BrandonHall10

Hello fellow swappers! I'd like to introduce you to my 1984 K10 Custom Deluxe. I’ll try to keep this concise but still hit all the important details.

My grandpa bought this truck brand new from Berger Chevrolet in Grand Rapids, MI. It was his daily driver for many years. Pulled a camping trailer to the campground every summer, and after retirement, it's what he and my grandma drove to Florida for the winter. That's the reason it has over 457,000 miles on it. He pulled the original 305 somewhere around the ten year mark and replaced with a 350 that he built. Best guess is, the current motor has over 350,000 miles on it. Still holds 40 psi of oil while cruising.

Time passed by, and eventually grandpa was no longer able to drive. Rather than sell it, he chose to pass it on to my uncle Bob. From what I understand, he only used it occasionally. Mostly to pull a boat to the water. Eventually Bob upgraded to a larger boat that just stayed in the water. This left him with very little use for the truck. So he offered it to me, on one condition; I could never sell it. It had to stay in the family. Considering I've got two rambunctious little boys, it shouldn't be hard to find someone willing to take it when the time comes

Of course I was all over that deal! Only one problem... I live in Tucson and the truck was in Grand Rapids. 1900 miles away. Shipping that far is crazy expensive, and I couldn't really take the time off of work to fly out, then drive it back. Plans stalled.... Until....

My father in law, told me he bought a utility trailer in Michigan, but didn't have any way to get it back to Tucson. Light bulb! Long story short, he drove his Cadillac to Michigan, sold it, then drove my truck and his trailer back to Tucson. The plan was perfect. The execution was less that perfect though. Carburetors, elevation changes, hot weather, bla bla bla… It ended up taking him over a week and a couple nights in hotels to make the trip back.

Here she sits in my parents green front yard, prior to the 1900 mile drive.



And after the 1900 mile drive and a quick wash



The almost original (soon to be gone) 350





The truck runs and drives good enough, it just won’t pass emissions without some ethanol blending. Not worth the hassle to me. That’s all the reason I needed to do a swap. This won’t be my first swap either. I have a 1997 S10 RCSB with a 2002 LQ4. Youtube review:


The donor vehicle. A 2001 GMC Yukon.



That’s it for now. I’ll post regularly with updates. I’ve been a member here for a while and found answers to most of my questions just by searching. Even had a couple questions answered in a thread I started. Thought it might be time to contribute some content, Here goes!

BrandonHall10

Picture dump of me single handedly pulling the drivetrain. Just trying to catch up to current time...











Putting the LQ4 S10 to work



Motor on the stand.

BrandonHall10

Now time for some cleanup.

The NP246 as pulled



Cleaned up for resale



I plan on running this 60e so I want it as clean as possible.

BrandonHall10

That brings things up to current time, more or less.

Waiting on some trans maintenance parts (dipstick seal, torque converter seal, turbine shaft seal, transfer case adapter gasket and filter), so I started in on the engine. Stripped the harness off.



This one's pretty gross. Going to take a couple passes with the SuperClean and pressure washer.











My plan for the engine is just regasket, cam, springs and slide it in.

383z

iTrader: (2)

I'm loving this build!!

BrandonHall10

Awesome! Thanks for following along.

I got the engine stripped and prepped for a date with the pressure washer.







I'm really looking forward to the "after" photos on this.

LS1-IROC

iTrader: (4)

Cool story, it's a shame it didn't stay in GR, I would have bought that in a heart beat. lol Good luck with your swap.

BrandonHall10

LOL! This truck will never be for sale. Even though I'm in Tucson, my family is still in Michigan. Most of them in Wyoming.

After a couple hours of spraying cleaner, scrubbing, then spraying with the pressure washer, I called it good enough. I think I ended up wearing half of what came off the motor, but it was worth it.











There's still a little crud in some of the nooks and crannies of the pan and on the screws for the front and back cover. I'll take care of that when I pull it apart for gaskets. The block and heads are clean and that was my main concern.



Now I just need to drop about $200 on gaskets to keep it this clean.

NorCalAnthony

Cool story and project. I love seeing these square bodies getting the LS treatment and am gathering up the stuff to put an LQ9/4L65E from an '05 Escalade it to my '84 K5 Blazer. Post up any questions you have there's a lot of knowledgeable guys on here that can help you figure stuff out.

