LS2 Re - Build; Beware 56K!

[Jonce007]

Quote: Originally Posted by smoothdime

ya thats my truck. the rears are 10" wide, not sure on the backspace or offset. cant remember, ordered them a year or so ago. the ZR2 rearend makes it nice for vette/camaro wheels- no spacers. i had ZR1 wheels prior to these with the same 2.25" spacersup front. the wheels are aftermarket ebay specials, paid like $900 or so i think. gary

That is one of the cleanest 1st gen's I have seen. I saved this picture in my favorites - its giving me some ideas. Do you have a build thread, I would like to see some more pictures. Nice work

Sorry to hijack the thread

[LS2Sonoma]

oh, you wanna try and hijack?? fine, ill post more pictures!!!!

its time for an update anyway. i had a bit of a stall since the fuel pump in my zr2 died. looks like my LS2 is the parts truck now. Thankfully, i have a new high volume pump for it to replace the stock one





gawd, i almost forget what my truck used to look like. this is my inspiration




ok, so im ready to pull my cab off but before i do that, id like to get some wiring ready. heres what i need: theres a connector behind the glovebox that connects the upper and lower dash harnesses, if anyone has one they wanna get rid of pm me! thanks

[NegativeSwitches]

that other rear is prolly a z28 rear from a camaro

[LS2Sonoma]

no, it was from a truck or suv that was buuuuurnt

[layinbody31]

If you're not keeping that ZR2 rear end I call dibs!

[s10-lpm]

wow, great pictures and post man.

[LS2Sonoma]

thanks

sorry, i know this isnt the classifieds section but i am going to try selling my diff. couple other things listed as well. http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...AdIdZ103688957

for an update, finally got back to work and pulled my front window out. it had a few cracks, time for a new one! started on the interior wiring. hopefully it will come out as clean as id like... ill have pix up in a few days!

[01cherryreds10]

Are the 94-97 and the 98+ window motor/regs and door lock actuators interchangeable? I have an 01' DD that is begging for power windows.

[LS2Sonoma]

i would say so, but the door panels aren't

[LS2Sonoma]

ok, well its well overdue for an update. i havent done much really.. mostly been playing with wiring and cleaning my garage. got the dodge 408 apart and looking into the balance problem. its taken out the bearings. with only two summers that are on them... id say thats pretty good

this is the original harness out of the truck, unmodified



most of the wiring of the truck is in the box and the engine harness



dont we all have a little bit of rust on our floor? ive been cleaning mine up a bit so it doesnt spread

[rentedmule]

Lookin good Frank!

[SoLowXtreme]

is it done yet Frank ?

[LS2Sonoma]

Quote: Originally Posted by SoLowXtreme

is it done yet Frank ?

almost!!

[s10-den]

Damn Frank, talk about dis-assemble..

[LS2Sonoma]

brake lines are out, all the wiring is out except the door which are coming out soon. i think this weekend im going to finally pull the motor and trans out. i was undecided when i was going to make my new engine harness. ill do it once i assemble everything.

cab will come off very soon too. after that only thing left on the frame is the front suspension. i need to mock up my front wheels and confirm that i need a drop spindle and if so, i need to replace my zq8 springs with stock springs (to keep ride height)

i had really high hopes of having it done this spring, but nothing has went as planned so i guess ill just tear the rest of it down and use the summer to build it the way i want it

[LS2Sonoma]

oh, did i mention this? i have these to get rid of... bought them for my swap and didnt need them. letting them go cheap if anyone wants em. they are the longer flexplate bolts needed for the adaptor

[rentedmule]

I still have my stock set of Z85 coils in the garage if you need them - I was just going to scrap them anyway.

[LS2Sonoma]

Z85?

[s10-den]

Z85 is suppose to be heavy duty ,at least thats what the dealership told me when I called to get new shocks for my blazer,almost $400 worth for 4 freaking shocks...

[LS2Sonoma]

well then, i might as well grab them from you Tyson! TIA

[LS2Sonoma]

back from the dead
decided that i cant be without this beast for another summer. i had originally planned on having the frame dipped, blasted, and coated but since that wont happen ill just have to do some grinding....





ps. grinding sucks

[Petro]

Whatca going to paint it with now???

