1987 GMC V1500 Sierra Classic LS swap/build

[NastyBuzzard]

Hello everyone! I have been around for a little while now. Here and there and I finally decided to start a build thread for my 1987 GMC V1500 Sierra Classic 4x4 single cab long bed.

I bought this truck 11 years ago and it was what I drove mostly through high school. My great grandmother helped me purchase this truck so it is very near and dear to me and I will never get rid of it!

So some history. When I first bought the truck 11 years ago for $3500, 350tbi 700r4 combo w/ 3.08 gears, it was supposed to have a crate engine in it that was real fresh and so on. Well about a month after purchasing the truck, it back fired through the exhaust b/c of a stopped up cat and burnt the rings up pretty bad. It started burning oil/smoking then. Still drove it, never getting over 10-12 mpg.

Years of putting a quart of oil in it here and there it developed a bad idle issue and would die going up hills. Still drove it then until I got something else. It was then parked for a while under a tree at my aunts house. Sap destroyed the hood and roof pretty much. Came back, put a battery in, crunk it up and drove it to my new home. Still never could fix it so I put in it in my friends uncle's shop and we started building a big HP 350 SBC for the truck.

$3000 dollars later after selling my 71 maverick to fund the engine build, I had a nice built engine that was supposed to push over 400hp at the crank. Before the install of the engine I dropped the dual saddle bag gas tanks to replace fuel pumps, I thought I was going to be able to keep the tbi and fuel injection. That is when I figured out what my problem was with the truck over all those years!!! The little hose between the pump and sending unit had deteriorated really badly. So I fixed all that, but ended up having to carb the built engine we had.

Drove it around everynow and then, it would get that truck rolling!! The motor was great!! I was getting like 6-8 mpg though with a 750 holley on it.I got about 3k miles on the engine then one day after a storm I went around a curb and a tree had fallen in the road and I wrecked the truck. So we towed it to a friends and it sat there for a few years, the ubolts broke on the front p.s. side and sent front drive shaft through the transfer case.

A couple years later I finally had enough money to fix the truck, so I fixed it, got it back together, no alignment was done, put some octane booster and fired the truck up and drove it to my house. I putted it around but was always so busy with work and school it barely got driven. I eventually put a 600 edelbrock on the 350 and it was even better!! 750 was drowning it in fuel.

Fast forward a few years and I decided to take it all back to stock. I wanted the 350 tbi back so I could have the low end torque instead of all the top end HP.

Brought my original engine to the house and disassembled and cleaned it. Went off for the weekend and came back and my dad junked my entire engine for scrap!!

So I had to find a new engine, I found a 92 350tbi complete. I rebuilt it, .030 over w/ flat tops, vortec roller cam setup, stock 193 swirl port heads, longtube headers. We installed engine, drove it 5 miles down the road and front seal on trans blew. Limped it to my buddies house for the trans to be rebuilt. 6 months later, trans was rebuilt w/ oem rebuild kit, new tcc switch and torque converter.

Tried to drive the truck, had lower power issues. Didn't feel strong or have the low end grunt it used to have.

Installed a shift kit in trans, didn't really help, added corvette servos, didn't fix the issue. I even swapped in 3.42 front and rear gears. Helped some but not enough.

In the last couple months I put in a heated o2 sensor, electric fans, tbi injector pod spacer, ultimate tbi mod and pretty much anything else I could think of. Still doesn't have the low end torque she used to have. I tried datalogging to hopefully get a tune to fix the issue.

Over the last few years I have been researching and reading everyones threads on the LS swap. Well after talking with a friend, he just told me to do it. So I found me a 2001 silverado 4x4 Z71, 4.8 w/4l60e, 3.73 posi, extended cab short bed truck. It was missing font fenders, hood, doors, and bed but I put a seat in it, some gas and a battery and crunk it up and drove it around! I ended up buying it for $900.

