What engine should i put in my 82 crew?

[82ccshorty]

I have a 82 crew cab short bed and i need to go ahead and find a motor for it so i can start building. i want to make pretty high power. Ive consider 8.1 turboed vortec, supercharged 454s, supercharged small blocks, even thought about a 598. But i cant decide. so i need some opionions/more options.

[N2TRUX]

If it were me I would consider building a 6.0 LS motor. They can be found for cheap, and make LOTS of power at a reasonable price. If your looking for a plug and play, try for a 6.2.

[Billett]

Definitely LS. Awesome power, great fuel mileage and tons of parts readily available on the cheap.

[wyattglock]

If I had to pull the 454 in my truck again, it would be replaced with an LS block. Find yourself a donor truck with a 6.0/4l80e and it will be hard to beat. The 8.1 is pretty stout, but I think all around the 6.0 is a little better for driveability and parts.

[Firebirdjones]

It depends on the intended use of the truck. Do you plan to tow alot or is this just a driver?

I went 2 different routes on 2 trucks I have because they are both on either end of that question.

My daily driven blazer got the 6.0 LS swap with a 4L60E, great driveability, good mileage, good power.

My 79 1 ton pickup is my tow vehicle, so an LS swap just wouldn't cut it. I needed alot of grunt. I prefered more than the 454 had that came out, and I knew a 6.0 LS wouldn't provide enough. 502 BBC was the answer for this truck. Easy and painless swap that I did in a weekend.

The LS swap isn't exactly cheap either so that's something to keep in mind. Since my blazer is a 4x4 it added to the cost with more adapters, but in the end when I figure the cost of buying a low mile 6.0, building a very stout 4L60 to hold the power, a fuel system, wire harness and computer setup, electric fans, custom cross member and many other little things that you don't count on to do a swap of this caliber,,,,I spent about $7k start to finish. The LS swap cost more than the brand new 502 GM crate motor that went into my 79,,,and only makes about 2/3's the power.

Gotta weigh your options and your bank account I'm open to any swap so long as it suits the intended purpose of the vehicle.

[Billett]

all I want to know is where in the heck you can get a brand new turn key 502 for less than 7k!? sounds like the kind of deal I'd like to find!

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by Billett

all I want to know is where in the heck you can get a brand new turn key 502 for less than 7k!? sounds like the kind of deal I'd like to find!

Scoggin/Dicky

I bought a brand new crate 502HT complete for $5800 + $200 to ship to my front door. Even has a warranty that can be dealt with at any GM dealer. Ironically it was the same price to build my 454 into a 496 by the time I paid machine shop bills and a rotating assembly, retrofit roller cam etc. (and no real warranty to speak of)..so I just decided to go the crate engine route and be done with it. I don't like machine shop jail if you know what I mean

It's complete minus the intake (and accessories of course). Comes with balancer and flexplate, oil pan etc...small roller cam, small peanut heads which was perfect for my purposes, and the entire bottom end is forged (rods/pistons/crank) just like the big brother 502HO version (it's the exact same short block). So you get a solid foundation that will last for years and take abuse.

I swapped over my water pump (it was only a year old), and I was already running a performer intake manifold so that went on the 502 as well as the long tube headers I was already running. Turn key and go....

[82ccshorty]

Originally Posted by Firebirdjones

It depends on the intended use of the truck. Do you plan to tow alot or is this just a driver?

I went 2 different routes on 2 trucks I have because they are both on either end of that question.

My daily driven blazer got the 6.0 LS swap with a 4L60E, great driveability, good mileage, good power.

My 79 1 ton pickup is my tow vehicle, so an LS swap just wouldn't cut it. I needed alot of grunt. I prefered more than the 454 had that came out, and I knew a 6.0 LS wouldn't provide enough. 502 BBC was the answer for this truck. Easy and painless swap that I did in a weekend.

The LS swap isn't exactly cheap either so that's something to keep in mind. Since my blazer is a 4x4 it added to the cost with more adapters, but in the end when I figure the cost of buying a low mile 6.0, building a very stout 4L60 to hold the power, a fuel system, wire harness and computer setup, electric fans, custom cross member and many other little things that you don't count on to do a swap of this caliber,,,,I spent about $7k start to finish. The LS swap cost more than the brand new 502 GM crate motor that went into my 79,,,and only makes about 2/3's the power.

Gotta weigh your options and your bank account I'm open to any swap so long as it suits the intended purpose of the vehicle.

Its going to be a show truck/ocassionally driver. So i was thinking a big motor.

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by 82ccshorty

Its going to be a show truck/ocassionally driver. So i was thinking a big motor.

Keeping in mind when you say big motor I think at least 540 cubes or more,,,because even a 502 isn't all that big by todays standards...

Are we on the same page??

[pwtr02ss]

lsx

[82ccshorty]

Originally Posted by Firebirdjones

Keeping in mind when you say big motor I think at least 540 cubes or more,,,because even a 502 isn't all that big by todays standards...

