1981 C10/5.3L Build Thread
05-17-2012, 07:40 AM
#41
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Dec,
Nice, I actually had plenty of room on the drivers side but had to notch the passenger side frame. I'm using the stock truck manifolds though. Some grinding on the EGR boss was also required.
Yea, I love the pull-a-part salvage. I bought a Ford Taurus fan there that I'm planning on using on my truck. I've heard the Lincoln Mark VIII fans are more powerful but I couldnt find one.
Nice, I actually had plenty of room on the drivers side but had to notch the passenger side frame. I'm using the stock truck manifolds though. Some grinding on the EGR boss was also required.
Yea, I love the pull-a-part salvage. I bought a Ford Taurus fan there that I'm planning on using on my truck. I've heard the Lincoln Mark VIII fans are more powerful but I couldnt find one.
08-20-2012, 12:43 PM
#42
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Well I've been slow going with the truck lately.
I did have my buddy Neal (Pist0lpete) come up from Oklahoma City two weekends ago and help me get everything wrapped up on the wiring to get it started. We got everything hooked up but couldnt connect with HP tuners so we didnt start it.
I got the problem figured out and read the ECU. Now I am just waiting for my SpeedHut oil pressure gauge to come in the mail so I can make sure I have oil pressure, then I'll be starting the engine up!!
I'm pretty pumped... It wont be able to drive since I need to rebuild the trans still, but its been a long time and I'm excited to hear that engine come to life!
I did have my buddy Neal (Pist0lpete) come up from Oklahoma City two weekends ago and help me get everything wrapped up on the wiring to get it started. We got everything hooked up but couldnt connect with HP tuners so we didnt start it.
I got the problem figured out and read the ECU. Now I am just waiting for my SpeedHut oil pressure gauge to come in the mail so I can make sure I have oil pressure, then I'll be starting the engine up!!
I'm pretty pumped... It wont be able to drive since I need to rebuild the trans still, but its been a long time and I'm excited to hear that engine come to life!
01-29-2013, 08:04 AM
#46
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Well it has been a while... been pretty busy. Got married, moved houses, had to resetup the garage, and the holiday season happened. So havent got as much done as I'd like, but I think I should be getting the truck on the road within the month... at least in N/A trim.
So I made a minor change in the plan and decided to go with a 4L80E instead of the TH400. I think it will be a good decision, having an OD will be nice.
So I got a killer deal on an 80 off craigslist, I guess the guy didnt know what it was worth. Its out of a 2007 2500HD classic with 30k miles on it. Got it for $300!
I know this will be a mistake with my cam but for the first couple months I'm going to run the stock 80 converter. That way I can get on the road and will start saving for a quality converter, probably in the 3400rpm stall range.
I installed a TransGo HD2 kit on it and got myself an SFI flexplate made for LS to 80.
I had to scrap my old trans cross-member since it was for the TH400. I made a new one as pictured below.
Been messing with driveline angles too, had to put a shim kit in the rear to get the angle down. Right now I'm at 5 degrees at the rear and 4.5-5 on the trans. I would prefer to get closer to 3 but I cant get exact measurements or working angles until I get my driveshaft.
So I made a minor change in the plan and decided to go with a 4L80E instead of the TH400. I think it will be a good decision, having an OD will be nice.
So I got a killer deal on an 80 off craigslist, I guess the guy didnt know what it was worth. Its out of a 2007 2500HD classic with 30k miles on it. Got it for $300!
I know this will be a mistake with my cam but for the first couple months I'm going to run the stock 80 converter. That way I can get on the road and will start saving for a quality converter, probably in the 3400rpm stall range.
I installed a TransGo HD2 kit on it and got myself an SFI flexplate made for LS to 80.
I had to scrap my old trans cross-member since it was for the TH400. I made a new one as pictured below.
Been messing with driveline angles too, had to put a shim kit in the rear to get the angle down. Right now I'm at 5 degrees at the rear and 4.5-5 on the trans. I would prefer to get closer to 3 but I cant get exact measurements or working angles until I get my driveshaft.
01-29-2013, 08:08 AM
#47
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Also got my 80 harness pulled apart and labelled. Going to run a standalone harness to my ECU. I've got an M6 ECU so its taking some thinking to figure out what goes where.
My engine wont start now for some reason, scanned it and it said my crank sensor was bad, so I replaced it since it was the original unknown miles sensor, but the new one didnt change anything. So I guess I'm going to have to start tracking wires to see if I'm pinched somewhere or something.
