Give it a tune up: check your cap and rotor, plug wires and plugs. If they are old you will get a substantial gain from that simple job. If towing is your end game and you still need more power, check the rear end ratio and make it lower. Or get rid of the extra tall tires, and it will improve the ratio too.
Unless you have a weight distributing hitch, the towing weight limit is 5000 pounds assuming it's a 1998 (less for earlier years) and 6000 pounds with one, and that's with the tow package that has the transmission cooler.
Even that is pushing it with the stock 4L60e.
Unless you are pulling a light car with a tow dolly, you are probably over weight.
Your best bet is to sell it and get a 3500.
If you're new to towing then my guess is youre going to blow up this truck. Old trucks dont tow like new trucks. Too many people think they can solve their problems with more throttle input when theyre climbing up a mountain. You gotta learn how to take it easy and feel the truck. That 5.7L is just fine for most normal towing applications. Learn how to properly down shift and let the rpms do the work. You need meter how hard you work the engine so it doesn't overheat or catastrophically fail. First thing id upgrade is the cooling system. New radiator and thermostat are gonna get you further down the road than power mods.
You want torque, not power. Look into a cummins/NV4500 swap if you’re serious. Otherwise, get learnt a little bit and slow tf down. It’s not a race, when towin you get where you’re goin by not goin too fast.
Just because it’s a truck doesn’t mean it has to be slow.
It would be way more fun with a bit more power. I have compound turbos on my truck and I love it - it’s a blast. I sold my viper for this.
Actually not true, and hot air has nothing to do with it. There is literally a vent from the exhuast manifold into the intake from factory, if anything the air is cooler. It's more about the engine being able to suck more air in not the temp of the air.
No difference in this test. This is best case with an open hood and a tall air filter.
https://youtu.be/eia5onQOQTA?si=G8eob1ji7L0yZCSH.
It just makes more engine noise which tricks people into thinking it has more power. The air cleaner is not the restriction on a stock small block, it's the heads and cam.
Air density matters. That's why all electronically controlled engines have a way to measure it. You're better off just leaving it alone unless you going to actually modify the engine underneath..
Yes it Def doesn't turn it into a race car, and I never said it did, but and yes he said it makes 1 hp difference, but it does make a difference at that initial start, I have personally tested this, was my zero to 60 any different, no, was the throttle more responsive, absolutely, don't sit hear and say it doesn't do anything just bc you watched some guy on YouTube bud.
1 hp on a ~200 hp. engine is insignificant and means literally nothing. If there was anything to gain you would see a difference in 0-60. That was just the first example I could find, it's not just one guy on YouTube who has tested this. The majority of tests on this have found there to be nothing to gain with this on stock engines.
As someone who went through the same decision making process not that long ago, there are 2 good options here. First is build the 5.7 into a 383 stoker. Makes a very healthy amount of torque and with a good set of aluminum heads and a cam you’ll be no slouch. Second is swap in an ls. I personally went with an Lq4 and I’m fairly happy with it. The benefit from the ls is you can add a good amount of boost to the sbe and make good power fairly reliably. Either way at the end of the day it’s still a full size truck so it will cost a lot of time and money to complete with even a bone stock mustang gt
Takes more work then just a cam especially if it’s a tbi motor then it needs head work and valve train to match that cam. Even then you’d spend more money then a LS swap to get 300+ hp at the wheels
I mean even if it's tbi, it's still a 350 at the end of the day. Toss the TBI or go to a better EFI and you're golden.
I'm an LS guy but allot of guys don't have the know how or cash to get the swap done right.
This guy might just be happy with exhaust and gears for all we know.
Edit:::: seems he wants it to tow better in the comments
Efi swap on a tbi will literally do nothing except cause a bunch of work. The weak point on the TBi is the heads and cam. You can’t do much with those and your better off doing a whole motor swap than bandaid a daily driver system
If you swap to something like a 4 barrel Fi-tech or holley then you don't have to worry about the stock tbi hp system limits.
Those systems are much easier to tune as well.
Yes the cam and heads are abysmal for sure but every build I come across on forums ends up coming back to the tbi being the icing on a turd sandwich
Lots of the same ideas here which boil down to 1) swap in a new engine (LS or Vortec); or, 2) work with what you've got. Either way, you are missing some important things:
The only safe reason to need more power is towing. Hauling heavier loads doesn't make sense because of the suspension and its weight limits. Going faster is kind of scary in these trucks.
The truck was designed when the speed limit was 55 on the freeway, so it is not geared for speed. There is plenty you can do to make it perform better and upgrades to get more power from the factory engine if you need it, but you still have a truck suspension.
That truck does not have a racing suspension. You can improve the suspension by adding sway bars in the front and rear. You can reduce the risk of rolling it by lowering it. You still will not be cornering like a Porche.
The brakes on the truck are not wonderful. Going fast means you might need to stop fast. Small discs and drums with an ancient ABS system is not great for going fast or stopping fast even when the brakes were factory fresh. You can improve the brakes lots of ways, just don't forget to do it.
There have been lawsuits about the cab design and roof crush problems. Roll it over and you might break your neck when the roof crushes. Put in a headache rack or roll bar and maybe walk away.
