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Bought New Truck! Go IFS Lift or SAS, Tow Rig!

K5-CJ5

K5-CJ5

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Ok, so im in the spot where I need to decide what direction to go. I have an 83 K30 CC, it has a 350, th400 etc. I need to decide whether to put money into this truck, swap out the 350 for a 454, and redo interior paint etc. My other option is sell it for what I can, and get a newer 1 ton truck. I don't wanna spend 20k on a truck, or put that into this one. I regularly pull my boat, occasionally my jeep and am thinking about a cab over camper. The 350 just doesn't have the power for the camper and boat. If I stick with my CC I will go gas, diesel not an option right now.

What are everyone's thoughts? How much better performance can I expect from a say 97 7.4 versus am older 7.4? versus a 6.0 and 8.1?
 
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if you are going to spend the money on a big block why not just go 6.2 or 6.5? they make as much torque as a stock big block?? plenty cheap and reliable? plus 20mpg??? keep all the rest of your drivetrain.
 
Pictures of the 3+3? If it is solid I say keep it and if your mpg is any thing like a suburban you sure you want a 454???
 
Do I want the lower fuel economy, no....Do I want and need the increase in power, yes! I thought about the 6.0 swap, but they are not known for their towing performance. I was thinking the 8.1 would be too costly due to the smog requirements, and initial expense in the motor. This is not my daily driver, it is used for pleasure, and towing, that's it. The 350, in this size truck is just a dog, flat out! I thought about doing a 383, but I do not think I would get much more power for the cost, versus a 454. Aside from some dents in the right side of the bed, and a little rust on the rockers, the truck is very clean, runs great, and has a newer 350 and th400. The 350 just has a lack of power.

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sreidmx said:
if you are going to spend the money on a big block why not just go 6.2 or 6.5? they make as much torque as a stock big block?? plenty cheap and reliable? plus 20mpg??? keep all the rest of your drivetrain.
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I had a 6.5, and have had a 6.2, and they never impressed me towing anything! I liked them off-road, but that was where the love ended for me. Great fuel economy though.
 
I was in the same predicament as you with my cc. I decided to go with a newish 04dodge cummins cc Nd couldn't be happier. I decided I didn't need another project to work on and a newer truck is just more comfortable with better dependability. My .02
 
I guess it depends on your $$$ situation. A newer Diesel might be a better way if you can find a CC and combine it in to your DD. Myself I am a devout Square body guy so you know my answer.

A lot of things to look at miles of towing and amount of time in vehicle + cost of upgrades (motor, trans, gears) vs Cost of a replacement and lack of working on it + better mileage.

I hear a lot of guy say newer getting better mileage. However when we drug that 1989 Blazer back over the mountains I know his truck used a tank of gas for like 300 miles.

With me if it was just a short tow rig I would upgrade. Longer haul and more time in vehicle look for a newer rig. Sorry I can't be better on advice.
 
Metrodps said:
I guess it depends on your $$$ situation. A newer Diesel might be a better way if you can find a CC and combine it in to your DD. Myself I am a devout Square body guy so you know my answer.

A lot of things to look at miles of towing and amount of time in vehicle + cost of upgrades (motor, trans, gears) vs Cost of a replacement and lack of working on it + better mileage.

I hear a lot of guy say newer getting better mileage. However when we drug that 1989 Blazer back over the mountains I know his truck used a tank of gas for like 300 miles.

With me if it was just a short tow rig I would upgrade. Longer haul and more time in vehicle look for a newer rig. Sorry I can't be better on advice.
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Thanks for the input! The only upgrades, mechanically, needed would be the 454, and smog stuff for it. The TH40o is new along with the 4.10 gears.
Money wise, I do not want to go buy a newer diesel at this time, maybe down the road but not now. I have been looking at different trucks online and found a 97 k2500 ext cab, vortec 7.4 with 120k miles. How well do the 97 7.4 do power wise compared to an 8.1 or an older 454?
 
What is the towing distance and frequency of use that you'll be looking at? Total mileage per year for CC work duties?
Different engine decisions depending if you only need to tow/camp 500 miles per year versus say 5000 miles.
 
The 7.4's are dogs. I towed for a few Years with a 95 and man what a slug. Go for the next gen with a 6.0 or 8.1. I wouldnt hesitate towing with a 6.0 because they love high rpm's. The 8.1 guzzle gas but can feel more torque off lines in heavy towes.
 
Money and time are really the factors here. How much do you want to spend versus how much time do you have? I personally like upgrading my old truck because I count my labor as free, and know if I bought a newer truck I would spend more money and it wouldn't have as much character.


That being said, if you have a purpose that your truck really isn't suited for, you may be better off spending 8-10k or so on a newer truck better suited to towing (There are some pretty decent late 90's dodge+ford diesels in that price range), and save yourself the effort and energy. Only you can make the call.
 
Ned Kelly said:
What is the towing distance and frequency of use that you'll be looking at? Total mileage per year for CC work duties?
Different engine decisions depending if you only need to tow/camp 500 miles per year versus say 5000 miles.
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realistically, I will tow, camp etc, less 2000 miles per year. Some years much less if we don't go to lake Powell. Aside from that the truck gets driven locally, on my days off, when im tired of driving the Tacoma! In most cases I tow the boat with the 5.3L tahoe, just because it has more power than the 350 I have now. But I know the cab over will be need more power, than just the boat. I also occasionally tow my jeep to the Rubicon, about 1 hr drive time.
 
