How difficult would it be to put a 96 lt1 into a 1981 c10? Any recommendations performance for a good stock daily driver?

 

It will drop right in. Engine management is the only tricky part. Maybe a 24X conversion. Truthfully, I would just go get a Vortec 5.7L, slap a carb intake on it, HEI distributor, and call it a day. It's going to make similar power to the B body LT1.

 

Thanks for the info. The only thing is I already have the lt1 from my wrecked 96 impala. Just was wondering if it's worth the hassle to go through with it. I had the block cleaned up and my 1981 c10 needs a new engine.

 

Use the harness and PCM from the Impala.

The path of least resistance would be to buy the GMPP carb intake and Opti block off plate for it and drop it right in.

 

You'll have to set the truck up for EFI and wire it all in, or Carb the LT1.

 

Sounds like a cool swap! If it were me I would keep the LT1 EFI. I'd order a gas tank for an 87 C10 that would have had a TBI engine because it will have the correct internal baffles for the efi pump. Do you have all the Impala fuel system parts?

 

Unfortunately I don't have all the fuel system parts, sounds like something I need to look into. I have the LT1 5.7 everything on it ,the 4L60E, computer and wire harness. I recently replaced the valve seals and put some beehive springs on the heads. Looking for a nice streetable cam the would be fine for a daily driver.

 

Do you have any more tips or info that could help me ensure this project goes as planned?

 

OP, you will need to either modify your fuel tank or find a donor for FI (pump in tank with return line) or use external frame mounted fuel pump and add a return line to your tank.

There are a few off the shelf cams for LT1 you just need to confirm the opti drive pin is correct length. They can be cut down if to long. Comp 501 or 502 for example but there are others. I have the Comp 466 XFI in mine

Having the donor wiring harness, pcm, 4L60E is good. You will need 02's and CATS for exhaust unless emissions is not an issue for you and just have pcm programmed to delete those. Any cam you put in will also require a tune unless its very small difference.

Lloyd Elliot. Eliott Portworks, is the LT1 cam guru and has several very good cams for LT1

Alex and pcmperformance can tune your pcm for whatever changes is needed. He just did my 383/T56, etc tune for my 96 Impala.

I have seen a 57 panel with all the drive train, wiring harness, pcm which works well. Guy even swapped in the donor dash from the 95 Firebird donor car

 

Just do a Holley and put in an LS or just do an LS standalone. I would never do a carb and I would never willingly swap in a SBC (there are SOME exceptions to that rule)

Now if you are just "swapping what you got" then that's fine.

 

I have the LT1 already broken down ready to be put back together so unfortunately, I won't be getting a new engine at the moment. My direction that I'm heading in right now is to put in the stock LT1 with some new springs, seals and a cc306 cam into the c10. I was hoping that would be a good daily driver for the truck. I'm pretty sure ill have to change out the fuel system with a new tank to ensure the fitment is right. How are you running your LT1?

 

CC306 is not the cam I would want in a SBE LT1 especially with the iron heads and in a truck. I would get a set of aluminum heads and let Lloyd work them over as well as grind a custom cam for the application. You will be much happier with the results vs a CC306 with iron heads. The iron heads are going to basically need the same modifications as Vortecs to be able to handle the lift and added spring rate. Might as well start with a good aluminum casting. A custom Erson cam from Lloyd will end being cheaper than a new Comp cams shelf cam.

 

Instead of recommending performance parts ***** nilly, what is it you want out this project? I know you said daily, but Street/strip? More street than strip/vise versa? Lope? Highway/freeway usage? Smog? Those are the kind of questions that need to be answered before delving into more research.

 

I'm looking for information and or advice for a street daily driver with a nice sounding cam, doesn't have to be the fastest on the street but good performance I'm not building a race engine. What will I need to do to get this LT1 running reliably with no issues. Maybe not asking the right question to the right people is why I'm stuck with the engine still on the stand. What advice do you have for a 1996 lt1 to be put into a 1981 c10? I'm always open to listening to someone who knows what they're talking about.

 

If a reliable engine that has good street performance with minimal issues is what you’re after, the best option in my opinion is a bone stock LT1 with a set of long tubes and a nice sounding exhaust. 300HP is more than enough to make the truck fun to drive but not overwhelm the stock suspension/steering in that old rig. You won’t have to mess around with the engine calibration like you would with a more aggressive cam. Drop the engine/trans in, figure out the wiring harness, and have fun.

 

I have no advice regarding the transplant, but I have always lived by the philosophy of keeping things simple when it comes to modification. As far as your build you can either do a custom grind that will accommodate stock heads or run a CC305. I would do what was suggested and get LT1 aluminum heads instead of iron. You can find them for cheap and if you're up for it, doing the work yourself or have a machine shop go through them. A 306 would not be ideal for stock heads or stock displacement. It'll sound good, but your power curve will not benefit as much as going with a milder cam.

 

That sounds like a good one without all the extra hassles and Tryna figure out what's a good fit. I think imma go this route I'm ready to put her back together. Thanks for the info.

 

Thanks again for narrowing down the info needed to get this girl rolling again. I think the easiest is to leave stock to keep away from any unexpected maintenance. Thinking about some borla exhaust or the go to flowmaster 40's that I've always used. Do you think the 30lbs injectors would be good enough or should I go smaller since I'll be leaving it stock?

 

Why would you change injectors if the engine is going to stay stock other than possible exhaust mods? No reason for that. The stock injectors are perfect for the engine and don’t require any recalibration work in the ECM. Believe it or not, the engineers knew what they were doing when they sized those things.

 

Ok cool. I was just wondering I've seen different info on LT1 builds. I'm trying to make this easy and smooth.