New Body Style 4. AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SHIFT LINKAGE

In 1995, the S-10 Trucks and Blazers got a new steering column that uses a cable shifter. This makes the V8 swap easier because the routing of the shift cable eliminates the need to modify the firewall for shift linkage clearance as required on earlier models.

The 1995 and newer S-10 Trucks and Blazers have the park/neutral-reverse switch mounted on the transmission. The 1994 and earlier transmissions may not have the mounting bosses for the park/neutral-reverse switch. Stealth Conversions has a bracket (not shown) for mounting the park/neutral-reverse switch onto older 4L60-E and 700-R4 transmissions (Stealth Conversions part #4L60-101).

1994 S-10 Trucks use the old style steering column with a shift rod that runs along the firewall. They do not use a cable shifter.

This shows how tight it is between the engine and radiator. The air cleaner ducting is extremely close to the radiator, even though the 90° rubber elbow attached to the throttle-body (from a 94-97 Camaro LT1) was trimmed to gain about 3/4" clearance. The air cleaner box is from a 1994-1996 Caprice.

If we were to do the swap, we would move the engine rearward to improve clearance, and also to improve cooling slightly because air flowing through the radiator would not be blocked as much by the engine and the accessories.

It should be noted that this truck does not overheat, even in 104°F weather with the air conditioning turned on. The new body style has more room between the radiator and the grill than the older style, and this allows installing bigger and more powerful pusher fans in front of the radiator and air conditioning condenser than with the older body style.