Quote:
Originally Posted by 350TacoZilla
On the gearing thing here is some comparison numbers for you if you do interstate. I will say I'm not a big fan of a higher stall converter in a heavy car\truck but that may be a personal thing and depends on the motor setup pretty heavily.
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I actually have the feeling that I am going to be fairly light (relatively speaking) when I am done, So I am really curious to see what this thing is going to weigh in the end.
I just weighed my 65 short step again this summer, and it is 3600lbs with me in it and a tank of fuel. It does have the fiberglass front end and no inner fenders, so that will trim a little weight off the nose, but I can't see that it would be more than 100-200lbs.
The Tahoe frame is fully boxed, so I can see that would add some extra weight, maybe an extra 50 lbs?
The engine and transmission should weigh the same, as they are both iron blocks, aluminum heads, and they both have the 4L60, so that should be the same weight.
The only other major difference would be the weight of the 4wd parts, transfer case, front diff, and the extra drive gear. I was actually quite amazed how light the aluminum center sections and transfer cases of these trucks are. I don't think I will be paying much a weight penalty for all the 4wd goodies.
If my current truck weighs 3600...
add 150 for the steel hood, fenders and inner fenders, and extra frame weight
add 100 for the np 246 transfer case
add 100 lbs for the front diff
add 100 lbs for front axles and drive shaft
maybe throw in some extra for the bigger tires as well. the wheels should be close to the same weight as an aluminum wheel should be close in weight to what I'm running on my 65, the tires will be the main difference.
I figure I should be right around 4000-4200lbs going down the road when I have it all together, which really isn't THAT bad, all things considered. I did some googling and found that most of the muscle cars of the late 60's tipped the scales in the 3600-3900 lb range, so if my truck ends up at 4000-4200lbs, I will be pretty happy.
From what I have read, the Tahoe's are pretty porky, tipping the scales at 6000lbs+. I haven't weighed mine yet, but I will as soon as I get the lift kit in it. if any of you guys out there have a 2000-2006 Tahoe, and know the weight of it off hand, let me know.
I would bet that a mild tune of the stock 5.3, the gear swap from 3.42 to 4.56, and the weight reduction of 1500ish lbs should make this a really fun driver. I have also made the decision that I am going to keep the 5.3 in it for right now to just get it running and on the road, and I will keep working on the 6.0 in the mean time. Getting the 6.0 to put down 450-475 hp should really make this a fun machine.