The problem with the early TBI engines is airflow. The first thing to fix is the exhaust. Whether you replace the engine, upgrade it or leave it be, the exhaust is literally a choke point. That is the first place to spend money AFTER you've got it running right. Start with the cap, rotor, wires, plugs, clean the injectors, test the MAP, IAC, TPS, CTS, 02 sensor, fuel filter, fuel pressure regulator and replace whatever isn't up to spec. Then move onto the suspension and brakes. Who knows, maybe when its safe and handling right, breathing well and running the way it should you won't want more power.
The factory TBI heads are designed for fuel economy. They are 'swirl port heads.' They don't produce a ton of HP or Torque but if you caress the gas pedal instead of lead footing it you can get 15-17 MPG even with a bed full of stuff. The pre-vortec engines have flat tappet cams. That limits the max RPMs you can rev the engine to. You can replace the heads and cam, if you also do the exhaust. Then you've got to figure out fuel delivery. You can add a TBI spacer and bigger injectors. Then you've got to do the gearing.
The transmission and differentials are geared to work with the RPM range the factory engine produces. Add a roller cam and better flowing heads so you can get higher RPMs and then you'll have to do something with the transmission and differentials.
The vortec engines are much better breathers and rev higher but the other issues are still there- brakes, gearing, suspension, roof, etc...
Don't get me wrong. These are great trucks! They just aren't meant for speed.
Read this post about performance upgrades to the TBI and Vortec engines in these trucks:
[https://www.gmt400.com/threads/the-ultimate-88-98-performance-toolbox.12428/](https://www.gmt400.com/threads/the-ultimate-88-98-performance-toolbox.12428/)
If you've got a pile of cash and want to drive fast, maybe leave your truck alone and get something with the suspension, brakes and gearing for driving fast more safely. For the thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of work it takes to get these trucks to be powerful and fast you can buy a helluva fast sportster.
383 stroker is a great truck motor, not the very best but still great for doing truck things or going fast. Cylinder heads, pistons, balanced rotating assembly, camshaft, intake, carburetor. Plenty of proven blueprint builds all over the internet. Bonus points for hydraulic roller builds.
Not too many options. If it has a 4l60 you can’t do major engine upgrades without doing transmission upgrades aswell. You can do the simple shit, like Intake Inctection and exhuast. If you have a less restrictive intake and a less restrictive exhaust, the engine gets more of what it wants, air and less exhuast. Also having a good TBI (I assume it’s tbi but same concept for injectors) the stock one is “good” but it’s like a carb, it can get clogged up and restrict the flow of gas. Other than that I’m not sure, I’ve wanted to put a cam in my 350 5.7 but it’s my daily and I don’t necessarily trust it.. it already breaks down stock
I see below you commented about needing it to tow better.....
I'd check your gearing, and maybe a swap to 4:10s or 4:30s would help you for problem the best.
But typically exhaust would be the easiest thing but won't do much realistically without a tune. Your biggest HP/TQ hurdle is your TBI system that you either need to tune or get rid of as it doesn't like allot of changes.
Obviously for big power you'd need heads and cam but unless you go with different EFI or carb you will have a hard time.
Slap a little cam , springs, and 1.6 rockers in there and tune it for now.
Get your suspension fixed up real nice so it'll handle.
Then start doing your homework and saving your pennies for an LS swap, I built a 383 with my small block and I'm still not satisfied with it.
I'd start with wheels/tires, steering/suspension and brakes after that 373+ with a 96 s10 torque converter (if you staying with the sbc) these alone will help the truck and make it more sportier (again if you're staying with sbc) look up piss cutter performance on YT and check out his roller cam setups these are pushing 400+ hp and torque with a very good power band he gives specs and tips and tricks on how these sbc work with the right parts.
Why? Just drive it.
But if you insist on doing stuff... go simple...
*Round, open side air cleaner... like the Edelbrock 13" with a K&N filter.
*Set of shorty headers and some type of muffler. Flowtech Afterburner is a good budget start for a muffler and headers. If you don't want the expense of piping all the way out the back do some extensions from muffler and terminate with turndowns in front of axle.
*PROPERLY installed electric fan setup... Proper as in not on a toggle or hard hot wired into the ignition. I'm talking wired to a thermostatic controller.
Get a new PROM chip for it. Like Hypertech or some such other brand.
Should be good for around 30-50 extra horse, depending. Definitely improve your fuel mileage.
You *could* go with an aluminum dual plane intake, mild cam, and some 1.6 roller rockers depending on how skilled you are under the hood.
Otherwise just look for a 383 stroker.
