Big Ass Engine

['86erfixer]

Ok my friend, I'm gonna tell you what I know you most likely dont wanna hear deep down on the inside.

Your current motor is not lacking power. your just lacking the means to efficiently put that power down on the pavement.

Just because theres nothing wrong with your 700r4 doesnt mean theres nothing wrong with your 700r4. Let me explain, the trans could be functioning perfectly fine. That same trans came behind plenty of cars, 2wd trucks and god knows what else. The terrible truth about auto trans' is that they still slip whether they work perfectly or not. Components on the inside slip they are just suppose to. This slip creates comfort through shifts and heat at the same time which equals lost power.

You can start simple. Look into a shift kit and a servo. This will alter your transmissions shifting habits greatly. It will chirp tires, shift hard, and remove that sense of comfort when you mash the gas.

The next step is a torque converter. This will give you that thrown back launch feeling when you take off from a dead stop. its basically like dropping the clutch in a manual car when you punch it.

Next is your gears. Our trucks were undergeared from the beginning. with 33's and a 700r4 you should have 4.10s in the diff and i'm willing to bet your geared much higher than that. Gearing has a HUMUNGOUS affect on acceleration and fuel economy.

Please I beg you consider checking into some of these options before you go building some super motor. I guarentee if you do build some motor you'l still feel like its not all there.

Excellent advice! Thank you. This is what I was wanting to hear from the beginning. Start with a shift kit and servo? No idea what a servo is. What type of replacement torque converter is ideal? I think I'll wait on my gearing, eventually will be running 35's

 

[Stomis]

There you go man. Good to hear your looking to do it up right.

A servo is another trans piece thats on the outside casing separate of the pan. Google Corvette servo and Billet Servo. If I remember correctly those were the two popular change outs from when I had my camaro. It sorta looks like a giant freeze plug from the outside if I remember correct.

I'm not auto trans expert but plenty of guys on here are. I would guess you'd want around a 2200-2600 stall taking a stab at what your motor will hypothetically look like on a dyno.

 

[Merv]

Stomis is pointing you in the right direction. A big ass motor is not gonna do any good if you just throw it in there. Everything should work together. Talking about a Big Block your obviously not afraid to spend money, just spend it in the right order.

 

[Stomis]

Stomis is pointing you in the right direction. A big ass motor is not gonna do any good if you just throw it in there. Everything should work together. Talking about a Big Block your obviously not afraid to spend money, just spend it in the right order.

And the best part is I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised by how peppy that 350 is!

 

[Dabba]

i dont know much about it but i know your trucks prob geared in 3.08. My new trucks got 4.56 and you can tell the difference, even with a 6.2 (not 6.2 bashing, i love it)

 

['86erfixer]

A nice 350 is exactly what I'm looking for now. But I still have a desire to get my hands dirty with a bbc. Thanks guys, always helpful.

 

['86erfixer]

Went and talked to a guy at a transum shop, and he mods 700R4s with a modded ford tq and a cooler. Anyone ever hear of this? Sounds promising. . .

 

[Stomis]

Went and talked to a guy at a transum shop, and he mods 700R4s with a modded ford tq and a cooler. Anyone ever hear of this? Sounds promising. . .

ughhhh NO lol. I've never heard of that. I believe TCI makes some badass trannys but theres a few good crate beefed 700r4s out there from different companies. B&M torque converters arent expensive, like $150-200. And YES YES YES on a HUMONGOUS cooler.

 

[Blue85]

Ok my friend, I'm gonna tell you what I know you most likely dont wanna hear deep down on the inside.

Your current motor is not lacking power. your just lacking the means to efficiently put that power down on the pavement.

Just because theres nothing wrong with your 700r4 doesnt mean theres nothing wrong with your 700r4. Let me explain, the trans could be functioning perfectly fine. That same trans came behind plenty of cars, 2wd trucks and god knows what else. The terrible truth about auto trans' is that they still slip whether they work perfectly or not. Components on the inside slip they are just suppose to. This slip creates comfort through shifts and heat at the same time which equals lost power.

You can start simple. Look into a shift kit and a servo. This will alter your transmissions shifting habits greatly. It will chirp tires, shift hard, and remove that sense of comfort when you mash the gas.

The next step is a torque converter. This will give you that thrown back launch feeling when you take off from a dead stop. its basically like dropping the clutch in a manual car when you punch it.

Next is your gears. Our trucks were undergeared from the beginning. with 33's and a 700r4 you should have 4.10s in the diff and i'm willing to bet your geared much higher than that. Gearing has a HUMUNGOUS affect on acceleration and fuel economy.

Please I beg you consider checking into some of these options before you go building some super motor. I guarentee if you do build some motor you'l still feel like its not all there.

While I totally agree that an engine swap is not the logical first step, I can only partly agree with the rest.

The FIRST THING you should look at is gears.

The next thing would be simple engine mods - headers/exhaust and distributor curve. Tranny mods come in lower than this in terms of "bang for the buck". I can't recommend a high-stall converter. You should ONLY do that if you are also doing a high-rpm cam and intake. As for slipping in the transmission, that is only during the shifts, which is a relatively small percentage of the time. The only long-term slip in an automatic transmission is in the torque converter and going to a higher stall speed just increases that. The biggest gain from a shift kit is in higher shift points, as the stock ones can be really low. A harsher shift isn't necessarily faster acceleration, but quicker shifts and a bigger servo can make the transmission hold up to more power.

 

[Stomis]

While I totally agree that an engine swap is not the logical first step, I can only partly agree with the rest.

The FIRST THING you should look at is gears.

The next thing would be simple engine mods - headers/exhaust and distributor curve. Tranny mods come in lower than this in terms of "bang for the buck". I can't recommend a high-stall converter. You should ONLY do that if you are also doing a high-rpm cam and intake. As for slipping in the transmission, that is only during the shifts, which is a relatively small percentage of the time. The only long-term slip in an automatic transmission is in the torque converter and going to a higher stall speed just increases that. The biggest gain from a shift kit is in higher shift points, as the stock ones can be really low. A harsher shift isn't necessarily faster acceleration, but quicker shifts and a bigger servo can make the transmission hold up to more power.

I agree with you that gears are the most important, your right.

Stall converters can be a controversial subject. Many will argue that they are suppose to bring you in late for a larger cam while others (and this is what i agree with) say they should stall you until your torque curve begins.

 

[Fabrimacator21]

COOLER IS A MUST with a higher stall converter.

I have a corvette shift kit and it's nice when your really hittin the loud pedal. I might be off here but it seemed like it let it wind out more but most likely it was my tv cable setting.

If I were you I'd make as much low end tq as possible and run an rv converter. That is one place more power can really help... better gas mileage and less heat to the tranny.

You should be happy with it once you regear, as stomis said.... but if you do decide to put a motor in it then a good low mileage 6.0 is hard to beat. They are miles ahead of the old sb's and tq is approaching bbc numbers... I think somoene on here put nothing more then headers on one and it dynoed around 440 ft lbs and 400 hp. (stock rating was 325hp 375 ft lbs). Off idle torque is impressive also... gm's dyno chart showed 300 ftlbs at 1000 rpm.