chevy 350 upgrade this yr!! any ideas or input would be nice please?

J

jmccawley96

New member
gonna start with a 2 inch body lift and 2in susp lift any other tips on what i should do so shes ready for that 350? I was thinking about using a early 90's 350 w/700r throttle body? any ideas guys?

thanks for your time!!
 
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If its an HEI motor, get a sledge hammer. You'll want to knock the firewall back about 2-3". If the truck has IFS you most likely want to go to SAS. A large 3 core radiator is nearly essential. You'll want to mount the motor as low in the engine bay as possible. Really there are a million things you can do or need to do; depending on every other part you want to use with it. Like what tranny/tcase but seems the big thing for you at this point is research... Be sure you know what your getting in to. I've put a few diff motors in these trucks and knowing what your whole motor and drivetrain is going to be in the end is the best way to get excellent results.
 
jmccawley96 said:
gonna start with a 2 inch body lift and 2in susp lift any other tips on what i should do so shes ready for that 350? I was thinking about using a early 90's 350 w/700r throttle body? any ideas guys?

thanks for your time!!
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While I would never claim to be an expert on much of anything, I have done this swap (as SV Dude mentioned), and would be happy to pass along any info. Another good source in here is Gonovr (call him Nate)--he has done more than I have, and has helped me on my own project. Start with that thread that SV Dude listed, then see what other questions you may have. It was a difficult swap for me, since I didn't have a donor vehicle--I had to piece everything together from scratch--but in the end, it made for one very fun truck!
 
jmccawley96 said:
...I was thinking about using a early 90's 350 w/700r throttle body? any ideas guys?

thanks for your time!!
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Do you maybe mean a 700R4 auto trans? If so that's a good choice, it has a real low first gear and can be had with a lock-up torque converter.
If you are using a 700R4, what t-case do you plan on using with it?
 
A 2" or more BL will definetly help, and you will need to beef up the front suspension for the weight as well as lift.
An older carbed 350 will be a lot easier to install, an EFI engine will require all the sensors, wiring, ECM, etc for the EFI to be swapped in too.

Advance Adapters has a lot of parts that will help make the swap a lot easier.
 
The good about a 350 is that there are a ton of options and ways to build it while making everything fit in your yota. The bad thing is that its big. You may want to look at a chevy 4.3L, V6. Or a buick 3.8L V6.

I know being able to say your rig is slinging 8 pistons of pure American power is cool, but those two V6's are extreamly reliable and VERY strong. Not to mintion they fit in your truck like a glove! The 4.3 uses nearly everythiñg the 5.7(350) dose and most parts are a bolt on deal if it works with a 350.. Like a 700r4 tranny.. Back that up with a NP205 tcase or atlas tcase and you have a simple winner.. I know less about the 3.8, but understand its very close in most regaurds. Either one stock is at or near 200hp, and thats plenty for DD and very heavy wheeling, they both produce allot of torque.
 
After having dealt with the V8, I would tend to agree with BURNINGAIR's suggestion regarding the 4.3--it is a very strong engine, there are tons of mods to make it even more so, and as he stated, it is basically a small-block V8 with 2 cylinders lopped off, so external parts for one often fit the other. The primary problem with the 350 is the length front-to-back, and the primary difference between that and the 4.3 is the V6 is shorter front-to-back, making it an ideal swap. I do not share the same enthusiasm for the 3.8, however--it is an odd-fire engine that has vibration issues, whereas the 4.3 is a 90 degree V with perfect primary balance, and the 4.3 is much stronger right out of the box. If given a similar choice again, I would highly consider the 4.3 over the 350 for this application.
 
KidVermicious said:
So whatever was the deal with the Buick 3.8l, why was that swap so popular once upon a time?
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It came out before the 4.3, and at the time was the best option when swapping out a wimpy 4-banger--it IS a relatively strong engine, and has lots of aftermarket support because of its head-start on the other. It's just when compared head-to-head, the 4.3 is a better design.
 
transfer case

4WD1 i am not surre i which transfer case yet i am in the midst of doing research to see what engine to use 5.7 or 4.3l. erither the case what would be my options for transfer cases?
 
a ford engine is an easier swap, you dont have to mess with clearancing the firewall for the distributor. and its lighter.

im running a 302/c4 with toyota dual cases. its fun! :D
 
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