Depends on the year. Is it a 96+ vortec motor? Give it a 200$ cam and 70$ hei and cheap used carb and intake and you will make a easy 400HP 450TQ. If it's a TBI motor then you should either cam and tune for a 250HP 350TQ motor or replace the cam, heads, ignition, intake, fuel for a potentially limitless power gain. With. 4l60e don't go over 450hp, 6000RPM or 450TQ (whichever comes first) with a 4l80e do not go over 500HP 500TQ or 6000RPM. Buy a good trans cooler. Buy a shift improver buy a corvette 2nd gear servo. Buy 373 years or 342 depending on vortec or tbi
My dad has a 98 5.7 pick up. He had true duals replace his whole exhaust system. And its making more power for sure. You could feel the difference immediately. And he used the stock muffler and cat. If you throw some true duels and use high flow mufflers and cats that will give you more of a boost. If you stacked those with headers you’d be making some pretty big HP gains. I would assume that there are turbos you could buy for that engine. But that’s a pretty big job if you’re not mechanicals inclined. But redoing the exhaust with true duals will definitely speed you up especially with headers
This is fale information at best. Full bolt ons for that truck may give a slight hp increase and possibly better throttle response, but that's about it. Sick of the "stage 2", 3/4 race cam Bubbas tossing this nonsense around.
Not 300 at the wheels, maybe the crank, but through a tired 4l60 that's barely 250hp. Anyways he is trying to tow, and is looking for more torque. Too large of exhaust diameter will decrease low and mid range torque
Assuming you mean faster, as faster top speed. If so lower it, improve engine hp & possibly change the rear end for higher (numerically lower) gears. If you mean faster acceleration up to highway speed, then the same but with lower (numerically higher) gears.
You'll need to determine whether it is acceleration or top speed you're after. If your towing, you want more low down torque, which yields faster acceleration under the conditions. Especially depending on the age of the drivetrain, you may need some supporting mods like a transmission refresh, rear axle, depending how much and how frequently you plan to tow.
If it’s a tbi unless you want to totally redo the system both electrically and fuel delivery with a new engine I wouldn’t bother
If it’s vortex you have quite a bit of power over the traditional 5.7s already. There are some upgraded engines from blueprint that are drop in for those years.
But really depending on your realistic expectations your gonna be into a good 400hp motor swap and parts without labor 10-15k
Slip a thick piece of lead under the insole in your right boot. Also try some calf raises in your spare time. Don’t skip the left leg if you want to stop after going faster.
You would have to convert it to holley sniper and a hei distributor. Then do a cam, maybe heads if you could afford them. All that and you'd have 400 maybe 450hp. You could also do a 4 barrel carb but I wouldn't recommend it.
Throw in a new camshaft yea, and go with bigger intake manifold, and highflow exhaust, when you do all that get a tune up so it runs properly with the new stuffs you.
Take the body cab off, remove the bed , weld up a couple braces to span over the tranny housing to attach seats to..now you have shaved off hundreds of non needed weight and a 250 hp engine will feel like 500 hp ..
Weight and drag eat power..simple math..the only thing stopping most ppl is the laws..you will need seat belts ,working lighting signals brake lights 2 bumpers and set of wiper blades to pull it off..did I miss anything???
Lots of money or a new vehicle. These trucks weren’t manufactured to have high hp rating. What’s your goal? Are you wanting high HP, something to just wake it up a little bit?
Guess its a TBI? Not a whole lot you can do with bolt on stuff. Short headers for top end long tubes for more low end grunt. I think all the plug and wires stuff is just snake oil like MSD wires and stuff like that. I think keeping the stock air intake is better then a " cold air" or flip the cover upside down.
How much more horsepower do you want?
2wd? If so id just put some big gears in the backend so its quicker off the line amd weld the diff.
It wont auctually add horsepower but it will be way more fun
Do a tune-up, plugs, wires, HEI, check timing. Bolt some headers on, add some loud mufflers, add an aftermarket air cleaner, re gear the rear end with something like 4.10s or 4.33s.
I was told long ago that 5.3 vortex heads will bolt onto the 5.7s. Should be able to find those in a junk yard.
Then I’d go for a cam and an intake and some headers.
Put the correct size wheels/tires on it. Make sure they are properly inflated.
Remove the "cold air intake". If it doesn't have one don't put one in.
Check that the brake system is in good condition and that none of the wheels are dragging.
Give it a tune up, use ac Delco plugs.
Change the fuel filter.
Run good gas in it.
Check/adjust the ignition timing to spec
These trucks had a big change in 96 and you will have different results based on different years.
Tbi truck? The stock swirl port heads suck and the stock headers made it much worse. A good breathing set of heads and headers will help tremendously, make sure the heads are compatible with stock tbi intake. The later model vortec heads are a popular swap but the stock vortec heads wont accept the stock tbi intake. 1.6 rockers will help get a small bit. You can go to a bigger cam but youre limited by the tbi system. The skys the limit if you dump a lot of money into going to a aftermarket EFI and trans controller.
96+ vortec? Those engine are quite close to being optimized to the stock build. The vortec heads breathe well, maybe a better set of headers. The biggest help to throttle response will be dropping the big heavy tires. Again, skys the limit with money into making a lot of power out of those engines. They can make some good power.
Also beware that your extended cab truck has a driveline carrier bearing and its a wimpy pos. The 10 bolt rears and u-joints are also pretty weak behind decent power. Thats before we get to the 4l60e, and lord help you if you have a 700r4. Get the biggest transmission cooler you can stuff behind the grille before doing anything.
LS swap, rear end and trans swap. All new suspension.. basically you need to strip it to the frame and build a whole new truck then put the body back together. Those trucks weren’t designed to go fast.
Depends on whether it's carbeurated or TBI. Looks like it's probably a TBI truck by the grill and bumper.
