This is a much needed place to document my engine swap shenanigans. The story begins with a 1st generation Chevy S10, 2.8L and 5spd. I picked up the truck completely stock in 2015 while I lived in Rhode Island attending college. The body was a little beat up with some panels dented and other wet sanded. It had a rot free frame and just under 70k original miles, so it checked all my boxes and I took it home.
The original reason I bought it was because after modifying my daily, Volvo C30 R-design, to the "power vs reliability vs comfort" level I was content with I needed a toy to tinker with. The truck almost immediately got the Belltech treatment. It got spindles+coils up front, leafs+blocks in the rear and street performance shocks on all four corners. I added some Bart Racing 15x8 steelies and tires. Once it was low and handled a little better one thing became immediately clear, i needed a C-notch. I used a bolt in C-notch kit and added little 1" bump stops. I drove the truck like this for many months, more often than my daily drive in fact, which sat idle at the garage. I slowly replaced the banged up panels with straight ones, most coming from an old lady parting out her late husbands truck. It was rattle canned white after being a multitude of colors with all the replacement panels.
I was going to school for Auto mechanics and wanted to put some of my new skills to the test. I started to research what engines I should swap into my truck, affectionately named Lucille or "Lucy" for short. I thought about the common swaps like a SBC or LS. Either would give me the power I wanted in my mini truck but there was one thing that stopped me, both had been done literally thousands of times before. I wanted a swap that would stand out! After a few weeks of research I decided that keeping all the drivetrain from the World Class T5 transmission back would make for the easiest swap. I had narrowed it down to two engines with the gm metric bellhousing that the original 2.8 shared. It was down to either the LQ1 3.4 v6 or the L67 3.8sc. It was a battle over a top end screamer vs torque monster. As the title would suggest, I decided on the L67. The LQ1 is such a unique engine overall but the torque and cost of the L67 made it the perfect swap for me. I found a 150k engine with uncut harness and ecm from a Buick regal for $350 from a scrap yard with a 6 month warranty. It got the good old RockAuto refresh and was prepped to be installed.
The swap took about 6 months to complete, working a couple evenings a week and a few hours on sundays. The cross member had to be modified in order to clear the oil pan. I made motor mounts out of 3/8 plate and swapped in poly s10 motor mounts. I fought a bad out of the box MAP sensor that created a ton of starting/drive-ability issues. I used a Camaro flywheel (balanced to match flexplate) and pressure plate and S10 disc to adapt the engine to the trans. For the big issue of the inlet for the blower, I cut a 3 inch hole in the m90 case and had a 90* pipe welded on. I also have the normal inlet and silencer ports welded shut. A flex fuel 4.3 s10 fuel sender w/ pump was dropped into a new tank and installed into the truck. I also pretty much gutted the interior at this point, with only a dash and racing seat inside.
The Truck was a rocket! The engine produced power instantly! The Intense Racing tune and lightweight chassis made the truck a blast to drive. For the Grand Prix guys, imagine dropping a thousand pounds of weight....yeah, its quick. Over the year or so after the swap it ran reliably for a few thousand miles. I daily drove it for a month or so when my daily had clutch issues. Unfortunately, the engine ended up spinning the number 5 or 6 rod bearing. It was driven hard every single time it was driven so its no surprise. Another junkyard motor was swapped in. I also added a 4x4 8.5 rear end with a gov bomb. WMS went from like 54" to 63" in i remember correctly. The wider rear end let me run corvette rims with no spacers with was a plus but i rubbed hard. Under the flares there was rot starting so I got wheel arch replacement panels, self tapped them on and flared them out 2+ inches with my fender roller. I added tube front control arms and extended ball joints. The rattle can paint started showing its age, but it was a 40 dollar paint job that lasted 2 years and still a 30 footer.
I soon graduated from college and after stay for work for another year or so, I moved back to CT. The truck made the 120 mile drive flawlessly (only if you don't count blowing a radiator hose off) loaded up with stuff. I wanted to put an actual paint job on the truck, I was over the faded white rattle can.
The truck sat for months untouched. I started it periodically and took it to work a few times. I eventually put it up for sale...
Well apparently the market for my particular truck was very small because after a couple months I had no takers. Eventually I had an offer, it was for just the body of the truck and it was more than what i bought the truck for originally. I took it, and it was an emotional day, loading the truck up and delivering it to its new owner. He had plans for a 6.0 LS swap meant for drag racing.
Unfortunately I havent seen the truck since....but the sale of the truck left me in a strange position....I had an L67 set up for RWD with its own stand alone harness and ecm just waiting for a body. And I know what everyone who is reading this is thinking "Its called L67 turbo Mercedes 190E and there hasn't been a single Mercedes or one mention of a turbo". Well dont worry, its coming!
