Hi - from Upstate, SC

[bluex]

Welcome from VA. I was born in Greenville. I grew up in Taylors. Abruptly moved to PI when my Dad got a job in Georgetown. I miss the old SC. Nice truck.

I miss the old SC too an I'm still here

 

[bluex]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome.

@TotalyHucked - I found your build thread. You have a very nice truck!

The L98 in my truck is from a 92 IROC. The intake runners are different, this is vintage stuff but back in the day the "siamesed" intake runners (as fitted) were the rage. So, that is why the intake looks different. The original intake had the individual tube runners.

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The engine bay needs cleaning up - it has been sitting for quite some time. Here is what the interior looks like. The dash is in good shape, currently with a dash cover. The bench seat is all original; not sure about the current cover but hey, it is saving the seat. Gauges all work however, the speedo is off by about 5 mph.

I really want to get a lowering kit. However, I am not too keen on cutting the frame. I have not done my research on this yet, but surely there is a kit available that can lower the truck a little without having to cut the frame. I also want to keep the original wheels so this might not be possible.

@bluex thanks for chiming in! I live not far from you, in Greer. I actually saw a white Squarebody similar to mine in Greer the other day that had been seriously lowered with aftermarket wheels - it looked awesome!

I'm around greer all the time, my C10 is apart right now but you might see my dually out an about.

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I've lowered a bunch of these trucks an would be glad to help you figure out the best way to achieve what your wanting if you'd like...

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[redRock14]

@bluex - thank you sir. Will do.

 

[TotalyHucked]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome.

@TotalyHucked - I found your build thread. You have a very nice truck!

The L98 in my truck is from a 92 IROC. The intake runners are different, this is vintage stuff but back in the day the "siamesed" intake runners (as fitted) were the rage. So, that is why the intake looks different. The original intake had the individual tube runners.

You must be registered for see images attach

The engine bay needs cleaning up - it has been sitting for quite some time. Here is what the interior looks like. The dash is in good shape, currently with a dash cover. The bench seat is all original; not sure about the current cover but hey, it is saving the seat. Gauges all work however, the speedo is off by about 5 mph.

You must be registered for see images attach

I really want to get a lowering kit. However, I am not too keen on cutting the frame. I have not done my research on this yet, but surely there is a kit available that can lower the truck a little without having to cut the frame. I also want to keep the original wheels so this might not be possible.

@bluex thanks for chiming in! I live not far from you, in Greer. I actually saw a white Squarebody similar to mine in Greer the other day that had been seriously lowered with aftermarket wheels - it looked awesome!

I appreciate it, I have alot of fun with it!

Man, that thing's nice!! You've got a real solid truck there, she'll serve you well for a long time. That's interesting you mentioned the intake runners, I didn't even catch that originally. My first car was an '87 IROC with the carb'd 305/700R4 and I always wanted to find an L98 to drop in. It'd be interesting to know who's runners those are. The bad part about the TPI and the peanut port heads is them running out of breath at 5k but they sure do make good torque

 

[Bloodhound1981]

Welcome and nice rig! Love the TPI setup, it's what I put in my '81 C10 back in 1992, that was a high tech swap back then. That motor does indeed not breath well above 4K rpm, but it was made for low end torque, which makes it great in a truck. When I re-restored my truck over the last 10 years, I wanted to keep the TPI look. I got a Vortec head 350 with a First Fuel Injection TPI (way bigger than a stock TPI), and it rips to about 5600rpm. Those runners look like SLP siamese runners. What ECM does it use, a stock one for the motor?

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[Doppleganger]

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[72velle]

Welcome from the Low Country! Nice truck.

 

[redRock14]

Well, wow. I had no idea that an 'old school' L98 would get this kind of attention, especially with all the LS swaps these days.

OK - so a little history about the truck: this was my aunt's truck. My cousin (her son) bought the truck for her from the original owner. That was back in 1993 and she drove it for a few years with the original engine. Then my cousin decided to do the engine swap; the original engine went bye-bye and he installed a low mileage L98. The harness came from Street & Performance in Mena, AK (I think they are out of business now). The ECM is the original one that came from the donor Camaro.

You are right about the L98 running out of breath - however it is very adequate for what it is. My cousin went with the L98 exactly for the torque and also wanting to keep the truck tame enough for his mom. Fast forward to today... My cousin passed away 6 months ago, and I have the truck now. I want to keep it in my family - after all my aunt lived to be 101 and drove the truck well in to her early 90's. Talk about the "little old lady that drove the truck only to church". Well she drove this thing all over the place.