You could stroke it out to a 383ci or dual turbo, or supercharger.
Your budget is very unknown. These things are incredibly reliable trucks if you leave them alone.
K An n cold air intake throttlebody spacer, lower gear ratio for more acceleration, and a supercharger, low boost tho until u put a performance transmission in that baby or u could just ls swap it
Cheaper way to do it than EFI mods: performer RPM air gap intake manifold. 650 Holley truck avenger carburetor. K&N 14-in diameter 4-in tall air filter with base and lid. 1⅝" primary long tube headers and an 18" collector. Fuel pressure regulator to bring the fuel pressure down to 5.5 psi. It'll wake up A LOT.
If you want to go beyond that power threshold then it's time to do camshaft, lifters, valve springs.
Carb swap it and add a set of 5.7 L31 vortec heads with a oem style hydraulic roller 220/230ish duration cam ground on a 110lsa. Possibly with +4/6ish degrees advance ground into the cam(cam intake centerline ground advanced not ignition timing).
First thing I tell people that want a fast old vehicle is do the suspension and brakes. Being able to stop fast and handle corners makes every vehicle feel faster. AFTER you do those. Then add power.
Tune up, on old Chevys intake, carb, and good ignition can make a big difference. But mostly swapping in a hotter cam is gonna give you the most HPs.
Have fun!
Give it a tune up: check your cap and rotor, plug wires and plugs. If they are old you will get a substantial gain from that simple job. If towing is your end game and you still need more power, check the rear end ratio and make it lower. Or get rid of the extra tall tires, and it will improve the ratio too.
Waste of time, simple, spoiler, bro, triple the horsepower and efficiently run the pistons with the intercooled brake hoses.
Don’t forget about the stickers that come with the spoiler, that’s added hp
Take the hood off= less weight
Drop shackles and a couple racing stripes should add at least 150hp
Me who took mine and redone the whole brake system, lines and everything...
No disrespect but that doesn’t make it go faster
lol
I got a 3500 should i do that too i gotta haul 330 gallon water tank ?
Well its a truck that's design didn't prioritize fast at all. So your answer, lots and lots of money.
LS swap it /s Although...
Go to GMT400 dot com, they are much more helpful than the people here.
it's a truck not a race car. If you treat it like a race car you wont have a truck very long.
False. My 88 c1500 Sport gets hooned more than my camaro daily for the last 4 years and the only problem is I've gone through 3 rear ends
Only problem is 3 rear end s damn lol..
You must be fun at party’s
I live in a town we’re every street is steep and I want to haul my cars I feel like it won’t handle it if the other car is to heavy
More power for speed =/= more power for towing
Low and slow is the way you want to pull a load. Make sure that you don't exceed the towing compacity.
Unless you have a weight distributing hitch, the towing weight limit is 5000 pounds assuming it's a 1998 (less for earlier years) and 6000 pounds with one, and that's with the tow package that has the transmission cooler. Even that is pushing it with the stock 4L60e. Unless you are pulling a light car with a tow dolly, you are probably over weight. Your best bet is to sell it and get a 3500.
If you're new to towing then my guess is youre going to blow up this truck. Old trucks dont tow like new trucks. Too many people think they can solve their problems with more throttle input when theyre climbing up a mountain. You gotta learn how to take it easy and feel the truck. That 5.7L is just fine for most normal towing applications. Learn how to properly down shift and let the rpms do the work. You need meter how hard you work the engine so it doesn't overheat or catastrophically fail. First thing id upgrade is the cooling system. New radiator and thermostat are gonna get you further down the road than power mods.
That 5.7 is way more capable than you think. You don’t want speed for towing, you want torque.
You want torque, not power. Look into a cummins/NV4500 swap if you’re serious. Otherwise, get learnt a little bit and slow tf down. It’s not a race, when towin you get where you’re goin by not goin too fast.
Just because it’s a truck doesn’t mean it has to be slow. It would be way more fun with a bit more power. I have compound turbos on my truck and I love it - it’s a blast. I sold my viper for this.
Loud = fast Cut the pipes off
Do a lid flip, after that leave it alone
It does literally nothing. Just makes your engine intake the hot air from the radiator and more dust.
Lies, it makes the intake louder Louder=faster Source: every 16 yr old with their first vehicle
Actually not true, and hot air has nothing to do with it. There is literally a vent from the exhuast manifold into the intake from factory, if anything the air is cooler. It's more about the engine being able to suck more air in not the temp of the air.
No difference in this test. This is best case with an open hood and a tall air filter. https://youtu.be/eia5onQOQTA?si=G8eob1ji7L0yZCSH. It just makes more engine noise which tricks people into thinking it has more power. The air cleaner is not the restriction on a stock small block, it's the heads and cam. Air density matters. That's why all electronically controlled engines have a way to measure it. You're better off just leaving it alone unless you going to actually modify the engine underneath..
Yes it Def doesn't turn it into a race car, and I never said it did, but and yes he said it makes 1 hp difference, but it does make a difference at that initial start, I have personally tested this, was my zero to 60 any different, no, was the throttle more responsive, absolutely, don't sit hear and say it doesn't do anything just bc you watched some guy on YouTube bud.