Bought a B&M ProStick from a buddy, it has the 700R4 plate but I'm hoping its close enough to the 80 that it will work. Also got a B&M 29500 BTU cooler, AFX wideband, lokar dipstick tube, and some other stuff that is just hanging out ready to go in.
My engine wont start now for some reason, scanned it and it said my crank sensor was bad, so I replaced it since it was the original unknown miles sensor, but the new one didnt change anything. So I guess I'm going to have to start tracking wires to see if I'm pinched somewhere or something.
Bought a B&M ProStick from a buddy, it has the 700R4 plate but I'm hoping its close enough to the 80 that it will work. Also got a B&M 29500 BTU cooler, AFX wideband, lokar dipstick tube, and some other stuff that is just hanging out ready to go in.
04-28-2013, 09:58 PM
#48
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Well I got a 2001 Silverado PCM (0411) and got it running.
Did the relay mod and using the 4L60E tables to get the trans shifting.
Mounted the new radiator, made a battery tray, mounted transmission cooler with a fan under the cab, got the driveshaft in and installed, put together an intake setup, put in a lokar throttle cable, and made my exhaust system.
The current performance fuse block has relays for the fans, and it operates the trans cooler fan fine (fan is from an Audi A4), but it wont kick on the Taurus fan. The relay just clicks repeatedly. So the engine is getting a little hot, need to figure that out.
Also got my tires and wheels. Fronts are 275/60/15 BFG radial TA and rear are 325/50/15 Nitto 555R. I need 1 more inch of backspacing on the rear wheels but it will work for now.
Did the relay mod and using the 4L60E tables to get the trans shifting.
Mounted the new radiator, made a battery tray, mounted transmission cooler with a fan under the cab, got the driveshaft in and installed, put together an intake setup, put in a lokar throttle cable, and made my exhaust system.
The current performance fuse block has relays for the fans, and it operates the trans cooler fan fine (fan is from an Audi A4), but it wont kick on the Taurus fan. The relay just clicks repeatedly. So the engine is getting a little hot, need to figure that out.
Also got my tires and wheels. Fronts are 275/60/15 BFG radial TA and rear are 325/50/15 Nitto 555R. I need 1 more inch of backspacing on the rear wheels but it will work for now.
04-29-2013, 08:01 AM
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Great job, well done. How do you find the truck height now with the LS engine?
Mine sits up about 2" higher with the alloy LS1 I used compared with the 6.2 diesel I took out. You may find your original 2.5" spindles, and 2" springs maybe correct now. I am running 3" drop spindles, and stock small block C10 springs
in mine, and 4" drop at the rear. Am thinking of 1" lower front springs.
Mine sits up about 2" higher with the alloy LS1 I used compared with the 6.2 diesel I took out. You may find your original 2.5" spindles, and 2" springs maybe correct now. I am running 3" drop spindles, and stock small block C10 springs
in mine, and 4" drop at the rear. Am thinking of 1" lower front springs.
04-29-2013, 10:01 AM
#55
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Great job, well done. How do you find the truck height now with the LS engine?
Mine sits up about 2" higher with the alloy LS1 I used compared with the 6.2 diesel I took out. You may find your original 2.5" spindles, and 2" springs maybe correct now. I am running 3" drop spindles, and stock small block C10 springs
in mine, and 4" drop at the rear. Am thinking of 1" lower front springs.
Mine sits up about 2" higher with the alloy LS1 I used compared with the 6.2 diesel I took out. You may find your original 2.5" spindles, and 2" springs maybe correct now. I am running 3" drop spindles, and stock small block C10 springs
in mine, and 4" drop at the rear. Am thinking of 1" lower front springs.
I still have my 2" drop springs sitting in the garage so I may throw them in at some point to see what it looks like. I would like it to be a little lower to fit the tire height a little better. With the current backspacing on the rear I couldn't go much lower though, so another set of wheels would be required for any more drop.
At this point my most pressing issue is tuning, I'm still on a silverado tune with LS1 camaro fuel tables. So I have a lot of tuning to do to make it driveable.
My stock converter is holding me back quite a bit too.
04-29-2013, 09:45 PM
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How much difference in weight is the iron block engine compared with an all alloy LS?
I am running 16" wheels, 255/65/16 front, and 275.60.16 rear. Around 28" tall.
I was thinking of a flip kit, but dont want a knuckle dragger, so will leave it alone at the moment. I have C20 running gear under mine.
