Tommy66 5.3/4l60 Build

[tommys66]

Got the front suspension mounted, Dont know how the paint will hold up, I used rustoleum gloss black, thinned with ascetone. Havent used this paint before. Made some drop brackets for the sway bar. theyre 1" shorter than original. think i tightned the bushing too much! I thought you just tightned all the way down, guess not. BTW the rotors are from R1 concepts.

[tommys66]

So Ive made the decision to go with a GENIII install. I bought a 5.3/4L60E. any input for the install would be appreciated. The motor came with a partial wire harness but no PCM. some jackleg cut the motor out of a salvage truck with a torch! harness, motor mounts and all! Bought a camaro tank at a swap meet, hope the pumps good!

[jason65]

Chassis looks good. I think I would find another wireing loom. The more splices and breaks in your loom could cause resistance issues. You could solder them for connections with les resistance, but from the looks of what youve done so far a new or unmalested loom would look better to.

[daverod]

Nice work on cutting those holes in that cross member. Think I'm going to do the same thing. I might make the pipe longer and put some metal on the other side? I looked at the one from brothers and it did'nt even look as if it was reenforced. It might have been thicker steel? Keep up the good work.

[MacAttack]

There's something special about seeing Class 'A' hardware going on a primo chassis.

And that shot of the torched off wiring loom is no doubt going to be board classic!

Mac.

[TimE]

How's the 5.3 install coming along? Just wondering what type of manifolds/headers you are planning to run with the motor mount adapter plates that you made.

Build looks great so far!

[tommys66]

Im not sure if I am gonna use the stock manifolds or not. I read somewhere that the F body manifolds fit well with slight modifications. Ive been busy trying to modify the harness. I got alot of good informaiton, also the PCM flashed, from www.LT1swap.com. He only charged me $75.00 to remove the vats, emission stuff, and add elec fan controls to the PCM.

[tommys66]

been a while since I posted progress, so here goes...got the motor and tranny bolted in place, used the stock perches with the old style three bolt sbc mounts. made adapter plates to use the three bolt mounts. I got the schematic for the plates from timE. had to make a 7/8" spacer to bring the tranny up to level.

[tommys66]

also been working on the firewall. I think im gonna go with a vintage air system, or something equivalent, so I removed the heater core and air box and filled the holes in. I welded alot of the holes in the firewall. I got a little carried away(hope I didnt fill something I need). I also made a device to lift the cab with help from alan classics design.

[shrunken66stroker]

Great job. The 5.3 4L60E swap looks pretty straight forward. Any other issues with it besides getting motor mounts and the trans leveling spacer? Obviously you'll need a custom drive shaft. Looks like you cranked the sway bar bushings down tight. You should let off a little and put some grease in there if you didn't already. Nice work so far.

[tommys66]

Originally Posted by shrunken66stroker

Great job. The 5.3 4L60E swap looks pretty straight forward. Any other issues with it besides getting motor mounts and the trans leveling spacer? Obviously you'll need a custom drive shaft. Looks like you cranked the sway bar bushings down tight. You should let off a little and put some grease in there if you didn't already. Nice work so far.

I think I may have issues with the A/C compressor and possibly have to modify the exaust manifolds a bit, other than that, modifying the wire harness was the hardest part. I am not sure what radiator to use.

[jgarverick]

hey tommy, i'm doing a 5.3 swap also and made adapter plates too. i just picked up a set of manifolds off a trailblazer ss that fit perfectly but they have no egr. also i'm using a 4 speed but i see your using the auto. are you setting the frame level and setting the motor level? you may want to mock something up to check your clearance for the driveshaft. looks awesome though man, good luck. if you run into any problems hit me up i may be able to help. oh and i would definitely find another harness, if you solder all those connections it almost guarantees something won't work properly due to increased resistance or voltage drop. also you may want to check out ls1tech.com theres some good info and parts over there. there are places you can send the computer out to to delete the VATS, egr, rear O2, all kinds of stuff. you can do it yourself but the software is pretty pricey.

[TimE]

Lookin' good Tommy! Can't wait to get back on mine.

Glad the plates worked but I have to give the credit to olsofti for the dimensions for the plates. He sent me the pic and I just passed it along.

[tommys66]

I have the firewall the way I want it, but I am stuck on what to use on the bottom side of the cab. I am in between using some type of truck bed coating, or some type of spray on insulation/ceramic coating. Its hard to decide, being there are so many products with a wide price range. Any suggestions would be appreciated

[tommys66]

Got some more work done one the firewall, stripped and primed underside of cab.

[markeb01]

I love your workmanship. Meticulous detail and the overall finish work looks show quality. The chassis color is so nice compared to generic black.

[tommys66]

Originally Posted by markeb01

I love your workmanship. Meticulous detail and the overall finish work looks show quality. The chassis color is so nice compared to generic black.

thanks, I got the color scheme from AlanClassic build.

[tommys66]

Got my doors fitted. The drivers door fitted pretty good, but the passenger door took some pulling and pushing on the cab. The repop passenger door was 1/8" narrower than the original. I had to redo the LH cab corner again to fit the door, and dropped the rocker down. I got the doors from Mikes Bump and Grind Garage in Texas.

[daverod]

Looks like the door fits. Love the come -along action. Allan would be proud.

[Alan's Classic]

Originally Posted by tommys66

I also made a device to lift the cab with help from alan classics design.

I wish I could take credit for the idea. Someone else made a fancy one that has alot of adjustments. I guess I can take credit for the simple version.

Originally Posted by tommys66

I have the firewall the way I want it, but I am stuck on what to use on the bottom side of the cab. I am in between using some type of truck bed coating, or some type of spray on insulation/ceramic coating. Its hard to decide, being there are so many products with a wide price range. Any suggestions would be appreciated

Nice work on the firewall. You probably already know the bottom of my cab is slick, paint the color of the rest of the cab. I'm doing sound deadener on the inside.

Originally Posted by tommys66

thanks, I got the color scheme from AlanClassic build.

Originally Posted by daverod

Looks like the door fits. Love the come -along action. Allan would be proud.

I am pround!! Nice work. On the repop doors Fit your vent windows (if your using them) and see if the holes are drilled in the door for the bottom of the window track. Mine are not. I see you have your latches in. Did you have to work on the screw holes for the latch. I had to do a little massaging to mine.

[tommys66]

I see you have your latches in. Did you have to work on the screw holes for the latch. I had to do a little massaging to mine.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]


Yep! I had to drill the holes for the latches to fit. I might have to modify the countersunk holes a bit for proper fitment, but as of now seems as though the latches will work as is.

[tommys66]

Originally Posted by daverod

Looks like the door fits. Love the come -along action. Allan would be proud.

yeah! Im sure alan had some insight on this somewhere.

[daverod]

Originally Posted by tommys66

yeah! Im sure alan had some insight on this somewhere.

I knew he would be proud. I think he would have got a tree in the picture though or a extreme close up of the metal actually bending. Looks good keep up the progress.

[tommys66]

Had to take a break from working on the cab, so I put my rearend together. I chose to go with a 9" ford with 3:50 posi. The housing I used did not have a drain plug or a fill plug, neither did the 3rd member. I drilled and tapped the third member with 1/2" pipe tap for the fill. I added a magnetic tip drain plug to the bottom of the housing at about 5 O'clock. I have not welded the axle seats on yet, waiting to set the pinion angle, then I will pull it back out for paint.

[lownslw64]

your frame looks good!! Do you have any pics of your trans x-member and spacer. I am curious on how you did that. I am also going to be running a 4l60e.