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Nice build! You ever think about strengthening your frame since your gonna start making more power? Pretty sure their are some kits available on summit. I’d just run the current 5.3 and let it eat brother.
Nice build! You ever think about strengthening your frame since your gonna start making more power? Pretty sure their are some kits available on summit. I’d just run the current 5.3 and let it eat brother.
Nothing planned at the moment, though I suppose if any issues come up we can address them. Right now the 'plan' is to let it run sub 10 pounds, or another words 'conservative/safe' - which is still a ton of power. I don't *plan* to set it up like a drag truck (no skinnies up front, no super soft front suspension to make it sit back and hook, or whatever). Just some Cal Tracs and a braced diff cover on a stock 10 bolt with a lunchbox locker. Drag radials so it can at least pretend it has traction? lol - so I don't think we'll be stressing the frame *too* hard initially.
Mild powered street truck for going to cruise ins, getting ice cream, picking on (some) sports cars, and doing the Hot Rod Power Tour / Cruising the Coast, that garbage - and occasionally running it down the quarter, and a new challenge for myself because I want to do another big mechanical project (haven't done one since I did the initial LS swap in my driveway 12 years ago). I also bought a small welding machine to learn with for small fab work in this process.
I've had a mild built Jeep that I wheeled all over the country, I've had a boat before, two travel trailers, did a stint with kayaking, camping ('overlanding'), and now honestly I'm just like well I haven't done the fast truck thing yet and this one has just been laying around soooo....
Snagged a set of 799 heads over the weekend. I have plain old 862s on my truck and one of the manifold bolts is 'wollered' out. Going to have the heads cleaned up and a set of LS6 or similar springs put in. Throw them on top of the stock 5.3L
A buddy messaged me about a 4L80E converter for sale near me. Circle D, 3200 stall. Never actually used. May grab that too - I think it will be a good enough fit for costing half or less of new.
After much research I think I'm going to step back from the S480/T6 and run a 7875/T4 kit. It is going to deliver all the power I can stand and seems like it provide it in a more desirable range - and be a little easier to package. The goal is very modest by most standards at 'only' 500 rwhp. Either way the deposit has been made to Huron so we are moving forward with something.
Lots of work to do, still gathering parts. The holidays put a hurting on so just gonna be in gather mode for a little bit but that's fine.
Snagged a Circle D 258MM torque converter last night from marketplace. Had never been run, just been in its box in a shop for a while. Circle D says it's a 3000 (seller emailed them and forwarded me the response), box says 3200, know for sure its a single disc with a billet cover - either way its an improvement over a stock converter and can't complain paying 60% less than brand new.
The latest pieces. Grabbed a set of clean 799 heads. Just need some springs for those. The real score (I thought anyway) is this apparently never used Circle D converter. Should be close enough for my needs, and for 60% less than new. Only some minor surface rust from being stored.
Nothing planned at the moment, though I suppose if any issues come up we can address them. Right now the 'plan' is to let it run sub 10 pounds, or another words 'conservative/safe' - which is still a ton of power. I don't *plan* to set it up like a drag truck (no skinnies up front, no super soft front suspension to make it sit back and hook, or whatever). Just some Cal Tracs and a braced diff cover on a stock 10 bolt with a lunchbox locker. Drag radials so it can at least pretend it has traction? lol - so I don't think we'll be stressing the frame *too* hard initially.
Mild powered street truck for going to cruise ins, getting ice cream, picking on (some) sports cars, and doing the Hot Rod Power Tour / Cruising the Coast, that garbage - and occasionally running it down the quarter, and a new challenge for myself because I want to do another big mechanical project (haven't done one since I did the initial LS swap in my driveway 12 years ago). I also bought a small welding machine to learn with for small fab work in this process.
I've had a mild built Jeep that I wheeled all over the country, I've had a boat before, two travel trailers, did a stint with kayaking, camping ('overlanding'), and now honestly I'm just like well I haven't done the fast truck thing yet and this one has just been laying around soooo....
Excuse my rambling. Bored on break.
Sounds like a great plan. I daily mine and take it to the track once or twice a year. I mainly like to harass sports cars on mud tires.
Header leaking was starting to annoy me, so pulled the old gaskets out. Unfortunately the locally available gaskets won't work - these Schoenfeld headers don't have flat flanges, the primaries protrude through - and all the parts house gaskets are for larger than 1 3/4" (so no or poor seal). So I ordered Schoenfeld gaskets. Should be here today. Gonna go ahead and change the valve cover gaskets too and see if we can stop or slow the leaks. Turbo is in the works and I will be undoing this at some point but we are still months away.
Headers and valve covers back together. That didn't fix the exhaust leak.....which the more I think about it - that may just be how the exhaust sounds when there is no carpet in the truck. I didn't drive it for a year, and by the time it was back on the road regular the floor was repainted and the carpet gone. So I may be worrying over nothing. I need to hear it drive by from outside and re-asses. But I'm sure the new valve cover gaskets will help as the old ones were obviously leaking. So still a win.
Piddling with the transmission. Gave it a cursory bath. Not sure if rebuilding or not but either way this will make it nicer to handle. I do at least want to pull the bolted yoke and the tail off and see what output shaft it has so i can order the appropriate slip yoke. Looks like this trans will fit my truck with no driveshaft mods other than a yoke swap.
An AEM X Series Wide Band, an Auto Meter pillar pod, and HP Tuners Pro Link. Initially I was going to get the Innovate Boost Control & Wide Band - but I decided to get a wide band only and we will start the turbo build simple - just relying on the WG spring to do its thing, and from there I will decide exactly what type of boost controller I want once we are up and running.
I wanted to go ahead and install a wide band now and play with that over the next few months and learn more about tuning, using HP Tuners, with the stock engine while I acquire the rest of the parts.
12-12-2023, 07:09 AM
