1979 C10 6.0 / Manual Tranny Swap

Hey guys, new to this forum so let me just say thanks in advance for the help. My dad had a perfect old '79 C10 that we used for everything when we were kids, but he has since gotten a new Duramax and the '79 is in pretty rough shape. My brothers and I are thinking about restoring it for him, and I like the idea of dropping a 6.0 vortec in.

It needs a new transmission, so I figured it would make sense to go with a NV4500. Has anyone done a swap with a 6.0 and a manual in this era pickup? It has the NP205 transfer case that is still in good shape, so if there were any way to bolt the NV4500 up to the NP205 with some kind of conversion kit, it would be worth quite a bit to me. I would prefer to not have to modify the driveshafts, etc if I have to move the transfer case.

Thanks!

Kind of hard to "restore" the truck if you change the engine to a different model. :twocents:

Put it back totally stock. You're looking at some major work combining all the things you want to save.

Find a 6.0/NV4500 combo, theres not many but they're out there

What vehicle did that set up come in?

That set up would be out of one of the newer GM 2500HD trucks.

It would be nice to keep it stock I suppose, any experiences with the best place to get a reliable, driveable 350 with high power and torque without breaking the bank? This truck will mostly be a daily driver, with boat and 5th wheel camper pulling occasionally. Also, is there an easy way make sure that the replacement 350 would fit in the old motor mounts, and mate up to a "new" SM465 Trans? The truck is 600 miles away from me right now, not sure about VIN or engine RPO.

I think GM has a HT383 stroker that will give more power at a reasonable cost. You're looking about probably $6000-$7000 to do all the adaptation of the old 4x4 truck to Gen3 stuff. Since you're doing this for your dad it would be best to keep it friendly to what he's used to seeing in the truck. Have you looked for an engine at sdparts.com or crateenginedepot.com ?

The bigger issue than the engine is the transmission. I'm sure that with any amount of searching I could find the perfect small block for this application, but I am not a fan of the SM465 trans. I've had pretty limited luck finding reman ones, and I'm hesitant to buy a used one after how many I have seen go out. Anyone know the length of the 6.0, NV4500, and an adapter like the one from Advance Adapter? How does it compare to the 350/SM465 length?

Try these sites.

NV4500 Transmissions - Adapters - NV4500 Conversion Kits | NV4500.COM

Crate Engines, Stroker Engines & other Custom High Performance Engines - BluePrint Engines.com

They have some nice 383 strokers designed for low end torque that would be ideal for what your wanting to do. Then you could find a NV4500 out of a Dodge or Chevy and have a bullet proof set-up that had great road manners and stump pulling torque between idle-5500 RPM. Could still run power streering and brakes too.

It all depends on which vehicle you would get the nv4500 out of. They come with various bellhousings and tail shafts. I know that the 88-98 GM sm465's are the same length as the 88-98 GM NV4500's. I highly doubt that the bellhousings are interchangeable though.

Alright guys, after doing the research I think I've decided to go with a 6.0 (either ly6 or lq9) and the NV4500 trans. I would likek to find a complete donor truck to make sure I get all of the wiring, sensors, and accessories I need. If I can do that, I'll probably just use the NP241 (I think) transfer case from the donor truck. Anyone ran into problems with this?

Also, what kind of price range should I be looking for on a good donor truck?

Thanks again.... hopefully my dad will have his truck back in less than a year!

You should be aware that the NV4500 has a "granny" first gear, 5.61 on most models and even lower on some rare ones. 5th is still an overdrive, so this means that you will effectively be driving a 3 speed with OD. They are strong, yes, but big and heavy, and frankly the gear ratio is what has kept me away from that trans.