Am I Crazy? (GM truck content)

Okay, don't answer that.

So, I have this plain jane '88 GMC 1500 that I really like. Just an honest work truck. So, of course I want to do bad things to it.

I'd really like to build it into a bit of a sleeper - keep the utility cap on the bed, tired (or at least refreshed stock) paint, maybe the slightest little drop, but with some guts underhood.

This '77 "farm truck" is truly inspiring.

Obvious answers include LSx or good ol' BBC, and that's all well and good. However, I have this 460 Ford motor on a stand, half rebuilt, that should be good for around 500hp/tq with very little work... You see where I'm going with this.

How bad an idea is this? I'd obviously be in for a fair amount of fab work, and I'd have to hook up the right transmission (probably a C6, since the 460 would probably grenade a T5 and a T56 is too spendy for me). Then there's the obvious sacrilege of the Blue Oval wearing a Bow Tie, but that actually goes in the Pro column for me.

Talk me out of this.

FWIW I had a chevy 400 small block in a 79 Ford F250 so you will just be equalizing the balance.

DoooItttttt

I'd hate to pass up the opportunity to restore balance to the universe.

Slightly off topic question: did the 4L60 ever have a 454 in front of it? Just researching my options here.

Sounds like fun to me. I'm not biased in any way, but I will mention that I have an '85 C-30 Dooley that is in fantastic condition, and I'm looking to drop some (more) money into it pretty soon.

I was gonna suggest something about a duramax, but it would kill the whole sleeper thing you're going for since everyone expects them to be fast anymore.

To make matters worse, I have this fantasy of building the thing enough to warrant a full cage that's triangulated to the rear of the frame, hidden under the utility cap and painted the same drab tan as the exterior, so as to not arouse suspicion to anybody poking their head in the cab. That, though, would be my HPDE version of the fantasy build, with a Hotchkiss TVS front end (or maybe a custom tubular front subframe with a-arms, dropped way low, and with the entire front end replicated in fiberglass to help with weight balance. Naturally, that would get an LS9/T56.

God help me.

He is. He's sent you here, so we can all say do it and get you started.

alex wrote: Talk me out of this.

I doubt that anyone on here would do anything to discourage you.

DO IT!

alex wrote: I'd hate to pass up the opportunity to restore balance to the universe. Slightly off topic question: did the 4L60 ever have a 454 in front of it? Just researching my options here.

All the 454s I've seen were backed by the 4L80 but that's by no means a definitive answer.

The truck in the vid isn't a 77. It's a '68-'72. I have a '77 and a '78. They both came with 454's from the factory. I can tell you that to build a sleeper, that's all you need to start with, not that something else won't work. A 4l60 will never live behind a healthy 454.

I want one of the shortbed Dodge Warlocks with a factory 440.

Build it up with highway gears and three speed column shift. Stupidly high top speed here I come.

I was thinking of similar project ona smaller scale - a Ford Courier with a high-boost 2.3l and Tbird IRS....even the hidden cage idea....

so do it already!

I was impressed 23 years ago by Corn Yella. It was a 1972 Chevy 1/2 ton long box, 400ci, three on the tree and a coilspring rear suspension. That mutha got down in a straight line. Stopping and turning were hair raising. It was owned by a mechanic at the dealership where I worked. We burned up a pile of used tires on it.

a 4-speed manual M22 muncie should hold up to a big block with proper prep work and be cheaper than a T56. For Auto I'd go TH400. If you're just drag racing, you don't need overdrive. Proper gear and tire size selection should get you livable hi-way RPM.

Did anyone notice the red Triumph that beat it?

Gearheadotaku wrote: Did anyone notice the red Triumph that beat it?

I noticed the noise it was making.

If you thought you'd ask the guys at GRM to talk you out of dropping an engine in your truck that's way more than what's necessary or safe-- then you'd better keep surfin' the 'net.

In reply to Gearheadotaku:

You mean M22 + BBC, right? Or are they mated to 460s commonly?

Gearheadotaku wrote: Did anyone notice the red Triumph that beat it?

I wonder if that was the stock powerplant?

1988RedT2 wrote:

Gearheadotaku wrote: Did anyone notice the red Triumph that beat it?

I wonder if that was the stock powerplant?

in something, sure. But I'm bettin' it weren't no triumph!

alex wrote: In reply to Gearheadotaku: You mean M22 + BBC, right? Or are they mated to 460s commonly?

BBC + M22 if you want to keep it in the family. If you're going Ford power, (sacrilege! ) I'm not sure what 4-speed they used behind their big blocks, T10 maybe?

My Ford 390 is mated to a New Process 435

Manuals in the trucks with a 460 are all cast-iron monters. Never was a true 429-460 based BB 1/2 ton truck. Only were available in the 3/4 tons and up. Newer versions were an alum cased ZF deal.

Now if you want to talk the cars, they were almost always Toploaders.

Sell 460. Buy 8100/4L80e and a cam/tune. Done.

8100? That thing is a pig, and not the best platform to build on either.

ultraclyde wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote:

Gearheadotaku wrote: Did anyone notice the red Triumph that beat it?

I wonder if that was the stock powerplant?

in something, sure. But I'm bettin' it weren't no triumph!

image kinda grainy large screen, TR-4 or TR-6 w/ obvious V8... popular swap is 5.0.. or FTW an LS