So my plan is to take as much from the 2001 I can. I plan to swap over the entire wiring harness, using the wiring harness and fuse panel to run my headlights, door locks, power windows, brake lights, the works. I even plan to swap in the 2001 cluster into the 1987 as well. I am also planning on swapping the rearend, and swapping my d.s. gas tank w/ the 26 gal from the 2001 and getting rid of my p.s. tank and the selector valve. Also I am hoping to be able to integrate the steering column/wheel from the 2001 as well.

Any advice or insight? Has anyone seen some of this done?

Which motor mounts should I buy? Anyone have drawings so I can make my own?

I plan to get the auxiliary battery mount from somewhere to move battery to d.s.

Anyways, here is my truck!















Here is the donor: 2001 4.8 4l60e 4x4 ext cab short bed

Best BDAY present ever!!

[NastyBuzzard]

Here are some pics of what I would like to do:



This is a must for me to do. Figure out how to ge the 2001 gas tank (26 gal) into my 87 truck. I found some people who did this to a C30 w/ a diesel... Must be a way to do it on my truck.





This is what I would really like to do. Except keep stock A/C controls and keep the floor mount 4wd shifter instead of electronic. Any ideas on how to?

[NastyBuzzard]

Today is my birthday, so I took it off to tinker with the 2001. My plan is to completely modify and have the drivetrain running perfect on the 01 before I start pulling stuff to make the swap. The 87 is my only truck and I do use it on the weekends, so it cant have that much down time.

I rigged the 01 up to be able to drive around my house and even down the road by my house. Hardly any traffic on the back road near me as I live deep in the sticks!!

Ended up thinking that trans was having problems shifting, then I was getting rear end noise, so I was already worried for the worse. So I did some investigating and found this.





Rear back p.s. brake pad was completely gone. Rotor is trash. I still need to pop diff cover and check rear end, though to be sure before I order another caliper, rotor, and brakes.

Like I said, I want to make sure everything is running great before i make the swap. Trans fluid looks a little dirty so I plan to change it and the filter as well. Then clean up engine and label all of the wiring harness that I can.

[Flatpat]

Having the important parts of the '01 should help out a lot. Good luck and I think you'll find once you start digging in to it, it isn't near as hard as it seems to do.

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by Flatpat

Having the important parts of the '01 should help out a lot. Good luck and I think you'll find once you start digging in to it, it isn't near as hard as it seems to do.

I am hoping you are right!! So far I am just taking a crap ton of pictures and measurements.

I am also hoping on swapping the radiator from the 2001 to the 1987 as well. Anyone done this?

One of my friends who is a great fabricator, I am so-so but since shop burned down and I lost all my tools I am very limited, he suggests we just modify the 2001 frame to accept the 1987 body. Anyone ever seen that done?

Today, I plan to take the diff cover off the 01 rear to check everything out. I want to make sure the gears and locker are in good shape b/c I plan on swapping it into my 87 as well. Plus I want to make sure it's in good shape before I replace caliper, rotor and brakes.

[NastyBuzzard]

Took diff cover off and drained fluid. It probably has never been changed. No metal chunks or anything and teeth looked good.

[y5mgisi]

So my plan is to take as much from the 2001 I can. I plan to swap over the entire wiring harness, using the wiring harness and fuse panel to run my headlights, door locks, power windows, brake lights, the works. I even plan to swap in the 2001 cluster into the 1987 as well. I am also planning on swapping the rearend, and swapping my d.s. gas tank w/ the 26 gal from the 2001 and getting rid of my p.s. tank and the selector valve. Also I am hoping to be able to integrate the steering column/wheel from the 2001 as well.

Any advice or insight? Has anyone seen some of this done?

That sounds to me, like the entierly way wrong and complicated route to take in comparison to how simple it can be. It can be done for no more work than a simple engine swap. I couldnt imagine doing all the work your talking about... As far as the fuel tanks, if you are dead set on getting rid of the duals, just mount a 87-91 blazer/suburban tank in the back. Super simple and allows you to use a drop in fuel pump that will work perfect for your swap. I have also seen the pics of the guy who swapped in all the late model stuff that you posted and read his write up. Sounds like, again, way too overly complicated. Unless you just have to have it, are very patient, and quite smart, i would bag that idea.

