$3,000 budget, advice?

Uncle Ben · Oct 20, 2019

Well I didn’t really get what I was hoping for, so this is what I put together myself. Please feel free to make suggestions. So far this is all bolt on, and should be easy to do on my own.

Exhaust $1,725

JBA stainless, ceramic coated headers $558.79 (summit racing)

magnaflow direct fit stainless high flow cats $460.56 (summit racing)

Magnaflow stainless exhaust $706.34 (summit racing)

Electric fan setup $900

Flex-a-lite fan kit $450 (summit racing)

high amp alternator $349 (power ********)

big three power cable upgrade $100

ECU tune

black bear performance tune $345

For a grand total of $2,970! What do you guys think?

b454rat · Oct 20, 2019

Doing all that, I dont' think your gonna see a whole lot. You can get Mark 8 or whatever car it is at a junkyard and save yourself $425, and will prolly pull more. IMO, don't need a huge altenator or bigger cables inless plan on one hell of a stereo. Even then I think it's pointless. I have a nice system in my Yukon and have the stock alternator. Same with my 08 Tundra, never had any charging issues. I just replaced the original battery in it last year. System has been in it for most of the time. The tune will prolly be the biggest improvement.

L31MaxExpress · Oct 20, 2019

Uncle Ben said:
Well I didn’t really get what I was hoping for, so this is what I put together myself. Please feel free to make suggestions. So far this is all bolt on, and should be easy to do on my own.

Exhaust $1,725

JBA stainless, ceramic coated headers $558.79 (summit racing)

magnaflow direct fit stainless high flow cats $460.56 (summit racing)

Magnaflow stainless exhaust $706.34 (summit racing)

Electric fan setup $900

Flex-a-lite fan kit $450 (summit racing)

high amp alternator $349 (power ********)

big three power cable upgrade $100

ECU tune

black bear performance tune $345

For a grand total of $2,970! What do you guys think?

That is way over spending on the exhaust system.

Long tubes, Thunder bolt 2.5" cats, magnaflow dual in, single out muffler, 3" tailpipe. Should be able to get it all bent up and welded by an exhaust shop and be well under $1500.

I would not spend more than $50 on an alternator. Grab a Junkyard 145a AD244 off a 5.3 Tahoe or Suburban in the bone yard.

Electric fans are not really a good upgrade. I have done them.

I would suggest these upgrades instead.

0411 PCM swap.
Volant Cold Air Intake
March 3 piece underdrive pulleys

I also like removing the EGR diffuser blade on the throttle body.

The stock Vortec cam and springs are garbage for performance. Pull the heads, swap on some Comp 787 retainers and LS6 blue valve springs, drill out the pushrod holes to 1/2". Get a small cam like the Elgin E1136 and put 1.6 roller rockers on it. Bolt the heads back on it with 0.16" compressed steel shim head gaskets. I bet you cod do those upgrades for less than $800.

Uncle Ben · Oct 20, 2019

Is a spider upgrade needed for the 411pcm swap?

What’s the cost to source a 411 and load it with the correct tune and clear vats?

Also is a 411 swap better than the black bear tune?

Uncle Ben · Oct 20, 2019

L31MaxExpress said:
That is way over spending on the exhaust system.

Long tubes, Thunder bolt 2.5" cats, magnaflow dual in, single out muffler, 3" tailpipe. Should be able to get it all bent up and welded by an exhaust shop and be well under $1500.

I would not spend more than $50 on an alternator. Grab a Junkyard 145a AD244 off a 5.3 Tahoe or Suburban in the bone yard.

Electric fans are not really a good upgrade. I have done them.

I would suggest these upgrades instead.

0411 PCM swap.
Volant Cold Air Intake
March 3 piece underdrive pulleys

I also like removing the EGR diffuser blade on the throttle body.

The stock Vortec cam and springs are garbage for performance. Pull the heads, swap on some Comp 787 retainers and LS6 blue valve springs, drill out the pushrod holes to 1/2". Get a small cam like the Elgin E1136 and put 1.6 roller rockers on it. Bolt the heads back on it with 0.16" compressed steel shim head gaskets. I bet you cod do those upgrades for less than $800.

If I was going to pull the heads and go through all the work, are there a better set of heads that I could bolt on instead of the factory heads.

also is it possible to pull the heads and cam while the engine is still in the truck? Or would I be better off to pull the engine to do the work?

L31MaxExpress · Oct 20, 2019

Uncle Ben said:
Is a spider upgrade needed for the 411pcm swap?

What’s the cost to source a 411 and load it with the correct tune and clear vats?

Also is a 411 swap better than the black bear tune?

Tuned 0411 is better than a tuned black box IMO.

Spider upgrade is not required but generally I find a new MFI spider runs better than an old worn out stock spider regardless what PCM/Tune it is running on.

Talk with Lextech or BlackBear.

L31MaxExpress · Oct 20, 2019

Uncle Ben said:
If I was going to pull the heads and go through all the work, are there a better set of heads that I could bolt on instead of the factory heads.

also is it possible to pull the heads and cam while the engine is still in the truck? Or would I be better off to pull the engine to do the work?

Edelbrock Etec 170 is the best bolt on head for the money. AFR makes a 190cc Vortec street head as well but it is a good bit more coin. I assembled a set of Assault racing castings that could be duplicated for about $850 for the pair that blow stock Vortecs out of the water but the port size is better suited to a 383+ CID engine.

I would pull the engine. Roll in a set of bearings and reseal it all.

If your plans include the stock truck intake, stay under 220° @ 0.050 on the intake. 108-110 LSA. You want peak torque to come in quick and make your power before the intake chokes you off above 5,200 rpm. If you port the intake you can get about 5,500 rpm out of it but not much more.

Erik the Awful · Oct 20, 2019

"That is way over spending on the exhaust system."
I was thinking the same thing, but he's up in Canada, so corrosion is probably a concern.

All the engine ideas are great, but from what he said above, he's looking for bolt-ons.

Uncle Ben · Oct 21, 2019

I like the idea of Cams and heads, but at the same time if I’m going to have to pull the engine, put two grand into an old engine that may need work because it’s 20+ years old, I’d rather just replace it with a 383 crate engine.

I’m more leaning towards the exhaust because if I do replace the engine with a 383, this should help it breath better.

Anyone running a 383 crate engine in a 96?

rangrayy · Oct 21, 2019

Chevy Performance long block from summit NAL-12681432 $2,009.99

Chevy Performance Hyd Roller Cam from summit NAL-14097395 $219.05

Alex’s upgraded valve springs $119.50

That puts you at $2,348.54 and summit always have promo codes for money off.

That’s my plans for my worn out 98 with 263,000 miles.

$3,000 budget, advice?

Uncle Ben

I'm Awesome

b454rat

I'm Awesome

L31MaxExpress

I'm Awesome

Uncle Ben

I'm Awesome

Uncle Ben

I'm Awesome

L31MaxExpress

I'm Awesome

L31MaxExpress

I'm Awesome

Erik the Awful

Supporting Member

Uncle Ben

I'm Awesome

rangrayy

OBS Enthusiast

Similar threads

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Share this page