Motor Options?

[DrkZide]

I'm at a cross road and was thinking of asking what the Brotherhood for guidance.

Right now the K10 (longbed) is sitting with a 350/SM465/NP208 on stock 10 bolts. Plans as of now are 4" with D60/14BFF on 35's or 37's, Bushwhackers, DIY4X rear bumper and sliders, Buckstop Outback front bumper, 12klb winch, internal cage, light bar, air compressor, larger saddle tanks, wheel well toolboxes, Corbeau Baja XRS, possibly exo cage and of course the misc. little things.

With that being said, I'm looking at adding a significant amount of weight. The 350 that is in there now seems to be pretty tired. Probably due to the blown head gasket but it's in need of a rebuild. I was toying with the option of upgrading to a 383 or even the 6.2l Diesel. I'm wanting to keep my fuel mileage in the teens without the truck being a complete slouch. I would also like to keep it highway worthy and be able to travel comfortably at, at least, 75mph. This truck sees a wide variety of terrain and I'm open to changes in the drivetrain as well seeing how I was thinking of going to a triple stick down the road anyway. Maybe I need to add on an aftermarket overdrive, if I can find one that cost less than I bought the truck?

I'm not sure what the best route would be to take. What do you guys suggest?

 

[1BEATK5]

I would vote for a vortec head 383. that will add alot of low speed torque without too many cubic inches eating up the mileage. vortec heads are pretty efficient also. tbi or a q-jet

i think a 6.2d would get you the mileage, but the power just wouldnt be there.

 

[TPIK20]

Well I did a very mild 350 in my K20, with 1-tons, and 38's. I have the 465, with 205, and 4.88 axle gears. I get 14-15mpg on the freeway.
The engine has a small Comp 4x4 cam, 9.5 compression, and vortec heads, headers, dual exhaust. I was running a Q-jet, but now have TPI injection. I thought about going 383, but at the time was out of my budget. If budget isn't a big deal, do the 383. It's a nice all around motor, won't notice all that extra weight your adding to the truck.

 

[ryoken]

LS... nuff said....

 

[NorCal_Chris]

LS... nuff said....

+1

These days it is always the answer.

 

[ryoken]

yup, when the stock tbi 350 goes in mine, it'll more than likely be the route I take... I figure it's a wash cash-wise between a 6.0 and a highly built 383...

 

[DrkZide]

I'm trying to stay away from electronics as far as critical components of the truck are concerned.

 

[tRustyK5]

No electronics, good mileage and acceptable power...turbo'd 6.2 FTW. It'll get you mid teens to low 20's for mileage, and turbo'd they have better power/acceleration than a TBI 350. One 12 volt wire keeps it running.

 

[DrkZide]

Hmmm. 383 or 6.2TD.

 

[npayton]

i have a 85 k5 208/400t b&m kit dana60/16bff rear 44 front 10"front 8" rear skyjacker lift pushin 37" heavy old school military oz...anyway i ripped out the 6.2l put in a 78 350 vette block. bored 383 with a 400 cam 202 heads vortec rolling rockers 5.7 pistons hi torque starter edelbrock650 an performer intake. kept the 4core desil an dual batts to run seperate acc power.
hands down best build i ever did.

 

[Deuling]

408 sbc

 

[Bowtie85]

Could always just toss a carbed intake on a ls........

If the motor goes in my ton, prob do a vortec 350 with carb'd intake/small cam. Would be plenty of motor.

 

[DrkZide]

Ok Time to necro this thread a little and update.

I still have not swapped in a new motor yet since I patched the 350. I have come up with motor budget around $4000. I decided to ditch the 6.2GM Diesel idea since I can't seem to find parts for it that aren't an arm and a leg and the truck would still be a dog. I found a shop that can build a NEW 383/Vortec for $3500 with a 3yr warranty and estimated around 500hp. I will most likely need to ditch the SM465 and move up to the NV4500.

Now here is where I'm fighting myself again. I seem to be towing a lot more than I originally thought. Last weekend I towed the car down to the dragstrip, came home, towed the horses out to the trail, came home, went camping (no towing but did have to wheel to get there), came home and towed my buddy's boat to the lake. With all this towing, I'm wondering if a Cummins swap would be viable? I would of course upgrade the axles first but I was told by somebody that the K10 frame would rip apart if I dropped in a Cummins.

I would prefer having one truck I could do everything with than buying a tow rig.

What do you guys think?

 

[imiceman44]

Ok Time to necro this thread a little and update.

I still have not swapped in a new motor yet since I patched the 350. I have come up with motor budget around $4000. I decided to ditch the 6.2GM Diesel idea since I can't seem to find parts for it that aren't an arm and a leg and the truck would still be a dog. I found a shop that can build a NEW 383/Vortec for $3500 with a 3yr warranty and estimated around 500hp. I will most likely need to ditch the SM465 and move up to the NV4500.

Now here is where I'm fighting myself again. I seem to be towing a lot more than I originally thought. Last weekend I towed the car down to the dragstrip, came home, towed the horses out to the trail, came home, went camping (no towing but did have to wheel to get there), came home and towed my buddy's boat to the lake. With all this towing, I'm wondering if a Cummins swap would be viable? I would of course upgrade the axles first but I was told by somebody that the K10 frame would rip apart if I dropped in a Cummins.

I would prefer having one truck I could do everything with than buying a tow rig.

What do you guys think?

Having destroyed a 1/2 ton frame with my perkins TD I would have to say true, do not put a cummins in a K10 if you can possibly get a bigger frame or change trucks.