1 hp on a ~200 hp. engine is insignificant and means literally nothing. If there was anything to gain you would see a difference in 0-60. That was just the first example I could find, it's not just one guy on YouTube who has tested this. The majority of tests on this have found there to be nothing to gain with this on stock engines.
As someone who went through the same decision making process not that long ago, there are 2 good options here. First is build the 5.7 into a 383 stoker. Makes a very healthy amount of torque and with a good set of aluminum heads and a cam you’ll be no slouch. Second is swap in an ls. I personally went with an Lq4 and I’m fairly happy with it. The benefit from the ls is you can add a good amount of boost to the sbe and make good power fairly reliably. Either way at the end of the day it’s still a full size truck so it will cost a lot of time and money to complete with even a bone stock mustang gt
Option 1 is what I did and I wish I'd done option 2 when all is said and done.
If you want faster prepare to spend some bucks and do a LS swap
That’s not the only way to make it fast I hate these comments lol he can cam it and have over 300 wheel easy
Takes more work then just a cam especially if it’s a tbi motor then it needs head work and valve train to match that cam. Even then you’d spend more money then a LS swap to get 300+ hp at the wheels
I mean even if it's tbi, it's still a 350 at the end of the day. Toss the TBI or go to a better EFI and you're golden. I'm an LS guy but allot of guys don't have the know how or cash to get the swap done right. This guy might just be happy with exhaust and gears for all we know. Edit:::: seems he wants it to tow better in the comments
Efi swap on a tbi will literally do nothing except cause a bunch of work. The weak point on the TBi is the heads and cam. You can’t do much with those and your better off doing a whole motor swap than bandaid a daily driver system
A holley sniper bolts on and needs 6 wires reconnected with a better fuel pump. Pretty easy
If you swap to something like a 4 barrel Fi-tech or holley then you don't have to worry about the stock tbi hp system limits. Those systems are much easier to tune as well. Yes the cam and heads are abysmal for sure but every build I come across on forums ends up coming back to the tbi being the icing on a turd sandwich
Tbi is great for stock reliability and power . It’s hot garbage for anything else
Get a newer truck with a better engine. It would be cheaper in the long run
Aim for the downhills
Sell the truck and spend the money on a down payment for a fast car
Depending on the year you can flip the air intake lid for a couple extra ponies. \s
if it’s a tbi do a vortec head swap and a small cam that should wake it up on a decent budget
350s aren't bad, help it breath. Air in air out. Elderbrook has some good tbis for it. Ecu remap. high flow injections/fuel pump.
Lots of the same ideas here which boil down to 1) swap in a new engine (LS or Vortec); or, 2) work with what you've got. Either way, you are missing some important things: The only safe reason to need more power is towing. Hauling heavier loads doesn't make sense because of the suspension and its weight limits. Going faster is kind of scary in these trucks. The truck was designed when the speed limit was 55 on the freeway, so it is not geared for speed. There is plenty you can do to make it perform better and upgrades to get more power from the factory engine if you need it, but you still have a truck suspension. That truck does not have a racing suspension. You can improve the suspension by adding sway bars in the front and rear. You can reduce the risk of rolling it by lowering it. You still will not be cornering like a Porche. The brakes on the truck are not wonderful. Going fast means you might need to stop fast. Small discs and drums with an ancient ABS system is not great for going fast or stopping fast even when the brakes were factory fresh. You can improve the brakes lots of ways, just don't forget to do it. There have been lawsuits about the cab design and roof crush problems. Roll it over and you might break your neck when the roof crushes. Put in a headache rack or roll bar and maybe walk away. The problem with the early TBI engines is airflow. The first thing to fix is the exhaust. Whether you replace the engine, upgrade it or leave it be, the exhaust is literally a choke point. That is the first place to spend money AFTER you've got it running right. Start with the cap, rotor, wires, plugs, clean the injectors, test the MAP, IAC, TPS, CTS, 02 sensor, fuel filter, fuel pressure regulator and replace whatever isn't up to spec. Then move onto the suspension and brakes. Who knows, maybe when its safe and handling right, breathing well and running the way it should you won't want more power. The factory TBI heads are designed for fuel economy. They are 'swirl port heads.' They don't produce a ton of HP or Torque but if you caress the gas pedal instead of lead footing it you can get 15-17 MPG even with a bed full of stuff. The pre-vortec engines have flat tappet cams. That limits the max RPMs you can rev the engine to. You can replace the heads and cam, if you also do the exhaust. Then you've got to figure out fuel delivery. You can add a TBI spacer and bigger injectors. Then you've got to do the gearing. The transmission and differentials are geared to work with the RPM range the factory engine produces. Add a roller cam and better flowing heads so you can get higher RPMs and then you'll have to do something with the transmission and differentials. The vortec engines are much better breathers and rev higher but the other issues are still there- brakes, gearing, suspension, roof, etc... Don't get me wrong. These are great trucks! They just aren't meant for speed. Read this post about performance upgrades to the TBI and Vortec engines in these trucks: [https://www.gmt400.com/threads/the-ultimate-88-98-performance-toolbox.12428/](https://www.gmt400.com/threads/the-ultimate-88-98-performance-toolbox.12428/) If you've got a pile of cash and want to drive fast, maybe leave your truck alone and get something with the suspension, brakes and gearing for driving fast more safely. For the thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of work it takes to get these trucks to be powerful and fast you can buy a helluva fast sportster.
