wanting to hot rod my truck

John Wright · January 6, 2018

Hey ya'll! I have a 95' GMC with a bone stock 350 with TBI. I just rebuilt the transmission about 10k ago. I really want to add some power to this weak engine. Thinking cam, headers, intake etc. Not a huge budget for this, so, any affordable ideas would be great. I haven't had any experience yet with TBI stuff, cause, I'm old school. If I change out my cam and lifters, do I need a chip for my computer?

GRN69CHV · January 7, 2018

You're going to spend a bunch of money and barely notice any power increase. Anything less than 100 hp increase in a full size truck, you'll barely notice the difference. Give you an example. Had a '69 Chevelle SS (4,000# car). First motor was a 396 putting out about 400HP. Ran ok but nothing special. Swapped that out to a 454 putting out 500HP. Now we're getting somewhere. Next up was 468" motor pushing 575HP. Basically ran the same ET/MPH as the 500HP motor, little faster, but surprisingly that extra 75 HP wasn't night and day. Last iteration was a 540" BBC dyno'd at 705HP. Now that made a difference. Point being, when you say you really want to add some power think 100HP. JMHO.

John Wright · January 8, 2018

I'm not trying to build a drag truck. I just a nice thumpy cam and a really good tone. Just want to increase the hp a bit. Not trying to completely kill my fuel millage either.

KARNUT · January 8, 2018

Make sure the truck is healthy to begin with. Add exhaust then save your money buy a super charger. If you want cheap HP go with the bottle. Read up on it do it right, cheap thrills for many miles.

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Chebbyfan · January 8, 2018

Following. I'm in the same boat with my 90 Sport. I'm thinking carb, intake, distributor, cam and headers. I have already changed the rear gear from 3.42s to 4.10s and gone thru the tranny. The only other option, is get another motor and throw it together quick and drop in instead of putting parts in this one.

sams819 · January 8, 2018

Cheaper to just but a crate motor. Chevy offers a large number of motors. You also get a warranty. If you know someone, such as a business that gets a dealer discount all the better.

GRN69CHV · January 8, 2018

11 hours ago, John Wright said:

I'm not trying to build a drag truck. I just a nice thumpy cam and a really good tone. Just want to increase the hp a bit. Not trying to completely kill my fuel millage either.

I understand that John, just wanted to input that when dealing with the weight of a truck it takes a large power increase to notice a difference. First thing I would do (don't laugh) is higher stall converter. I had Coan build me a 2600 stall towing converter for one of the 454 builds for the Chevelle. Was great, allowed the motor to get into the fat of the power curve a lot quicker then very little slippage. Not saying you need to spend big money on a converter, but if you've ever ran an automatic with a higher stall, you'd know what I mean. Not talking about a 9.5" racing converter, but a good 11" unit. That's absolutely something to be considered, especially if you want to install a little more cam.

Edited January 8, 2018 by GRN69CHV

KARNUT · January 9, 2018

Iv built plenty of cars and trucks ( have a stroked blown 92 currently) stalls on street vehicles with street tires don’t mix. Kills gas mileage, drivability sucks. You want power to come in mid range and up so you’re not blowing the tires like you would with a stall.

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GRN69CHV · January 9, 2018

10 hours ago, KARNUT said:

Iv built plenty of cars and trucks ( have a stroked blown 92 currently) stalls on street vehicles with street tires don’t mix. Kills gas mileage, drivability sucks. You want power to come in mid range and up so you’re not blowing the tires like you would with a stall.

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Right converter for the setup does not do that. 9.5" or 10" converter set up to stall at 3000 or higher absolutely would suck in a truck. 12"-13" towing converter set up to stall at 2200-2400 will not. Worse thing you can do is install a bigger cam with a stock converter. To each his own. Just making suggestions on first hand experience.

Forget I even mentioned a higher stall converter. What the OP should do is go ahead, install a cam with a lumpy idle, then we can sit back and wait for the new threads to appear. "Help, can't get motor to idle in gear"; "Help, changed cam, truck is slower"

http://www.coanracing.com/converters.html

Edited January 9, 2018 by GRN69CHV

KARNUT · January 9, 2018

Right converter for the setup does not do that. 9.5" or 10" converter set up to stall at 3000 or higher absolutely would suck in a truck. 12"-13" towing converter set up to stall at 2200-2400 will not. Worse thing you can do is install a bigger cam with a stock converter. To each his own. Just making suggestions on first hand experience.

Forget I even mentioned a higher stall converter. What the OP should do is go ahead, install a cam with a lumpy idle, then we can sit back and wait for the new threads to appear. "Help, can't get motor to idle in gear"; "Help, changed cam, truck is slower"

http://www.coanracing.com/converters.html

By the time he did as you suggested he’d have more money in it than adding a S/C like a Vortec. He can do in one weekend, the best part no tearing down the engine everything comes in a kit no guessing. No matching the RPMs to cruising speed so it’s doesn’t sound like the transmission is slipping or worries about transmission overheating etc. I’ve done both ways, like a S/C better. Done the cheap way to,nitrous done right works good too.

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GRN69CHV · January 9, 2018

Couldn't agree more, absolutely a supercharger is hands down going to add power. Cam, headers and converter route should be a lot less $$$.

John Wright · January 16, 2018

Thanks guys! I know as long as I don't throw a 305 hydraulic cam in there, should'nt need a stall. I have a 68' that has a big cam and it has a 2800 stall. Perfect combo with headers. This truck I'm talking about(1995 GMC) is my daily driver. Just never messed with TBI set up and a cam swap. I'm understanding that the milder the cam, I should'nt have to do anything to the computer. Unless I just want too. I found a stage one chip on E-bay for under 100. Can still run cheap gas and no major mods need to be done. Just cam and headers.

XSKIER · April 20, 2018

Now that some time has passed, how is your 95 build progress coming along? I searched coan on this site, and this thread is a result with no conclusion.

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XSKIER · June 30, 2018

After the great advice that I found on this thread, I placed an order with coan. I gave them my truck specs and about a grand. A week later I received a sweet billet triple disc unit, which is about 3800 rpm stall. I absolutely love it! Makes the truck seriously haul ass from a dig, but is good enough for driving around under 3k rpm. Miles Per Gallon? Don't care.