86 C10 LS 6.0 6L90E Swap

[kidd79]

Ok. So I bought a 2009 3/4 Ton 4x4 with the 6.0 in it, along with a 6L90E Trans for $1500, 88000 miles on it. Dad and I all ready yanked the seats and put them in his 89 1/2 ton 4x4. That was a simple swap.. Drilled a few holes in the floor and threw in some longer bolts. I am going to be attempting the ever popular swap here in a few weeks. I have all ready purchased the Dirty Dingo motor mounts. I have a leed on the tail shaft adapter setup ($500), and contacted JUSTCHEVYTRUCKS.com about dumbing down the wiring to go into my 86. Dirty dingo has sent me a list of some of the things that I will need to put the A/C back in my truck along with the motor and bracketry. Something about actually having working A/C in an old square body appeals to me. I hear that one could get a fuel sending unit from an 87 R10 Truck (The first year TBI setup I think) and a fuel pump from a 98 along with a regulator to maintain 58-60psi and keep my original fuel tank. What do you guys think about this combination (Motor and Trans with 3:73 gears,a locker and 255/45/20 Tires). I'm not good at calculating. Reckon it will be fun to drive? Also, after I do the swap, I should have a good front diff, transfer case, drive shaft and rear end up for grabs if you're in the NW corner of TN.
This will take a while to do as I work offshore in the Gulf of mexico and am gone a lot. But I'll post as much progress as I make, when I make it.

[KevinD85]

that should be a fun project I want to do a turbo ls swap c10 after I'm done with my 86 k10.

[kidd79]

This is my first LS swap. I've been doing a ton of reading on here. Keep us posted on your turbo build if you decide to do it.

[Houston Ben]

You won't regret it! Good looking truck and killer deal on the engine and trans!

[kidd79]

Originally Posted by Houston Ben

You won't regret it! Good looking truck and killer deal on the engine and trans!

Thanks bro. I'm definitely looking forward to the end result. Just have to get started, and buy lots of parts. My time frame for doing this is going to be limited by my budget. If I could sell my Harley and my camaro, it would definitely advance my budget and schedule.. LOL

[c10brian]

Originally Posted by kidd79

Thanks bro. I'm definitely looking forward to the end result. Just have to get started, and buy lots of parts. My time frame for doing this is going to be limited by my budget. If I could sell my Harley and my camaro, it would definitely advance my budget and schedule.. LOL

I'd like to hear more on the rear differential that might be up for grabs later.
Posted via Mobile Device

[kidd79]

Originally Posted by c10brian

I'd like to hear more on the rear differential that might be up for grabs later.
Posted via Mobile Device

The rear diff out of the 09 3/4 ton, i believe has 4:10 gears. I'm in no need of it after i pull the motor and trans. Just need it long enough to move the truck into my shop, and then roll it back out. Shoot, I'd let what's left of the whole donor truck go for $750 after i pull the motor and trans. I have a salvage title to it.

[Mtrhd329]

On my swap i used an 87 blazer tank. Any tbi tank will work. The ep381 pump will bolt in and the regulator on the fuel rails will keep your pressure in check. 3.73 rear gears and 275/45r17 tires it runs nice amd has plenty of power. Fuel lines were built using nylon line from amazon for 15 dollars and pressing in fitting liberated from the junkyard for a factory fit and connections

[kidd79]

Originally Posted by Mtrhd329

On my swap i used an 87 blazer tank. Any tbi tank will work. The ep381 pump will bolt in and the regulator on the fuel rails will keep your pressure in check. 3.73 rear gears and 275/45r17 tires it runs nice amd has plenty of power. Fuel lines were built using nylon line from amazon for 15 dollars and pressing in fitting liberated from the junkyard for a factory fit and connections

I ended up going on and getting a fuel sending unit from an 87 R10 truck, which is supposed to fit in my stock tank from what I've read. (Rock Auto $67) and I grabbed a stock fuel pump from a 98 chevy while I was on their site ($39), and installed it into the 87 sending unit. It fit like a glove, unfortunately all that is still in the box. I haven't had much time to do a lot with either truck, but i did get a few things done. I had my daughter with me the last month I was at home. She lives in La with her mom, and I get her one month during the summer, so i spent the majority of my time off with her.

