My 85 Chevy Shortwide Project

[jason65]

Are you working inside or outside? This weekend I hope your inside

[HotRod73]

Deffinatly not outside this weekend going to probably take to his shop depending how bad the weather is when he gets off dont wanna pull trailer out in snow or ice lol might have to delay till next weekend... i hate oklahoma weather!

[factory2wdblazer's]

nouthing wrong with the carbed engine. fuel injection would have been a nice up-grade but hey it is what it is..how's she run right know.

[HotRod73]

no motor i pulled the 305, gave it to my buddy that has my old 87 short wide and he put his tbi heads and intake on it and i sold the trans to kulturekat really cheap... its still undecideable... in the end its going to cost almost the same because im wanting a nice rebuilt motor not somoene elses motor they beat on ... and the fuel injection will save me in the long run on fuel... i think? i dont know guys one minute i want a carbd motor because i can get cheaper power but then again i think a 5.3 would be bad a$$

[JohnC]

Bummer to hear about the 5.3. I know what you mean though. I'm kind of in that same position. So many options where do you start. I'm leaning towards a 350 carb motor. Would be nice to do a LSX, but maybe on the next one! Yeah like my wife is going to let me sucker her into another project!

[joe231]

if you going LS, get a 6.0.......... or better yet 8.1

[HotRod73]

haha not lookin for 8mpg! if i was i would take the cheap way and just throw a beefy carbd motor in there... i want the lsx swap mainly because of updated performance and reliability and fuel... but then again its a lot easier working with carbd motors than fuel injection with all the sensors etc... but i do still want to do this swap... im just in the air im not sure which i want more

[joe231]

yeah.......?I said do the LS, but instead of the 5.3, go with the 6.0......dunno, but I have heard 20mpg with the 6.0.....

[HotRod73]

i hear 6.0s suck gas pretty bad.... john didnt you say your 6.0 was pretty bad on fuel? if i do the Ls swap im going to run the 5.3.... my buddy has a nice 68? chevy that was restored in the late 90s that i may pick up too needs motor/trans im debating on if i want to have two projects hehe

[JohnC]

Yeah my 03 Sierra 1500HD Crew Cab has a 6.0 in it, but it's also a lot heavier than these single cab SWB trucks are. I get around 12-13 mpg avg. However I do a lot of in town driving. The best I ever got was 14.5 mpg. That was all highway on a trip to Dallas and back. That was also at about 75 mph too. So they don't get the best mpg, but they aren't bad either. Like I told you that day. It gets the same mpg that my 94 ext cab got with the 350 in it, and this one is a lot bigger and heavier.

I'm with you on the LSX swap. The easy and efficient power that they make is awesome, but dealing with all the sensors and stuff can be a pain. There are a lot of kits out there though, that make it a plug and play setup though.

[HotRod73]

yeah i talked to the guy with the motor trans from the rolled truck he said i can pickup the motor/trans harness and computer with all accessories for $1,250... i can get the harness reworked for about $350
then i would just need to work out the fuel issue and get electric fuel pump etc... still debating... you guys think the 5.3 swap is best way to go? i dont really want a 6.0 sorry guys..

[JohnC]

If it's the best deal or not is really up to you. That is really all left up to opinions. I think the 5.3 would be sweet, and it sounds like the price is right. However some would say that a carb motor is better and the argument insues. I think either way would be a good setup. Another advantage that the 5.3 gives you over what you have stated is the fact that when you pop the hood it's not what you expect to see. You get that "Oh cool that's a newer motor in there!" Send a pm to G-old, he has the 5.3 in his. He might give you some info on the swap. Pros and cons after doing it and all.

[joe231]

yeah sounds like decent deal......the LS is the way to go IMO....plenty of power, excellent reliability, and decent mileage.

[jason65]

I would love a 6.0. But every time I pass a camaro of trans am I'm thinking "parts car". An ls1 with a t56 would be awsome.

Heitz has a limited edition all aluminum 454 sitting on the showroom floor that would look good in your engine bay. It's carberated.

[JohnC]

Mmmmmmm that sounds tasty! How much are they wanting for it? That wouldn't really fit into the economics that you were wanting for gas mileage though!

[HotRod73]

Haha yeah.... you know i would LOVE a T56 i want a 6 speed SOOO bad.... i sold my 96 Camaro Z28 to buy this truck and pay off some bills and it had the LT1 and 6 speed man would that puppy run i could break the tires loose doing like 60.... would it be possible for a 6 speed in my 85?

[Cherub]

5.3 sounds like a good route to go for the goal that you want.

[factory2wdblazer's]

that would be nice to break them tire's lose now on your truck, at around 60 mph that would be bad a$$.... i beleave you can use a 6 speed in your truck but will require quite a bit of work......

[HotRod73]

guess i need to update some pics of my truck as it sits now.. ill add them when i get off work today

[JohnC]

Yeah we need updated pics, what have you been doing? Don't ask where the pics for mine are because I haven't done a thing to it!

[HotRod73]

I Need to get you your stuff and take pics before/after thats a start =)

[jason65]

I bet a lt1 and a 6 speed could get scary in a light short bed truck like that.
Winter driving would suck.

[HotRod73]

Yeah it would.... im going to do a 5.3 with the 4l60e trans... leave it stock for now and build little at a time... probably do heads/cam beef up trans with stall and shift kit etc... but all that later on or i may just keep the project on hold and do it all while its out and put it all together and leave it alone and just drive it.. either way it wont be done till late summer im not going to make it to the meet in this truck but ill bring out my 73 chevy C20 3/4 ton that im driving untill this truck is done

[JohnC]

No need to rush. Take your time and do it the way you want the first time. Especially since it's not your DD you have time to plan. That's why I am so confused right now with mine. All the time to plan, and don't have one yet!

[jgh64pkup]

Originally Posted by joe231

if you going LS, get a 6.0.......... or better yet 8.1

8.1 yes the big 496 i bet the best you could get on gas mileage is 5 mpg
i vote on the 6.0 they seem to be everywhere but i cant find one anyone wants to sell