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96Firebird

Diamond Member
Nov 8, 2010
5,719
319
126
My dad gave me his 1976 Chevy C10 truck. Its been in the family since his dad (my grandpa) bought it brand new in 1976. My dad bought it off him in 1983, and did all the lowering/tubbing and drivetrain. Not sure what it has in it for motor/tranny (I think 454 with turbo 350) but he is taking that out for another project and we are going to start this one when I get some funds. I was thinking LS1/T56, but not sure how difficult that would be. It has 4.10 gears in the rear, which I want to keep but my dad says he might take those too... I'm going to look for the book that has the pictures taken during his build, and maybe post some of them. Here is the only picture I have of it now, which is pretty old (probably almost 10 years old, notice the old NYS plates). But it has barely been driven since then, he just has too many other toys to drive. I'm excited to start working on it, but I just need to get the money first...

gold20truckox6.jpg
 
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Christobevii3

Senior member
Aug 29, 2004
995
0
76
6.0L iron block and a 4L60E or T56 wouldn't be that hard. Talk to current performance for a stand alone harness/computer setup. Remember the ls1, 6.0L, 5.3L are all really similar to lt1/350's sans a different bell housing and flywheel.
 
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fbrdphreak

Lifer
Apr 17, 2004
17,555
1
0
LSx motors are great and definitely possible, but not sure it would be worth the money for that truck. You could get a good ol 350 SBC for super cheap and get it going.
 
Elfear

Elfear

Diamond Member
May 30, 2004
7,127
739
126
Cool present OP. Take some pics of the build as you go along.

With all that room under the hood, why don't you slap an LS1 and a pair of cheap turbos inside?
 
EightySix Four

EightySix Four

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2004
5,122
52
91
I actually agree with the idea to swap in something weird. RB26DETT? Electric drivetrain? Buick LD5? Ecotec LNF's are cheap...
 
Last edited:
Elfear

Elfear

Diamond Member
May 30, 2004
7,127
739
126
crazySOB297 said:
I actually agree with the idea to swap in something weird. RB26DETT? Electric drivetrain? Buick LD5? Ecotec LNF's are cheap...
Click to expand...

Duramax? Not totally off the wall but it would be different. Throw some boost at it and you'd have a very quick and fuel efficient truck.
 
9

96Firebird

Diamond Member
Nov 8, 2010
5,719
319
126
Thanks for the compliments, I'm really excited to get started on it. Took a closer look this weekend and I'm probably going to strip the truck bare and prep and paint the whole thing. The body is still solid, no rust or anything, but a lot of things need to be redone. The driver's side door sags a little, the cab on the driver's side doesn't line up, the fuel door on the driver's side leads to nothing, the new fill neck goes to the passenger side. I guess the motor thats in it now (400ci, smaller than I thought) needs to be rebuilt anyways, but the 4.10s are near new. I think he is leaving those in there... The seat is tearing, so that needs to be redone. First things first though, I want to buy my dad a lift for this barn since he has always wanted one but never had the money to get one installed. But I can start the tear down when I'm ready, hopefully sometime in the next couple of weeks as I get settled down into my job full-time. He doesn't have any fatties on it now, all the slicks he used to have got used and abused when he used to race it at NYIRP.

And the more I've been thinking, it would probably be easier to just stick another auto in it. I've been looking into the LQ4/4L80E combo, but I'm not sure how much that will cost. I'm not really sure where to look for engines/trannies. I'd like to get new if possible, I think it would be easier in the long run.

Here is a picture of the motor now, I had no idea how much room was in the engine bay until I looked at it this weekend...

goldtruckmotor.jpg
 
EightySix Four

EightySix Four

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2004
5,122
52
91
It's a shot in the dark, but you'll often find new GM blocks on ebay that were never used but had some flash rust in the cylinder. They're iron and can be bored out to 348ci no problem, and since they are current gen you can use LSx parts on them. I've seen them as low as $99, so if you're willing to put in the work it doesn't get much better.
 
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angry hampster

Diamond Member
Dec 15, 2007
4,232
0
0
www.lexaphoto.com
That's awesome man. My grandfather gave me his 1984 K10 when I was in high school. My step-dad and I swapped the motor and redid the whole interior as well. These trucks are a wonderful way to learn how to wrench. All the parts are super cheap and everything is simple.
 
FuzzyDunlop

FuzzyDunlop

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2008
3,260
12
81
oh man, nice truck! If I was going to start working on a truck, a 76 C10 would be the one.
Does it have the wood slats in bed?
 
GregGreen

GregGreen

Golden Member
Dec 5, 2000
1,681
3
81
That is awesome! I've always wanted one of those trucks!

My dad tinkers in S10s and Blazers and always mentions how he wants to drop an LS series motor into one (and how cheap they are to actually buy) so I would suggest that. It will go fast and you can certainly tinker with the LS series motors easily.
 
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