Which motor mounts should I buy? Anyone have drawings so I can make my own?

Just get the CarShopInc 1" set back mounts. They put the motor in the original location in relation to the trans bellhousing and allows you to use your original motor mounts/shells. They are only i think $60. They were $50 when i bought them a couple years ago.

I plan to get the auxiliary battery mount from somewhere to move battery to d.s.

You can get those on LMCtruck and i think Rockauto sells them too.

Anyways, here is my truck!

My advice is just to keep it as simple as possible. Projects that end up overly complicated often die unhappy deaths. Ones that are completed shortly, are almost always happy.

[NastyBuzzard]

I am definitely wanting to swap over almost the entire wiring harness and fuse panel to replace the one currently in my 87. I am doing this so I can use cluster and steering column from the 01. Plus I want the relays to run my headlights and power windows and all. (All that's on relays for a reason now a days) I plan to tie in all wiring including the key fob wiring, I plan to dosregard airbags and abs though. I want to do it because I think it would be cool to be done that way and this swap is not a rush job. Also by doing this I eliminate need for sending ECM off before initial startup to remove vats.

I have been able to find ample amounts of wiring diagrams and have already started labeling and making a list of what I won't need.

I specifically want to use the fuel tank from the 01, in doing so I can keep almost all stock fuel lines or have a mix of the 2 and won't be any need for spending a ton of $ on AN fittings, new pumps, new selector valve and so on. Plus I really only want one tank that will fit in stock location to keep the fuel door. (I will eliminate the p.s. Fuel door eventually) I have seen many people go the blazer tank route and I don't want the aggravation of mounting a fill up location in the bed.

Thanks abou the motor mounts. I knew lmc sold the auxiliary batt mount but I know they usually kill you with shipping, same as rock auto. I'll double check and see the damage though.

I'm currently in the phase of getting everything to run correctly on the 01 chassis. Then I'll start gathering what little parts I need (if I can stick to my plan) then the real swap begins!! This isn't a frame off resto though! Well atleast not yet.

Also what stock truck manifolds work without cutting frame back? I have seen that the 03+ with no egr provisions look nice and smooth. Would they be better for what I am doing? Will those motor mounts you listed early work with the manifolds? Why not dirty dingo mounts for their adjustability?

[Jonboy]

What did the electric fans come out of that you had in the truck before the teardown?

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

What did the electric fans come out of that you had in the truck before the teardown?

They came out of the newer body style impala like 07+, I think. I was at the junkyard searching for fans to swap on and they looked like my best bet. I got the fans and the wiring from the car. I used my metal shears to trim plastic a tiny bit and they fit right on my stock 87 radiator. They work great!! Just one of the fans is enough to keep my truck cool, i bought a wiring kit from advanced and wired it and attached it to radiator. It was very simple. I have the second fan currently wired to a switch, b/c I don't have a/c wired up b/c of bad compressor, just in case but havn't had to use it yet.

Also, I haven't torn down my 87 yet. I want to have everything running like it should on the 01 chassis before I tear down the 87. I still need my truck so I can't afford too much down time. Once everything is running great and I have all the parts then I will start pulling stuff apart!

[Chevy3+3]

Originally Posted by NastyBuzzard

They came out of the newer body style impala like 07+, I think. I was at the junkyard searching for fans to swap on and they looked like my best bet. I got the fans and the wiring from the car. I used my metal shears to trim plastic a tiny bit and they fit right on my stock 87 radiator. They work great!! Just one of the fans is enough to keep my truck cool, i bought a wiring kit from advanced and wired it and attached it to radiator. It was very simple. I have the second fan currently wired to a switch, b/c I don't have a/c wired up b/c of bad compressor, just in case but havn't had to use it yet.

