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71 c10 ls swap, drop, and hopefully turbo

V30crewcab

V30crewcab

Well-known member
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
123
Messages
224
Loc
TN
I got a 71 c10 longbed, I recently did a 5.3/4l80 swap. I am planning on building a turbo setup on it soon I hope, and trying to figure out what gears to run in the rear. has 3.08 right now, but I was thinking 3.42, but not sure if 3.73 would work better? tires will be in the 28" height.
 

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That color combo on them white walls is fire Brother!

I'd run the 3.42 gear. The 3.08 will give it long legs, the 3.42 will help fuel mileage ( puts less load on the power train while it's pushing a brick through the wind. This has more to do with frontal area and leading edges of the body than anything) the 3.73 will make it fun for stop light runs but it will drive more towards the violent side of things.

Can't wait to see the journey to the end result on this!
 
I've had this truck for several years. it ran and drove fine, but it was a stock 307/th350, and the exhaust was rusting off, it was in black primer with the white roof, and I got tired of it that way. the plan always was ls and turbo, but I got in a hurry a few months back because the wife wanted to go on power tour, so I slammed the ls in stock, left the 308 rear, and blasted some basecoat on it. I missed the power tour with it by a day or two, because I jacked up an a/c fitting ,and I couldn't get the trans adapter junk to quit leaking.
So now I've got a $420 exhaust I hate, and lots of other things that will get changed. Exhaust shop talked me into 2 1/4 instead of 2 1/2, and turbo mufflers instead of quiet. it has a terrible drone at 1700 rpm and sounds horrible. plus its slow as hell with the 308 rear. my 04 tahoe will smoke this thing with its 3.73 rear.
I also added factory ac. tried to get a vintage air but they were 6months out, so I made the stock setup work with the factory ac compressor. I'll have to change that if I lower it more.
 

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It wouldn't surprise me if your Tahoe is heavier than the C-10, but the first gear in the 4L60E in the Tahoe is 3.06:1, vs. 2.48:1 in the 4L80E.

I agree on the whitewalls, they look good with the toothpaste color paint. :flipoff2: Are you going to leave the patina on the tailgate?

Pete
 
the tailgate will stay the way it is unless I find a better one. hard to find one not rusted to shit around here.
waiting on stock springs for the front so I can put the belltech spindles on. has 3" drop springs all the way around, and the front won't get any better than 1.5 negative camber. gotta get it driving better, its also sitting on the front bump stops, so really has no front suspension at the moment either.
 
been working on installing new balljoints, and drilling a new lineup hole for the lower control arm to move it forward for more caster. Gotta try to get the pass side done tomorrow and see if I can get it aligned. it had too much neg camber before.
 

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haven't had much time to spend on it lately, but figured I'd post a pic of the new seat I put in it. the stock one just wasn't comfortable. was too big and springy. this seat was real expensive but It was worth it.
Also had to buy new gauges since the 4l80 has no speedo cable output, so I spent a mint on a new set, the only ones I could find that actually look close to stock. I need to find time to wire them in, they are not plug and play!
 

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V30crewcab said:
haven't had much time to spend on it lately, but figured I'd post a pic of the new seat I put in it. the stock one just wasn't comfortable. was too big and springy. this seat was real expensive but It was worth it.
Also had to buy new gauges since the 4l80 has no speedo cable output, so I spent a mint on a new set, the only ones I could find that actually look close to stock. I need to find time to wire them in, they are not plug and play!
Click to expand...
is that a Snowden seat?
 
Yeah, I have been looking closely at his seats. Never seen one in person and was a little nervous about the quality and comfort.
 
well I did something to it and it seems to be running hot now. I had fan 1 disconnected from the computer and had the a/c controlling it. fan 2 was still run by the computer. moved it the other day blowing leaves, and left it running as the battery was weak. when I came back to it it was in the red, no fan running. shut it down, no coolant puking or anything.
hooked up fan 1 to the computer again today and drove it. fan came on fairly quick, and it started to move into the red again. cranked the heater and was able to run my errand and get back, but i think the thermostat hung or a head gasket has gone. not smoking out the tpipe or missing, so hope its just a thermostat. kind of wierd though.
still need to find time to wire in my new gauges, rebuild the 4l80, and drop in some 3.73 gears.
 
Forgot I was watching this thread. Really cool, man. Well, not the engine at the moment lol.

Pull the thermostat and run it? No bubbles under the radiator cap?

There's a C10 for sale on highway 13 just south of Higginsville, MO. that we pass by and I so wish I had the money to buy it.
 
gotta check it out today. overheating on a 40 degree day is not good though.
 
what is the stock fan on/off on this 03 computer? new thermostat seems to be the same, need to drive it and see when they are triggering.
 
haven't done much to this lately. I pulled the electric fans for the winter because they were both running full time when it warmed up. so I put a stock clutch fan on and been driving it. it likes to run around 212-216 all the time now. new water pump, rad is clean, new thermostat as well.
It was running in the driveway one day for awhile and the wires were loose on the fans and they didn't come on, so it got a little warm. shut it off, and its been running hotter ever since. no water/oil mixing though.
the trans is about to come out for a rebuild, and it will probably get a holley oil pan, different cam and lifters, and gap the rings for turbo. I guess I'll see if a head gasket is starting to let go at that point. it runs great though other than running warmer than it used to.
 
not sure how hot it got. was still running fine, not steaming out.
 
when I changed the water pump(did nothing different) I refilled it from the top hose into the block. how could it have an air pocket? the steam line is also going to the radiator.
 
V30crewcab said:
when I changed the water pump(did nothing different) I refilled it from the top hose into the block. how could it have an air pocket? the steam line is also going to the radiator.
Click to expand...
I usually rev any engine up as I fill the coolant. That always seems to get all air bubbles out (if that is indeed you case here). Still watch your thread, man. I so want me a C10. I should have gotten my grandparents C10 before they traded for a newer chevy.
 
I'm itching to get more done on this, but have a few things to finish up on the 55 pontiac airbag job before I can dig back into this deep.
 
Well the trans is out now, and in the back of the Tahoe so I can bomb it down to my friends this weekend and fix it. he's got another 4l80 he started building, so hopefully we just have to swap the output shaft from this one into that one and put it together. Hope its driving again by the end of next week. I drive this to lunch alot. My arm is a little sore cause it divebombed off the trans jack and hit me on the way to the concrete. I guess the shift linkage caught it or something.
 
Rest your arm brother. I truly dislike how shifty things can get with a transmission jack. Slow progress is still progress!
 
as long as I can still run the excavator I'll live! who needs a left arm anyhow! Its my fault, I should have had the strap on it, but no, who needs that.
headed down to my buddies tomorrow morning. hopefully I'll be rolling back sunday afternoon with a fresh one.
 
well the trans is back together and in. working great. stage 1 clutches and a shift correction kit, along with a 2200 stall converter. So far working great.
trans.jpg
trans case.jpg
vb.jpg
 
well the people can buy me parts to put on the turbos! still need alot of stuff before all that happens. probably be a few months for sure.
 
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