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It's about time to get this show on the road so I am starting this build thread to keep me motivated. This has been in the works for about 6 months doing research and gathering parts.
The Victim/Candidate
The transplant. 70k mile LH6 & 4L60E out of a 2007 Silverado. Complete with harness, ecm, tcm, pedal and all accessories - purchased for $900.
My goal is to have this completed by the end of May. May 23rd actually. That is my sons birthday and I plan to be able to drive the car to whatever base he'll be stationed at and drop it off as his driver. He just joined the Air Force and is currently at Tech School until May 5th.
This is what the car looked like 380 days ago:
This is what the car looked like in December of 2013 when we drug it out of the backyard.
I got this car in 1992 and it was my daily driver for several years in Alaska. Right before my son was born in 1996 I started tearing it apart to rebuild. He never rode in it or heard it run. Life got in the way and the car sat 17 years not being touched. I had it hauled to Texas when we moved down in 2005. It got put in the backyard and covered.
Last year my son decides he wants to drive it for his last year of high school. We made a deal, he does half the work and comes up with half the money and we'll put it together so he could drive it to school and graduation. I figured this would be the end of it. He shocked me when 2 months later, he had half of what I had figured it would take to just throw it together to drive!
In comes a craigslist 400 for $500, the TH400 that was in it was still good. We bought parts and pieces and put it together in the driveway to a runner that ended up looking like this:
Right after the first drive in 17 years
By March of 2014 he is driving it to school and work everyday. I work out of town a lot and didn't comeback home until May. When I returned in May it looked lie the picture at the top of the post. While going to school full time and carrying A-B grades, he also worked 2 jobs and had the car painted and bought the Year One 17" Rally II's. I was both proud and impressed!
Heading to High School Graduation May 2014
We started talking about how impractical the car was with a worn out 400, TH400 and 3.55:1 gears. Not only did it suck the gas but it wasn't really all that fun to drive. He suggested more modern power and here we are! After reading lots of build threads and PMing some other builders a plan formed. The bulk of changes are listed below:
AFM Delete
Pat G designed EPS Cam 22X/22X @ .050 .6XX/.6XX Lift
PRC 2.5 5.3L Porting and rebuild on our 243 castings
Dougs 1 3/4" Headers
LS2 Intake and Injectors
87 MM Truck TB ported and Polished
Holley 302-2 Pan
Dougs Motor plates
4L60E Rebuild and Transgo HD-2 Kit with Yank SS3600 stall.
Base tune on ECM & TCM by Geoff at EPS.
Tanks Inc. Tank, pump & sender.
I'll be ordering the last of the parts to finish this up over the next 6 weeks. I hope to make some MVP in March when I'll be off for 2 weeks. I'll update this post as parts arrive and I do have some questions I'd like direction on for some things.
I've spent enough time in front of the computer for today!
Final Note: Yes this is a real Judge, I have the PHS docs to prove it. NO it will not be cut or altered in any way that it can't be returned to stock! If you are a purist and this swap angers you, keep it to yourself. This car is not for sale, never will be and it's sole intent is to be driven and enjoyed. I do welcome any and all Constructive feedback and suggestions!
Sounds like a great kid. '70 Judge is easily my favorite muscle car. I like the idea of restifing it/making it more practical without making permanent modifications.
No actual progress but a ton of parts have been ordered! Headers, Yank SS3600, Sonnax Servos, TransGo HD2 kit, New BP Automotive Premium Harness with 2 speed fan relays, Griffin LS Radiator, Tanks Inc tank, pump and sender, G-force crossmember and a C6 throttle pedal. Heads were dropped at TSP for the stage 2.5 porting this morning. I'll post up pics as stuff arrives. Now I have a few questions.
What are you A-body 4L60E guys running for transmission dipsticks? I really want a factory style hard tube versus the Lokar one, any suggestions for what fits well?
