Need Help

[Only1Glendale]

Me and my dad are going to do a project car to create a reliable vehicle for me. We both agreed to go older so we don't have electronics to mess with, just pure automotive mechanics. After looking at several makes and models over and over I have fallen in love with the older GM trucks. However, I am having a real hard time finding the information I need to figure out exactly what I want to do. So if anyone can help me with a link to somewhere I can find this info or if they can recite it on hear that would be amazing. Even with all my googling ability google hasn't answered any of these questions. And yes I have looked at a lot of the threads on here but they all show pictures and don't tell much on results.

#1 Can the GMC 2 headlight housing and grill fit on a Chevy?

#2 Are the beds completely interchangeable? Like can I put a c10 stepside on a K2500?

#3 How much horsepower can you get out of the different engines? I want to know this because if a straight six can get me some pretty good power i might be more willing to let go of the 350 idea.

#4 is there any way to find out exactly how much horsepower different add ons will give you? like Stroker kits, different carbs, and what not?

#5 MPG? There was no EPA back in the day (thank goodness) but I do care a little bit about the performance fuel wise. Ideally I would like to figure out a good engine tranny combo that will get me decent mpg when I am light footed and pull some power when I floor it. There's no real info on what a 350 or 383 or straight six get on the c 10 and k25. Nor is there any clear data on how much MPG I would lose going with K25 over a c10. My dad estimates 9-12 mpg with the K25 since its 4wd (if I understand it correctly) but I personally find it hard to believe its that bad since a 350 can get more horsepower than most engines these days and the weight of these trucks are similar to cars these days since stupid safety standards have added almost a 1000 pounds of extra crap onto vehicles.

If even one of these questions can be answered it would go a great deal in helping me figure out what exactly I wanna do for a project. I love all the great projects you guys do and some of them are completely amazing. However, since my dad hasn't welded in forever and I would probably blow up the block trying to learn how to use one he refuses to do any major body changes. I do wanna say I love every ones creativity and acceptance. One reason I chose a truck instead of a car was because the old car communities are complete purists and hate customization.

[cdowns]

WELCOME TO THE BOARD

#1 for a GMC style front it's really better to change the whole front clip

#2yes beds are interchangable and just bolt on

#3 yes you can make power with a 6cyl// but you can make more power cheaper with a 350 as the parts are so plentifull and theres tons of gently used parts to save even more money

#4 READ READ READ tons of tech articles from every magazine ever printed

$5 yor dad its pretty darn close with the MPG estimates. stock 2wd with 350 is not unusual for it to b in the 12-14range but it can b increased more easily than the 4wd trucks
overdrive trannys are thge single biggest gain in MPG they have the benefit of very low highwayRPM plus around town gears are excellent on acceleration. max MPG can b achevied with fuel injection if you wish to have computer controler
a 2wd carb truck can get in the 16-19mpg range pretty easily// i've heard of fuellie trucks getting over 20mpg but have no experience with them

all the mpg ratings are of course HIGHWAY miles around town is a different story

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR PROJECT and have fun and listen to you dad // you'll find out 25years from now that he really aint that dumb

[LMN8UR]

Originally Posted by Only1Glendale

#4 is there any way to find out exactly how much horsepower different add ons will give you? like Stroker kits, different carbs, and what not?

If there were, half of the aftermarket industry would be out of business! Don't believe 75% of the claimed horsepower gains you hear.

There is a program called Desktop Dyno that will help see what different changes can do to an engine. It's not perfect, but it is fun!

A short step 2wd with a 350 and overdrive would probably be the direction I would head. . .

[Only1Glendale]

Thanks for the info guys that really helps. We were probably going to do a 350 with a 383 stroker kit and a 4 barrel 750 cfm carb. We also wanna get a 4 speed manual with overdrive for it too, and of course its also because I like it on the floor cause the tree makes no sense to me. The fun part will be trying to fit audio into these kind of trucks since single cabs don't leave much room. I might end up a engineer after all this fiddling with stuff to make everything fit and stuff.

P.S. I don't think my dad is dumb, I just know that other 4wd cars and trucks don't get 9 mpg. I know that technology has changed but I also know ford chevy and GMC have all been guilty of using the same basic engine for decades (aka ford using the 4.6 for 40 years). Of course I don't care about MPG if I can get it to turn heads lol.