383mazda
Newbie
Hi,
First time poster - My father and I are both hot rodders. He grew up in the muscle car era of the 60/70's and I cut my teeth on a Buick Turbo Regal. We've done a few small block swaps on Rx7's and Volvo 240's.
My dad has two Big Blocks sitting on stands in his shop, a 427 (500hp) and a 496 (680hp). We've been looking for something to put them into. Any "muscle cars" are pretty much out of question due to cost, so I've been trying to think outside of the box - which brings me to the boxiest vehicle I could think of, lol.
A friend of mine had a 454ss clone back in the day and I always loved how that truck looked, so I hopped on FB the other day and searched for "Silverado." Right down the street from me a kid was selling this 96 4.3 truck. Motor has a rod knock and it leaks like it's missing a freeze plug, but other than that it's straight and rust free. I grabbed it for $850.
My dad also has a 99 Suburban at his place that was wrecked last year (caught in the middle of a highway pile up). From what I can tell the small block mounts from the suburban can be used for a big block (with a th400). I'm not sure how I'll get all the gauges working, or how difficult that will be - I know somewhere in the 90's GM started running a lot of controls through the ECU. If worst comes to worst I'll just yank all of the computer stuff out and do a few custom gauges. If overdrive becomes a must, we'd probably look into a 4L80 plus a Holley / FiTech / FAST EFI swap down the road.
End goal is to have a 454SS knock off (only making appropriate BBC power
This will just be a for-fun truck. Other mods will include bigger wheels, 4/6 drop, caltracs and rear sway bar from the suburban. Correct rear bumper or roll pan, and a chevy front end swap.
Let me hear your thoughts / suggestions.
(p.s. before anyone mentions the sensible idea of simply tossing the suburban 350 into this truck and flipping it for a few $$, that drive train is already slatted for a volvo wagon - cause 2 projects cars are better than 1
First time poster - My father and I are both hot rodders. He grew up in the muscle car era of the 60/70's and I cut my teeth on a Buick Turbo Regal. We've done a few small block swaps on Rx7's and Volvo 240's.
My dad has two Big Blocks sitting on stands in his shop, a 427 (500hp) and a 496 (680hp). We've been looking for something to put them into. Any "muscle cars" are pretty much out of question due to cost, so I've been trying to think outside of the box - which brings me to the boxiest vehicle I could think of, lol.
A friend of mine had a 454ss clone back in the day and I always loved how that truck looked, so I hopped on FB the other day and searched for "Silverado." Right down the street from me a kid was selling this 96 4.3 truck. Motor has a rod knock and it leaks like it's missing a freeze plug, but other than that it's straight and rust free. I grabbed it for $850.
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My dad also has a 99 Suburban at his place that was wrecked last year (caught in the middle of a highway pile up). From what I can tell the small block mounts from the suburban can be used for a big block (with a th400). I'm not sure how I'll get all the gauges working, or how difficult that will be - I know somewhere in the 90's GM started running a lot of controls through the ECU. If worst comes to worst I'll just yank all of the computer stuff out and do a few custom gauges. If overdrive becomes a must, we'd probably look into a 4L80 plus a Holley / FiTech / FAST EFI swap down the road.
End goal is to have a 454SS knock off (only making appropriate BBC power
This will just be a for-fun truck. Other mods will include bigger wheels, 4/6 drop, caltracs and rear sway bar from the suburban. Correct rear bumper or roll pan, and a chevy front end swap.Let me hear your thoughts / suggestions.
(p.s. before anyone mentions the sensible idea of simply tossing the suburban 350 into this truck and flipping it for a few $$, that drive train is already slatted for a volvo wagon - cause 2 projects cars are better than 1
