5.7 vortec to 6.0 swap

My 96 k2500 has a 5.7 with 4l60e I would like to swap to 6.0 4l80e can't find a thread on this I'm sure some of u have done it any info would be great thanks.

IMHO, a stock 6.0L will be a dog in that truck.

The gearing of the 4L80E gives them a laggy feeling. But with a good tune and a good torque converter makes all the difference. Stock 4l80e torque converter weighs about 85#. Something like a circle d 258mm 2800 stall that weighs 35# makes quite a difference.

You can buy adapters so the engine bolts right in. The transfer case will need a 4L80E input gear. I think you can drill holes in the frame to bolt the transmission crossmember in.
Front driveshaft you can buy one from a junk yard or get one made.
Rear driveshaft will need to be shortened about 1-3/4".
Can buy a harness that will run the engine and trans and interface with the 1996 truck so gauges and stuff works.

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I have a friend that did a cammed 6.0L swap into his 97 C1500. It has a ton of $$$ in it and still does not impress me. Went 8.90s in the 1/8. LQ4 6.0L, ported/milled 862s, 224/232 @ .050 cam, trailblazer SS intake, long tubes, 2,800 stall, 3.90 gears. For what he has in it the thing is not impressive. Considering a F-car LT1 cam in a L31, a S10 converter, long tubes and a Volant intake took my brothers 99 Suburban to a 9.20 1/8. His trap speed was about 78-79 mph vs the 76-77 of the heavier Suburban.

Its all in the setup also.
I would have ran a higher converter with that size cam. Plus a cheap 2800 Stall compared to a quality 2800 makes all the difference.
And those 862s arent a great choice for the 6.0, If they are milled it might be mid low 10 compression but they arent going to flow what a 317 will. Compression would help the low end but the flow wouldnt make the top end power.
Ive fixed some tunes in trucks with heads/cam setups and have seen over half second difference in a poor tune to a proper tune.

My old 2000 extended cab silverado (5.3/60E/3.42/275-60-16 Tire) went 9.4-9.45 1/8s bone stock with just a tune.

But maybe he isnt going to be racing this thing but daily driving it and just wants the 6.0/80E.

RDF1 said:

Its all in the setup also.
I would have ran a higher converter with that size cam. Plus a cheap 2800 Stall compared to a quality 2800 makes all the difference.
And those 862s arent a great choice for the 6.0, If they are milled it might be mid low 10 compression but they arent going to flow what a 317 will. Compression would help the low end but the flow wouldnt make the top end power.
Ive fixed some tunes in trucks with heads/cam setups and have seen over half second difference in a poor tune to a proper tune.

My old 2000 extended cab silverado (5.3/60E/3.42/275-60-16 Tire) went 9.4-9.45 1/8s bone stock with just a tune.

But maybe he isnt going to be racing this thing but daily driving it and just wants the 6.0/80E.

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I would have run a different cam and a higher stall speed also.

It is a quality $$$$ converter but even then the factory GM B82 converter beats most aftermarkets in terms of actual torque multiplication. Sure it is heavy and only stalls 2,200-2,400 rpm but the dual stator element helps power through that tall 1st gear from 0-30 mph.

Tune is spot on for the setup, its just a dog off the line.

Ported 862s flow every bit as well as 317s or any other cathederal port option. It has been well proven. The square port heads are lazy under 4,500 rpm even on a 6.2 also.

My buddy did not build a drag truck either. It is a daily.

With that much truck to haul around I would have a hard time not swapping in an 8.1. If you use the Express van/GMT400 3500HD brackets it is practically a bolt in swap.