5.3 S10

[blindawg]

Thanks man, I'm still waiting on you to say you're driving your's. lol.
It wheel hopps like hell, one wheel wonder-ing all over the place (especially when its cold, and any kind of water on the pavement.), and the blinkers are giving me problems.

As for the filler neck problem, looking into this:


Branden

[Stewzer55]

That filler neck idea is awesome!!!!

[Bagged02dime]

wow this is gonna be pretty sweet.. keep up the good work man

[DieselS10]

Quote: Originally Posted by blindawg

Thanks man, I'm still waiting on you to say you're driving your's. lol.
It wheel hopps like hell, one wheel wonder-ing all over the place (especially when its cold, and any kind of water on the pavement.), and the blinkers are giving me problems.

As for the filler neck problem, looking into this:


Branden

Me too, lol.

When are you gonna upgrade te rear suspension and traction issue?

BTW, I'm in the same boat on the filler neck to, I might have to try that tail-light trick too!

[blindawg]

I'm going to make some home built Caltracs for the suspension, and probably blow the rear end up shortly after they are installed. lol.

The filler neck will be a piece of cake man, not sure how different it will be for you though, with your 1st gen nonsense. lol. I'll get plenty of pictures/details for you and the next guy.

Thanks guys,
Branden

[blindawg]

So my fuel pump stopped working, so I went to replace it with the Warblo 255. In the process I figured out that it wasnt the pump, but the elbow terminal went bad. Has this happened to anyone?

Just went to the junk yard and picked up another.

Since I switched electrical systems, but kept the same fuel canister set up my gas gauge was wrong. So I figured I would have to get the sending unit off of a newer truck. Went to the junk yard and got one, but noticed it looked exactly the same, just flipped upside down. Hmmm... you would think I could just switch the wires going into the SI, but that made no diffence. So I moved the float arm and watched the gauge, Full would be Empty, and Empty would be Full. So I took the float arm off and bent the tip to the oppisite side and put it back in, this solved my problem.
The tip started on the left:

I bent it to the right:

Snapped Right back in.

So since the bed was off, I went to work on the filler neck.
This is what it looked like before any cutting:

Under side of the bed:

I cut along that yellow line, but forgot to snap a picture.
This is what it looked like looking straight up the bedside.


First cut up top:

That wasnt enough for it all to fit, so i just went to cutting the whole square out:


Had to cut 3 of the 4 sides out of the smaller square towards the bottom:

Looking up again after cuts:

Test fit:



So the filler neck would fit, so now I made the mount. Template:

Cut it out with the plasma:

Then the hole:

The bottom left notch is for the plug/wires to go through, almost forgot about that part:

Welded it in. I sure do hate bodywork:


Threw some paint on it:

Do you guys think I should make the areas circled go all the way to the edges? Or leave it there for drains? I'm open for sugestions. I cant decide by myself:


Now for the plumbing to connect to the tank.
I had to lower the tank an inch, which honnestly I should have made it this way to begin with to avoid cutting notches in the bottom for the fuel lines and wires.
Rough look at how it comes out of the tank:

Cut a hole through the frame for it. (the little dip in the bottom started off being for the vent hose, but I ended up just running it over the frame, under the bed.)


The vent hose port off the filler neck stuck out too far so I cut it off:


And cut a straight piece off the end of it, and welded it to the stubb at a 90* angle:

Then covered up the open space, But failed to get a good picture of that.
Had to cut a few inches off of the filler neck, and put the adapter and vent hose on:

Bur forgot to put the screen on, so took it off and placed it in:


It fit in firm and held itself there.
All together:


Note: It's easier to see/do if the step is off.

I put a piece of hose to connect the two elbows so it easier to get off when removing the bed. See also the vent hose over the frame:


Now I just have to make the hinge for the lights and this task is done:


Any suggestions/ideas?
Thanks guys,
Branden

[ImmortalSoul219]

To me from the pic of the other guys it looks like he used the stock fuel door hinge some how.

Good stuff man. What was the reason for the blazer gas tank? More weight over the rear tires? JW

[blindawg]

Quote: Originally Posted by ImmortalSoul219

To me from the pic of the other guys it looks like he used the stock fuel door hinge some how.

Good stuff man. What was the reason for the blazer gas tank? More weight over the rear tires? JW

Yup, I'm using the hinge from a blazer, which is the same as an s10, it was just a closer walk at the scrap yard.

