Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

Thanks brotha!:metal:

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

Hey!! Somebody from the forum stopped by today! I was at the track Autocrossing my Impala... but the wife said somebody dropped by and said they recognized my truck from the forum here... identify yourself!!!

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

Welp... Pulled the trigger on a 5.3/4l60e combo a few days back... :eek: I've got a few weeks before it arrives to collect the necessary parts and pieces. Wish me luck!

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

shorthaul, Nice choice. I think you will be happy. there is alot of good info on the board.

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

Thanks brotha, been digging through mountains of good info here lately... got a nice parts list piling up too...

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

Just doing Truck stuff!
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...53e92271_c.jpgUntitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a1df9390_c.jpgUntitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

Well… the LS swap plan just took a big step backward… the shop I had placed an order with went under… so now I’m back on the hunt for a Ls. No money lost, just time… so not the end of the world. But now I’m left questioning if I even really want to go that route after all…

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

The answer is yes…..

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

Yes.

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

I understand why people like the ls motors and that they are an improvement in nearly every way. Both of your rigs are kind of a snapshot in time. Nothing at all wrong with leaving your truck as a complete snapshot in time. IIRC you have a 350 in there and I personally would be happy if it was my truck, to see the 350 remain. If the motor was going bad, maybe it would be more of a toss up. You probably use it for family stuff and newness and reliability do count for something. I know I'm pretty much a lone wolf on this, and I'm okay with that, haha. But to me, it's cool to see what can be done to get the best out of the motor that's there. For instance, cam designs are available now that weren't back when the truck was new.

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

You're definitely not a 'lone wolf' on the topic.

I 100% get the LS swap if there's no drivetrain to start with or if there's fatal damage to the existing motor w/the other components worn or no OD trans. Swapping to a more modern power-plant & all of it's required updates makes sense if there's a failure w/the current set-up.

Replacing a decent 350sbc w/a 5.3 just because?

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

Ok… ok… keep up the chatter in here boys, my wallet is loving this conversation :)

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

I wonder if you could find someone who has completed the swap in good time and actually regretted it? Probably not.

Could you find a bunch of examples of people who dumped money into a gen 1 sbc and wished they had gone LS? Probably.

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

I'm into classic trucks for the whole package....classic truck AND classic motor. But it's a nostalgia thing that is driven by my age. The further I go in life the more I want what I remember from my youth. Yes, the good old days really were better, just ask your mom or dad. Every generation says so eventually, and it's true.

Mark my words when electric drivetrains are the greatest and fastest hotrod thing, there will be many who nostalgically cling to their LS motors.
Don't get me wrong, I have a modern motor and it's great but I keep it under the hood of my 2017 Silverado.

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

I'm all for LS swaps. Just not for the 'just because' factor when the old small/big block is alive & doing fine.

I understand if someone has a broken or worn-out original drivetrain or if they're going to do some tweaking regardless, the LS swap makes sense from an investment perspective. But buying in on the 'swap' being cheap? Maybe, if:

• You've shared previous experiences w/someone who has.

• You have an automotive technician background.

• You don't mind your engine compartment looking like a Tahoe or late model Camaro.

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

If you are on the fence at all and have a decent running engine. I would put a sniper EFI system on it. I love LS engines myself but if you have a good one already its hard to justify. I added a sniper to a 69GMC i had and man what a difference!

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

I appreciate all the comments in here guys! Part of me agrees with each different statement and point of view...

Here's my reasoning behind pursuing the LS swap... This truck is my DD/multi use pickup... I commute to work in it (60 miles round trip, although not daily... firefighter's schedule) I use it to haul my dirtbike to trails, tracks etc, sometimes 60-100 miles round trip... I use it to go cut firewood on the national forest, (200 miles round trip) so its much more than just an "around town" cruiser, or trips to the hardware store and back... This places a high priority on reliability, driveability and also brings MPG into the equation. I have 3 "classic" vehicles in the fleet right now (62 Impala, 75 C20 and 75 Burb) so this one has to be fully functional as a usable anytime anyplace vehicle, it has to carry its weight if you will.

The 350 is original, and has 88xxx miles... it has only let me down once in over 11K miles of ownership, and that was a simple fuel pump issue... however I feel like it's not going to last forever. There is a ton of gunk and corrosion in the block, whether that's from the radiator or the block itself, I'm not sure. She smokes a bit on start up, The carb (original Q-jet) is finicky, even though I've recently rebuilt it... She's a pain to start when she's hot and let's be honest... the 1975 "Hi Torque" 350 with 4 Barrel put out a whopping 160 hp/250tq WHEN NEW! So its not like I'm yanking out a numbers matching Z28/302 here... And to make matters worse, the previous owner went nuts with a can of black spray paint under the hood before he sold it, dousing every surface he could find... so the "original look" appeal is kinda shot as well... I do place some value in keeping things original, but more so when that originality is worthy of saving. And in this case I'm leaning towards function over originality.