Oil Dipstick Suggestions? The factory truck dipstick was mangled when they pulled it. Looking for something shorter and cleaner. Vette? F-body? GTO? What have you run?
I'll be running PTFE braided line for the fuel system and transmission lines. Tranny will use a stand alone B&M super cooler. See any problems with this setup?
Planning on 99-03 Ford Windstar dual cooling fan, Have any of you mounted this to the Griffin LS radiator or other aluminum radiator? How did you mount it? Better options? I would like to run dual fans due to the Texas heat and the car will eventually get Retrofitted with A/C.
Oil pump sugesstions? My plan was the LS2 replacement part number 12586665.
Very nice car, great story. You will really like the LS power over the 400. I used the truck dipstick and had no issues. If your car has AC you can use the truck compressor in the OE truck location and have a custom line made to the condenser. If you need more info I can give you specifics.
Other than spending a pile of cash on parts and wearing out the UPS guys truck, no progress to report. I'm out of town for work and won't be back to do the swap until March 3rd. I'll have 12 days off so I hope to make some real progress then. I'll post on here as I do.
Transmission is at Jakes Performance Transmission in Sanger getting a level 2 build. I bought a Fast 102 intake to run instead of the LS2 Intake. Recieved the heads back from TSP, works of art! Harness came in from BP Automotive. I've been sent pictures of everything but they are on my phone.
All I'm down to figuring out is the air intake system. Anyone know what size the TB and MAF Diameter is on the 2007-2009 NNBS Chevy trucks? It's either 3.5" or 4" but I don't want to make my order until I'm sure.
Last edited by Hawk465; 02-24-2015 at 08:28 PM.
Reason: grammar
My tubing is 4in. I actually called LKQ and talked to the eBay guy. He hooked me up with a k&n setup from a 2009 Silverado. I flipped it over and shortened it about 3 in. Pretty simple. If you call them the regular sales guys suck. The guy I use is named Jeremy, located in Burleson.
My tubing is 4in. I actually called LKQ and talked to the eBay guy. He hooked me up with a k&n setup from a 2009 Silverado. I flipped it over and shortened it about 3 in. Pretty simple. If you call them the regular sales guys suck. The guy I use is named Jeremy, located in Burleson.
Thanks! Do you happen to have any pics of your set up installed? I wouldn't need to flip it since my battery is on the drivers side. I had been considering trying a truck CAI, would be nice to see one installed.
It's finally in! I am a little ways from having it running. Still need to hook up the harness and modify the pedal to fit. I also need to order a driveshaft. Al the time consuming tedious stuff left to do. 90% done, 90% to go.
I want to thank everyone here who has posted their builds. The information from this site made this a true "Bolt In" operation.
A big thank you to Oldgoat69 for answering all my questions via PM and email.
I ended up using the Dougs SK100 motor plates, Energy Suspension 1117G motor mounts, and small block frame stands from summit. The G-force tranny crossmember is worth the money, it is a beefy unit and fit great. I didn't have to do anything to the transmission tunnel, fit on the 4L60 is snug but not touching anywhere. The Dougs D-3336 headers are a perfect fit also. Some pictures to show the progress.
400 coming out.
5.3 going in!
Fit perfectly. Dropped right onto the mounts like it was made to be there.
The Tanks Inc. setup is awesome. Fit perfect and will be used on the next swap for sure.
Installed Ridetech Strong Arms while it was up in the air.
Tomorrow is a day off from working on the car. Going down to San Antonio to look at hopefully the next swap candidate. Found a 72 El Camino that looks clean from the pictures. 12 hours round trip on the road and I'll know for sure.
I used the Energy Suspension 3-1117G mounts with Dougs SK100 Motor Plates. I'll have to hunt up the part number for the frame stands. I bought them from Summit, they were $20 each. Remakes of the SB chevy stands.
01-11-2015, 11:21 AM
LH6/4L60E 70 GTO Judge Build Thread 