I put it back there for weight distribution, and it created more space for the exhaust.

As for that little elbow connector going bad, I was wrong about that. Ill post pictures and an explination here shortly.

Thanks,
Branden

[ImmortalSoul219]

You look any more into the window switch panel swap?

[blindawg]

The panel itself is in there, but it's just itting in there. I haven't even tried messing with the bezel yet. Making sure its running good before cosmetics. But I'll deffinetly post up pics. Only thing is, you would have to switch to the silverado electronics.

Thanks,
Branden

[chevyracing16]

Great work man, you have done quite a bit and it all looks very good!

[Slappy McNasty]

i love seing this happen!!! i "almost" went with a 5.3 in my "asphalt surfer" build cause i hadnt seen or heard of it but stock hood was way to "important" to me (that and gas prices) lol. BRAVO to you sir, its incredibly insane to see it

[scriptedmind]

Loving the gas filler setup! Can't wait to see more.

Not to jack but Slappy, go with a car intake on the 5.3 and it will give you WAY more hood clearance. There are tucks that are bagged and boddied with LSx conversions. As for gas mileage, keep it bone stock internals, tune it for MPG's after your done and you will get at least what your 2.2 does.

I get better MPG with my 4.8 (same as 5.3 accept for rods) than I do with my 2.2 5-speed truck.

[Slappy McNasty]

i more than stand corrected.
(by a side-by-side of the motors, i new w/ a cavi intake and being door'd the 2.2 was the choice).
informative nun-the less, THANK YOU!!!

[blindawg]

If you run an F-body pan, and just a truck intake it will fit. Just depends on how low you set your motor. I set mine high and forward, and could still run the truck intake with tock hood. I went with the LS6 intake because of look and it is a returnless fuel system.

Thanks,
Branden

[blindawg]

Well... I haven't gotten any farther on the fuel door project sadly, but the weather is warming up and I'm starting to get motivated again, so here is a little update.

The plug on the gas tank I had replaced that looked like this:




went out again, So I went to the junkyard and grabbed the newer style plug:



Unfortunately the plug on the in-tank side was a little bigger than the old one, but nothing a paper clip and switching the wires to the new one couldn't fix:


It now looks like this:


I finally started messing with fitting the new door switches in. Please don't laugh at the following, because I couldn't think of any other way. Suggestions are welcome.

Here is how it looked before trimming:

Driver's Side, everything lined up except the mirror switch was a tad different, so it didn't sit flush yet:

Passenger's Side, it didn't sit flush like it should:

to fix it, I used a dremel tool and widened the openings a little bit, they now sit flush (got a little carried away with it on the mirror switch ):

As for how they are held in beings I had to cut the old clips out, well that's the part I didn't want y'all to laugh at.
I glued big Zip-Tie's to the bezel, and... Zip-tied it. I'm embarrassed because of it, but nobody can see it. Just that I know it's like that:

The Passenger side had enough contact points to just glue it, but equally ashamed of it.

My Buddy asked me to help him put the buttons for the steering wheel In his TBSS so I did some reading on it and figured out which wires I needed to get mine to work, and figured out why it didn't work.
NOTE: When steering wheel is not connected, DO NOT SPIN it around and around and around. It ruin's the contact points.

So beings the clockspring was ruined, I temporarily wired up two buttons for the fuel and select buttons:



It's accurate as far as Average MPG goes.

Last but not least, I went to the track last Friday. It was cold, so we all spun.
Here's the results, I'm car 31:


Not bad for spinning through 2nd. The 15.80 time was me being realllllllly easy out of the hole. What do you guys think?

Thanks,
Branden

[blindawg]

Time for an update:
I made a box for the PDC under the hood. I have a buddy that can laser cut so I want to make the cover with something cool cut out of it. Haven't gotten that far yet. But this is how far I have gotten:




In a further effort to clean up the engine bay, I made a battery box in my Votech Class using the CNC Plasma, so I can mount it under the bed:





Because track rules says I have to have a battery disconnect switch if battery is moved from stock location. So I pulled my licence plate off and cut a hole. Inset the master switch, leaving it open on the top and bottom for access without taking the licence plate off for when Working on it in the garage. (Licence plate will be removed when at the track) :





(The fresh paint blends in very well, the truck was just super dirty when I put it together.)

