BrandonHall10

I hear you. Pretty much the same here with way less humidity. I did better today. I know it's kinda gross, but I keep an eye on my pee. Living out here, you have to. When it gets dark, you're not drinking enough H2O plain and simple. Keep your wizz clear and you're good! Now that's a pro tip you won't hear anywhere else!

Intake is on and torqued. LM7 throttle cable is installed. Going to need some geometry modification. As it is now, I can only get about 50% throttle. A little pedal rod bend or cable ferrule should take care of that. I test fitted the headers. I'm gonna say about 7/10 for fitment. I need to make some clearance on the frame for the primaries and both collectors pretty much dead head into the T-case crossmember. The right O-2 is pointed straight at the front driveshaft. Looks like I'll be ordering that TIG welder sooner rather than later! Been wanting one for a while.

G Atsma

Hear ya as far as being "observant" . Better safe than quite sorry!
I see exhausting mods in your future..... lol

dawgs74

Grandpa would be juiced!!!!!! Keep up the awesome build. ..nice score on the 06 HD

Vetteman61

iTrader: (1)

I really enjoy seeing the updates on this build. I'll also agree about the heat. It gets hot and very humid here in the summers and several times I got pretty sick from working out in the sun on my project this past summer. I started drinking lots of Gatorade and it seemed to help as I couldn't seem to drink enough water to keep from getting sick.

BrandonHall10

Oh, I see what you did there! lol Very true though.

I hope so. Thanks Man! My wife loves that old beat up pile of a work truck. Ha!

Thanks for following along!

I got the frame all clearanced for the headers. Didn't take much.





I cut the collectors (?) off since they weren't going to work for my application. Once the TIG welder gets here I can cobble something together. I have the exhaust pretty well laid out in my head. I probably would have been better off spending the extra $100 and buying the ones that are a direct fit, but what's the fun it that? Besides, now I can justify spending $1K on a welder and bottle to save that $100. LOL

BrandonHall10

At the risk of appearing way to frugal, I decided to remove, relocate and reuse the original O2 bungs vs just plugging them and buying new ones. But hear me out on my reasoning. I have a TIG welder on order. I'm going to need some practice. Instead of wasting gas and rod on coupons I'm just going to toss, why not practice on something that actually serves a purpose (although less critical)? I'll get my feet wet by patching over the hole. By the time that's done, I should have things dialed in well enough to weld the bungs in their new location. Makes sense in my head I suppose.

To drill the bungs out from their original location I had to instal a bung plug. This served as a guide for the pilot of a hole saw. Worked pretty well.



Left minimal cleanup on the pipe and bungs.

ryeguy2006a

iTrader: (27)

Looking great man! I was at a car show recently and went to the Miller Welding tent and tested out their new 220, that is AC/DC Tig/stick/Mig and I'm in love. That will be my next big tool purchase. What welder did you go with? Alpha?

BrandonHall10

Yep! Alpha Tig 201XD. Supposed to be the latest model. Seemed like the best bang for the buck. Certainly good enough for a weekend warrior. There are cheaper machines, but I wanted one with features I could "grow into."

Got a couple small victories. The original ground cable will work after all. I just moved it to a different spot on the block. There's a tapped hole right behind the power steering pump used for a support bracket in the HD models and not used on the 4.8/5.3 setups. Power steering pump is in and plumbed. I used the high pressure side from the Yukon and the return line is a mystery piece from my leftover pile. Had to clear the frame for the return hose. Nothing major. Shift linkage is connected. I was able to reuse everything from the original 700r4 configuration. Right down to the bracket on the manual shaft. Getting closer and closer to doing the wiring, no matter how much I want to put it off.

BrandonHall10

WooHoo!!



I'm going to do a LOT of practicing before posting ANY weld pictures. LOL

What I've learned so far;

1. Weld material must be CLEAN! TIG doesn't like junk in the material.
2. Stick out/ gas coverage is critical.
3. TIG welding in FUN!

