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Ideal Drivetrain for Crew Cab and why

CUCV2 said:
My Suburban has a 4L85E. That would be a nice set up. Just have not seen one. If I wait a few more years, I could use the drive train out of the Suburban. The salted roads in winter should have it just about ripe by then :rolleyes:.

This is thread is about finding the right drive train. And about finding a balance between that and time and money. I would rather drive something with a decent drive train than watch it sit in the garage because of a lack of time to work on it. Been down that road. Maybe when the kids get older that will change but right now it feels like spare time was a dream I had a long time ago.
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Sounds like you made your decision. The 454 would that the least amount of time to stab in. Do you have the harness and ecm?
 
The Vortec 454 comes with the whole truck. I was hoping to get feed back from some people who have them.

I agree that the 8.1L is comparable to a diesel in terms of it's power and where it finds it in the rpm band. It is amazing how our Suburban will handle anything it has towed. I think it will tow way more than I have thrown at it. Just have to make sure you can stop it :waytogo:.
 
I don't have the vortec but I have towed with a few. My tbi454 can pretty well out tow my brakes any day. The vortecs are better yet. IMO. I would do it.
 
I have a buddy with the vortex 454 in a creepy cab long bed. It's a good towing motor. It's not a modern diesel but I have towed 10000 lbs with it, we'll it was 10500, and 75 mph set the cruise. Only slowed down on bigger hills. And then only to 60 ish. Got 10 mpg doing all this. It gets 13 to 14 unloaded usually. Oddly enough we got 14 mpg with a trailer and a car that weighs around 3500 lbs on one tank. That the best milage he has ever gotten towing.

I think the vortec 454 coupled with a 4l80 would be a great setup.

In our older trucks I would expect 10 to 12 unloaded and probably 8 to 10 loaded as far as mpg goes.
 
1)Big block in truck = financial suicide

2) The main questions are: How much weight, exactly, are we talking about? How far/how much driving will you do. And over what terrain? Lots of hills or flat?


 
vandelay industries said:
Big block in truck = financial suicide
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Not true at all, I have daily driven my fat block for over 10 years. Through unemployment, 4.50 gas, Everything.
First off. Its still a choice.
Second. Once your used to it its not that bad.
Third. Its mental. Don't listen to everyone tell you how bad of fuel mileage you get. They don't drive it. Once you buy that, you can't sell it and it will eat you alive until you make the change.
 
We must analyze:

1) Exactly weight of trailer (as well as type).

If trailer under 7500 lbs., then big block unnecessary.

2) Exact miles driven weekly. Monthly.

3) Terrain driven
 
Greg Ducato said:
Is there some reason you couldn't use a 4L80E behind an 8.1? I believe Vans were configured this way, they even used the 4L80E behind the Duramax in Vans.
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Putting a 4L80e behind an 8.1 is liking buying a brand new vette and putting a 1in exhaust on it. Sure it would work but why tarnish something that works so well...
 
And 8.1 with a 6 speed stick would IMO be the ultimate gas engine combo. Keeping it all the factory wired allowing you to scan it at Autozone would be nice. After that, a Duramax 6 speed if you lean that way. The Cummins is cool, but sort of becoming a red 69 Camaro.
 
454Sub said:
The Cummins is cool, but sort of becoming a red 69 Camaro.
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Only because it works, just like all the LSx Mustangs out there.

Are you saying you wouldn't do the most popular swap if it was the best swap, just because it's...the most popular swap?

In this case, I'd still vote 8.1, though.
 
I still want a 69 camaro. :D

The gas vs diesel argument. Ugh. I figured it out once. A 454 averaging 9 mpg adding the cost of a rebuild vs a Cummins getting 18 mpg. I realize there are some guys out there who find a Cummins for like 30 bucks and a 12 pack but most guys doing a Cummins swap are in the 4k to 5k range. Cost of diesel vs cost of gas figured in I would have needed to drive 185000 miles before the cummins started benefitting me.

A gas motor makes alot of sense. I would still rather have a Cummins. Hell I am putting a 6.5 diesel in mine. For which I have been called dumb stupid asking for trouble etc.

