1986 C10 LS3 swap
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,645
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1986 C10 LS3 swap Evening all,
I'm looking at 86 C10 LS3/4L60E swap. Haven't purchased the truck yet just doing some research.
1. What motor mounts would you use with Speed Engineering headers? I have the Speed Engineering headers on my 68 C10 LS swap and they work well.
2. What kit to adapt the stock 86 C10 steering column linkage to the 4L60E?
3. Oil pan. Currently I have an 2002 fbody pan on the LS3. Will it work on the 86?
4. Truck has AC. I'm considering keeping the stock AC. Or maybe aftermarket AC. Pros and cons of either?
Thanks
I'm looking at 86 C10 LS3/4L60E swap. Haven't purchased the truck yet just doing some research.
1. What motor mounts would you use with Speed Engineering headers? I have the Speed Engineering headers on my 68 C10 LS swap and they work well.
2. What kit to adapt the stock 86 C10 steering column linkage to the 4L60E?
3. Oil pan. Currently I have an 2002 fbody pan on the LS3. Will it work on the 86?
4. Truck has AC. I'm considering keeping the stock AC. Or maybe aftermarket AC. Pros and cons of either?
Thanks
I used dirty dingo mounts and reason being is you can move motor both ways a few inches. I didnt even need to make a driveshaft because i moved the motor far enough that the stock shaft worked like a charm. I used dirty dingo AC bracket as well to insure I didnt run into frame clearance issues. I have heard of frame being in the way so I just mounted AC up high. Oil pan I aint sure because I used a truck pan but it did hang down low which wasnt an issue for me. I used a B&M floor shifter so not sure on that either. I do like dirty dingo stuff ,nice quality.
On The Tree
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 103
Likes: 3
From: north-central Virginia
If you're on Facebook, join the LS-swapped squarebody group. Definitely look into Tejas products. They've done a lot of research, and have some of the simplest drop-in engine mounts available. Their engine mounts will allow you to use the factory LS-engine AC compressor(on the trucks. I assume the car engine is similar), since they mount the engine high enough for full clearance. Also by mounting the engine higher, they allow to use whatever oil pan you want without clearance issues. Usually that's a truck pan which hangs quite low. The downside to all this, is the center of gravity will be a little higher. This probably won't matter.
Personally, I'm using a set of Ebay mounts that mount the LS truck engine in the same exact location as the old small block. I'm installing this in a 4wd k20, so I had to cut a small notch in the engine crossmember to clear the oil pan. I also am not running AC, so no problem there. The reason for choosing these mounts was so I wouldn't have to change both driveshafts and modify the shift linkage for the transfer case.
Personally, I'm using a set of Ebay mounts that mount the LS truck engine in the same exact location as the old small block. I'm installing this in a 4wd k20, so I had to cut a small notch in the engine crossmember to clear the oil pan. I also am not running AC, so no problem there. The reason for choosing these mounts was so I wouldn't have to change both driveshafts and modify the shift linkage for the transfer case.
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,645
Likes: 526
Thanks for the replies. I was leaning towards the Dirty Dingo mounts but I will check out the Tejas mounts. No I'm not on Face Book. I'm going to look at the truck on Wednesday. Hope it's as nice as he claims.
On The Tree
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 103
Likes: 3
From: north-central Virginia
Contact Tejas, and ask for their freebie LS-swap guide for the squarebody trucks. It's a pretty comprehensive document. It's listed in the Files section of the group I mentioned above. Scotty at Tejas should be able to get you a PDF copy otherwise.
