drivetrain swap

[falke85]

hi all i have a wrecked 1997 suburban with a great motor,transmission and transfer case. im wanting to put it into a 1985 3/4 ton. how hard is this going to be?

 

[kleedus]

engine and tranny not to bad but t-case is a no go unless you use a ford axle up front. front output is on the wrong side.


if your 97 is a half ton it will have a vortec 350 with a 4l60

3/4 ton will have a 4l80 tranny with a vortec 350 or maybe a 454

the motor and tranny are pretty much bolt in you can use a 208 or a 241 pass side front output t-case from a 700r4 or turbo 350 with the 4l60. the 4l80 can use a 208 or a 241 from a turbo 400 or 85 and up sm 465 4 speed

now the fuel injection is another hurdle but not hard.
get sending units and fuel tanks for a 87 and you can put the fuel pump for a vortec in the 87 sending unit. then run fuel lines for the vortec injection.

and then you need a wiring harness and computer with custom tune. I had oneluckypops a member here modify my harness out of a 96 Tahoe he does great work I sent him every wire out of my 96 Tahoe and he sent me back a custom built harness for my swap.

the egr runs from the driver side manifold to the intake you will need to find a way to hook that up the 97 manifold will not fit the 85. I am removing the egr from my vortec swap. you can get block off plates on ebay and in your tune have the egr removed.

I am sure there is more I am forgetting but it is a doable swap

or you could get a carbed vortec intake and a tranny controller but they are kinda spendy

I have some details in my crew cab build thread I am putting a vortec 383 in it. there is a link to my thread in my signature at the bottom of my posts

 

[falke85]

Thank you! What kind of money are we talking about to get the wiring harness done?

 

[Nippolean]

Drivetrain vs. Body Swap

Im considering updating my 1986 K1500 GMC Sierra Classic single cab short bed step-side to a newer frame. Preferably from the 1999 and newer GM series of trucks.

I know its a lot of work, however im wondering if any one has done a Body swap or a drive-train swap including the axles.

I currently have a line on an 01 Yukon with a complete running chassis. the body is the only damage as it was rolled. I know that i would have to move the rear axle back about 3-5 inched due to the wheel base differences. Besides the obvisous challenges with electrical, body mounts, and small things, what other challenges might i have or face if i do this? Or is it even worth trying?

Im new to the site so any help would be greatly appreciated.