Are we on the same page??

well big motor to me is anything over 454. i was thinking a twin turbo motor. i want 750hp at the least

[manimal]

Why bother with gas? Go Cummins,crank up the fuel and turbo the snot out of it AND get decent MPG PLUS the HP you're looking for. All that for probably LESS than a BIG HP gas engine.

[Billett]

Didn't realize this was for show. Definitely BBC then. They are much prettier engines IMO, and more apt to draw a crowd

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

People can appreciate the brute power of BBCs. I know I can.

[82ccshorty]

Supercharged or a twin turbo? either a supercharged 454 or twin turbo 8.1?

[Billett]

Twins will probably get you more power and they're less common
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[82ccshorty]

Twin turbo 454 blow threw carb motor would be pretty bad
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[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by 82ccshorty

well big motor to me is anything over 454. i was thinking a twin turbo motor. i want 750hp at the least

Ah okay then. 750hp from a BBC is a piece of cake with a power adder. I agree with others since this is destined to be a show truck then a BBC has much more eye appeal when you pop the hood.

As far as which power adder, do what your wallet allows. Twin turbos are neat and with a full size truck it's easy to package everything.

A simple Procharger setup would easily reach your HP goal too, less expensive, less plumbing, and still has eye appeal. If you want eye appeal with the hood closed a good ole' fashioned roots is always a crowd pleaser too

[86c20]

if ti is a show truck and you want power to tow and you want differant then how about a twin compond 6v53 detroit? that will get lots of looks and you can put big injectors in it and the power will be nuts as it is a two stroke. if i recall a stock 6v53t is 210 hp and 600ish lbft. or if you really want gas there is a 833 big big block. it makes a big block look like a small block 1000hp on pump gas

[BigBlocksRule]

You're sure going to piss off a lot of cash for a powerful engine that you're not going to use. For a show truck, you could drop a completely chromed engine in with no internals, just a shell, and push the thing around, say whatever you want about it and nobody would be able to tell the difference.
Build a 454 - nobody can tell how big it is from the outside. A 396 looks just like a 454. Dress it up nice and go from there. No need for forced induction for show, you can add plenty of bling to make up for it. Pretty engines don't win shows, they're only part of the puzzle. For a tricked out 540 with a huffer or hairdryers you're at $15K, blinged-out N/A engine is half that.

[N2TRUX]

Sounds like you need to give Nelson Racing Engines a call. Better break out the AmEx Carbon card. That Platnium card might not be enough to cover this one.

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by BigBlocksRule

. A 396 looks just like a 454.

Balancer is a dead giveaway.

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by 86c20

if ti is a show truck and you want power to tow and you want differant then how about a twin compond 6v53 detroit? that will get lots of looks and you can put big injectors in it and the power will be nuts as it is a two stroke. if i recall a stock 6v53t is 210 hp and 600ish lbft. or if you really want gas there is a 833 big big block. it makes a big block look like a small block 1000hp on pump gas

As much as I like how the turbo diesels make stupid power,,,they aren't exactly pretty to look at. Not my idea of eye appeal.

They do make interesting swaps though, and great towing power when you crank up the boost.

I'm also not liking the diesel gas prices right now either. The fact that it's .40 cents higher than even the highest premium gas is just laughable.

91 octane pump is currently $3.63 and Diesel right now is $4 a gallon

I feel sorry for the diesel guys right now, that unrefined fuel was never intended to be more expensive than gas when all the diesel hipe started,,,,oh how the tables turn...

Not meaning to get into a fuel discussion but the difference in fuel prices could persuade someones decision making for engine swaps, (it had a little to do with my decision).

[manimal]

But when you're talking about 6-8mpg maybe even 10 for a BBC,then 18-25 with a diesel, I wouldnt mind paying the extra $.40....and in MY opinion the 12 Cummins is a gorgeous engine.
"BUT" it's not my money.........

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by manimal

But when you're talking about 6-8mpg maybe even 10 for a BBC,then 18-25 with a diesel, I wouldnt mind paying the extra $.40....and in MY opinion the 12 Cummins is a gorgeous engine.
"BUT" it's not my money.........

The difference in mileage is actually much closer than that.

My 502 with no overdrive gets 14 mpg highway and my neighbors 04 duramax with only 20k miles on it gets about 17 mpg highway with it's 5 speed allison trans.....Not enough to persuade me. I'm actually in the process of a GV for my truck that should gain me another 2-3 mpg,,,right on par with my neighbors duramax,,,so for me it's a toss up.

When we both towed my 28 foot enclosed trailer he was getting 13 mpg and I get about 10.

Granted his duramax is bone stock and there is some tweaking that can be done in the tune, namely cranking up the boost for stupid power. Currently we are both making the same power but he is paying 40 cents more per gallon for gas.


I have seen some of the smaller diesels that are respectable on mileage however. I wouldn't mind owning a new diesel as the duramax is now making silly power in stock form,,,,but the price of the truck,,,and the price of the diesel fuel persuaded me to just keep my ole' 502 pickup