BrandonHall10

Thanks! Yeah. Even just reading through old posts has been super helpful in the past. The only thing I haven't seen answered definitively yet is how to mate the (modern) 4L60e to the (old) NP208 T-case. They should physically bolt together as they both have the same circular 6 bolt pattern and spline count. I just need to figure out how/where to put the rear speed sensor. Should it go in the T-case adapter looking at the trans output shaft, or in the T-case looking at the t-case output shaft? Where can I get the 40 tooth tone ring I need? Anyhow, I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

I sold the T-case for $370. That's almost enough to cover the total cost of a cam and springs. I'll be ordering them SOON!

truckdoug

iTrader: (25)

cool swap. you're still at the stage where you can stop and heed the words of those who have been there and done that, dump the 60e. 80e backed with a 241 from an 89-91 blazer or suburban. you'll have to get new shafts made, but you'll be money ahead in the long run.

243

Quite a few of the Fullsize Jeep guy's use the NP241C behind the 4L60/LS in their swaps, I won't stir the 4L60/4L80 pot.

Nice square body!

383z

iTrader: (2)

I went ahead and subscribed to this. I love square bodies 4x4's and a black one with LS swap is **** to me. I want to have one myself one day.
Great work so far. Don't slow down!

NorCalAnthony

4L80 is definitely a stronger trans and a good idea if you're going to be running big tires and/or more power. That being said your 4L60 should do fine with a stockish 5.3 and the smaller tires in your pics. As far as mating up the 208 goes, they should bolt right up (same spline count and 6 bolt pattern like you said) but getting a VSS is a different problem with a few options. Jags That Run and Dakota Digital both make in-line pulse generators that screw in to the mechanical speedo hole on the t-case and output a VSS signal. Pretty sure Advanced Adapters also make a replacement trans to t-case adaptor that comes with a tone ring and has a spot for a VSS to screw in that'd do the trick. Or do like truckdoug mentioned and get a 241 out of a 90-91 Blazer or Suburban (89 had a mechanical speedo still) that have the VSS which might wind up being cheaper than the other options I mentioned if you find a good deal at a wrecking yard or on Craigslist. If you go that route try to grab the gauge cluster as well since the 90-91 trucks had electronic speedos as well. I was able to find a 90 Burb at a Pick-n-Pull and got the 241 and gauge cluster for under $200.

BrandonHall10

Thanks! Does the 241 have a provision for cable driven spedometer? If not, it's a deal breaker. I've trumpeted the merits of the 80e in the past.
I even have one in my S10. Let's be perfectly honest though. This motor is going to be naturally aspirated with a mild cam. The truck might go
off road at some point in the future, but it'll never be a hardcore wheeler. Max tire size will be 31" and the heviest thig it will ever tow is a
car dolly. The 700r4 that's in there now was recently rebuilt, but before that it had over 200k on it. I'm sure the 60e will be fine. When it
gives up the ghost, I'll rebuild it. I appreciate the feedback!

Thanks!

Thanks! Usually the only thing that slows me down is waiting on funds for parts.

Hmmm. Some good info there. Thanks for that!

Alright. Here's my day in pictures. Might be slightly out of order.

Trans parts arrived.



Slammed them in.



Had to pull out the special J-tools



Pan looked okay. Magnet was full, but no chunks or flakes so I'm happy.



Cleaned up nice though.



That completed the trans work.



Turned my attention back to the engine. Pulled the plugs.





Then pulled the manifolds. The only hiccup was one broken bolt. Came right out with the vise grips. Couple of the bolts felt only hand tight(?).
Going good so far though. Dipstick tube even cam out without a fight.





Cleaned up the gasket surfaces. Probably better than they need to be, but it makes me happy.



Also ordered a new oil filler cap with the trans parts. Old one didn't fit tight and for whatever reason that really bothers me.



Peeled the VC's off. Not the cleanest top end ever, but I've seen far worse.





Definitely the source of some of the exterior oil.



That was it for today. Last night I orderd a bunch of engine gaskets and spark plugs. Should have them middle of next week.

