69 396 vs lm7 CST build

[69chevy396cst]

Here's how it all began....truth be told my wife pushed me to get the ball rolling (to which I am extremely lucky). Over the past several years I've been doing project upon project around the house and with a now 2 year old around the house (no longer napping) I needed something to keep my mind off things and as my wife says away from searching for something to destroy and rebuild around the house. So with my wife nudging me to work on something around the house but not on the house a project car was my only option (o no, lol). My search began back in July, was looking for a complete project car that would take some time. But every time I found something I would talk myself out of it. Finally decided to just pull the trigger with whatever was available one day at the end of august. I went to the bank to pull out some cash to purchase a beater of a 69 mustang, and decided to search one more time before driving over a hour to look at it. And so I found this 69 chevy c20 fairly close by. At a price I really couldn't say no to, if it ran or not. I had had a 71 GMC 3/4 ton in high school and ended up having to sell it due to finances but always dreamed of rebuilding one myself. So out to unpaved roads I went (literally) to pick this truck up. Wouldn't run and battery was dead. I was told the carb was bad but for $1200 bucks I couldn't say no. Tow truck driver met me there and said if there was no other way than the way google had him go there would be no way to get this truck out of here. I almost got stuck in my awd outback in one spot. The owner pointed us in another direction and we slowly made it to paved roads and back home. At this point I had a clear title in hand, a non running truck and a short story on the truck. It had been originally purchased by this sellers pastor and he bought it from him when he noticed it had been sitting for awhile and the pastor was no longer using it. It had a camper on it all its life and last ran 2 years prior. The sun was already down when I got there so most information was gathered the following day. Here are some pics the next day

[69chevy396cst]

Some more pics cuz itll only let me upload 2-3 at a time

[69chevy396cst]

A few more

[69chevy396cst]

The day after I emptied out all the fluids...and cleaned out the bed. 2 mice in the coolant and 1 in the cab

[69chevy396cst]

After replacing all the fluids I got the truck to start that 2nd day with a new battery. Rough but running. Over the next week I pulled the carb to be rebuilt and pulled all the carpet cut the smell was intense. And had to acetone off some of the primer spray to see that color hiding underneath

[68bowtie]

Nice truck. Turquoise is a rare and great color, not a bad choice for a repaint.

[special-K]

That truck is a great example of the best of the best for '69 in a 3/4t 2wd truck. And the color is a great '69 color. That would make for a nice original restoration. Dedicated camper haulers make for best survivors. Where most 3/4t trucks were bought to work hard, and that they did, camper haulers sat waiting for that time of leisure and often had the convenience and comfort options not seen in work trucks.

I have to ask about your title for this thread.

[bigmac73]

nice truck start with, I would like to get back to the original question posted.

396 vs LM7 and see what the replies are??

[69chevy396cst]

68bowtie- I researched a little bit back when I first got the truck and the goal was to check and see how rare it is by posting and asking around but it took over 2 months to get access to post so I'm slowly trying to post progress. I read the 511 was rare and mostly a gmc color? The primer is hiding several rough spots too. I must say I do like the color. Curious to everyone's thoughts though.

Special K- I can jump ahead in the time line of the post and say I have the engine out cuz I found a blown head gasket between cylinder 6 and 8 a couple weeks in when I couldn't get vacuum or idle right and pretty much said why not just pull it, the works 75% done. The heads have been resurfaced But I'm debating throwing in a lm7. That's the question I was getting to last night and the night slipped away from me

Bigmac73- agreed. So from my research it seems I've got a fairly good set of options with the 396, cst, 511 color, and factory air. So the question is do I take away from the originality of the truck or stick with the big block? I'm open to everyone's comments...its been almost 3 months now and I still cant decide.
I just finished pulling the bed out cuz, well, the wood legit was just crumbling.

[dave6672]

Since you're asking for opinions, I'm partial to original trucks so it seems like a great candidate for a mechanical restoration, while removing the primer and exposing the original paint. Even though the paint is not perfect, it's a neat and uncommon color and would look cool considering it appears to be a rust free, solid western truck.

