Engine mods on an 86 4x4 for towing a 3000lb. travel trailer???

[reddog74usa]

I recently picked up an 86 4x4 long bed that is bone stock and original with 68K miles on it. Very solid rust free AZ. truck but it runs like a slug so I want to zip it up a little so I can pull a 3000 LB. travel trailer. It's a 350 with a 700R4 and 3:73 gears. Looks like it's got every pollution control known to man on it. Any suggestions as to carb, cam, removing pollution controls, swapping out the exhaust ETC. would be appreciated. I'm in Colorado and elevations do change drastically so I'll need a combo that will work with that. NOT lookin for a hot rod just a nice crisp running truck.

[mongocanfly]

A good tuneup might be a place to start..I know from past experience that my older trucks never ran good or had much power when I went from Alabama to Colorado...elevation kills it...
Unless you've got big huge tires it should handle a 3k trailer fairly easy

[Dead Parrot]

The links in this thread are a good place to start. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=736001

Things like THERMAC, PCV, and to a lessor extent the charcoal canister are actually useful and beneficial.

If it is tuned for sea level, tuning for your primary altitude is a good place to start.

If the converter is one of the pellet type, switching to a better flowing honeycomb type can gain some performance.

[reddog74usa]

Thanks. I was looking under the hood and there's a decal saying it is tuned for higher elevations so That's a plus

[Alex V.]

3,000 lbs. isn't a whole lot. The stock Quadrajet can be a real good option, just not beset with the factory smog equipment and tune-up specs. 3.73's will be good gears for pulling, the 700r4 probably needs to stay out of OD a lot of the time - it will not hurt the engine to turn a few R's. Get it in perfect tune before throwing money at go-fast parts to try to warm it up. And that means more than just replacing all the tune-up parts - get timing at the optimum point, if the plugs aren't clean and consistent figure out why, if it stumbles or bogs, or seems to have weak points in the RPM range, figure out why, etc.

My limited experience towing travel trailers is that they catch a good amount of air behind an open bed pickup. Might be money just as well spent to get a camper shell, etc. to optimize aerodynamics than try to overcome all the extra drag with more power.

I assume it's a half ton truck?

[reddog74usa]

It's a 3/4 ton

[Alex V.]

What size tires? If it's around the 235/85r16 that the heavier duty trucks came with, 3.73's will definitely warrant 3rd in the 700r.

[D13]

A 3/4 ton won't care about towing #3000, other than the 700R4. Do NOT tow in OD. Do not try to set the land speed record. I towed much more than that with a 4.3 V6, run about 55 in 3rd gear and never had any issues. Travel trailers have big aero frontage so a cap may be advantageous. Change all the fluids, get the tune up spot on, and enjoy the cruise.

[Pontiac1976]

Add a trans cooler new tech one if it does not have one. The computer designed one help the trans live longer. As change all the fluids, get the tune up do not tow in OD,
air shocks can be nice help in the rear with the loads. The better the load is set up the easier tow is on motor & trans safer.

[kwmech]

First off, I'm questioning the 700 trans in a 3/4 ton unless it has been converted, but I've been here with the towing. Naysayers or not, the best thing you can do with this is to put in 4.56 gearing. I had a Suburban with the same set-up, 350 engine-700r4. I converted it to 8 lug for the larger brakes and 4.56 gears, best thing I ever did along with another trans cooler. I live in the Sierra Nevada mountians, lots of grades and changes in elevation also

[D13]

700R4 was available behind a 350 except for the HD chassis (C6P).
https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/doc...olet-Truck.pdf
I'm actually looking for an 86-87 frame to build, specifically because of the 700R4 in a 3/4 ton and the high cross memeber.