1971 C10

[jws]

I'm breaking this truck all the way down currently and figuring out power train. Its has a gm goodwrench 350 with 350th trans. It sounds great but is a slug. I want this truck to be FAST. I want fuel injection as well. I see they make fuel injection conversions. Would this combo be worth building or should I just buy a crate motor/trans combo? LS swap? In the process off fixing body so LS swap would need to change trans crossmember and motor mounts. Better to do all that with body on frame. My current thinking is blueprint efi stroker with 700r4 trans. Need to plan a rear end as well. Any advice? LS is what Ive always wanted to do but I feel like it takes away from the nostalgia. Plus an LS would need electronic shift trans and I'm not too in tune with setting all this up.

[Luvin' Labs]

KRT can do the LS swap.

[bbhntr48]

I had a 71 with the 327. If you plan to drive regularly, I would do the LS swap.

[Fireman]

You can do an ls swap with any trans. Just buy a Holley stand alone wiring kit such as the terminator to run the engine instead of using the factory stuff. LS Swaps are a dime a dozen, it is not near as frowned upon now as it used to be and as far as drivability it cannot be beat. Just know its not as "cheap" as people say it is online. Pair a 6.0 LS with a turbo400 trans with a manual valve body, a good chop cam, and start smoking the tires. Also it needs exhaust dumps for open header rips to piss off the neighbors.

Don't be scared of the tuning. Plenty of people have it figured out. They can do it remotely these days. They will send you a base tune to get it running and driving. They have you plug in a laptop, drive it around, and they adjust it remotely.

[Gone South]

The cheapest and most complete is find a suburban/silverado donor vehicle with a 5.3/6.0/6.2 and 4l60/4l80/6l80 and use the controller and engine harness. Minimal tuning, krt can disable the theft security and anything else you want. Obviously that’s the high level explanation. An LSA blower on a 6.0 makes decent power.

[wbrown609]

It is all about budget.

[CurLee]

LS is what Ive always wanted to do but I feel like it takes away from the nostalgia.

I would agree, but then so does adding EFI to a SBC (and theres nothing necessarily wrong with either).

What are your plans for the rest of the build : trim, paint, suspension, etc.?

[CurLee]

I've got a 69 and always wanted to build a 400 SBC de-stroked to a 373. I'll save that for a retirement project though and keep the old 307 plugging along for now...

[SwampDecoy]

Computer on the LS Swap does all the Setup/Tuning for you. KRT is the Man!

[Short_track_champ]

Cheap build - I'd look for a crate that fits ur bill.

No cost factor - LS swap

Lets see some pic's of this baby

My dream to to build a '68 with some old Latemodel parts.

[jws]

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[jws]

Current state of affairs

[Short_track_champ]

Pretty cool.

Bet that rocker replacement is a fun job.

Good luck with your project and hit us up with some update pictures as you progress.

[FishSticker]

383, if you want to stay small block with a Holley Sniper on top, in front of a TH350. Benefits of EFI with the simplicity of a one wire setup.

If you want to really roll out, drop a TSP 427(with a Sniper) in front of a TH400.

[mudflat]

LS

[jws]

Have one side of the cab together. Still need to do some welding and grinding but at least one side looks like a complete cab. Luckily the other side isnt near as bad so should expedite things a little.
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[ecu1984]

I like these threads

[jws]

Here's a few timeline photos of where I am now. Went ahead and freshened up the 350 that was in it and did sniper stealth efi, hyperspark distributor, coil, ignition. Mild cam, lifters, pushrods, roller rockers, aluminum heads/intake. Put a 2700 stall converterter in and locker in the rear. After pricing all of the upgrades, it turns out I did have a budget so transmission and crate motor will have to wait until I save a few pennies. Was able to fire it up this weekend so that felt good. Removed the rain rail around the windsheild and top of doors. Will put doors on and line them up to finish. Then wiring, ac lines, brake booster and paint.

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[jws]

Oh, did coilovers all around and will probably have to do tubular upper control arms after seeing how the front looks after adjusting.

[2thDoc]

i have no clue what any of this is but it looks like you're having a ball doing it!