Having a 4th gear would be very helpful for the highway hauls. She does ok, but 60mph on CA freeways feels like you're standing still!

The overall cost of the LS swap I had planned was coming in at right around $5500. I know it can be done cheaper, and I know you can easily spend twice that on the LS motor alone.

Considering other options out there... such as rebuild the 350, crate sbc, going EFI, swap in a 700r4 or a gear vendors... most of them come relatively close to the cost of the LS swap, and most only solve a portion of the problem.

So when it comes down to the nuts and bolts of it, the LSx/4lxxE swap still makes the most sense to me...

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

Makes a ton of sense and its going to be killer too....oh... and when you do that swap you gotta get some rubbing compound and get the P.O's overspray outta there.:metal:

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

It sounds like you have already made the right decision, do the swap.

I’ll give you my opinion since I went through a very similar setup as your.

I went from a good running but very slightly leaky BBC/700R4 combo to a 5.3/4L80e. It has more power, more reliability, is quieter, smoother, doesn’t leak a drop of anything, and almost doubled the fuel mileage. I ran the stock radiator and fan shroud with the LS truck clutch fan no problem and I still have dual tanks. Probably have close to 30k miles on the swap which I did in 2012.

I previously had the stock A/C but switched to vintage air last year when my stock system began leaking. Also ran stock gauges until I got Dakota Digital gauges 2 years ago.

Truck drives amazing and the only complaint I have is that it makes me want to mod the truck more. Other than cost, there is no negative to the swap. Even for the people who want an “original” look. You can paint the whole thing black and do a carb intake efi setup pretty easily and affordability.

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

I'd like to know where these affordable 'carb style' swap parts are? I'm all in if there is such a thing.

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

Delmo’s sells the entire kit for $1k.
https://www.delmospeed.com/product/d...t-5-3-and-6-0/

Not “affordable” really, especially if is merely an aesthetic upgrade… however you could piece together the setup for less.

On my Impala (6.0L lq9 swap) I have the coil relocation kit and OG tin Chevy valve covers for a retro-meets-modern look.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1626bca9_c.jpgUntitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

I paid an arm and a leg for those billet valve cover adapters, but now they're out there for nearly a 3rd of the price. I'd bet you could recreate the Delmo kit for far less with a little digging.

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

Thanks for the motivation! You're right, I'm pretty sold on the LS swap... it was just frustrating to have the whole package ordered and paid for... only to have it fall through... There was a week or two where I was ready to scrap the whole project. But now I'm back in the game, just need to source an affordable 5.3 and trans.

I've already purchased a new radiator, ebay dual electric fan style. A buddy of mine has run two of them in his various LS swaps and has had good luck. I splurged on a Ron Davis in my Impala swap but this time around I'm trying to keep it a bit more affordable.

I'd like to pick your brain about the fuel system... I'd love to keep my dual tanks. I've read about a few different options, I'd like to hear your take on it.

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

I did EFI with dual tanks on my ‘78. I used stock replacement NON-EFI tanks, and two Holley drop-in EFI modules. I used a Harnessworx dual tank/relay harness and high pressure Pollak switching valve. Re-used the stock steel fuel line on the frame, and EFI rated hose and clamps on the tanks/valves. The harness has a single fuel pump power wire which can be triggered by any EFI kit (I used a Terminator X), and it switches power from side to side also as needed. It’s a pretty slick setup, very easy to put together.

You can see my tank setup in this thread:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=806842

As a whole, these trucks are extremely easy to perform LS swaps on. 99-02 truck 5.3L’s being the easiest. I would recommend the Dirty Dingo sliders. 2010+ Camaro exhaust manifolds fit very well. A 99-02 Truck throttle cable works with very little modification. 99-02 truck upper and lower radiator hoses fit great. Oreilly’s has a stock replacement radiator that now has the option to thread on a barb for the steam port. You can use 99-02 power steering/hoses with CPP adapters to your steering box, or they will thread right in if you have a later box - minor bends necessary on some hoses, but they do work. LS alternator can be used with a simple adapter harness. It’s also easy to do dual oil pressure and coolant temp sensors to keep both your EFI system happy and stock gauges functional. If you have no body lift, the LS mechanical fan fits very well in the stock shroud.

Re: "Sweet Pea" 1975 Cheyenne 20
 

The intake. Throttle body. Fuel rails. Coil relocation. Accessory drive. Exhaust. Trans. It adds up quickly.

I have ZERO interest installing one as they come. I just don't care for the visual. I like them fine under the hood of a Tahoe; just not my old school ride.

The benefits of the modernization, but with the old school visual like gringoloco's truck isn't cheap.