I did however get a detroit locker installed in the rear end. Which was interesting. Found out the 388 that's currently in the truck has enough power to spin the back tires, but caused a lot of axle wrap and hopping.. NOT GOOD. Installed a new steering wheel, and side mirrors. Lowered the rear 2"s and the front 2 1/2. Shackles and spindles. This lead to a front end alignment. Which caused another issue. On the alignment rack my buddy and I noticed that the front coil springs had been heated at some point by one of the PO's after we put the front spindles on and tried to align it. Weeeeeeeeeeeellllllll I had to order some lowering springs and put the truck on the frame stretcher. The drivers side was shimmed out as far as it could go to line out the front, and was still 2° in... GRRRRRR!!! It'll be straight as a string though once we get done with the suspension. I got a nifty little package in from Dakota Digital and fired up the donor truck and drove it around in the yard a little bit, so that answered a few questions about the donor truck.. WOOHOO!!!!! Things are coming together slowly but surely.

[Advanced Design]

Nice truck, great project that I want to do too so I will be tagging along.

[kidd79]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Nice truck, great project that I want to do too so I will be tagging along.

Thanks bro.
aboard. This will be a terribly slow process, but i will post as much as i can when i can.

[chevy-fun]

kidd79 what center console is that. i have the same bucket seats. an looks like your center console is the right height for a cup holder an middle seat. maybe i could have a upholstery shop match it to the vinyl seats

[kidd79]

Originally Posted by chevy-fun

kidd79 what center console is that. i have the same bucket seats. an looks like your center console is the right height for a cup holder an middle seat. maybe i could have a upholstery shop match it to the vinyl seats

The center seat came out of a 2003 full size chevy. Picked it up on ebay for $250.. I know I could have gone to the pick n pull for a lot cheaper, but that one was in extremely nice shape and I was in a bit of a hurry to get the seats done up. I don't have a lot of patience.. Ebay's BUY IT NOW button is the devil. LOL. Check out my gallery, there are a few pics of it in there. I was debating on having mine re upholstered too. Haven't looked into it yet though.

[Advanced Design]

Originally Posted by kidd79

Thanks bro.
aboard. This will be a terribly slow process, but i will post as much as i can when i can.

Understood, you have a very long commute to work! Nice DD gauges too. Very happy with them in my 56 Chevy.

[kidd79]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Understood, you have a very long commute to work! Nice DD gauges too. Very happy with them in my 56 Chevy.

Thanks bro.
I have a sneaky feeling I'm going to like the gauges too. I think they fit the color scheme of the truck nicely. I'm only slightly color blind, but i think they match up pretty good. LOL.

[BamaDave]

Man, I wish I could find that drivetriain setup.....one heck of a price

[kidd79]

Originally Posted by BamaDave

Man, I wish I could find that drivetriain setup.....one heck of a price

I had to bug the guy for almost a year, to get the truck. He finally caved. :-)

[kidd79]

Weeeellll.. Sorry about the lack of posting updates on this. Life seems to have reared it's ugly head. Had to do some interior remodeling inside the living area. You know that pesky little place we all pay a mortgage on. I call the inside of my shop my house. I stay out there more then i stay in what regular people call their house. Not only that, I had to get a new air conditioning unit installed. Apparently the ruud unit I had that was as old as mud decided to finlly crap out. Yes fellas i heard the death rattle on that thing when it died. IT WAS CREEPY sounding. Buuuuuuuut 4k later, I finally have working A.C in the living area.
I did make some progress on the ole red shoe though. I installed some new 4 leaf springs out back, replacing the tired three leaf pack that was in there. Which raised up the rear 2".. was not planning on this phenomenon. Funny how new leaf springs stay arched... Weird I know. But it did stop the axle wrap that i was experiencing after installing the detroit locker. YAY! I'm thinking about firing the 2" lowering front coil springs to raise the front back up just a bit, so it doesn't look like i'm standing on the brakes all the time. (You know, nose down in the front). Got some fuel fittings for the corvette filter and sending unit. Picked up a phanton grille from eBay for $80 free shipping, and a chin spoiler from LMC, and new headlights with the heavy duty relay wiring kit. It was kind of cheesy, but I will rework that later on. Lights are bright though. Can't really complain. Got all that put in. Almost forgot. I ended up going through hotrodlane.cc for the tailshaft and yoke conversion for the donor 6L90e 4x4 to 2wd trans parts. They are at the house, and I'm still offshore. Don't have pics of those just yet... :-/ Here are the pics of what I did get done while I was home though. (Caution: May be considered car p*rn)