[LS2Sonoma]

tremclad!

[Petro]

I'm anxious to see how it turns out...

[LS2Sonoma]

it wont be long now.. frame is belly up tonight and im almost done cutting the rust off. a few things i need to weld too, then it will be ready for paint

[Kampz69]

Quote: Originally Posted by Petro

I'm anxious to see how it turns out...

x2, painted frames FTW

[LS2Sonoma]

oh yea, im excited! it wont be perfect but it will be 1000X better than what it was before.

[Bdydrp02s10]

OMG that is a lot of rust. Big difference from being up North and down South. My frame is almost as black as the day it came from the dealership.

[rentedmule]

Looking good Frank! I wouldn't have been able to stand seeing it laid up in the garage either!

[Petro]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bdydrp02s10

OMG that is a lot of rust. Big difference from being up North and down South. My frame is almost as black as the day it came from the dealership.

X2...But when I got stationed down in here in Savannah GA all this sand does a number on the paint...Going down the road you can hear it hitting the truck...I can't wait to move back to Bama where there is real dirt...Anyways what mufflers are those? Do you have a video clip of your truck running???

[LS2Sonoma]

Tyson, its not so much having it sitting in the garage - its watching you guys have all the fun cruising around while mine is in a million pieces!

my truck was originally from eastern canada... for those who dont know, they use salt on the roads during winter. not very good for the under side

i wouldnt call them mufflers, Petro lol theyre flowmaster outlaws
heres a vid Idle Clip

[Petro]

Cool Thanks for the clip...Sounds like drag truck....

[mr spree]

where did you get your exhaust?

[LS2Sonoma]

i made it

[mr spree]

yea looks good, what all did you have to do to the trann x member

[LS2Sonoma]

if you look closely in the last pic, i had cut the top part of it out to clear the exhaust. its where i wanted the collectors to run so i didnt bother trying to run them above the x-member. i also slotted the hole 1/2" for the trans mount and welded a plate on the back where it sit

to reinforce the x-member, i welded 3/8" plate underneath it. worked great, but ive had in mind to fab a new one so im going to it within a few days

[LS2Sonoma]

ok, so i had the frame flipped over and did the underside. first cut, going to flip it back over and do some welding





my notch!

[Petro]

What wheel did you use? And the notch looks good...

[mr spree]

yea im planning on the same thing for the exhaust and trans x member. is that a T56? BTW nice frame lookin good

[LS2Sonoma]

for grinding, i use just a reg 4.5" grinding wheel to take most of the old coating, dirt, and rust off. then i use a cutoff wheel for a smoother finish. after that, ill sand it with 150 - 180 grit before primer

no T56, just a plain auto

[AmericanMuscle]

sweet updates bro!

[sonomaguy]

Nice job on cleaning the frame Frank. Cool notch too.

[LS2Sonoma]

thanks Steve

quick update tonight, got the frame flipped back over and started working on my notches. also gonna build two new x-members before i prep the frame for primer.

anyway, since this is the LSx forum and all ive posted is pix of my frame, i figured i might as well spark some interest by showing you guys the engine im building. its just a plain jane 5.3L i picked up for cheeeep. needed a cam and bearings, so thats what its got so far







noisy lifter?


new cam.... for a friend, not for this 5.3!




dont let me forget to torque the rods!


ok, back to business, heres what i did tonight

not sure what thats for, but i dont need it


off it goes!


oil pan nooootch


this is the ol A/C notch... my engine sits quite low so.....




got some bracing in place... prolly not enough but ill check for straightness after i get a few welds going


whew

[Petro]

Cool...I want to take my frame off too...

[LS2Sonoma]

yea, my mistake. its fixed now

[LS2Sonoma]

oh, forgot to post this.... pretty self exlanatory!

[Black X]

Looks like your having fun frank!

[LS2Sonoma]

lol not at all, i hate grinding! the fun part will be starting it up and driving it!

[SPEEDY G]

Hey man i noticed that in the pic with the blue drum your truck has a shock from the diff to a bracket on the frame does it help your traction ,because i have a 02 xtreme and it does have the bracket on the diff but not the frame and do they come only on the sonomas?

[LS2Sonoma]

its an anti-hop shock, available on the 99/00 trucks