Beretta.net

Just looks like a blast! I guess my problem (one of the many) is that every time I buy 'a beater', I end up liking it and refuse to hammer on it. "Drive it like you stole it" never worked for me.. Oh well.
Sooo jealous on that Dodge NV4500 -I still have my V-10 sitting around waiting for one of those (though I would want to swap-out to a 2WD tailshaft housing for my application)... I still think a V-10 in my 'spare' '70's RoadRunner would be fun and unique, particularly with a 5-speed. I suspect (strongly) that you are already aware, but the Dodge NV4500 uses a different input-shaft than the Chevy NV4500. That and the bellhousing are the only differences I am aware of though.
Keep jumpin'...

Yup. Brian Kimmit has everything I need to convert it to a Chevy because he took the 454 out of his K3500 and swapped in a 12v Cummins. Input shaft, input retainer and bellhousing. And the price is right! They typically go for well over $1000 and this local one is $600 with a Dodge floor shift tcase.

I would not put one in a Roadrunner though, if that's the 2wd you're thinking. I had an NV4500 in my last truck, and you can't bang gears quick, and the gear splits are really wide. I'll have a little bit of that problem with the NV3500 in the Beretta, but the NV4500 is a dump truck trans by comparison. The nv3500 in the blazer bangs gears pretty good in high range. Does usually grind the 1-2 in low range if you shift too fast.

Yes, a friend of mine has a 2500 with the V-10 and the 2WD NV4500, it is the only truck I have ever really enjoyed driving, but you are right about the clicky shift-feel and wide ratio gearing... The 'spare' RoadRunner would be built for highway cruising, not stop-light brawls, track days, or quick gear-changes: even with headers, some intake work, and a potential retune of some sort, the V-10 is just NOT a high-revving hotrod engine, it drives like a diesel, hitting its 450 ft-lbs somewhere around 3k RPM and the 300HP peaks below that (want to say 2300 RPM?). But, I already have a couple of other hotrod Plymouth B-Body cars for that feel (360 H.O. and a 400 Big Block rev-monster being worked-over for twin superchargers in the 'old' car), or I would chase a 5.7 Hemi now that they are 'old news'. I have looked at using an NV5600 or one of the 6-speed Getrags, I don't recall now but I think the NV4500 was stronger and had a taller top-gear. The NV3500 won't survive behind a V-10, I think. I had considered that before I got the engine and had been told for certain that it uses the SBM bellhousing (it does not), hoping to rely on my 'discretion' to keep the tranny alive with that much input torque. Yeah, sure.

Well, if you end up with Dodge parts you don't need... I could help out with that.

Im enjoying the videos! Reminds me of my dad crashing through the north woods in his 97 Auto. Hes got a JK jeep now which somehow has had more issues already than the Blazer ever did.

I think the nv4500 guy ghosted me. Probably figured out it was worth more than we agreed to...

I love making the Blazer videos too. The thing is a blast! They don't get dick for views on youtube...but it's just for fun anyway.

Although - I did just break the threshold for ad money! Takes 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours in 365 days. I'm at almost 1300 subs and 4200 watch hours (with 300 subs and 700 hours in the last month). So it's all trending in the right direction.

Nice. You got me beat. 98 subs in 10yrs lol

Did the Gambler 500 this weekend and now there's more work to do. It spent about 15min smoking like a derby car pegged at 260 too. I'm sure it's fine. Smells sweet.

Video is up! F love this thing. Such great garbage.

https://youtu.be/oNWSMmVcRd8

Fixed the hot garbage and put it back on street duty! Then it almost left me stranded.
https://youtu.be/LDHBbVuprmY
Cut the rusty broken control arm out and put the new one in with the wrong bolts. Also fixed the 2wd by deleting the electronic transfer case actuator and using a wrench on the shift nub. Had to self-tapper the other turn signal and ziptie the headlight back in...but it's all worth it to see the look on people's faces when you drive by in this POS with no doors. Oh also, discovered I smashed the frame pretty good on some rocks, and the crunched exhaust leaks worse now. Datalog says it's trying to add 15% fuel...so it's either got low fuel pressure (common issue with these Vortec spider injection deals) or there's just a lot of fresh air pollution to the o2 sensor reading.

Oof. This thing is a turd on the street...now I gotta pop start it all the time...parking it up the hill at work. But I got another solution! And it gives me the freedom to be "creative" haha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLFZHQzWnMM

$ Eight hundo I had to spend on the new one. And the rear axle is trash. Put some miles on it, but it's gotta be fixed. Gotta get the Burb ready too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj9du6SyrwU

$800 with a bad axle-shaft isn't bad these days.. I have seen exactly ONE 2WD Blazer of the era -and it was on the back of a truck going into the junk-yard! Another 5-speed though... You keep striking pay-dirt on those. Looks like it could be a decent rig.

Yeah, I didn't realize the axle shaft was trash either. It was smoking from gear oil but the guy told me he had just done the seal, so I figured it was a bad install. Nope - the guy had to have known it was trash. Oh well. It'll work for a winter beater.

Survived another Gambler, and not for lack of abuse. Didn't even break anything...just a big dent from a tree. Lots of other blazers and s10s there...had to be at least a half dozen. I wheeled with a couple of them. The truck was a 350 swap but he was sooooo sloowwww over everything. I had to hang back and hammer through some of the tougher stuff because everybody had more tire than me. But mine did hillclimb better than anybody else. Went right up no sweat and everyone else had trouble with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq47p-iW-ow

Rettax3 wrote:I have seen exactly ONE 2WD Blazer of the era

New one is 4WD also. Fixing the brakes on that one right now. That has turned out to be a pain...