99 Tahoe 2 door what H/C/I?

[Lampdawgg]

Hi guys! I recently bought a 99 two door tahoe 2wd, with the vortec 350 & 4L60E, stock besides the mpfi conversion, flow master 40s and kooks long tube headers. I was hoping to make a nice powerful street truck out of it. I have a daily driver so gas mileage is not a major issue, but I would like to retain good driveability. I have had a few 5.0 mustangs but this is my first sbc. Typically the upgrade path for 5.0s is heads/cam/intake and my go-to combo has always been Holley Systemax 2, TFS 170 heads, a small custom grind cam, and 3.73s. Being unfamiliar with these Chevys I thought I'd come to you guys for some advice. What would you suggest as far as a cam & intake manifold? Is there a good set of aluminum heads that will flow much better than the factory vortecs, or should I just look at getting those ported instead? Any other mods you guys would suggest? Gears? Stall converter? Budget is not a major concern, but if it helps to know, I have about $3500 to spend on mods for now, and forced induction is not really on the menu, maybe later on.
Thanks guys!

 

[SunlitComet]

you should have a 4l60e tranny not a 700r4.


i would port what you already have.

if you are lucky enough you can get a used whipple kit for under $2000. that would be best if you put it back on the menu. know increase of 50+% on power and torque. still want one for myself but never have the money.

you could do a simple rocker ratio upgrade. will get you a few pony's. contact comp cams to get a recommendation for a cam if you want. if you can find some doug thorley tri-y they retain all the emission components and are overall fantastic. i believe summit racing has taken control of there distribution, even manufacturing i think. i got mine for $00 on ebay. new ones go for about $700. rated at about 23hp on a stock engine. there are different models for 2wd or 4wd.

sales photo: http://static.summitracing.com/global/images/prod/mediumlarge/dte-301y-fed_w_ml.jpg
my setup: http://s1222.photobucket.com/user/Sunlitcomet/library/1996 Chevy Tahoe 4X4/Exhaust Setup

---------- Post added at 08:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:45 PM ----------

btw, mine were not originally coated. i had a local shop ceramic just the headers. i would recommend doing the the whole setup. if not already done during manufacturing.

 

[Lampdawgg]

Excuse me sunlitcomet, you're right. Hmm in that case I may just port the vortec heads, port match the intake and start saving up for a new supercharger kit. Used blowers worry me, I've seen too many old blowers leaking oil. Perhaps I could get away with a rebuilt unit, but I'd pay a little extra for peace of mind. Other thing is the Whipple unit tends to heat soak, right? Not a good thing down here in southern cal. Do these sbc blocks tend to hold up well under boost? The sbf block tends to be a little weak, but perhaps the chevy is a different animal altogether. And would those Thorley headers benefit me over the Kooks LTs I already have, or just offer me a smog legal alternative?

 

[Lampdawgg]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, was a little underwhelmed by the performance, and discouraged by the lack of potential.Traded the tahoe on a '93 454 SS.

 

[SunlitComet]

that is actually a fall back in power going with a tbi 454 as opposed to a vortec 454. not to mention the loss of all that interior space.

the whipple does not heat soak in fact it has been the most efficient sc out there. they are repairable. the tri-y help to keep your torque with out loosing so much of it. long tubes are generally best for constant high speed running. a properly designed long tube can give another 10-20% more of the original shorty gain. so if the gain from shorties was say 20hp then you will get around 22-24hp roughly. will vary by design. an improperly designed set will just kill your torque. and will likely not allow use of the cats and some o2 sensors like it is supposed which at that point is illegal.