Motor swap???? lt1?? vortec 5.7??

[draggin86]

Hey guys i have an 86 c10 with a 305 i believe it has a 700r4?? I'm not to sure.. anyways its on its last limb.. I'm not to fond of the motor so i think its time for something new! i have a 5.7 vortec motor out of my 98 silverado sitting around... it is a good motor it does have some miles on it.. has anyone swapped this motor into our trucks?? if so how did the wiring go?? i was also thinking of doing an LT1/4l60e swap it seems like it mates up well and parts are readily available for the swap.. i think i would need a tale shaft for the speedo a radiator out of a LT1 equipped vehicle, electric fans etc.. i would probably use the stock sending unit and fit it in the c10 tank.. any input would be awesome!

Thanks Guys

[Russell]

I'd go with the LT1 if I could. They run with a bit more power than the Vortec 350s do. Both should be fairly similar with regards to wiring, and both will require reasonably similar fuel systems...

I wish I had some more specific details for you (only really dealt with TBI, TPI and the new Gen III Vortecs), but I know it isn't that bad of a swap if you are handy with a soldering iron, and have a couple bucks sitting around to buy the stuff you need.

[Jonboy]

If you were looking to get out the cheapest way possible, round up a carb intake for your Vortec, and just have the trans rebuilt, or trade teh one you have for a rebuilt 700R4. The price of the 98 vintage 4l60E is insane.

[Jim85IROC]

I'd go with the vortec motor and a carb, or if you want EFI, the vortec motor and a holley stealth ram. The vortec heads are similar in design to the LT1 heads with the tall intake ports, but you get the benefit of standard Gen 1 parts availability. Those vortec heads flow very well, and with a simple cam swap should be very responsive. Just keep your cam lift below .450 unless you want to machine the valve guide bosses.

[draggin86]

I live in Ca i still have to smog the truck you think im going ot run into problems with a carb setup on my vortec motor?

[revn67]

isn't that holley stealth ram like $2000?

[draggin86]

Looks like i can also get a standalone system for my vortec motor i might just do that.. all i want is a decent motor for my c10!

[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by revn67

isn't that holley stealth ram like $2000?

It depends. If you buy the full kit that includes the ECM, harness, throttle body and injectors, it's expensive.

But... you can buy just the manifold and fuel rails, and scavenge everything else from a TPI car for a lot less money. You can usually buy full TPI setups on Ebay or swap meets for $400-500 that includes everything you need. Then you can sell the plenum, runners and manifold and probably get nearly half of that money back. the Holley manifold & fuel rail kit will set you back about $500.

The only issue with the stealth ram is that there's no EGR, but I don't think vortec motors ever had EGR anyway. I have no idea what the Kalifornia emissions laws are like, but your old C10 came carburated, running a carbed Vortec motor should still be well within their rules. If it's necessary to continue using the computer controlled quadrajet, you should be able to do so.

The LT1 is a very good motor, and I'm sure you'd be happy with that too. My only reservation with the LT1 is that they were a short lived "transition" motor between the Gen 1 small block and the new Gen 3 motors. They weren't really any better than the gen 1 motors, but they had a lot of unique parts like the optispark and the ECMs (which themselves changed over from OBD 1 to OBD II midway through their run). There still seems to be good aftermarket support for the LT1s, but I wouldn't expect that to last forever. There are just so many more gen 1s and gen 3s out there. It just seems to make more sense to stick with a gen 1 motor, or go to a gen 3.

[bufmatmuslepants]

since you have a C10 ill assume you are 2wd and wont be doing too much off roading through mud puddles and streams, which would destroy the LT1's optispark ($400) in 2 seconds. if your just going with a cruiser, i would go with the LT1 because you can pick up a running motor, tranny, harness and computer for somewhere around $1000 or $1100 and have everything youll need for the swap. i get 27mpg highway with the LT1 in my camaro, and have heard of poeple with less miles getting near 30mpg. the downfall of the LT1 is like jim85iroc said where it was a transition and the LT1 was only in service for 5 years. this means you have a much more limited aftermarket for heads, intakes, computers and such. if you are going for no more than 450rwhp then the LT1 is where i would go, but if you want a higher hp application the sbc will be cheaper and more powerful in the long run.

[draggin86]

All that im looking for is something that is good on gas reliable and gets me around.. not looking to have a 500HP monster! this truck is going to be kind aliek a work truck but it will look nice too! it is 2wd it will be on air suspension.

[steemin_ehman]

i put a '98 vortec 350 with a carb conversion in my 77 stepper, and have had no problems so far. and smog wise, it shouldnt be much more (if any) than the stock 305... unless they had stricter rules in 86? anyway, the carb conversion is MUCH cheaper. also, im around the 290-300hp mark with a edelbrock 650 and performer intake. gas milage isnt the best, but thats cause of my turbo 350 trans. hope to be better with the 700r4 i have lined up!