I think in your situation the gas motor makes way more sense
 
I am a fan of the alternative routes when talking about dream machines. A duramax is a decent engine, not terrible to work on minus is junk IFS dangling all over the place. I understand the expense part of it vs the Cummins, but if everyone has a Cummins swapped square the lone Duramax all GM truck gets the attention.
 
I knew a guy who had a '73 crew cab and he swapped in an Isuzu straight 6 diesel from a 24 foot box truck into it,along with its 5 speed manual trans,after the original 454 was worn out...he used it to tow house trailers to New England from the factories in Indiana..he made it a dually when it was still gas powered.

He claimed it would get up to 19 mpg on highway hauling trips and it had more power and torque than the 454,the conversion was not all that involved either,and looked like it could have been factory,it fit so well..
 
maybe I missed it, what tire size? Short tires and 4.56 gears will pull well with the vortec 454.

The cam timing is like 9* retarded on some year vortec 454s (maybe all???) My tbi fueled vortec 454 gained some low end torque by getting the cam to 0*
 
For good power and simplicity, I'd say Vortec 7.4 or for great power and less simple, the 8.1 motor. Even if it involves the 4l80/85.

diesel4me said:
I knew a guy who had a '73 crew cab and he swapped in an Isuzu straight 6 diesel from a 24 foot box truck into it,along with its 5 speed manual trans,after the original 454 was worn out...he used it to tow house trailers to New England from the factories in Indiana..he made it a dually when it was still gas powered.

He claimed it would get up to 19 mpg on highway hauling trips and it had more power and torque than the 454,the conversion was not all that involved either,and looked like it could have been factory,it fit so well..
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Was it the big 7.8 or whatever? We have one in a company C7500 dump truck. It is slow as can be, but no matter how heavy you load it, it doesn't slow it down. It's reliable too.
 
One thing to beware of is, since all TBI and Vortec heads crack easily (both 350 and 454), if someone is giving away a TBI or Vortec engine for next to nothing...they are probobly doing this because a head is already cracked. I have a TBI 350 engine that cracked a head out of pure metal fatiuge (no over heating). Because my engine had 230,000 + miles on it, and it heated and cooled down a couple 1000 times over the span of its life, it simply cracked one day for no reason other than metal fatiuge.
 
USSkoval said:
For good power and simplicity, I'd say Vortec 7.4 or for great power and less simple, the 8.1 motor. Even if it involves the 4l80/85.



Was it the big 7.8 or whatever? We have one in a company C7500 dump truck. It is slow as can be, but no matter how heavy you load it, it doesn't slow it down. It's reliable too.
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I dont know what size the diesel was,in cubic inches or a model number,sorry..all I remember is it was a straight six and had a rather wide valve cover,and was about the same length as a 250 or 292 six is..it came out of a early 80's Isuzu 24 foot box truck (straight job) that hit a low bridge and was totaled,the frame buckled behind the cab..
 
1-ton said:
One thing to beware of is, since all TBI and Vortec heads crack easily (both 350 and 454), if someone is giving away a TBI or Vortec engine for next to nothing...they are probobly doing this because a head is already cracked. I have a TBI 350 engine that cracked a head out of pure metal fatiuge (no over heating). Because my engine had 230,000 + miles on it, and it heated and cooled down a couple 1000 times over the span of its life, it simply cracked one day for no reason other than metal fatiuge.
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But isn't it pretty much given that ALL small block heads are likely warped and possibly cracked at 250,000+ miles? Not just the TBI ones?
 
The ideal drivetrain for a 1-ton crewcab would be for me:

6.2 or 6.5 diesel with banks turbo kit.

Th-400 trans.

Gear vendors overdrive

at least 3.73 to 4.56 diff gear depending on terrain traveled and weight towed.

The reason why i say 6.2 diesel is if you put a big block or a 383 in, then you do have a good hauler BUT little else; It will have to sit on the driveway most of the time and you'll need another car for everyday transportation. With the diesel, you can use the truck for commuting. So, you save on insurance and cost of another vehicle.
 
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