After she passed, my cousin kept the truck. He stored it in a covered shop away from the elements, and that is why the paint and interior are in such good shape. For probably the last 8-10 years, the truck has been driven very sparingly.

As far as the engine goes... My cousin was a machinist and he did a lot of custom parts and fabrication for it. He made the throttle cable, sheath and an adapter for the throttle body (see below). I've had to adjust that a little because the idle was way too low (probably because the cable stretched over time) and sometimes the engine would stumble and shut off at a red light - not good. I tightened it up a little but now it idles a bit too high - there is a sweet spot, but I have yet to find it.

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Bloodhound1981 - I see an MSD setup in that picture you posted. Did you also replace the distributor? If I am not mistaken, what I have in my truck is the original GM HEI but I am not 100% sure. It has been a very long time since I've messed with these engines. And yes, I have replaced the Idle air motor and gave the intake a very good cleaning. The next thing I need to replace is the throttle position sensor - just in case it is acting up. Finally, I am aware of the fine adjustment screw that can be used to crack the throttle butterflies. But I'm doing all this one step at the time.

Reason I asked about the MSD, is I found a video on Youtube and there is a guy that installed an MSD setup in a Firebird with a TPI engine. When he got done with it, it ran really nice. Again, this is more stuff to research.

The L98 was indeed a sought after engine back in the day. My cousin wanted to put an LS in this truck, and that was going to be our next project but sadly he passed away. With all the compliments mentioned here though, I think all I need to do is clean things up a little, get the stumbling issue sorted and just enjoy the truck with the L98 TPI!!

 

[Bloodhound1981]

Well, wow. I had no idea that an 'old school' L98 would get this kind of attention, especially with all the LS swaps these days.

OK - so a little history about the truck: this was my aunt's truck. My cousin (her son) bought the truck for her from the original owner. That was back in 1993 and she drove it for a few years with the original engine. Then my cousin decided to do the engine swap; the original engine went bye-bye and he installed a low mileage L98. The harness came from Street & Performance in Mena, AK (I think they are out of business now). The ECM is the original one that came from the donor Camaro.

You are right about the L98 running out of breath - however it is very adequate for what it is. My cousin went with the L98 exactly for the torque and also wanting to keep the truck tame enough for his mom. Fast forward to today... My cousin passed away 6 months ago, and I have the truck now. I want to keep it in my family - after all my aunt lived to be 101 and drove the truck well in to her early 90's. Talk about the "little old lady that drove the truck only to church". Well she drove this thing all over the place.

After she passed, my cousin kept the truck. He stored it in a covered shop away from the elements, and that is why the paint and interior are in such good shape. For probably the last 8-10 years, the truck has been driven very sparingly.

As far as the engine goes... My cousin was a machinist and he did a lot of custom parts and fabrication for it. He made the throttle cable, sheath and an adapter for the throttle body (see below). I've had to adjust that a little because the idle was way too low (probably because the cable stretched over time) and sometimes the engine would stumble and shut off at a red light - not good. I tightened it up a little but now it idles a bit too high - there is a sweet spot, but I have yet to find it.

You must be registered for see images attach

Bloodhound1981 - I see an MSD setup in that picture you posted. Did you also replace the distributor? If I am not mistaken, what I have in my truck is the original GM HEI but I am not 100% sure. It has been a very long time since I've messed with these engines. And yes, I have replaced the Idle air motor and gave the intake a very good cleaning. The next thing I need to replace is the throttle position sensor - just in case it is acting up. Finally, I am aware of the fine adjustment screw that can be used to crack the throttle butterflies. But I'm doing all this one step at the time.

Reason I asked about the MSD, is I found a video on Youtube and there is a guy that installed an MSD setup in a Firebird with a TPI engine. When he got done with it, it ran really nice. Again, this is more stuff to research.

The L98 was indeed a sought after engine back in the day. My cousin wanted to put an LS in this truck, and that was going to be our next project but sadly he passed away. With all the compliments mentioned here though, I think all I need to do is clean things up a little, get the stumbling issue sorted and just enjoy the truck with the L98 TPI!!

Wow great backstory too. Definitely keep it TPI, it's amazing at a show how much attention mine gets because everything is LS swapped these days (for good reason, don't get me wrong). I am running the MSD box with a Holley Dual Sync distributor and an MSD Blaster HVC II coil. But my ECM is a Holley HP running on sequential injection, my setup is a long way from stock.

 

[bluex]

Yes keep the TPI! I have a full setup to run on my C10 with a holley terminator, if I can ever get time for my own stuff.

I have vortec heads, a vortec lower to start with. I also socred another setup with a TPiS lower an a accel super ram for the 383 I want to eventually build too.