The original reason I bought it was because after modifying my daily, Volvo C30 R-design, to the "power vs reliability vs comfort" level I was content with I needed a toy to tinker with. The truck almost immediately got the Belltech treatment. It got spindles+coils up front, leafs+blocks in the rear and street performance shocks on all four corners. I added some Bart Racing 15x8 steelies and tires. Once it was low and handled a little better one thing became immediately clear, i needed a C-notch. I used a bolt in C-notch kit and added little 1" bump stops. I drove the truck like this for many months, more often than my daily drive in fact, which sat idle at the garage. I slowly replaced the banged up panels with straight ones, most coming from an old lady parting out her late husbands truck. It was rattle canned white after being a multitude of colors with all the replacement panels.
I was going to school for Auto mechanics and wanted to put some of my new skills to the test. I started to research what engines I should swap into my truck, affectionately named Lucille or "Lucy" for short. I thought about the common swaps like a SBC or LS. Either would give me the power I wanted in my mini truck but there was one thing that stopped me, both had been done literally thousands of times before. I wanted a swap that would stand out! After a few weeks of research I decided that keeping all the drivetrain from the World Class T5 transmission back would make for the easiest swap. I had narrowed it down to two engines with the gm metric bellhousing that the original 2.8 shared. It was down to either the LQ1 3.4 v6 or the L67 3.8sc. It was a battle over a top end screamer vs torque monster. As the title would suggest, I decided on the L67. The LQ1 is such a unique engine overall but the torque and cost of the L67 made it the perfect swap for me. I found a 150k engine with uncut harness and ecm from a Buick regal for $350 from a scrap yard with a 6 month warranty. It got the good old RockAuto refresh and was prepped to be installed.
The swap took about 6 months to complete, working a couple evenings a week and a few hours on sundays. The cross member had to be modified in order to clear the oil pan. I made motor mounts out of 3/8 plate and swapped in poly s10 motor mounts. I fought a bad out of the box MAP sensor that created a ton of starting/drive-ability issues. I used a Camaro flywheel (balanced to match flexplate) and pressure plate and S10 disc to adapt the engine to the trans. For the big issue of the inlet for the blower, I cut a 3 inch hole in the m90 case and had a 90* pipe welded on. I also have the normal inlet and silencer ports welded shut. A flex fuel 4.3 s10 fuel sender w/ pump was dropped into a new tank and installed into the truck. I also pretty much gutted the interior at this point, with only a dash and racing seat inside.
The Truck was a rocket! The engine produced power instantly! The Intense Racing tune and lightweight chassis made the truck a blast to drive. For the Grand Prix guys, imagine dropping a thousand pounds of weight....yeah, its quick. Over the year or so after the swap it ran reliably for a few thousand miles. I daily drove it for a month or so when my daily had clutch issues. Unfortunately, the engine ended up spinning the number 5 or 6 rod bearing. It was driven hard every single time it was driven so its no surprise. Another junkyard motor was swapped in. I also added a 4x4 8.5 rear end with a gov bomb. WMS went from like 54" to 63" in i remember correctly. The wider rear end let me run corvette rims with no spacers with was a plus but i rubbed hard. Under the flares there was rot starting so I got wheel arch replacement panels, self tapped them on and flared them out 2+ inches with my fender roller. I added tube front control arms and extended ball joints. The rattle can paint started showing its age, but it was a 40 dollar paint job that lasted 2 years and still a 30 footer.
I soon graduated from college and after stay for work for another year or so, I moved back to CT. The truck made the 120 mile drive flawlessly (only if you don't count blowing a radiator hose off) loaded up with stuff. I wanted to put an actual paint job on the truck, I was over the faded white rattle can.
The truck sat for months untouched. I started it periodically and took it to work a few times. I eventually put it up for sale...
Well apparently the market for my particular truck was very small because after a couple months I had no takers. Eventually I had an offer, it was for just the body of the truck and it was more than what i bought the truck for originally. I took it, and it was an emotional day, loading the truck up and delivering it to its new owner. He had plans for a 6.0 LS swap meant for drag racing.
Unfortunately I havent seen the truck since....but the sale of the truck left me in a strange position....I had an L67 set up for RWD with its own stand alone harness and ecm just waiting for a body. And I know what everyone who is reading this is thinking "Its called L67 turbo Mercedes 190E and there hasn't been a single Mercedes or one mention of a turbo". Well dont worry, its coming!
Last edited: