I agree on the 1-7/8 even if the build won't see much gain over the 1-3/4" primaries. You may tell yourself "I'm happy with 280 horsepower... then two years later the small primaries are the bottle neck for your 400 horsepower fresh build (like me) lol. The bigger SE LT's are only $30 higher.

With out the boomers the hotrod hobby today would be a bunch of confusion. I'm proud we paved the way for you kids to enjoy something other than... what else do y'all do... other than holding a mobile phone

 

If he can't do gears and wants a cam and headers why not some drop in cubes? It would totally be the best and easiest combo don't you guys think? 5.3 even with headers would murder a 4.8 for that use. Good thread

 

You might be old but you're not a boomer.

My buddy races dirt track, and his dad and all his dad's friends used to race dirt track. They laughed at me when I built my 6.0 saying how they could build a "stout" 350 SBC with a carb that would walk all over it ... They're great guys, but they are stuck in the 80s.

This is who I refer to when I say boomer, its more of a state of mind

 

6.0 swap would be cheaper and worth more...

 

I have that 4.8 with a 5spd, 2wd. I honestly wouldn't bother with a cam. Even with a manual, this engine doesn't do squat until over 4K rpms. Thats gotta suck when you load it down with firewood. I rev it out between 4-6K all the time, and its frickin annoying.

The common 3.622 crankshaft that's in just about everything else, (except the 4.8) will make that a 5.3, and drop that torque curve down from about 4300 to about 2300rpm, then add more than what that cam will do all through the range. A 6.0 (swap) will double that increase and start it out at about 1500. You can use gen IV rods, crankshaft, and pistons for forged internals. You can use 4.8 pistons to bump up the compression. A 5.3 or 6.0 would probably be enough to where you wouldn't have to worry about re gearing, (which makes up for the cost right there). Then you have a better starting point in case you want to keep going.

The only thing that makes sense to do to a 4.8 is to turbo it. If you're not going to do that, then you're spending the same: money, time, effort, etc... that you would on a 5.3 or 6.0, and all you're getting out of it, is a much smaller return/power band to work with.

I would definitely try to talk you into doing a 5.3 rebuild/swap, or 6.0 swap instead of camming what you have. AT THE LEAST, you should read up on what it takes to swap, compare the costs overall, and compare what you will get out of it. The 5.3 is the budget option, and the 6.0 is what you will want to do.

 

I can understand their train of thought. The SBC has over 6 decades of great racing heritage from NHRA to NASCAR. Seeing the two engine blocks side by side it's easy to see the LS is the better platform.

You can build SBC horsepower on the cheap because of the saturation of aftermarket parts available but it's not going to be as reliable as the LS design. I'd say in ten or so years we'll see LS aftermarket parts overtake SBC in sales. SBC builds will be more restoration than hotroding. It's getting harder and harder to find a good 010 4 bolt main SBC block everyday.

 

Took this selfie today

 

You look more alpha with the shades on

 

lmfao
dude where did you find that that **** is hilarious

 

The truck has a 3.42 gear ratio according to the window sticker which surprises me because my 04 3/4 ton 6.0 4l80e I believe has a 4.10 and this half ton moves out better with the 4.8 not a crazy weight difference being my 3/4 ton is a single cab long bed with smaller tires