Dug's 1959 Fleetside

[dug224]

Thanks for asking. No real updates on the truck, however, I did manage to acquire a 70's Honda CT70H that needs restoration (it looks better than it is) and a 70's Kawasaki KV75 minibike (it actually runs better than it looks). Collecting projects for my future shop and stuff to put in the back of my truck. Stay tuned...dug

[dsraven]

hi guys, I have a 57 gmc that i am working on. I have a bunch of stuff already done to the stock frame, but now I am thinking of using a trailblazer frame instead. Dugg makes it look so easy. by the way, dugg, have you got any pics that show the ride height with the cab and front fenders installed? did you swap the tires to be smaller so you don't have rub issues on the fenders, or was it a looks thing? i need to get some measurements before I start, my truck is a long bed and I want to keep it long because I plan on extending the cab. I am possibly going to look at a trailblazer tomorrow, we'll see if the guy calls me back.
any info on the swap would be greatly appreciated.
thanks guys

[dug224]

dsraven...the swap hasn't been too bad to date. It is still like eating an elephant though...one bite at a time. My cab is currently sitting on 4x4's and not on the frame mounts so i can't help with measurements at this time. It is a matter of stripping the frame and moving the cab and front clip around on it until the front wheels land in the fenders correctly (to your eye) and the cab is where you want it vertically. By my thread, you can see that the transmission is now up in the cab a bit. Seems to be plenty of room between frame and cab floor. No rubbing of the wheels in my case. The wheel and tire size is in my thread somewhere. Stock Trailblazer wheels are used. If you want to save a good bit of effort, you will want to buy a long wheel base frame WITH a V-8 (assuming you want the V-8) already in the frame. Get the entire SUV if possible. That way you have all the extraneous stuff required to make it work. Not sure the difference in the SWB and LWB but, if you are going to add an extended cab, could add as much cab as it takes to push the real wheel openings to the correct location. I would say my loss of bed depth is in the 6" range. Good luck...dug

[dsraven]

hey Dug,
that little honda 70 brings back a few memories. my son and i fixed one up for my kids back when they were little. he learned a lot but unfortunately didn't get to drive it much because he sprouted like a weed and it got too small. he graduated to an xl100 the following year, which he also had to go through. my daughters took over the 70. just by looking I would say you got a better one than we did to start. you have the better handlebars, front forks etc. make sure to smooth out the rusty spots on the forks before you sit on it or the rough spots will take out the fork seals. also remember to fab up a guard for the muffler or your leg will be sorry. you will have a scar to talk about at the lake though, ha ha.
good luck, there isn't that much to those old bikes, that is why they are still around.
I am waiting for a call back from the guy with the trailblazer. it is an inline 6 truck with the running gear etc still operational after a roll over. we will see if it is straight or not.
thanks for the info. maybe if I spend enough time I will be able to figure out how to start a project build thread for my old 57. lots of mistakes there...

[dug224]

Originally Posted by dsraven

hey Dug,
that little honda 70 brings back a few memories. my son and i fixed one up for my kids back when they were little. he learned a lot but unfortunately didn't get to drive it much because he sprouted like a weed and it got too small. he graduated to an xl100 the following year, which he also had to go through. my daughters took over the 70. just by looking I would say you got a better one than we did to start. you have the better handlebars, front forks etc. make sure to smooth out the rusty spots on the forks before you sit on it or the rough spots will take out the fork seals. also remember to fab up a guard for the muffler or your leg will be sorry. you will have a scar to talk about at the lake though, ha ha.
good luck, there isn't that much to those old bikes, that is why they are still around.
I am waiting for a call back from the guy with the trailblazer. it is an inline 6 truck with the running gear etc still operational after a roll over. we will see if it is straight or not.
thanks for the info. maybe if I spend enough time I will be able to figure out how to start a project build thread for my old 57. lots of mistakes there...

You really need to start a thread. It is profoundly easy to do and, once you do it, it will become part of the build process. The help you will get from the other builders, if for motivation only, will be worth it. Hey, get one of your kids to do it. They can figure out any of the high tech stuff. Added a ride height photo from Jan 2013 which was just before I yanked the cab and front clip off of it.