[kidd79]

Note the dust on the hood, and the donor truck in the pic.. Yeah. It's still gonna happen!!

[kidd79]

I'm starting to think this is going to take a lot longer than originally anticipated. Still haven't gotten around to pulling the donor motor and trans yet. Life seems to still be getting in the way. Had my daughter with me up in TN this last time home, so I spent all the time we had together hanging out with her. Had a lot of fun riding 4 wheelers, going out to eat, and to the movies. But I did get some progress done. Ordered some stock coil springs for the front, and some coil over shocks to go all the way around, now the front end is back where it was originally, but done correctly with the drop spindles. Also found that the 388 that's in there has a chunk missing from the #4 piston and it keeps hitting the spark plug. Gonna have to fix that before I sell that motor to anyone. Also the chimney on my living area (house for normal folk) is leaking and insurance said they aren't going to cover it due to no wind/hail damage.... Pretty sure the 70+ mph wind storm we had was the culprit on shifting the chimney away from the roof. Could be wrong though, but highly doubtful. Anyways, here is a pic of the final stance on the truck, and the new front coil springs. Installation took about an hour with one jack and me by myself. One of these days I'll pull the donor motor and trans out of the donor truck and start this swap. Anyone that wants to come help out is more than welcome to. I got a spare bedroom and I'll supply the beer Oh and the 2wd tail shaft housing kit and yoke came in from Hotrod lane. That was around $800 if you were wondering. Pics of the motor that's coming out if anyone wanted to see it.

[Tilt]

Have you seen the Tejas Steel Works motor mounts? They let you keep the the A/C comp in the factory location instead of having to spend more money on the brackets and stuff to move it. They also set the motor high enough that the truck oil pan sits about flush with the cross member, so you can save some more money there by not having to swap the oil pan/pick up/dip stick.

[kidd79]

Originally Posted by Tilt

Have you seen the Tejas Steel Works motor mounts? They let you keep the the A/C comp in the factory location instead of having to spend more money on the brackets and stuff to move it. They also set the motor high enough that the truck oil pan sits about flush with the cross member, so you can save some more money there by not having to swap the oil pan/pick up/dip stick.

No sir, I haven't seen those. I'll check them out. Currently have a set of dirty dingo mounts sitting in a box in my shop. But hey, if a different set of mounts will save me some much needed swap funds, it's worth a look. Thanks for the heads up on the Tejas Steel Works mounts!

[Tilt]

I used the Dirty Dingo mounts also, but wish I would have taken the time to go back and swap them out to the Tejas mounts. He also makes a nice aluminum fan shroud for dual fans, and a trans cross member.

[77c10]

I like your truck! I'm knee deep in swapping a 6.0 and 4L80E into my 77. Do you happen to remember the part numbers on the sending unit and fuel pump that you ordered? What are you going to run for fuel lines?

[kidd79]

Originally Posted by 77c10

I like your truck! I'm knee deep in swapping a 6.0 and 4L80E into my 77. Do you happen to remember the part numbers on the sending unit and fuel pump that you ordered? What are you going to run for fuel lines?

I got the pump and sending unit from rock auto.
Part#'s
Fuel pump P988K $37.79
Sending unit SP05M1H $61.79

I have stainless braided 3/8" Russell fuel lines that I picked up at summit racing.
Hope that helps get you to where you wanna be bro!!