My engine came out of a car. Our local GMH cars have had the LS engines since 1999, so plenty around. I got a whole car to do my conversion, made it a lot cheaper. Plenty of tunes available for the LS out here. I currently have a 340hp tune in mine.
I am running 16" wheels, 255/65/16 front, and 275.60.16 rear. Around 28" tall.
I was thinking of a flip kit, but dont want a knuckle dragger, so will leave it alone at the moment. I have C20 running gear under mine.
My engine came out of a car. Our local GMH cars have had the LS engines since 1999, so plenty around. I got a whole car to do my conversion, made it a lot cheaper. Plenty of tunes available for the LS out here. I currently have a 340hp tune in mine.
05-01-2013, 04:32 PM
#57
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How much difference in weight is the iron block engine compared with an all alloy LS?
I am running 16" wheels, 255/65/16 front, and 275.60.16 rear. Around 28" tall.
I was thinking of a flip kit, but dont want a knuckle dragger, so will leave it alone at the moment. I have C20 running gear under mine.
My engine came out of a car. Our local GMH cars have had the LS engines since 1999, so plenty around. I got a whole car to do my conversion, made it a lot cheaper. Plenty of tunes available for the LS out here. I currently have a 340hp tune in mine.
I am running 16" wheels, 255/65/16 front, and 275.60.16 rear. Around 28" tall.
I was thinking of a flip kit, but dont want a knuckle dragger, so will leave it alone at the moment. I have C20 running gear under mine.
My engine came out of a car. Our local GMH cars have had the LS engines since 1999, so plenty around. I got a whole car to do my conversion, made it a lot cheaper. Plenty of tunes available for the LS out here. I currently have a 340hp tune in mine.
My tires are also right at 28" tall, i wanted to go taller for the rear but prices start to jump up quite a bit.
I have HP Tuners so I will tune it myself, I just need to wire my headlights and taillights and get my tag up to date so I can start driving it and do some VE tuning.
05-01-2013, 07:33 PM
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Stick with it, its all worth it in the end. Its a great feeling to be able to hit the key, and have it fire up without pumping ***** out of the gas pedal
02-20-2014, 01:04 PM
#60
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Been a long time since I've updated...
I moved to a new house so have been working on the house and garage a lot, which slowed down the build. I also got a monster TIG welder so I've been playing with that a lot as well.
I fixed the cooling issues, it was the junkyard Audi fan. It ran but pulled too many amps so would blow my fuses. After weeks of trying to figure out my "wiring" issue I ended up buying a Spal fan and that fixed the issue.
With the gear thats in it (3.08 or something), the 28" tall tire, and the 1st gear in the 4L80e it gets pretty wild on the 1-2 shift. It shifts to 2nd during WOT at like 65mph! And will chirp the tire! (no posi)
The stock converter makes it a dog off the line but it starts building some steam around 30mph.
My spider gears are pretty lose on the 10 bolt and I'm afraid its going to blow up. So on to the next stage of the build....
I'm going to build a Dana 60 (or maybe Ford 9") and make a custom 4 link for the rear.
People will probably flame me saying my pricing is all wrong, but I've attached a ghetto spreadsheet I made showing approximate prices for building a rear end. The Dana 60 comes out to be the best bang for the buck I think. And should be super strong.
I'm open to ideas if someone knows of a way to build a 9 inch as strong as the D60 for the same price...
I moved to a new house so have been working on the house and garage a lot, which slowed down the build. I also got a monster TIG welder so I've been playing with that a lot as well.
I fixed the cooling issues, it was the junkyard Audi fan. It ran but pulled too many amps so would blow my fuses. After weeks of trying to figure out my "wiring" issue I ended up buying a Spal fan and that fixed the issue.
With the gear thats in it (3.08 or something), the 28" tall tire, and the 1st gear in the 4L80e it gets pretty wild on the 1-2 shift. It shifts to 2nd during WOT at like 65mph! And will chirp the tire! (no posi)
The stock converter makes it a dog off the line but it starts building some steam around 30mph.
My spider gears are pretty lose on the 10 bolt and I'm afraid its going to blow up. So on to the next stage of the build....
I'm going to build a Dana 60 (or maybe Ford 9") and make a custom 4 link for the rear.
People will probably flame me saying my pricing is all wrong, but I've attached a ghetto spreadsheet I made showing approximate prices for building a rear end. The Dana 60 comes out to be the best bang for the buck I think. And should be super strong.
I'm open to ideas if someone knows of a way to build a 9 inch as strong as the D60 for the same price...