88 GMC K1500 build
12-31-2013, 04:43 PM
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88 GMC K1500 build Well I had been scouring Craigslist for weeks, and finally bought myself a project truck. It's an 88 K1500. It's got the usual wear and tear on the body from being in the northeast for the winters, but it's got a great frame and a fresh short block with less than 60k. I have some cash set aside for it, but I want some input before I start doing any real work. Only things I bought as of now are some MSD 8.5mm wires and Bosch platinum plugs. I know swaps are common in these trucks but I want to keep the TBI setup if I can. I don't want to do any LS swaps, that's for sure. Too easy. Too common. I'm looking for around 400whp if possible. I'm thinking heads/cam with proper intake/exhaust and forged internals, but still want to be street legal in MA. Any pointers, love stories, or nightmares will be appreciated. Thanks
12-31-2013, 04:43 PM
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88 GMC Sierra SLE build Well I had been scouring Craigslist for weeks, and finally bought myself a project truck. It's an 88 K1500. It's got the usual wear and tear on the body from being in the northeast for the winters, but it's got a great frame and a fresh short block with less than 60k. I have some cash set aside for it, but I want some input before I start doing any real work. Only things I bought as of now are some MSD 8.5mm wires and Bosch platinum plugs. I know swaps are common in these trucks but I want to keep the TBI setup if I can. I don't want to do any LS swaps, that's for sure. Too easy. Too common. I'm looking for around 400whp if possible. I'm thinking heads/cam with proper intake/exhaust and forged internals, but still want to be street legal in MA. Any pointers, love stories, or nightmares will be appreciated. Thanks
12-31-2013, 04:43 PM
#3
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88 GMC Sierra SLE build Well I had been scouring Craigslist for weeks, and finally bought myself a project truck. It's an 88 K1500. It's got the usual wear and tear on the body from being in the northeast for the winters, but it's got a great frame and a fresh short block with less than 60k. I have some cash set aside for it, but I want some input before I start doing any real work. Only things I bought as of now are some MSD 8.5mm wires and Bosch platinum plugs. I know swaps are common in these trucks but I want to keep the TBI setup if I can. I don't want to do any LS swaps, that's for sure. Too easy. Too common. I'm looking for around 400whp if possible. I'm thinking heads/cam with proper intake/exhaust and forged internals, but still want to be street legal in MA. Any pointers, love stories, or nightmares will be appreciated. Thanks.
01-01-2014, 09:22 AM
#4
You are not going to keep the TBI and make 400 hp. The t/b and the intake will be a bad restriction.
On trucks like those, the best thing I did to them was put a truck motor in them that never made it to a truck. An old school L98 TPI setup. They made notorious torque for pulling and with the right mods made enough hp to embarass more than enough mustangs.
I did one with a cheap set of 195 trickflows and GM hotcam. I knew the stock chip wasn't going to run it too well and I didn't want to have to pay someone to burn a chip because it would cost too much. I ended up using a hypertech stage 2 chip a buddy had laying around. It worked perfectly. The truck ran 12.9-13.0 on the motor and 11.9-12.0 on a 150 shot. We changed the intake to a holley stealth ram and the truck picked up 2 tenths from having a little bit higher power band.
By the way, why 3 threads on the same truck?
On trucks like those, the best thing I did to them was put a truck motor in them that never made it to a truck. An old school L98 TPI setup. They made notorious torque for pulling and with the right mods made enough hp to embarass more than enough mustangs.
I did one with a cheap set of 195 trickflows and GM hotcam. I knew the stock chip wasn't going to run it too well and I didn't want to have to pay someone to burn a chip because it would cost too much. I ended up using a hypertech stage 2 chip a buddy had laying around. It worked perfectly. The truck ran 12.9-13.0 on the motor and 11.9-12.0 on a 150 shot. We changed the intake to a holley stealth ram and the truck picked up 2 tenths from having a little bit higher power band.
By the way, why 3 threads on the same truck?
