miSSed opportunity

[68 TT]

I bought a 1990 454 SS new and really liked it for a little while but it just wasn't very good at anything except spinning the tires. Having owned real muscle cars that truly performed at the same time it left me wishing Chevy had put a little more effort into the package. The things that were the worst about it were the anemic HP, average brakes, handling like an ocean liner, a ride height that made it look like a 4x4 and tires & wheels that belonged on a tractor just to get the list started.

I addressed all of those in spades in a ground up creation I built from scratch on a short bed regular cab 4x4 torsion bar chassis that eventually will get the front IFS reinstalled to make it selectable AWD or 2wd once I find a good Eaton E-locker for the 9.25" IFS and modify the headers to clear it. No point in having AWD if only one front tire spins or you don't have the power to do it.

I nicknamed this creation "miSSed opportunity" since I built it out of parts GM used on other trucks or SUV's of similar vintage that were close enough to the 1994 model year that they would have been at least in development at that time. I picked 1994 because 1993 was the last year for the real 454 SS truck.

The down side to this creation was that it still looks like a couple million other trucks on the road, just a whole lot lower, faster, better handling and stopping.

She is not finished yet but once I find the body pieces I need in good enough condition to use I will get the paint work done in classic 454 SS black and make it look the part. I will add 70 Chevelle style SS hood stripes to the cowl hood like are on there now but in the dark gray to match the 454 in the 454 SS bedside decals.

I never put together a build thread for it while I was building it initially but I still have plenty to do so there is lots left to document. I will post up what I have done so far as I have time.

Here is what it looks like right now. Just waiting for the engine & trans rebuild to be done (this winter hopefully) before I start in on the paint & body.

[68 TT]

Figured I should make a list of some of the major donor parts I used to build this truck.

Started with a 1989 C1500 RCLB truck that had a blown 305 TBI engine. All it ended up donating in the end was the completely gutted cab, T400 transmission, front seat, non-slider rear window and steel cowl hood along with the title. Everything else came from another source.

I put the 1989 cab onto a 1991 vintage K1500 torsion bar front suspension chassis that I stripped of all the parts and removed the front bump stops from the frame rails between the upper A-arms. Stripped, cleaned and painted. Polyurethane body bushings.

Rear springs are from a 1993 C1500 W/T with the helper spring removed to create clearance for the Cal-Trac bars to go on. Polyurethane rear spring eye and hanger bushings with greaseable Del-A-Lum front spring eye bushings for the Cal-Trac bars.

Rear axle is a 1993 vintage K2500 LD 6-lug 9.5" 14-bolt with 3.73 gears and a Gov-Bomb posi. It has held up so far to some pretty good abuse so it may just last. We will see. New Timken bearings and seals, Mobil 1 synthetic gear oil.

Front torsion bars are from the drivetrain and dash donor truck 1994 K2500 HD ECLB camper special 454 4L80E NP241 truck.

I tried a few different torsion bar keys to get the ride height I wanted but none gave me the drop I liked. Turned out that if I flipped the stock keys over and machined a new register in the arm for the bolt that they gave me the 4.5" drop I was looking for.

Front A-arms are from the 1994 K2500 drivetrain donor with polyurethane bushings. Ball joint angles were very bad with the 4.5" drop but I noticed the design of the upper A-arms was peculiar. I took the passenger side upper A-arm and put it on the driver side but upside down. It was magic, the ball joint angles were great. Added bonus was that it added a few degrees of caster too. Double bonus.

I installed the TBI 454 assembly and complete wire harness and PCM from the 1994 K2500 donor truck into the chassis but bolted it to the original 1989 C1500 trucks T400 transmission.

For the driveshaft it turned out that with just a new Strange slip yoke for 1350-series U-joints that the rear section of the 1994 K2500 two-piece driveshaft was the perfect length to work. Installed new Spicer solid body SPL 1350 U-joints in both ends and installed the new Strange transmission yoke then she was good to go.

Odd thing I found was that the driveshaft from the 1994 K2500 ECLB was 3.5" diameter but the one in my 1995 K3500 ELCB with dual rear wheels only had a 3" driveshaft.

Front brakes are the K1500 extended cab or HD brake option thicker rotors in the drilled & slotted variety. Rebuilt calipers, new flex lines, new Timken unit bearings, ball joints, tie rods, idler arm, pitman arm.