Now that the battery was out of the engine bay I had room to get a good idea what I needed to make the cold air intake happen. We had a chunk of 4" exhaust pipe sitting around, so I cut and welded it up to get a rough look at what I need... It looks like bird crap I know:


The final product will be mandrel bends. (with a lot nicer welds, with out a part of an exhaust hanger sticking up to be seen by all. )

I got a deal on some seats out of a 2009 Silvarado, and figured i could make them work. (The console wont fit, nor did I want it in there, but it came with them so If anyone wants it make me an offer. )

As you can see, they sit a little higher than the factory seats:

But, the seats are SOOOO much more comfortable than the factory seats so I had to make them work. I started on the passenger seat and realized that was a pain in the butt to get it to sit low enough. But the Drivers side had power options, and I really wanted to keep that, and the only way to make that work is to cut the hump in the floor board out, or else it will sit crooked. Which is how it is for the time being until I take the transmission out to be able to cut it.*
*to be contunued.

I got some new tires all the way around and... well as you can see I needed them.

But my old tires are GREAT for the track.

Speaking of the track, I went back a couple weeks after the last time I went and was consistently in the 13's. My last two runs were pretty much dead even all the way across the board at 13.73 and 13.70. This made me feel better than the 14.8 I ran the time before.

*Story somewhat continued-
Last but not least for this update, I got a good deal on an LT1 T56 from a buddy and am waiting on the parts to convert it to an LS style now. They should be here by Next week or so. Here is how it sits now. He had a Super Sweet pistol grip shifter with a button on the top.



Here it is sitting next to the 4L60E that came out of the truck from behind the 4.3, It is the same length right now, but the LS Style stuff will make it an inch to an inch and a half longer than the 4L60E.




That's all for now,
Branden

[Tuckin15's]

Looking good man! I don't see how i missed this thread for so long lol.

[dropped_dime88]

filler neck locating is awesome

[DieselS10]

Great progress! I feel like a real butt-head though, that reminded me that I was supposed to send you that template...I think it's still in my car!

How far back will that shifter be in the cab?

[blindawg]

Thanks guys.

DieselS10:
Don't worry about the template, looking at mine and yours, they're completely different, so the template wouldn't have done much good. lol.

Well, it will be right at the cup-holders, towards the front of them, but i'm hoping to be able to make it come up where the CD holder is, because that's always were my hand rest now, so it'll be convenient.


Hoping to get it in next week/weekend

Branden

[blindawg]

Back for an update. A BIG update.

Following up on my last post, I put the super sweet 6-speed in. Here is how that went.

The T56 I got came from behind an 97 LT1, so after reading and reading I ordered the following:
LS style midplate
LS style Bellhousing
LS style input shaft
LS7 Clutch Kit**CONTINUE READING IF YOU ARE GOING TO USE THIS AS A PARTS LIST FOR YOURSELF**
LS2 Flywheel (should have went with an aluminum one)
LS1 Throw out bearing and Slave (Advance Auto had the best price)


Pulled off all of the LT stuff


Here is the difference in the LT to LS input shaft


The plug for the Reverse lockout and backup lights I found at the bone yard. oddly enough I found them close to the driver's front fender on 4th gen automatic Camaro. Not sure if they're on other years/trans/engine combos, but that's what the cars were that I got them off of. They both take the same plug.



I got a pedal assembly out of a manual S10, along with a new Clutch Master cylinder for an s10, used a plasma cutter from the inside out to cut the hole for it. There is a square on the inside where it goes through, but the outer piece of the firewall covers it, so basically there was a built in template

It sits real close, and I'm sure touches my PCM mount from time to time, but should work fantastic. only problem is the PCM mount has to come off to check/fill clutch fluid.


Pulled the seats and console out, followed by rolling the carpet back so I could cut a hole for the shifter, along with cutting a good chunk out to mount that driver's seat in so it wouldn't sit sideways.

Here is the hole I cut for the seat, I put a piece of sheet metal over it and welded around it. The seat does sit just a tad sideways still, but wouldn't notice it unless you're staring at it after I told you to look at it. lol.


I pulled the Auto out, and put the new LS2 flywheel on, followed by the pilot bearing that came with the LS7 Clutch kit, and then the clutch.




Here is where I kicked myself in the butt for not reading MORE.
This is the pilot bearing from the LS7 clutch kit after I tried to Hydro it out with grease and the old input shaft. It just blew the seal out.

The problem is that the LS7s came in Vettes, which have that goofy T56 setup. This means the slave and pilot bearing that came in the LS7 Clutch kit are.... useless.
So Pretty much... DO NOT BUY THE LS7 CLUTCH KIT
The LS7 clutch works great, and bolts up to the LS2 flywheel, but the kit is not the way to go.