If it has little to no rot,all the other drivetrain is OK,I'd just find a healthy old style carbed 454 for it and live with the 12 mpg you'll get...those will town a house with the right cam and compression ratio...it'll drop right in,no computers or wiring woes,and it will increase its value..

I know a guy with an '85 crew cab like yours he bought with a junk engine cheap--he put a 70's 350 in it,that ran very well,but he never liked it,said it was gutless...(I think his truck had 3:73 gears and he put 35" tires on it,not a good upgrade for towing!)...one day he was looking in a junkyard for some parts and he came across a recently towed in school bus,that had a good 366 big block in it,he ended up buying it for 300 bucks,and swapped it onto the crew cab..he said it now tows his race car "like its not even behind him" compared to the 350,and it even gets about the same mpg too...his truck has a SM465 4 speed ..
 
diesel4me said:
If it has little to no rot,all the other drivetrain is OK,I'd just find a healthy old style carbed 454 for it and live with the 12 mpg you'll get...those will town a house with the right cam and compression ratio...it'll drop right in,no computers or wiring woes,and it will increase its value..

I know a guy with an '85 crew cab like yours he bought with a junk engine cheap--he put a 70's 350 in it,that ran very well,but he never liked it,said it was gutless...(I think his truck had 3:73 gears and he put 35" tires on it,not a good upgrade for towing!)...one day he was looking in a junkyard for some parts and he came across a recently towed in school bus,that had a good 366 big block in it,he ended up buying it for 300 bucks,and swapped it onto the crew cab..he said it now tows his race car "like its not even behind him" compared to the 350,and it even gets about the same mpg too...his truck has a SM465 4 speed ..
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Im thinking about going this direction. Is the smog pump the same on the 350 as the 454, will my accessories bolt onto the 454 block, or do I have top switch everything? I know the headers are different, no big deal there.

I also have an extra sm 465 setup, pedals etc. Am I better off sticking with the TH400, or putting in the sm 465?
 
I would leave the TH400 in it,it would be a lot of work for little or no real gain to put the SM465 in it...if you prefer a manual though,thats your choice..I'd say the automatic would make driving it more pleasant,especially in city traffic..

I dont know if the air pump would work on a 454,the brackets are not the same for a 454 VS a 350,the pump itself might be though..
I'm the wrong guy to ask about emission devices,because most of my experience with them is removing them and either selling them to someone who needs them,or tossing them in the scrap pile...:rolleyes:..here we only had to pass a visual inspection on trucks after a certain year,most of mine were well before that cutoff and already had things missing like air pumps and flute pipes on the exhaust manifolds..

I think the altenator and A/C compressor should be useable on a 454 as long as you have the big block brackets...be best to find a complete engine still in something and running,it'll save a lot of hunting for brackets and aggravation..

The guy I know who bought that school bus engine jumped on it because it had
"427" stickers on the valve covers,and the price was very cheap--later on after he got the thing in his truck and drove it awhile,a guy at a swap meet looked at the engine and said "thats not a tall block 427"..they got into a sqabble over it,but the guy knew his engines,he later found out going by the engine code it indeed was a 366..everyone tends to overlook those engines,racers dont like them,and most pickup guys want a 454 or 427 "car & truck" block..
But the 366 has 4 rings on the pistons and a smaller bore,so they can go a long time under heavy loads without overheating,and there is plenty of meat if you want to bore them out--they were built for long haul heavy duty trucks and busses..some had gear drive reverse rotation cams too,but you can swap a timing chain & gears along with a "car" camshaft and use a car distributor gear with it instead if desired..
Just about any of the older big blocks were decent for towing,provided they didn't have a camshaft that was for high rpms ,the off road and towing ones work great for lower rpms and street driving & towing..
 
I wouldn't put an industrial engine in that pig.. Sounds like you need a 400 sbc sounds about perfect for what you are looking for and not to much money, the ls swap will be a pita for smog and a 400 will pass visual. With a modern cam and heads just as stout as anything else.
 
I agree the 400 SB is a good engine,less hassle swapping it,everything fits..trouble is they are like hens teeth to find around here,maybe you have more available where you are...I had one in my 77 GMC K2500 and in my opinion it actually had a bit more guts than the 454 I had in it before that was a '74 Malibu smog era one with only 235 hp..the 400 weighed less and felt more powerful,I got it out of a 78 Suburban..

I wasn't suggesting he go look for a 366,just saying they are a decent engine and there's more of them still around and for less money than the other big blocks..and they hold up well..

My brother had an '81 K30 ,he found a 1970 Impala with a 454 in a junkyard and bought the engine,and put a competition cams off road /towing cam in it along with a Wieand intake and a Holley carb,the carb sat diagonal on the manifiold and was open plenum..that engine was very impressive...the truck had low gears,probably 4.56's,it was a 292 straight six originally..with a SM465..
I drove it a few times,you could take off in third gear and it felt like first!..we pulled a trailer we made from a 80 G-10 chevy van with it and it was stuffed with car parts,the thing climbed hills in NH like it was empty too...wasn't that great on gas though,maybe 10-12 mpg,no matter what you were doing with it..
 
He could build a decent 383 for way less.. Figure 383 vortec heads comp cam performer rpm intake and headers witha holley.. Stump puller.
 
Will the SBC 400 or 383 have the towing power of the 454? Is the fuel mileage that much of an improvement over the 454?
 
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