Rear brakes are dual piston caliper 2003 Suburban 13" with internal parking brake. Drilled & slotted rotors to match the front. New flex lines to the axle and from the axle to the frame. These required custom machined 80mm spacers to fill the gap between the older K2500 LD brake backing plate mounting flange and the Suburban caliper mounting bracket but this is where it pays to be a trained machinist with access to a machine shop after hours every now and then.

Eventually I will gather the parts to put the matching size front rotors onto it as well. The application is the 2003 to 2005 trucks with drum rear brakes. It will take a little monkey business to make them fit but I will figure it out.

Wheels are from a 2008 Silverado LTZ truck. Size is 20 x 8 or 8.5 can't remember right now. Sucks to get old. Tires are Cooper RS3-S summer only tread pattern tires in a size of 245/45-20. I even have a matching spare wheel & tire and center cap. I need to relocate the spare tire carrier hoist crossmember set before I can put the spare tire in though. As it is the rear roll pan causes the tire to be moved back toward the rear axle about 4".

Front sway bar is the largest one I could find on a 4x4 truck and it came from the 1994 K2500 drivetrain donor. Polyurethane frame mounts and end links.

Rear sway bar is from a 1999 Suburban. Polyurethane axle mounts and dog bone bushings. Had to make special axle tube mounts for it since the 9.5" 14-bolt I have has 3-3/8" diameter axle tubes.

I am missing about a years worth of photos so there are some big gaps in the process of this truck and my stepside so bear with me here.

[68 TT]

Exhaust system is started with a set of 2" tube Hooker Competition series headers designed for a 1968-72 Chevelle. They fit nearly perfectly with only minor clearance problems at the floor to firewall pinch weld seam on the passenger side. Easily bent out of the way.

Pipes are 2-1/2" tubing with mandrel bends and an H-pipe feeding into a pair of Flowmaster mufflers tucked together on the passenger side just before the rear axle.

No tailpipes for now until I get the spare tire carrier mount relocated and can install the spare tire so I have everything in place for proper fitment.

Even with the bone stock TBI 454 it sounds pretty good. Can't wait until it has a real muscle car idle after the engine rebuild.

[Stormin08]

nice start, neat approach...IT NEEDS THE FLARES ALL AROUND !

cant wait to see the end.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by Stormin08

nice start, neat approach...IT NEEDS THE FLARES ALL AROUND !

cant wait to see the end.

Thanks. I agree. I have the flares and all the hardware & access hole plugs. I also have a template I made of the mounting holes from the bed of the 94 K2500 when I had the flares off of it when I painted it before using it to make my 95 K3500 DRW into a SRW. Just have to find the time to do the work.

[68 TT]

I totally gutted the 1989 cab down to the bare shell only leaving the rear window glass in place.

Cleaned every surface completely then lined it with sound deadener.

Installed a passenger side grab handle over the door that I snagged from a donor at the wrecking yard. Installed rivet nuts into the roof structure.

Installed a decent set of speakers into the rear B-pillars while I was back there since they are quite a pain to access later.

Installed an electrochromatic compass temp mirror out of a late 90's Suburban and ran the wires down the A-pillar. Installed the temp sensor on the hood latch support like on the Suburban and made all the connections. Works great. The auto-dimming feature is nice to have.

Since the 89 had some lame poor fitting aftermarket speaker headliner that I was always hitting my head on I decided to put a stock headliner into it. I cut down the extended cab headliner from the 94 K2500 and presto regular cab headliner in the correct oxblood red interior color.

[Palf70Step]

Really nice start on it. Looking forward to seeing it progress.

[hammered94]

Nice project!

[CANUCIT]

Looking Good

[mingoman]

Nice work!

[LT7A]

Very cool idea to take all the best parts for that application and combine them. I look forward to seeing the progress as you continue to put it together.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Very cool idea to take all the best parts for that application and combine them. I look forward to seeing the progress as you continue to put it together.

Agreed. Any updates?

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by scoti

agreed. Any updates?

x2!

[LT7A]

Checking back in on this one. Really like the concept.

[Shifty One]

In for this one as well!

[SCOTI]

Saw this image from Hot Rod's LS-fest West coverage & it reminded me of this build....

[Boog]

I'd never have thought I'd like a lowered truck with flares but I am really diggin the look.

[LT7A]

Well, Elvis was still in the building as of late July. Maybe he doesn't check his thread?