This is the correct pilot bearing, which sets in further than the one from the kit, which, along with the length of the LS7 slave is why the kit wouldn't work.


After that was all sorted out, the trans went in fantastically. I had to cut a hole in the floorboad for the shifter. It ended up being at the rear of the factory location for a manual truck.
I had to lower the mounting surface, and put it back about an inch and a half on the trans crossmember, but drive shaft length, and spline count were the same, so factory drive shaft was maintained. for now...

For bleeding the clutch I started out drilling out a big hole, but that was a pain in the ass, and kept cutting myself, so then I grabbed the cut off wheel and cut three sides, and bent it down. should have done that from the start.



Shortly after getting the T56 in, the rear end chewed up the spider gears.



So, knowing I was going to junk this axle, I welded it up and put old tires on it so it wouldn't scrub my new tires. This lasted a week. this time it put a hole in the diff cover, and spit the rest of the Gov. Lock out of the carrier.



Picked up an 8.8 out of an Exploder that had disk brakes, 31 spline, 4.10 Gears, but an open Carrier, for $150. brought it home and popped the cover and look what I found.


Factory Posi. The guy didn't know what he had. Works for me.
I cut it down to be the same width as the factory 7.5, and centered the pinion. If I remember correct, I cut 4 Inches off the long side, and 2 off the short side.

Had to order custom length shafts. That was $400. But, had to have them.


So I'm putting a new axle in, I might as well go all out and Bag it, and go ahead and 4-Link it. Here we go. pulled everything out from under the rear

Used the factory front leaf spring mounts for lower control arm mounts, and built tabs for the uppers.



All the stuff for the Air bag part of it.

Cought myself on fire in the process

Mounted the Bags on the axle, but halfway off so the bolt on the bottom was accessible

[blindawg]

I wanted to use bump stops just in case a bag blew, or compressor quit, I could still drive it without it hurting something. They are the factory rear bump stops off of our 04 Duramax. (we put helper bags on it, and they have you remove the bump stops)


New shocks mounted. I had to make tabs for the axle, but used the factory upper mounts.

New brakes.

Painted the axle and link bars

All installed


Took it out for a test drive. All was going well, So I went to lightly launch it and well..... came back on the trailer.

Bent the upper mounts on the axle. I made them out of 1/8". Didn't know what to expect when I built it, but now I do.


So I built thicker, stronger ones


Test drive number two didn't go so well either. I launched it and one of the factory CV joints let go. I must have weakened it when the tabs bent because it shot the pinion angle way up and was grinding as I pulled it on the trailer. So I took it to the local drive shaft shop and they made me a new one without CV joints.


So then I thought I was good to go. Drove it for a week and took it to the local cruise street and raced a few guys, and then the trans was making a funny noise. Brought it home and pulled the bed off and this is what I saw.


The passenger side of the frame was noticeably higher than the Driver's side. and it started ripping the cross member. It shifted the axle to the drivers side a good two inches. I'm guessing the different angle is what the noise was in the trans. I hope so anyways. lol.

I figured I ought to just turn this truck into a toy, and get a daily driver. Here she is, The Orange Rocket.


I haven't done much of anything to it since then. Here is what has been done.
Got a Blazer counsel and started to trim it to fit.





And Just tonight I pulled the bed off and got an Idea for how I want to rebuild the frame. Broke our the Big ole Dry erase board. Its pretty rough, but its a start.



What do Y'all think?

Branden

[Stewzer55]

Holy Monster post!

[Stewzer55]

That being said, nice progress!

[buellxb12s]

I don't understand why the ls7 clutch wouldn't work with behind the 5.3 on the t56. I have a ls7 clutch in my 01 Ls1 t56 ss Camaro. Some have had to shim the slave. I used all hydraulics as most anything besides OEM is not advised.

[blindawg]

Haha. Pretty much. I should have updated it as I went, but was too lazy to do so.
Thanks though. Lol.

The LS7 clutch works fantastic. But the slave cylinder from the LS7 kit WILL NOT work. I had to get an LS1 slave.

[Stewzer55]

It's since the trans is more or less integrated to the rear end of the Corvettes starting with the C5's. When I do my T56, I may go for one that needs rebuilt so I can use the forward shifter location and line it up with the stock t5 shifter location.