LUVTruck.com

i am getting ready to pick up a 75 luv with a 350 and a th350 tranny and electric fuel pump. it appears the 350 is stock with factory exaust manafold and stock intake with a 4 barrel holley. it looks like a clean install and the truck sounds good and runs smooth. will it be fast with a stock 350 in it?

next question is it has no dash pad in it. are they hard to find? easy to install?

what bucket seats will fit in it so i can get rid of the bench seat.

all light work except the headlights. are they hard to trouble shoot?


thanks in advance to a newbie to the luv scene.



now some background on me. i have been building sbc/bbc engines for about 12 years. mostly full size trucks for hot street/strip setups. thought going to a smaller truck would be fun. i have seen these run and with the weight advantage it should fly if i can get it to hook up.

look forward to asking and answering questions. so i will say hey to everyone now

It will definately go faster than it did with a 1.8 in it.

Dash pad. Ebay has them occasionally for around 850.00 bones. Not easy to install.

You will probably have to make mounts for any bucket seat, so the choice is yours.

The headlights are just another electrical circuit. If you are good with sparks, then you can probably get them working. They are no more difficult than chasing an intermittent short in a fuel pump relay (ok they are easier. It took me 4 months, 12 carb kits, and 3 carbs to find mine.)

Welcome ot the site Hope you keep your luv for a long time. They are definately worth trying to keep up.

_________________
Hammer to fit, paint to match.
If it aint broke, don't fix it.
There's always room for duct tape and bailing wire.

WATCH YOUR PIEHOLE!!!!!!

Welcome to the site cornbread, I just bought my luv about 6 months ago. It has a 350 and th350. My motor isn't stock, I would guess about 350hp, it is insane how fast it is, once it quits spinning. Lottsa motor and no weight adds up to some awesome speed.

If you don't have them there are wiring diagrams for the different years of Luv in the Information section at the site entrance. Should help troubleshooting the headlights.

Oh yeah... welcome to the site.

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Resident lurker

I have had trouble with my lights, and blinkers since I bought my luv. A buddy and me worked on mine for a while and got them to work by messing with the fuse box. Seems that mine is pretty corroted and not getting good connections. If the prior owner didnt monkey funk your wiring try your connections and make sure everything under fuse box is still good/tight. Good luck

Another Luv owner in my area had put camaro buckets in his and said all he had to do was bend the mounts a little to get them in decent. Think they were second gen. Camaro.

CornBread , If you have been building engines for twelve years than i would say "is that a trick question when you ask about h.p. boost on a 350".? As far as the seats go, a perfect fit might be hard to find. I took a pair of buckets out of a94 arestar van , and put them into my off road luv. Good fit. Nice seats. And....headlights are easy.Just trace wires and check fuses. If that dosent work. Check the switch.Welcome to the world of Luvs' P.S. Dump ya some goodies in that engine , and i'm sure it well make your eyes whistle...

not a trick question about the engine and speed of truck. more of a traction question. never have done one so didn't know how it would be. all the motor in the world does no good with no traction. i have built several full size trucks and the key is not to over power the chassis.

so i may have asked the wrong question. so i will phrase it this way. with a stock 350 will the truck get enough traction to go play with mustangs and camaro's and hang with or beat them. i don't wanna be tore up by rice burners in my area. i have seen these trucks before but have never seen one run on the street or track that wasn't set up for pure drag and had monster slicks giving it traction.

what i am looking for is mid 8 sec 1/8 mile slips without going to a monster small block and back halfing the truck.

what can i expect out of this thing with the very mild 350 in it? will it be quick enough to hold it's own or is my truck gonna be shamed the first run out?


thanks for the tip on buckets.

I had a 283 in my first truck, mustangs and cameros didn't present a problem.

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Resident lurker

Just install a 12 bolt posi rear end and the widest series drag radial you can get under it. Nitto makes a great dr and steel wheels are a dime a dozen.

_________________
Hammer to fit, paint to match.
If it aint broke, don't fix it.
There's always room for duct tape and bailing wire.

WATCH YOUR PIEHOLE!!!!!!

Welcome to the site man! I got a 283 in my LUV at the moment. Making an estimated 220hp. Not much horsepower but that combined with a light truck, makes it quick! I raced a lightly modded 87' mustang 5.0, beat him by 3 car lengths. He beat me out of the hole....(traction issues)...but as soon as i caught traction in third gear i was off. If your looking to get mid 8 sec 1/8th mile times.....your gonna need to invest in slicks and a rear end....

Oh and by the way.... if you got a SBC in a LUV, you overpowered the chasis....

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-1981 Chevy LUV, 283SBC, T350 Trans, White In Colour, Long Box, Never Ending Project!
-2001 F-350 Superduty XLT 7.3L Diesel Auto, Ext. Cab, Long Box, White In Colour
-1998 F-150 XL 4.2L V6 5spd , Reg. Cab, Flareside SB, Red In Colour

Yeah. A fresh 1.8 probably overpowers the chassis.

_________________
Hammer to fit, paint to match.
If it aint broke, don't fix it.
There's always room for duct tape and bailing wire.

WATCH YOUR PIEHOLE!!!!!!

it has a 10 bolt out of a chevelle but it needs to be cut down some the wheels stick out a little. looks kinda wierd but hey it runs good.


now to get a cool scoop for the front so i can run some big intake and spacer