If you are a fast reader, keep going, it gets better as you go...

 

my little red truck in my sig is getting this treatment someday down the road, so Im definitely in for some ideas and whatnot on getting it all done.

Im thinking of going junkyard 6.0/4l80e with the 70mm turbo I bought for my Silverado. Something similar to how Stock48's Silverado is setup, but in my s10.

 

I can give you a suggestion.... And its a good one honestly. Since your truck is already EFI, buy a COMBO (Engine and trans together) from a salvage yard and stick with EFI until you get your feet wet and are real familiar with your truck and its electronics. If you want the 6.0, then finding one with the 4L80e wont be too hard. Pricey, but not too hard. If you are willing to pay truck freight, you can find steal of a deals further south. Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia. Plus less chance of running into an engine that has been as bombed with salt like the northern engines have been. I found a 6.0 and a 6L80e from an 09 G8 on ebay. Pull out with ecu and harness, matched combo. Quick trip to your local tuner can get ecu unlocked for the conversion, or wait til you are all done with everything and take the truck down and have them unlock it and tune it all in one trip.

 

Read the thread TX Silverado 2.0 on here and you will get an absolute boatload of information for your build. It is 70+ pages long, so be ready to do some reading for a while.

 

Actually one of the members here is going to do it for me so I'll let you know but we are talking a few months probably to find the truck and finish. Not gonna stretch it out for 2 yrs though. No patience for that lol! Man your idea would be ideal!

Makes sense to me!
It is a long read but very informative! I'm not wanting to sink 16k besides the price of the truck but I've done it before lol. Still a very nice ride!

 

it can be done for a LOT less. i have a bad habit of going too far with projects. a junkyard 5.3 with a stock 60e would have cut around 7,000 off of my bill...then keeping the stock suspension and control arms would save me another 2,500 or so. but, i wanted a truck that could hook on a dirt road and pull the tires on a drag radial. that's what i have. around 2k in a complete bad to the bone nitrous kit. You have to pay to play. i'm tired of paying lol

 

No question your truck is totally bad to the bone though. Pulling the tires has to be awesome! What do you think it will actually end up costing me in swap parts alone besides engine and tranny? Are headers required? I ask in case I turbo it later I wouldn't mind keeping manifolds on it if possible. I appreciate all the helpful comments from everyone!

 

all you really NEED is motor mounts, a hummer H3 oil pan/pickup/windage and transmission mount along with a wiring harness. figure out what you want to do for a radiator and start slinging wrenches. if you plan to run drag radials or slicks, dont expect that 7.5 rear to hold for long.

 

Exhaust is going to depend COMPLETELY on where you want to run it and how you want to route it. Yeah, guys are making tons of power on stock manifolds, but how much are they having to cut off to get the v-band flanges on them and pointing them in different angles to avoid all the accessories and belts and hoses.

The routing and placement is up to you, not anyone else. If you want the turbo sitting up on top of the damn roof, it can be done. You will get plenty of clean air and puree'd bugs and birds in the process, though.

If you are wanting to go turbo on the project, do it from the start. That way you don't have to RE-SPEND for stuff along the way. Build it as a turbo project and don't look back. And definitely look into a disc brake 8.8" rear or a 9" rear built for the S-10 platform you are building. Start buying small stuff now and working on the items, like getting an 8.8 rear end for $2-300 and clean it thoroughly, replace bearings if you need to, find you some 3.55 gears if it's not already got them, and some really good degreaser and both elbows. You now have a start to your project.

If I had done that last year, it would not be my weakest link in this S-10 of mine this year. (the rear end in my S-10....)

 

Great, thanks! If I bought a 4.3 truck would I be any better off? Would the stock radiator work with some different fans?
I was thinking rear mount if I did it actually since I already have it off my 07 but if not I'll just put it on my 06 as was planned. I hear the 8.8 is pretty strong. I would just have Jeremy at LSX do it all anyway because he could knock it out right away. I'm an AC contractor in Arlington and this is my busy season so no time for me until winter to do much except locate and purchase a truck. Can't wait to see both of you guys get them to the track when running and running again!