1998 K1500 Z71 rebild

[Paulyk16]

I am starting a project to fix up my truck, and im planning to take out the engine and rebuild it. So what I am wondering is what I can do to my engine and transmission to make it more powerful and reliable. I want it to be kind of a race truck and also a truck that I don't have to worry about hauling anything with. Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful, even if its not on the engine and transmission. The picture with the tow mirrors is what it looks like now and the picture without tow mirrors is what I had it to start with.

[Logan Lanfear]

In terms of rebuilding, higher flow heads (vortec heads are already decent), exhaust, intake, cam.  There is always a forced induction route but that can really break the bank.    Upgrade brakes as large as they will go with your wheel size.  Consider a rear disc brake conversion.  If it has the tow package already you should have 3.73 gears in the rear as well as a trans cooler and engine oil cooler.  Definitely rebuild the 4L60e and consider a shift kit or beefier internals.  These older model transmissions are not the toughest but can be built to take more horses.  Be careful with lift kits or leveling kits, they do change the geometry of the suspension and can often make towing and racing harder on the truck.  Even with the upgrades, I would hesitate to tow more than 7000 pounds.  These half tons just wernt built to haul that much and stopping can be a little hairy if the trailer brakes went out.