I also think I've settled on the Elgin 1838 cam. Just not 100% sure what springs to run. Leaning towards the PAC 1215's. They tolerate 0.600"
lift (the cam only has a max lift of 0.560") and a seat pressure of 105 lb at 1.800". I know LS6 springs are cheaper and people have had success
running them on a 0.560" lift cam, I just don't know if they have enough seat pressure.

NorCalAnthony

Nice work so far getting everything cleaned up. That's something I still need to do with my setup that's sitting in the garage, I just keep putting it off until our contractor gets his stuff out so I can have room to work.

What were you planning for tires and gears? That cam would be good for a lighter 2wd but might shift the powerband too high for a heavy 4x4. You could always take a look at the Cam Motion or Brian Tooley truck cams. They have versions specifically made for the smaller truck engines and are designed to use the cheaper LS6 springs you mentioned.

What were you going to do for the exhaust? Seems like the factory truck manifolds hit our frame but TBSS or LS3 Camaro manifolds fit real well. For headers I think the Schoenfeld 1302LS1, Thorley THY-323Y-C, and the BRP muscle rods are the only ones labeled as working with 4x4 trucks.

BrandonHall10

Thanks. For me the cleanup is step one. My garage is pretty small, so if there's something big and greasy sitting around, I WILL bump into it and ruin some clothes. Plus, there's an almost immediate (and low cost) sense of satisfaction I get from taking something gross and making it presentable. Those little furniture dollies from harbor freight are life savers too!

Currently has the stock size 235/75-R15's. Probably go to a 31/10.50-R15 next. Going to keep the stock 3.73 ratio.

You think so? According to GMheritagecenter.com, The K10 curb weight is 4502 and a C10 is 4045. That's only a difference of 457lbs. FWIW, the curb weight of the Yukon donor is/was 4914lb. I did look at the Brian Tooley truck cams, per your recommendation. The BTR stage 1 cam has a lower lift (0.525"/0.534") and a slightly smaller I/E duration, but the same 114° LSA. When you read the description, they point to that LSA as the reason for the low end torque.

The BTR cam is more expensive, but if I went with that I could use the cheaper LS6 springs VS the cheaper Elgin cam with PAC springs. In the end the cost is a wash. I just can't erase the sting of not camming my LQ4 before putting it in my S10. I think the reason I'm willing to take a shot on a cam that might be too aggressive for the K10 is, if I don't like there, I can always move it into the S10 and put something more mild in the K10.

I agree with everything you said there. Very limited options unless you spend some big $$$. Unfortunately, all those are too expensive for this poor boy. However.... I have seen guys use headers from a 2010-2014 Camaro w/ 6.2 and they seem to fit well. $156 from China to my door. I'm going to roll the dice.

NorCalAnthony

That's why I was asking about tire size and gearing, the 3.73's and 31's might actually pair really well with that especially if it's going to be mainly street driven. If you were running 35's with 4.10's in the mud and sand or something like that then you'd want to try to keep the power band lower to maximize the grunt to turn those heavy tires.

I've seen some of the 2wd guys have luck with the Camaro stuff but if I remember right the 4x4 guys had issues with them contacting the shackles and or something like that. For $156 they could definitely be worth rolling the dice on them. I think I'm learning towards the $260 painted Schoenfelds so I can have v-bands installed with the exhaust to make it easily removable.

JayinMI

Hey Brandon, what is the tape you have over the intake ports on the heads? My LQ4 is worse that the before pics of yours,
and I've been leary of power washing it without something that will stay in place.

My grandfather had an 80 Custom Deluxe 20 (Brown/white with a tan interior) When he passed in '94 it was still in great shape
with only minor rust for a MI vehicle. My uncle asked my Grandma if she wanted to sell it, and if so to get a price.
She looked at KBB and it didn't go back to '80, so she looked up the oldest they had listed and used that as a guide.
The truck only had 34k on it and dual tanks/towing package. She told my uncle "Five" (meaning $5k) and his friend who bought it
showed up with $500 and SHE SOLD IT TO HIM! I would have bought it for more than that if I'd known she was going to sell it.

Now, when I need to tow something, my GF's dad lets me use his '03 Sierra crewcab Duramax w/ 60k miles on it.

I'll be following this thread. I followed it over from S10forum.

Jay

G Atsma

Looks like black duct tape, only tougher.... OK I want to know too! lol