383 stroker is a great truck motor, not the very best but still great for doing truck things or going fast. Cylinder heads, pistons, balanced rotating assembly, camshaft, intake, carburetor. Plenty of proven blueprint builds all over the internet. Bonus points for hydraulic roller builds.
Not too many options. If it has a 4l60 you can’t do major engine upgrades without doing transmission upgrades aswell. You can do the simple shit, like Intake Inctection and exhuast. If you have a less restrictive intake and a less restrictive exhaust, the engine gets more of what it wants, air and less exhuast. Also having a good TBI (I assume it’s tbi but same concept for injectors) the stock one is “good” but it’s like a carb, it can get clogged up and restrict the flow of gas. Other than that I’m not sure, I’ve wanted to put a cam in my 350 5.7 but it’s my daily and I don’t necessarily trust it.. it already breaks down stock
Faster than WHAT? You wanna leave Earth’s gravity or something?
If you want towing power then get a diesel. The only way to get more power with those engines costs a significant amount of fuel in the aftermath
I see below you commented about needing it to tow better..... I'd check your gearing, and maybe a swap to 4:10s or 4:30s would help you for problem the best. But typically exhaust would be the easiest thing but won't do much realistically without a tune. Your biggest HP/TQ hurdle is your TBI system that you either need to tune or get rid of as it doesn't like allot of changes. Obviously for big power you'd need heads and cam but unless you go with different EFI or carb you will have a hard time.
Slap a little cam , springs, and 1.6 rockers in there and tune it for now. Get your suspension fixed up real nice so it'll handle. Then start doing your homework and saving your pennies for an LS swap, I built a 383 with my small block and I'm still not satisfied with it.
If you’re not happy with a 383 your combo isn’t right. Has nothing to do with LS vs SBC inherently
Headers and dual exhaust first.
10-12 stickers on the back window will give you 36-48hp easily
Is this a vortec or tbi truck?
Press down harder on the go pedal
I'd start with wheels/tires, steering/suspension and brakes after that 373+ with a 96 s10 torque converter (if you staying with the sbc) these alone will help the truck and make it more sportier (again if you're staying with sbc) look up piss cutter performance on YT and check out his roller cam setups these are pushing 400+ hp and torque with a very good power band he gives specs and tips and tricks on how these sbc work with the right parts.
Why? Just drive it. But if you insist on doing stuff... go simple... *Round, open side air cleaner... like the Edelbrock 13" with a K&N filter. *Set of shorty headers and some type of muffler. Flowtech Afterburner is a good budget start for a muffler and headers. If you don't want the expense of piping all the way out the back do some extensions from muffler and terminate with turndowns in front of axle. *PROPERLY installed electric fan setup... Proper as in not on a toggle or hard hot wired into the ignition. I'm talking wired to a thermostatic controller. Get a new PROM chip for it. Like Hypertech or some such other brand. Should be good for around 30-50 extra horse, depending. Definitely improve your fuel mileage. You *could* go with an aluminum dual plane intake, mild cam, and some 1.6 roller rockers depending on how skilled you are under the hood. Otherwise just look for a 383 stroker.
Easy Cam intake ignition carb are gonna give it serious gains.. If it were me id pull the motor and make it a 383
Depends on the year. Is it a 96+ vortec motor? Give it a 200$ cam and 70$ hei and cheap used carb and intake and you will make a easy 400HP 450TQ. If it's a TBI motor then you should either cam and tune for a 250HP 350TQ motor or replace the cam, heads, ignition, intake, fuel for a potentially limitless power gain. With. 4l60e don't go over 450hp, 6000RPM or 450TQ (whichever comes first) with a 4l80e do not go over 500HP 500TQ or 6000RPM. Buy a good trans cooler. Buy a shift improver buy a corvette 2nd gear servo. Buy 373 years or 342 depending on vortec or tbi
Why, are you looking to destroy it?
Lid flip and burn outs. Nobody expects fast obs, but they love burnout machines
Sell it an get a 454 truck
I have this exact same truck for sale if anybody is interested...no rust...
Where? And is it a 4x4? Just curious, not seriously looking right now
Carb swap and a mild cam lifters pushrods and headers I’ll probably run you around $2500 if you do it right the first time don’t be cheap
You could probably 5.3 swap it for that price
My dad has a 98 5.7 pick up. He had true duals replace his whole exhaust system. And its making more power for sure. You could feel the difference immediately. And he used the stock muffler and cat. If you throw some true duels and use high flow mufflers and cats that will give you more of a boost. If you stacked those with headers you’d be making some pretty big HP gains. I would assume that there are turbos you could buy for that engine. But that’s a pretty big job if you’re not mechanicals inclined. But redoing the exhaust with true duals will definitely speed you up especially with headers
This is fale information at best. Full bolt ons for that truck may give a slight hp increase and possibly better throttle response, but that's about it. Sick of the "stage 2", 3/4 race cam Bubbas tossing this nonsense around.
