Towing performance upgrades

[HookedOnReefing]

Looking for suggestions:

I have a '83 C20 Silverado with a factory 454 engine (picture in my avatar). According to Captkaos (thank you BTW for letting me know) it develops 205hp and 335lb/ft torque. I find that a little disappointing for an engine that size

I am planing on using this truck to tow a 7,000lb (total weight incl. load) horse trailer down the interstate almost every weekend. Trips will be 2 to 4 hours round trip every weekend.

I am a total newby when it comes to working on the internals of an engine and for now do not want to try my hand at opening it up. That leaves me with "bolt on" performance upgrades.

So what do you all suggest that I do to this truck so that it can comfortably tow a heavy load at highway and interstate speeds for a prolonged time. Not interested in showing off the engine, so more expensive shiny parts are not necessary. Looking for the most bang for my buck. When you suggest something, try to indicate the approx. gain in Hp/Torque if you know the answer.

Thanks All!

Alex

[Captkaos]

Unless it is worn out it should pull just about anything like it is.

[HookedOnReefing]

So I'm thinking I should invest in some of the basics such as:

Transmission Cooler
Transmission Temperature Gauge
Deeper Oil pan
Oil cooler, recommendations?
Electric Radiator Cooling Fan
Weight Distributing Hitch & Sway Control
Shift kit, needed?

What kind of setup as far as a Cold Air intake, Air Cleaner, Intake Manifold and Carburetor? These mods, if proven necessary, I'll do last.

[eventhorizon66]

For towing, definitely keep the Q-jet.  It will best any other carb in terms of off idle and low end response.  As far as bolt ons go, I would start by relieving restrictions in the exhaust.  A quality set of headers and dual exhaust should fit the bill nicely.  Of course, any modifications should be done after a tune up and playing with ignition timing some.

[Jims86tpisub]

^^^I second that!
I would recommend the biggest magnaflow you can get, and keep the pipe size stock for good flow, a good set of small tube headers would do quite nice(long tubes, if you can), and run a good synthetic oil in it, such as Amsoil, along with Amsoil filter.