanrob]

the G body is an awesome platform. toss in an A body 12 bolt and rock out!!! here is my old G playing....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgdtKGACA_g