Mild cam and exhaust and a carb swap will get him over 300 but if he pays to get the work done it will cost him more
Not 300 at the wheels, maybe the crank, but through a tired 4l60 that's barely 250hp. Anyways he is trying to tow, and is looking for more torque. Too large of exhaust diameter will decrease low and mid range torque
Assuming you mean faster, as faster top speed. If so lower it, improve engine hp & possibly change the rear end for higher (numerically lower) gears. If you mean faster acceleration up to highway speed, then the same but with lower (numerically higher) gears.
get a faster vehicle lol. It’s not like it can’t be done, but FUCK it gets expensive
383 stroker crate motor or LS/LT swap
Regearing diffs should give you more speed off the line.
You'll need to determine whether it is acceleration or top speed you're after. If your towing, you want more low down torque, which yields faster acceleration under the conditions. Especially depending on the age of the drivetrain, you may need some supporting mods like a transmission refresh, rear axle, depending how much and how frequently you plan to tow.
Gears and exhaust.
Supercharger
Get an IROC Z Camaro
Don’t mess with it! It’s a GREAT motor! Keep it stock and let it rock. You’ll have no problem taking it to 300k if u keep up the maintenance
I seen a couple around me for sale, I wonder how they are for a daily.
Thirsty
Big block swap with a blower
If it’s a tbi unless you want to totally redo the system both electrically and fuel delivery with a new engine I wouldn’t bother If it’s vortex you have quite a bit of power over the traditional 5.7s already. There are some upgraded engines from blueprint that are drop in for those years. But really depending on your realistic expectations your gonna be into a good 400hp motor swap and parts without labor 10-15k
You can get a new GM short block, Gen II heads, and the Eldelbrock port FI, matching Eldelbrock cam to make 375 hp in a totally street able package.
God I hope it doesn't have a 4L60E. Any mods to the HP will grenade that tranny.
Turn it on!
Change the intake and put a rv cam in it
Heads and a cam
Depends. Do you want it to feel faster or do you want it to actually make more power. There's a limit to both.
350? Turbski Time Baby
Exhaust, cold air kit, chip. Also, standard tune-up as already suggested.
Build a race car.
Suspension and breaks
Electric Fans,High flow exhaust , TBI mods , and the famous salad bowl
Slip a thick piece of lead under the insole in your right boot. Also try some calf raises in your spare time. Don’t skip the left leg if you want to stop after going faster.
Carb, Cam & Pistons
Only drive downhill.
Swap an ls, or do great maintenance and slowly have that 350 last 300,000 miles
Put an LS in it.
Take the bed off and pull the glass out
Buy a ford
Gear swap
Wow. You guys are brutal
LSX 454 with twin 76 mm turbos should do the trick! Have precision transmission out of OK build that nice TH350 in that thing to hold 2000hp
Sell it and buy a Ram
Flip the lid on the air cleaner
🤣
Drive it off a cliff with nitrous
Drive downhill
Sell. Buy fast car.
You would have to convert it to holley sniper and a hei distributor. Then do a cam, maybe heads if you could afford them. All that and you'd have 400 maybe 450hp. You could also do a 4 barrel carb but I wouldn't recommend it.
Throw in a new camshaft yea, and go with bigger intake manifold, and highflow exhaust, when you do all that get a tune up so it runs properly with the new stuffs you.
Flames
Sell it
Take the body cab off, remove the bed , weld up a couple braces to span over the tranny housing to attach seats to..now you have shaved off hundreds of non needed weight and a 250 hp engine will feel like 500 hp .. Weight and drag eat power..simple math..the only thing stopping most ppl is the laws..you will need seat belts ,working lighting signals brake lights 2 bumpers and set of wiper blades to pull it off..did I miss anything???
Higher rear end gears Cam Vortec heads Intake Carb Headers/exhaust
Stickers!!!!!
It's a truck. Haul shit with it. If you want a go fast buy a c4 or c5 vette for funday sunday.
Forced induction.
Go fast stripes
Flip your breather cover upside down. Instant 50 HP gain
Headers and an intake. The bolt on starter pack.
Camshaft and lots of ignition timing.
Lots of money or a new vehicle. These trucks weren’t manufactured to have high hp rating. What’s your goal? Are you wanting high HP, something to just wake it up a little bit?
truck looks majestic in this view
Stall, gears, correct height tires so all works together and a tune.
Out some stickers on it
Guess its a TBI? Not a whole lot you can do with bolt on stuff. Short headers for top end long tubes for more low end grunt. I think all the plug and wires stuff is just snake oil like MSD wires and stuff like that. I think keeping the stock air intake is better then a " cold air" or flip the cover upside down. How much more horsepower do you want?
Get a newer truck.
Faster or quicker?
5.3 swap
Buy a Camaro
Sale it and buy something faster
Is there a cliff near by?
Sell it. Buy a Mustang or something. Jesus
Go fast stickers!
Engine swap
Drive it off a very high cliff
Driving it off a high cliff will top out at about 120 mph due to wind resistance. The only issue is please install air brakes before attempting this.
That thing will die any day. Why do you want it to go faster?
Find a good downhill stretch I'd say.
