Big plans, am i crazy?

[Willie G]

Hello 47. I have a 1970 C10 cut to short bed (Thanks a lot BS46488) with a 68 front clip, a 1971 frame for front Disc brakes and rear coil springs, Stock A arms 2.5 spindles w/3” drop springs – front, 5” drop springs w/2 inch blocks – rear, C- notched,.
The truck came with a blown 383 stroker w/ turbo 350 tranny, The transmission was rebuilt two months prior to engine failure. I had the engine machined, rebuilt with ross racing pistons, a small engle cam, and added vortec 906 heads with hardened seats and a serpentine belt set up. Then I changed my mind and wanted to go LS. I recently bought an 05 Yukon XL Denali. Only problem is it’s an AWD. A friend told me that wouldn’t be a problem as I could easily have it converted to 2WD. I hope he is right. I was wondering how much of the Denali I could use in my c10? I would like to use as much as I can from the Denali. Gauge cluster, fuel system, rear view mirror, etc,,, Could I use the entire electrical system, minus a few things? What motor mount brackets would I use to keep everything in the factory location, especially the A/C compressor? Even though the Denali runs great, I will be doing a bottom rebuild, Flat top pistons, adding a cam (I want it close to stock idle, something like 212/218 LSA 118 as little lope as possible), and taking the heads down a little to get around 10.5 CR. This is my first Chevy build, so I don’t have too much experience with the electricals and would be having a ton of questions. Please let me know what I’m getting myself into and what I can do to make this as painless as possible. Thanks in advance. Wil

[Willie G]

Had the bed cut, but it didn't come out that great, so I am getting the after market one from brothers.

[cornerstone]

I would suggest you post this in the LS swap section of the forum and hope that ls1nova helps you out. He and a few others who frequent there are very well versed in these swaps.

[Willie G]

Thank you.

[mplex2000]

I did the same, bought a 6.0 swap from a 4wd truck. The trans guy that my buddies deal with converted the 4l80e from that to 2wd for about $250. Turned out the trans needed a rebuild anyway so I ended up spending a LOT more but point being, don't fear the conversion as that alone is a minor expense.

[Willie G]

That's music to my ears. I drive it daily and it seems fine. But if the price is right, a rebuild will be done. What else have you Don's for the ls swap?