You don't need to invest a lot to get 250+ from these engines, tuning and simple add ons can make a big diff, I have no plans to boost this as I truly want a dual purpose truck that I can get decent mileage on and drive to work regularly. But everyone has there own goals.

 

One of the things that I wasn't aware of when I joined this thread, is how easy it has become to swap a Gen III Chevy small-block block into these trucks. When I last looked into it, a decade ago, a Chevy V8 swap usually ended up with poor results. I think this was partly because back then the engines had distributors at the back that caused a clearance problem. People ended up having to cut the radiator core support and they lost the hood latch and their air conditioning condenser. Now, it seems, you can buy an aluminum block 5.3 for around a thousand dollars that fits the engine bay. I am rethinking my slavish devotion to the manual transmission as well. A nice 4L60 automatic behind at 290 hp V8 is nothing to sneeze at. And if I really wanted to go crazy there are a number of shops that will be happy to build me beefier axles. Of course, you are on the right track if what you want is a reasonable bump in power without sacrificing drivability and economy.

 

Yup, if you want the power and like the comfort of the easy install v8 or v6 that's the way to go. I wanted power and wanted to beat 20mpg, and I think I got that loaded down with a camper driving up into the BC interior.

 

Love to see where you can buy an aluminum LS for a grand. No really, I'd like to know. I'm with you on the v8. I like the idea of these 3.5L motors, but I think they'd be difficult to find.

Kevin