I want to hit the metal supply store next weekend to build a welder cart. More practice!

ryeguy2006a

iTrader: (27)

I'll be watching this to see how you like the Alpha. Seems to have a bunch of positive feedback. I'm just in the position that I'd like to upgrade from my MM135 to something like a 180 mig, and with the Miller 220 I'd get the bonus of AC Tig in one machine.

BrandonHall10

No complaints so far. Like I say, I'm just a novice but this has the features I'll want and need once I get better. AC/DC, HF start, Pulse, 2T/4T... The accessories aren't total junk either. The foot pedal seems nice, and the torch is a flex head. Not bad for $720 to my door. I think the next thing I'll get for it is a gas lense kit.

PCM is mounted. I used the original Yukon PCM bracket. Pretty close to the factory GMT 800 location, so wiring should fall into place nicely. I welded a plate to the bottom of the K10 battery tray, then added a little outrigger from the PCM mount to the battery tray support. It's super solid and it doesn't interfere with the fan shroud.

BrandonHall10

So I got the headers all welded up and installed for the last time. I'm pretty okay with where they dump. I should be able to make that work.

BrandonHall10

I haven't given up. Just slogging my way through the least exciting part of a swap.

ryeguy2006a

iTrader: (27)

Looking great, keep up the good work. Any feedback on the Alpha TIG?

BrandonHall10

Thanks! It's hard going, now that I'm into the boring part.

It's hard for me to critique anything about it since I'm such a novice, but I really like it. I think you'd be hard pressed to find another machine at that price point with all the features it has. $720 to my door for a dual voltage, HF start, AC/DC, pulse, 2t/4t, tig and stick machine. I just wish I was a better welder. Ha!

Slow progress. I've been distracted building a 4l60e for a friend. Helps pay for this junk. I got the fuse/relay box and power distribution block (that I snagged from a junkyard S10) mounted the other day. Used one of those rivet nut tools. That thing is handy! All the 12v key on wires are joined together. When I got the S10's power block, I also got the 5 fusible links attached to it. Should work out good. One to feed each relay.

BrandonHall10

I decided to pull the powerblock and fuse/relay box off the truck and mock it up on a 2x4. It's a whole lot nicer working in the garage on a workbench with all my tools at hand. Not to mention being 20 degrees cooler and not in the direct sunlight.

Anyhow, I got all the internal wiring done. Now I can put it back on the truck an finalize things. All the 12v key on wires I soldered together previously can now be run to their respective fuses. The pink will go to the old key on 12v that fed the ignition coil. Now it will be used to trigger the relays. The black wire with a ring terminal will go to ground and serve as the ground for all the relays.

BrandonHall10

Whether is cooling down. Time to get back into this thing on the regular. Spent about an hour with it this afternoon. Need to pick up one of those crimp connector assortments before I can do much more. My current stockpile is pathetic.

My time spent away sheltered in the garage was not wasted though. I built (and sold) a handful of 4L60e's, sold a previously built 4L80e and built another 4L80e that is currently for sale. If current trends continue, my trans building side hustle should be a good source of guilt free play money.

Anyhow, I'm back at it. Just won't be doing regular updates until something important happens.

dawgs74

Where ya located at , I'm about 30 miles east of Oakland and it was 90degees today....wtf, I wish I had the courage to tear apart a 4l60e or 4l80e. ...kudos too you for getting your hustle on!!!!

BrandonHall10

I"m In Tucson, AZ. This last week has been perfect. We have been opening the windows at night.

Thanks! Tearing them apart is easy. It's the putting them back together that stops most guys.

BrandonHall10

Working on the fuel system. Got a wally 255 fitted into a stock '87 sender. I didn't like how thin the power/ground wires and connectors were on the sender compared to the fuel pumps wires. So I drilled the lid and hardwired a power and ground directly to the pump. I retained the stock plug to feed the level sensor to the gauge. Need to order an '87 tank next.

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