Author Topic: Engine and Transmission Suggestions -  (Read 1966 times)

Offline Hamiltonlawnsvc

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Engine and Transmission Suggestions -
« on: January 31, 2018, 06:34:45 PM »
I would love to do a LS swap but im just not tech savvy -  Lets say I want to stay with a 350 - What transmission would fit in a 73C10? 

I want to put a shifter on the floor.  It used to have a 3 speed column.  I took it out. 

Trimec chevy trans?  700R4?   which transmission would bolt up to a 350 nicely and have the power and speed? 

Thanks in advance. 


Offline Irish_Alley

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Re: Engine and Transmission Suggestions -
« Reply #1 on: January 31, 2018, 08:47:52 PM »
wellllll lets say you keep the 350, are you 2wd or 4wd? a 700r4 will swap but you need the cross member from the 700r4 and might need the driveshaft if it came from the same wheelbase. not sure what trans you have now but you might luck out and be able to reuse your old driveshaft but spline count might be an issue.

the 700r4 is an ok trans if its not abused, try and look for an older one they started them in 82 and the name changed in 87 to 4l60 not to be confused with the 4l60e which started in 94 and will require a computer to shift. the power does not come out of the trans but the motor and if you build the motor to make more than moderate power above stock then you might want to have the trans rebuilt to handle that extra power.

all in all the simple price of the trans swap wont pay for itself in saved MPG except if its a daily driver and even then it will take years to pay for.
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Offline nucknoel89

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Re: Engine and Transmission Suggestions -
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2018, 12:03:40 AM »
Honestly an LS swap isn't as hard as you think. I'd say do a 5.3 or whatever.

Offline boomboy110

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Re: Engine and Transmission Suggestions -
« Reply #3 on: February 15, 2018, 03:38:53 PM »
The LS swap would be a nice swap, especially if using the EFI. But, that would require having to adapt it over to EFI, and it might not be all that hard to do, it would be extra $.
I have a th350 behind my 350, and I have no problems with it. The 4th gear would be nice, especially if running low gears(3.73/4.11), but if you have anything taller, the extra effort and $ to install the 700r4, but be hard to justify. I am getting around 18+ mpg with the setup I currently have. It's just a stock crate 350, with a stock th350. It's not a crazy power house, but doesn't ever lack on power though. It was a very nice upgrade from the I6 250 and 3 on the tree that the truck originally came with though.
I'm no expert, or as knowledgeable as a lot of the guys on here. That's just my own experience.

Offline Smokehouse

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Re: Engine and Transmission Suggestions -
« Reply #4 on: September 01, 2018, 03:58:52 PM »
My thought on an ls swap or efi Conversion on a 350 that everyone seems to forget is the gas modern gas really doesn’t like carbs all that will and finding and paying for “real gas” can be challenging and expensive. Now if you daily a classic it might be ok but if you just drive your classic every now and then you’ll be running into problems with a carb. Another example is some friends of mine drove a vw ghia to Colorado for a show years ago and when they got there they had to pull over and change the jets out because of the altitude and coming back they had to change them back out again. Thats my two cents on converting to ls or efi. I plan on doing a ls 5.3. Besides a bone stock 350 only had 200hp while a 5.3 has over 300 bone stock.
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