[69chevy396cst]

Jumping through the time line as I'm waiting for some responses...here are some pics of the carb after rebuild by the carb shop in Ontario, CA and cleaning up the valve covers a bit. Also the blown head gasket between cylinder 6 and 8.

[69chevy396cst]

Dave6672- the plan is to focus on seeing if I can get the original patina color to come through. It's just very time consuming with the acetone route. Looking for some better/quicker result suggestions? Although it's from cali it does have several rust spots. Mainly lower doors, behind both front tires, driver side floor, and possibly above front window on passenger side (hard to see). The bed looks great besides the wood clearly.

[Dukk]

My vote is 396 and stick a TBI fuel injection on it for better streetability while looking more original.

[GASoline71]

I'm not up to snuff on all the "LS Jargon"... I was hoping that LM7 was something of yore... but it's not.

I'd use a 396 before a 5.3 LS any day. But that's just me.

Gary

Gary

[dave6672]

Originally Posted by 69chevy396cst

Dave6672- the plan is to focus on seeing if I can get the original patina color to come through. It's just very time consuming with the acetone route. Looking for some better/quicker result suggestions? Although it's from cali it does have several rust spots. Mainly lower doors, behind both front tires, driver side floor, and possibly above front window on passenger side (hard to see). The bed looks great besides the wood clearly.

I don't have any experience with it, but here's a thread that talks about it.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=remove+primer

[69chevy396cst]

Duk- I've thought about that also. Holley sniper...m

Gasoline71- I had not idea the LS engines were even an option until after I started roaming the site after purchasing the truck. I think the main problem is I have never had either so how am I supposed to choose? May just have to put the 396 to really test it and then swap an LS into another one...😎

Dave6672- thanks. Looks like I'm gonna have to try some easy off

[69chevy396cst]

So to keep a long story short since the thread has jumped a bit. I got it running with poor vacuum and discovered a blown head gasket. Got the heads done and while waiting decided to pull the engine and tranny. It's been on non op since the guy parked it in 2017. So I've never even got it out the driveway just running slightly better and now its sitting while I decide on the route I wanna go. Lm7 vs 396. Lm7 is mostly for reliability and ease but the 396 is fairly easy to work on. And I've got most all the pieces already of I stay woth it and bonus it stays original. I Was also debating moving the gas tank to under the bed. It actually came with 2 saddle tanks. Both had an insane amount of rust/ slush in them and smelt horrible. It has a tank selector in the cab but at some point they bypassed straight to the in cab tank only. Any thoughts on tank location is appreciated also. I still have the saddle ones sitting in the backyard but they are pretty beat

[special-K]

There was a time when having a 396 was the sh!t. And these trucks are from that time. A well optioned big block vehicle would never be considered for a swap. Them came the new crowd of guys who are blind to anything but the LS swap. It's not even a thought, more like an impulse. You see a guy posting asking something like "which valve covers would look good on my truck's engine" and someone will post "LS it!". I think it's actually just one word, LSit, now . Nothing against LS swaps an an individual decision based on the end use of the truck. How much it will be driven like a modern vehicle is what I would consider. Not that these original motors can't run on down the same hiways. Some trucks are built from scratch or are bought with no motor.

And board rules state you would be required to change your user name to 69chevy5.3cst...

[BigBird05]

I have bought a lot of Big Block trucks over the years. I always pulled and sold the engines for more than I paid for the trucks. Then put a small block back in and resold the truck and made a lot of money. Unless you need a truck to pull a trailer with a bulldozer on it you don't need a big block. Pull it, sell it, and put in a gas friendly engine.

