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96 Chevy c1500 project


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My grandfather has a 96 c1500 that has been sitting up for 5 years and besides the exterior, it's in bad shape. He's giving me the truck and I would like to do a full restoration on it. The reason it's been parked is because the timing chain broke. I'm sure the engine is no good now so I envisioned buying a crate motor, preferably a 454 (if that's possible) I want to do this right, performance first, then cosmetics. If anyone can help me sort my ideas and help me make a list of what all I need, it would be greatly appreciatedpost-134697-141205406529_thumb.jpgpost-134697-141205408419_thumb.jpg

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A broken timing belt shouldn't hurt a truck engine. They are simple to change, just realign the timing dots on the gears and you are good to go. I don't think these GM truck engines are interference fit, ie, the valves and pistons can hit when the timing chain or belt breaks. I personally would start with the timing belt first. Get the engine going and drive it. Change all the fluid and filters and see what you have. Body looks ok, check the frame. These trucks really aren't going to be classics so I would think seriously about how much money you sink into it. You will spent some on a bunch of new parts, brakes, u-joints etc. I would get a handle on all that first before I went wild on a new engine and complete make over.

Trucks to me are working wheels. They are handy for what they do but they are pigs on gas and if you get crazy pigs on your bank account. My little gas miser is great for many things but it can't pull my boat or my camper, can't bring a ton of firewood home or even fit a 2x4x8' in it. But it will go over twice as far on a gallon of gas than my truck will. It also cost half what my truck cost.

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I'd follow the advice of Bruce and put a new timing chain in it first and see how it runs, it will be by far your most cost effective option. The 5.7's (a.k.a. the good ol' 350's) are remarkably forgiving engines and Chevrolet has offered them in many versions of displacement and of basically the same design since the 50's for a reason.

 

As far as power is concerned, save your money for now and wait on the 454 install which is a whole new can of worms. My buddy did this and it's been one issue after another with gauges that don't work, the computer that's messed up and doesn't properly work with the engine (you really need a computer out of a 454 truck!), tranny problems and on and on. The 350 in your truck most likely has the Vortec cylinder heads (looks like it does from the pictures) which are easily identified by the center bolt valve covers vs. the standard perimiter bolt valve covers and these heads are arguably the best stock small block heads Chevy ever produced and trump anything from the performance hay-days of the 60's and early 70's. They typically offer a potential boost of 30 to 40+ HP over any previous stock "performance" Chevy small block cylinder heads. The Vortec heads respond to performance upgrades such as an aftermarket performance camshaft and headers quite nicely, your only limit would likely be the stock EFI but I'm sure with a bit of research there's some tuning tricks for that as well. Assuming after the timing chain replacement the engine runs good, I'd contact Comp Cams for their recommendations on cam selection, they're very good at what they do! A number of years ago Hot Rod Magazine took a bone stock 350 with Vortec heads and the stock dished low compression pistons, did nothing other than install a new cam and induction, and made over 400 HP (420 if I recall correctly, not too shabby!) on a dyno! Even with the stock EFI and a free breathing exhaust I'd expect somewhere north of 300 HP with the right cam.

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A good, strong ignition with the right timing curve is always important, visit Jeg's or Summit Racing for some ideas, maybe an MSD box or similar. Other than what I mention above, you could look into a shift kit from B&M if they offer one, that or a reprograming of the transmission. This will make the shifting firmer and perhaps give you a little tire squawk when it shifts. ;-) Different (lower) gearing in the rear end always wakes things up and will make it quicker out of the hole, but then you may have drive-ability issues on the highway if you get too crazy with lower gearing. With an OD transmission you probably could get away with going with a lower set of cogs (4:11's?) and be just fine and still have respectable (not excessive) engine RPM and fuel economy on the highway.

 

Being it has a 142,000 rounds on it I probably wouldn't go too crazy with much else for performance upgrades unless you were to tear into the engine first and freshen things up, but at that mileage it should be in good enough shape to do the things I describe and you'll be fine and have a good truck for hauling and fun street machine with respectable power. I might suggest you subscribe to Hot Rod magazine or check out their videos on YouTube, lots of good info there every month.

 

How about addding a 100 HP Nitrous kit? ;-) Just kidding, in that case you want to do the rebuild first!

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