Also, I haven't torn down my 87 yet. I want to have everything running like it should on the 01 chassis before I tear down the 87. I still need my truck so I can't afford too much down time. Once everything is running great and I have all the parts then I will start pulling stuff apart!

Will you be using the original dash cluster from the 87 in your swap? I wouldnt mind having one like that for my 1 ton

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by Chevy3+3

Will you be using the original dash cluster from the 87 in your swap? I wouldnt mind having one like that for my 1 ton

My plan is to swap in the cluster from the 2001.

[Chevy3+3]

Originally Posted by NastyBuzzard

My plan is to swap in the cluster from the 2001.

I call dibs on your old cluster if you decide to not use it. Hit me up if you decide to get rid of it. I may swap in a NV4500 in my 1 ton and that dash cluster would be nice to have.

[Jonboy]

Cool. Thanks for the heads up.

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

Cool. Thanks for the heads up.

No problem. Also I could definitely feel the gains from removing the oem metal fan and clutch assy. It also doesn't put as much of a draw on my electrical system as I though. Well worth the couple hours it took me to do.

[Jonboy]

I wouldn't sweat it. Mine looked about the same at 100K, as far as the dirt. I ran the intake through the parts cleaner at work and it cleaned up pretty well. I would ditch the foam baffles on each end, as they tend to collect all of that mess. I can also relate to no time to work on the truck with a baby involved. Mine turns 1 on Friday.

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

I wouldn't sweat it. Mine looked about the same at 100K, as far as the dirt. I ran the intake through the parts cleaner at work and it cleaned up pretty well. I would ditch the foam baffles on each end, as they tend to collect all of that mess. I can also relate to no time to work on the truck with a baby involved. Mine turns 1 on Friday.

Well happy birthday to him/her!! My 4 month old son is a trip and is growing too fast!!

I am going to clean it up as good as I can w/ brake cleaner or purple power. I got a new gasket kit coming with new knock sensor wiring harness and knock sensors. Figured I may as well replace while I was there.

Really don't use the foam pads? I saw them and was like what in the hell are these for?

I do have sometime to get out and get some stuff done. Mostly on saturdays and sundays but if the wife and the baby tuck in early I slip outside and try to get as much done as possible. If I had more lighting I would probably be out there till midnight! I love doing this and I am having a ton of fun. So excited to swap all this in my 87 4x4!

[y5mgisi]

I think most people just click to view and then dont reply. People are watching tho.

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by y5mgisi

I think most people just click to view and then dont reply. People are watching tho.

You are probably right! I guess I haven't done anything too radical yet to justify starting up a popular thread.

[JustN]

hmm measurements interesting i got a 6.0 for my 84 never got around to putting it in yet, but gas tank and stuff swapped be kinda nice

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by JustN

hmm measurements interesting i got a 6.0 for my 84 never got around to putting it in yet, but gas tank and stuff swapped be kinda nice

I have seen other people almost direct swap it in!! There is one guy who is doing a diesel swap on a square body that slapped stock tank in w/ evap stuff and fit just fine.

Here is a pic I found of it:

[NastyBuzzard]

Here is what I got done this evening. Also found some interesting stuff.







Not caked up as bad as I figured it would be!







Before:



After a little cleaning:



Also found this:

[JustN]

Originally Posted by NastyBuzzard

I have seen other people almost direct swap it in!! There is one guy who is doing a diesel swap on a square body that slapped stock tank in w/ evap stuff and fit just fine.

Here is a pic I found of it:

that looks like flatbed tho kinda

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by JustN

that looks like flatbed tho kinda

It is possible. However, I think frame is the same? I've already taken out my d.s. tank and removed the support hanger/brackets for it. I feel like I should be able to get them to fit around the 01 tank then just maybe drill some holes and mount it up. Just have to get the location right for filler neck. Anyways, I am really hoping it will work!

[JustN]

if it does be good