[88Stanger]

First off, damn fine truck! Great starting platform.
Here is how I look at things, ask the question to everyone, take in everything and then based on what YOU want, do that. I will not follow the crowd because that is the way they went, but if i go that direction i tend to change things up a bit anyways.
So, i have a 1969 C10 CST that was stock 350, turbo 400 long box. It had rust, wood bed with no wood and rusted in the likely places. It is now full frame off resto, 5.3 LS completely rebuilt with customer intake, headers, and such, 4L60E tranny and completely rebuilt rearend with 3:42 posi. I cut it down to short box and i let everyone know i did this because some purist hate this, but i love it. So there you have it. I have a cut down C10 to short box, running an LS and i love it. Better gas milage, starts right up every time, highway travel is great, has AC, and well its what i wanted. I fully respect those that hate cutdown C10's, or LS conversion haters, I respect all. I will tell you this, going LS is not necessary cheap and if some tell you it is, well that depends on how you do it. Just putting in a used LS7 may not cost much, but i am not one to do that, i rebuild it, period. And as i mentioned above, i must alter things a bit and i did on the motor. So, going LS is not cheaper in my view, but the overall run ability of LS is superior, gas mileage is better, and so on. Think about it, Chevy redesigned the Gen 1 blocks for a reason.
Now the fun part, i am building a factory shortbed 1966 C10, with a gen 1 350 stroked to 383, full roller, throttle body injected, complete rebuilt Muncie 4-Speed, and so on. So i will have the best of both worlds.
Anyways, Best wishes on the build, hope you have a great time with it, and best of all, enjoy it. Build what you want!!

[bubbasimms]

I had a similar situation with my 69 project. I inherited my 69 stepside when my step father passed away. He was oldschool, everything got a big block and a th400. he had acquired a 454 built as a 427 and a new th400 for the project when he passed. I'm wanted a more traditional build so I sold the 427/th400 and used the money to rebuild the old 250 six and 3 on the tree. Blasphemy some would say! Figure out what you want and do whatever floats your boat.

[69chevy396cst]

Special-k- I do realize the value in the rarity of the vehicle being the top of the line vehicle for its year. Which is why I'm posing this question. I appreciate all avenues of car restoration. I think I originally went into it thinking I'd go and update everything to newer technology- fuel injection and disc brakes but due to the background of the car it's making me question that thought process. I also have a 78 c20 which is completely original (besides the used front seat I picked up last year) with over 205k miles and it still moves down the round pretty good. I appreciate and respect everyone's opinion though.

Bigbird05- I actually thought of doing that and just tossing in a crate 350 engine and calling it a day.

88stanger- I agree. Great place to gather multiple different opinions and be able to make a better educated decision with said info. Your short bed LS is actually exactly what I'd do if I had no idea what the SPID said or was a basic c10 no options truck. PS the 66 sounds like a fun project also.

Bubbasimms- thanks for the advice. There are multiple ways to burn a gallon of gas. Might as well enjoy it.

[Ironangel]

Originally Posted by GASoline71

I'm not up to snuff on all the "LS Jargon"

I'd use a 396 before a 5.3 LS any day. But that's just me.

Gary

Gary

^^^What he said ^^^

[Aus69c20]

I have a 69 c20 similar to yours. Not a cst though.
I had the quadrajet rebuilt and long story short I ended up with a sniper efi system on the 396. It starts better, runs better and feels faster. But it’s not without its quirks. Fortunately my 396 is in excellent condition but if I was in a position where I had to rebuild the 396 I’d have to think long and hard about an Ls.

Don’t buy into the Ls engine being a more reliable engine. I’ve daily driven my 50 year old 396 for almost 5 years and it’s never let me down. As special-K often says, they were driven daily back in the day so why not now. Sorry if I got that wrong special-K.
But if I had rebuild the 396 and convert to efi. I’d just LSit and stick the bigblock under the workbench. That way you can have a factory efi system, power and reasonable fuel economy.

I couldn’t put in a 5.3 though. Just doesn’t seem right in a big block truck.
It would have to be the 6.2.

Here’s a pic of mine.

[Aus69c20]

As a side note. Since you asked about tank location.
I still run the in cab tank feeding a surge pot under the bed floor. Which would also work for the Ls.