5.3 or 8.1 or even another 350?

[dman1982]

so I've been thinking when I'm done with this deployment that my truck may be due for a new engine, it has about 235000 on the original small block 350. I've seen a bunch of threads on here with the 5.3 and/or 8.1, i drive my truck everyday, not far but still a tank of gas only last a few days, but if i was to get a ebay special engine like the 5.3 or 8.1 how much work is it to put into my 84 k10? will my transmission bolt up to either of these engines(th350)? i really want to go fuel injection and this seems to be the route to go, the fuel injection kits are crazy expensive and i can get a whole new motor for the price of them. just looking for opinions/advice on which way to go

[spencer_41188]

well you could bore your engine 30 over to make it a 355 and find a 5.7 camaro/firebird with multi port injection from the junkyard pull the intake, heads, and the computer w/ harness and put it all togeather on your truck, wire in a fuel pump

hope you have fun with that deployment, im in afganistan right now and ready to go home and work on my truck.

be safe

[Firebirdjones]

It's all going to depend on your funds for a project like that.

Cheapest route is as mentioned above, rebuilding existing engine and stick an older style FI unit on there, they are relatively cheap at the swap meets. Then there are wiring harnesses to deal with, tuning software etc....alot of ways to go about it.

I did a 6.0 swap in my blazer (same as the 5.3 swap you here so much about, just bigger) and I decided to do a 4L60E at the same time.

My feeling is since you do alot of driving with it, the fuel injection swap isn't going to gain you much of anything, and the overdrive transmission is where you'll find most of your gas mileage gains. So I'd look into doing both while it's down. It's a little more investment but you'll be much happier in the long run.

An entire 5.3/4L60E combo with low miles can be as much as $2000 but you'll have to shop around and see what you can find. From there it depends on how much you can do yourself and what you have to farm out, that will dictate the total cost.

Not knowing exactly what truck you are swapping into there are alot of variables that will reflect the cost as well. 4x4's need adapters that are expensive, crossmembers that clear the front diff, then there is the fuel system, wire harness, etc. etc...

[63chevyll]

The 8.1s have tons of TQ on the low end and make great powee In stock form. Prob same milage as your 350 now
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[Firebirdjones]

The swap to an 8.1 will required the necessary brackets for the accessories as well so it's not exactly straight forward from that 350 you originally have.

I installed a GM HT crate 502 in my 79 pickup that was already a factory 454 so it was an easy swap. It's a little different than the 496 (8.1) GM offered in the trucks however. The 502 is a larger bore (nearly 4.5 inches with a 4" crank) the 496 GM used in the trucks for a short while is the 4.25 bore and 4.250 crank I believe.

If you are looking for grunt these engines provide alot of it. 540 ft lbs from mine to be exact. Tows nicely. Mileage isn't horrible considering I have no overdrive (just a 400 turbo) and 3.73 gears. If I keep rpms at 2800 steady cruise I can tickle 14 mpg. Averages 11-12 around town.

[dman1982]

ya I'm over here in kuwait, not too bad, i had thought about doing that in the past with the camaro's but I've heard there isn't a lot of upgrades for those

[dman1982]

Originally Posted by Firebirdjones

The swap to an 8.1 will required the necessary brackets for the accessories as well so it's not exactly straight forward from that 350 you originally have.

I installed a GM HT crate 502 in my 79 pickup that was already a factory 454 so it was an easy swap. It's a little different than the 496 (8.1) GM offered in the trucks however. The 502 is a larger bore (nearly 4.5 inches with a 4" crank) the 496 GM used in the trucks for a short while is the 4.25 bore and 4.250 crank I believe.

If you are looking for grunt these engines provide alot of it. 540 ft lbs from mine to be exact. Tows nicely. Mileage isn't horrible considering I have no overdrive (just a 400 turbo) and 3.73 gears. If I keep rpms at 2800 steady cruise I can tickle 14 mpg. Averages 11-12 around town.

is yours fuel injected? and will the 8.1 bolt up to my th350? Ive also heard that you can eliminate the electronic to the tranny somehow or another so you don't have to worry about electronics...im kinda new to fuel injection and my knowledge is very limited

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by dman1982

is yours fuel injected? and will the 8.1 bolt up to my th350? Ive also heard that you can eliminate the electronic to the tranny somehow or another so you don't have to worry about electronics...im kinda new to fuel injection and my knowledge is very limited

No fuel injection on my 502, mine is a 79, I simply swapped over the intake and carb I was running on the original 454. It's not a daily driver for me, it's just used to tow my toys around.

Yes it will bolt to your current 350 turbo as BB and SB all used the same bell housing bolt pattern.

If you want fuel injection on something like the 502 I bought, there are a few very nice kits on the market that are easy to tune. FAST makes one, Edelbrock makes one, and they all come with very easy software. Some are self tuning by simply driving around.

Just need to snoop around and see what you like and what is affordable to you.