Brothajack93
I'm Awesome
That actually is very helpful and I think I’m going to go with what you and most of the other suggestions consider to Be the most efficient way to add a little more power for purposes of towing…. I definitely don’t need to get too crazy on the power so I think the simple swap to 6.0/4l80 would suit my needs and by the sounds of it make me possibly more fuel efficient or not much noticeable difference. Better capability without chugging a bunch more fuel sounds perfect. Sorry I haven’t been on in a while I’ve been pretty busy with work and stuff. When attempting to start the tear down on the truck I realized there’s a lot more I need to do first. Might even involve a whole new project as this one’s chassis is too far gone. At best I can use the cab and bed to learn the body panel patching for future projects and if I don’t find a chassis for it after that I can consider selling them to help someone with their rotted body issues. If I can find a c2500 roller chassis though I might go that route to beef up the truck even more without having to invest in a bigger truck just yet. Might even consider taking on the alterations required for a k2500 swap but my mechanic co worker and I need to do a little more research on that one. I know it’s not exactly practical but at this point it seems the entire purchase wasn’t very practical so at this point it’s more about the lessons I’ve learned/will learn and building some of the skills I’ve always wanted with it. Taking a bad situation and putting in the work to make something good out of it. Whether it be this truck restored or a cleaner one I buy from out west in better shape the LS swap sounds like it’s a really good upgrade all around and will help make whatever old Chevy I build more capable. I appreciate all the knowledge and advice. Yours especiallyMy 6.0 LQ4/4L80 is at 250k. Everything is original and I got it from the PO at 225k. He's a car enthusiast and owned a collection of Corvettes and F bodies with his friend. Really nice guy. He used the truck to tow his cars across the country. I was thinking OP was interested in a Gen III swap, since that's what makes more sense and everyone does.
I see 800/900 2500HD trucks with that engine for sale all the time with 300k, some as much as 400k+, which seems crazy to me, but that's what they have. And those are work trucks, so they get pushed hard and rack up probably millions of miles altogether every year. Same for the 2500/3500 03+ work vans. I'm glad GM leaves the HDs trucks pretty old school.
Even 20 years ago it was kinda of feat for an engine to hit 100k. Now, that's more like 200k or more.
Yeah, the 1500 Gen IV LS engines have that DOD system and those complications and issues. The best you can do is a DOD delete on those. It basically reverts it back to a Gen III.
OP, I hope this is good, honest advice for pros and cons and experiences. I think it's good you have lot's options. Let us know if you have any more questions and good luck with your project.