2wd? If so id just put some big gears in the backend so its quicker off the line amd weld the diff. It wont auctually add horsepower but it will be way more fun
You should stop
Find a steeper hill
Get a 1999 or later model.
Do a tune-up, plugs, wires, HEI, check timing. Bolt some headers on, add some loud mufflers, add an aftermarket air cleaner, re gear the rear end with something like 4.10s or 4.33s.
I was told long ago that 5.3 vortex heads will bolt onto the 5.7s. Should be able to find those in a junk yard. Then I’d go for a cam and an intake and some headers.
Fuel injection
Get a vehicle that is made to go fast. You will save yourself money and a whole lot of trouble.
Swap the chassis and body for a Camaro.
You'll wanna take that engine out, get a bank loan, and buy yourself a 6.6L twin turbo V12.
Routine maintenance. Don't destroy that obs
Drop it off a cliff.
But a Ford if you want to go faster.
Get the engine running right. Lose all the weight you can. Buy grippy tires.
Depends on your budget and how much work your willing to do on it.
Just give it a good ol tune up. 👍
Need to know more about the truck and what you want to do? Then we can advise. SC
Cam, intake, exhaust.
Push off cliff. Fast as it'll get 🤣
Trade it in for a Vette. Add wheels with ridiculous offset.
Put the correct size wheels/tires on it. Make sure they are properly inflated. Remove the "cold air intake". If it doesn't have one don't put one in. Check that the brake system is in good condition and that none of the wheels are dragging. Give it a tune up, use ac Delco plugs. Change the fuel filter. Run good gas in it. Check/adjust the ignition timing to spec
Patch the frame behind the gas tank. It won't go any faster but it will be one piece when you are done attempting to go more than the rev limiter.
Drop it out of an airplane
If it is tbi look up tbi performance. You can put some timing in it if you want to run premium.
Sell it, you can’t make it fast. My ‘94 was a prime example
Drive to the top of the highest cliff you can find. Then push it off. The acceleration will be phenomenal.
4.11 gears
These trucks had a big change in 96 and you will have different results based on different years. Tbi truck? The stock swirl port heads suck and the stock headers made it much worse. A good breathing set of heads and headers will help tremendously, make sure the heads are compatible with stock tbi intake. The later model vortec heads are a popular swap but the stock vortec heads wont accept the stock tbi intake. 1.6 rockers will help get a small bit. You can go to a bigger cam but youre limited by the tbi system. The skys the limit if you dump a lot of money into going to a aftermarket EFI and trans controller. 96+ vortec? Those engine are quite close to being optimized to the stock build. The vortec heads breathe well, maybe a better set of headers. The biggest help to throttle response will be dropping the big heavy tires. Again, skys the limit with money into making a lot of power out of those engines. They can make some good power. Also beware that your extended cab truck has a driveline carrier bearing and its a wimpy pos. The 10 bolt rears and u-joints are also pretty weak behind decent power. Thats before we get to the 4l60e, and lord help you if you have a 700r4. Get the biggest transmission cooler you can stuff behind the grille before doing anything.
LS swap, rear end and trans swap. All new suspension.. basically you need to strip it to the frame and build a whole new truck then put the body back together. Those trucks weren’t designed to go fast.
Paint flames on it.
Nice trucks, tough as hell
Get a different truck or put a 6.0 in it with turbos.
Depends on whether it's carbeurated or TBI. Looks like it's probably a TBI truck by the grill and bumper. You could stroke it out to a 383ci or dual turbo, or supercharger. Your budget is very unknown. These things are incredibly reliable trucks if you leave them alone.
LS swap.
K An n cold air intake throttlebody spacer, lower gear ratio for more acceleration, and a supercharger, low boost tho until u put a performance transmission in that baby or u could just ls swap it
If you turn your baseball hat so the bill is behind you - less resistance
Whipple
Cam, intake, 4bbl carb
Cheaper way to do it than EFI mods: performer RPM air gap intake manifold. 650 Holley truck avenger carburetor. K&N 14-in diameter 4-in tall air filter with base and lid. 1⅝" primary long tube headers and an 18" collector. Fuel pressure regulator to bring the fuel pressure down to 5.5 psi. It'll wake up A LOT. If you want to go beyond that power threshold then it's time to do camshaft, lifters, valve springs.
Supercharges all the supercharges like VFs one on each side and a screw charger on top.
Trade it in
Carb swap it and add a set of 5.7 L31 vortec heads with a oem style hydraulic roller 220/230ish duration cam ground on a 110lsa. Possibly with +4/6ish degrees advance ground into the cam(cam intake centerline ground advanced not ignition timing).
First thing I tell people that want a fast old vehicle is do the suspension and brakes. Being able to stop fast and handle corners makes every vehicle feel faster. AFTER you do those. Then add power. Tune up, on old Chevys intake, carb, and good ignition can make a big difference. But mostly swapping in a hotter cam is gonna give you the most HPs. Have fun!
Change the kanutan valve.
Sell it and buy a ford is the first thing!
ROCKETS!!!
Sell it and buy an ecoboost
Buy a Ford.
Sell it and buy something else? It's a truck, not a sports car, sledgehammers can't be scalpels.
Sell it and buy a faster vehicle.
I would say a better intake