Dug's 1959 Fleetside

[ricott]

Thanks again for posting your progress. What size tires did you ultimately wind up with in the front and back? Also, did you see any clearance issues under the cab when the cab was 3.5 inches over the frame (other than the engine manifold issue and the Tranny)?

While looking at your pictures, I saw your concern about the TB intake manifold hitting the hood bracing. When you get the alternator installed, you may have additional clearance problems in that area. The book will probably show a 135 amp alternator for this vehicle (trailblazer 5.3), but the more plentiful 110 (or115) amp truck version will work just fine. Since you will not have duel AC units and all the other goodies that normally went with the Trailblazer 5.3, I don’t see the need for the higher rated (and more expensive) 135 amp alternator. This is what we did on the GTO to save a few dollars. You can reduce the height of your engine by several inches if you were to switch to the LS1/6 Intake manifold and the Corvette accessory drive system. Using the insight gained from your build, I think this is what I will do. Again, thanks for all your hard work and documentation.

Ricky