K1500 engines from GM include 454, and other related questions

[someotherguy]

One silly question: The truck discussed above is a GMC. Is it possible they have offered different option packages than Chevy, despite the building blocks being the same?

No difference between Chevy and GMC since the 1960's.

So that guy posted multiple ads and another ad says it's a 4l80. Also reverse only is a 4l80 failure I've seen a couple times before. Maybe I'll try to get ahold of him. I could use a parts truck....

Either he swapped a 454/4L80E from a heavier truck, or the ad is just wrong. VIN/SPID we'd know the story. Hit him up..

Richard

 

[Black_cirrus]

I talked to the guy, he sold the truck so no vin number, but he says it's factory. I guess this mystery can't be confirmed. Said it had the 14 bolt rear, so my limited knowledge of the 454ss's all the parts were available in 6 lug trucks it's just did the factory every build any? I know they built 8 lug 1500s with the diesel engine.

 

[someotherguy]

so my limited knowledge of the 454ss's all the parts were available in 6 lug trucks

Huh?

Richard

 

[Black_cirrus]

Huh?

Richard

4l80 and 9.5" 14 bolt were in the 7200gvw trucks.

 

[someotherguy]

4l80 and 9.5" 14 bolt were in the 7200gvw trucks.

Incorrect. 700R4/4L60/4L60E. No 4L80E. Source: I've owned 3 or 4 of these trucks and seen many more.

Richard

 

[jdla140]

I talked to the guy, he sold the truck so no vin number, but he says it's factory. I guess this mystery can't be confirmed. Said it had the 14 bolt rear, so my limited knowledge of the 454ss's all the parts were available in 6 lug trucks it's just did the factory every build any? I know they built 8 lug 1500s with the diesel engine.

1500 diesel trucks are 6 lug. Even 7200 GVWR 2500 Diesels are 6 lug, the only 8 lug 1500 diesel is in a suburban.

7200 GVWR does not mean it has a 4l80E. Basically, if it has 6 lugs and a gas engine it's got a 700R4/4l60E. Even the N/A diesels had 4l60's.

The 14 bolt rear is about the only thing the 454SS had in common with other 1500's. I find it very hard to believe a 454 was ever offered in a LD2500. I've only ever seen a LD2500 with a diesel or a small block.

Sounds like the OP is working around some very strict laws, I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Mike Napolitano]

Hi,

due to various vehicle modification laws it's required in some places (like where I live) to show you're not putting an unsafely powerful engine in your car or truck when doing an engine swap. For this reason, factory reference applications are useful for showing it can be done safely, because the factory has already done it.

So I have some questions that I hope someone could answer:

-Did GM ever put out a K1500 series GMT400 with a 454 of any sort?
-Apparently K2500 was certainly supplied with 454, is it true that non-HD 2500 is just a 1500 with bigger axles, torsion bars and springs so this could be seen as comparable?
- The C1500 did come with 454 in the SS version, but besides the main point of not having 4WD and coil springs in the front, are there any known differences?
- In 1996 Vortec engines with greatly increased power were introduced, there were at this point ABS and airbags added as safety features, but are there any other improvements affecting vehicle dynamics (I mean, refurbished interior does not count)?

Any assistance is appreciated - if any credible sources can be mentioned, even better - because the way it goes over here is there isn't a way to get a definitive answer whether something is comparable or not before you've actually completed the engine swap, and at that point it's a pretty dire situation to be pulling the engine out again and putting the old lump back because it can't be approved.

Yes they did, a while ago I worked on a 1994 chevy k1500 pick up with 6ft bed step side with a 454 in it

 

[someotherguy]

Yes they did, a while ago I worked on a 1994 chevy k1500 pick up with 6ft bed step side with a 454 in it

Doesn't make it factory original. We need a higher standard of proof than you saw one/worked on one. Anybody can swap one in.

I built a 1994 3500HD with a 7.4 Vortec. I used every single factory part that I possibly could. If you saw the truck or worked on it, you might have sworn it came from the factory that way. Doesn't mean it was true. Obviously a 1994 couldn't have come with a Vortec 7.4, and the VIN would have revealed it started life as a 6.5TD.

Richard

 

[Schurkey]

You can look at USA Chevy/GMC truck production, but I don't think you'll find anything satisfactory. Perhaps I'm wrong.

"I" would be looking at "special production", perhaps for military use, or trucks produced for export where US emissions and fuel-economy standards don't apply.

What trucks with which engines were sent to Saudi Arabia, for example. Oil money plus no EPA to deal with, might result in higher-horsepower vehicles.

The military might have purchased 454s in K1500s for some special purpose. Again, the EPA probably isn't involved in that sort of procurement.

You might be able to make a case that the C1500 is functionally the same as a K1500, the front brake rotors and calipers should be the same size, same swept area. Rear brakes should be the same. The suspension might be different in front, but that shouldn't be a safety factor. Are tire sizes the same between C and K? There'd be additional weight of the 4WD system, again they might not consider that to affect the safety of the vehicle, just the load-carrying capacity.

 

[stratton]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-Chevy...rentrq:b6be388f1620a9c51cd34119fff9141e|iid:1

would this help ?