I'm thinking about building a sleeper. I need some gearhead input.

I have a 2000 Chevy Tahoe 2wd that I'm considering turning into a street eater. My initial plan was an LS crate engine swap, but looking around I've seen some dang nice Edelbrock crate engines with the horsepower range I want and within my proposed budget for the engine.

Thing is, these Edelbrocks are all carburetor f'ed instead of EFI. They are supposed to be ready for blow-through from forced induction, but I'm not sure that carburetors are the way to go.

The SUV will also be serving as a somewhat regular daily driver, and while I know the fuel economy is going to be garbage at best, I'm thinking EFI would be better all around for power and daily economy.

And, there are plenty of other necessary upgrades beyond the new engine. New ecu, etc. Transmission and rear end changes. Suspension and brake hardware changes.

This will be my first project vehicle, and while I'm just fine doing the necessary work on my own, I don't know enough to be sure I'm choosing all the best upgrade options or modifications to get the most performance for my budget.

So, any gearheads, performance enthusiasts, racers, etc. who'd care to share any insight would be greatly appreciated.

a reply to: pfishy

i like the idea of the ls swap.
throw this bitch on it

treperformance.com...

and nobody is gonna mess with you

I carried around a small block 400 for years. I was going to destroke it, Shorten the stroke to the same as a 350 but with a bigger bore. And of course a wild cam. I was going to put it into a 1975 full size Jimmy 4x4 with complete convertible top; It never happened

Here is who I deal with for engines, if you need a good source.
CME

Not sure about carb vs injected. You have to be pretty ba with electrical to make the injected run, the carb swap will have issues too, like shift points in electronic trans, speedometer.

I would prob go with carb and a trans that is not computer controlled, then run a GPS speedo and a tach on a new dash insert.

My next project will be an 87 or 88 turbo coupe tbird. Stroke out the 2.3L to a 2.85 or 3.0 and make between 600 to 800hp... VROOM VROOOOM!

a reply to: pfishy

I would do the EFI route, I modified one of the Corvettes I had with a 373 and continually added mods to that. It made it so much easier to max the performance by reprograming the computer than to finagle with jets and throttle settings when each mod could be calculated independently as they were added.

As someone who has a 421whp/354wtq Saturn Ion sleeper, skip the carb setup, fuel injection is so much easier. Tuning is so much easier, especially when you talk about adding forced induction. Simply hook a laptop up, log the appropriate sensors/data, make changes to the tune, and flash the PCM.

The possibilities of a LSx engine are limitless. I have a buddy who has a 5.3 in a Volvo with a 78mm turbo and makes ~550whp on low boost with a Megasquirt setup.

I would also advise that unless this is going to be a track-only setup, that you make sure the brakes and suspension will be upgraded. A truck is already a poor choice to go fast in, and more power/wore out parts only make it worse.

Good luck.

a reply to: pfishy

Save till you can keep two vehicles. Trying to get this vehicle to do the job of two will cause you to have one vehicke that does neither the way you want it to.

I learned early, if you want a sleeper, do not go SUV. I lightly hopped up the Tahoe, kept it as a daily and built a 565 hp, old school 010 block with vortex heads. 6.2 rods, spec pistons, racing forged crank, did it relatively cheap for the parts. Set it in a 91 S-10 with a 6 speed from a trans-am and a locking rear. This thing smokes the tires in all gears as long as your in the throttle, cool ride that everyone loves. I lowered it, and made it handle good which makes it a blast to drive. But success in this requires your daily and cruiser be 2 separate vehicles, you get the best of both worlds.....

a reply to: TinySickTears

Nice

a reply to: visitedbythem

Sounds fierce

a reply to: Mandroid7

That sounds complicated, but probably only because I haven't looked at the equipment required before.

If u want a dd car id reconent a facroty forced induction u can get alot of hp and torq and stay reliable

U can go another way and get alot more power ... u want to turn the key and go every day tho take a motor thats built to put down power every day without fail

The one thing u dont hear from most with high hp tuned cars is the weeks there car is down to repair the damage all that power causes

I want to buy a ford flex ecobost for my sleeper dadwagon myself lol

a reply to: xSEEKxNxSTRIKEx

I had a 79 towncar with a Windsor 460 and an oversized cam, breathing through a Holley Double Pumper. (These are the details I was told by the person I bought the car from. I was 19, and new Jack about whether it was true or not).
That huge land yacht would roast tires like marshmallows, and once it got moving it would pass anything but a gas pump.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I'm eventually planning to add twin turbos to the setup and make it an fugly Frankenstein drag truck eventually. After I get the Charger I've been eyeballing.
So your point about ease of fuel management settings is definitely noted.

a reply to: cynicalheathen

Yeah, I am going to rebuild the front and rear suspension and brakes before the new engine and truck body ever even meet at the dance. Also going to lower the stance some. But not enough to be blatantly obvious at first.

a reply to: teslahowitzer

The first round suspension and brake work, and the rear end swap will come before the engine. And my timeline for the budget will require that I am using it as a daily for a while after the engine swap. But I'm not going to do any serious performance upgrades beyond that until I've got my new vehicle.

a reply to: teslahowitzer

I'm also going to use the 5.3 currently in the vehicle to play with upgrades and eventually wedge it into an 87 Dodge Ram 50 (Mitsubishi mighty max) i have stored.

From a legal stanndpoint, I'm pretty sure you can't actually put a carb on anything made after 1992 and drive it on the street. I remember that being a law. Unless I misremember it, then blame the Mandela Effect.

If you were to do it, go the LS route. They make standalone harnesses for LS engines to make wiring them up easier. It costs more but it's hard to beat an LS.

a reply to: pfishy
For a street sleeper you need a lighter vehicle,trucks are heavy and poor aerodynamics,can spend less and have quicker vehicle,I'm am currently looking for a build project,my brother has a Porsche 911project,but maybe a rat rod as well,good luck and truth is you can build anything you want if your willing to spend,my family grew up under tight fisted Basque,so parting with cash not a strong point,so rather then a crate motor I would build my own,much more fun and you become part of your machine,anyone can buy one,not everyone can build one