Unfortuneatley, the year of truck my brother had (1987) didn't have the 4.3L as an option. The 4.3L from what I have read and heard powered the S-10/Blazer quite well; however, you still can't necessarily haul many things you can with a Dakota regardless if the S-10 has a 4.3L in it. I really wish they wouldn't have dropped the 4.3L out of their smaller trucks. I wonder what they were thinking when they made the Colorado/Canyon (why would anyone want a I5 for the top engine instead of a V6).