[Kim57]

Looks good.
Kim

[OldChevysRule]

Dug.....I spent a few hours a couple of nights ago going through your entire thread. You are doing an awesome job. If I had had my truck(s) a few years ago, I would have loved to have gotten that 4X4 setup from you. I plan to convert one of mine to a 4X4 and the other will remain a 2X4. I have been toying around with the idea of the TB frame swap, but I am not sure if my finances, skills, and patience will allow it! I haven't seen any updates since November of last year, so I guess the house is keeping you busy. Hopefully, you haven't forgotten about the truck!! Thanks, Jason

[dug224]

Originally Posted by OldChevysRule

Dug.....I spent a few hours a couple of nights ago going through your entire thread. You are doing an awesome job. If I had had my truck(s) a few years ago, I would have loved to have gotten that 4X4 setup from you. I plan to convert one of mine to a 4X4 and the other will remain a 2X4. I have been toying around with the idea of the TB frame swap, but I am not sure if my finances, skills, and patience will allow it! I haven't seen any updates since November of last year, so I guess the house is keeping you busy. Hopefully, you haven't forgotten about the truck!! Thanks, Jason

Jason...still rolling it in and out of the garage occasionally and looking at it. Made a run at a 2008 Trailblazer SS the other day at Copart but was unsuccessful. Cool factor was high and would have been worth starting over. Was willing to pay $2100 plus fees but got hammered. Somebody wanted it way worse than I did. Looks like the 6.0 liter SS engines are worth in the $3.5k range. Not sure what it sold for but when I turned off the auction, it was at $3k. A wrecked TB is pretty cheap with the 6 cylinder. The 5.3's that fit it are pretty cheap too. You can do it!!! Skill is not an issue....trust me.

House is still under design. Gotta sell some rentals and such before we make it happen. Dug

[OldChevysRule]

I am glad to see that you haven't lost interest. I would like to see the finished product. There is an insurance holding yard just down the road from my house in Theodore. They hold wrecked cars until the insurance claim is processed and salvage title, etc. That is where the body shops around Mobile get their wrecked cars to fix and resell. I think you have to have a dealer's license to purchase from them. I believe they auction the vehicles as well (live auction). Just thought I would pass that along to you.
Jason

[dug224]

Jason...sent you a quick Private Message. Thx dug

[ricott]

Dug,

Glad to see your build pop back up. Did you pull the trigger on March 8, and if so , does that mean you will be spending more "quality time" in the garage? Thanks again for all your measurements, they are helping immensely on my 55 pickup. I am taking it a step further and also using the floorpan from the Trailblazer. My wife's 5.3 engine is a screamer in her 2007 Envoy - so your truck should have plenty of power with a 5.3. I will be updating my build this weekend - hope to see you doing the same.

Ricky

[dug224]

Originally Posted by ricott

Dug,

Glad to see your build pop back up. Did you pull the trigger on March 8, and if so , does that mean you will be spending more "quality time" in the garage? Thanks again for all your measurements, they are helping immensely on my 55 pickup. I am taking it a step further and also using the floorpan from the Trailblazer. My wife's 5.3 engine is a screamer in her 2007 Envoy - so your truck should have plenty of power with a 5.3. I will be updating my build this weekend - hope to see you doing the same.

Ricky

The '58 restomod Vette makes me permanently envious. Can't wait to see the floor pan usage in the '55. Trigger gets pulled 27 March on retirement. Retirement paperwork technicality keeping me on the job till then. Spending most of my time designing the new house. Drawing with Autocadd is like riding a bike...you never forget. Went from a stand alone shop to a 1,400 SF uninsured garage on the lower level under the house which in "on grade". Whittled the house down to 2,400 sf which I may be able to afford. The good news is that I will be able to roll my tools to the lift and haul them upstairs if a hurricane threatens. Next time you are in OBA, let's get together. dug

[DeeGee]

Originally Posted by dug224

Trigger gets pulled 27 March on retirement. dug

Exciting days ahead! Congratulations again!

[dug224]

Ok...so, I am back. Uncovered the truck, dusted it off and decided to redirect my energy to making the 5.3 stand alone like I should have before I got distracted with the body work and not wanting to do the electrical work. I have read everything I can get my hands on and feel a bit more ready to dive in. Harness is 90% labeled and about to come off the engine. Need to skinny back under the truck and pull the plugs that I plugged into the transmission. Still having nightmares after seeing Ricky's exploded LS wiring on top of the 6.0 in his son's GTO.

I will soon order a 20+/- circuit wiring kit for the body. Any input on which one to buy will be appreciated. Unless there is a substantial difference, I will probably go with one like EZ since the price better fits my budget.

[ricott]

Glad to see you back at it! If the plug on the transmission gear selector shaft has not been taken off before, take a heat gun and heat the connector to get it to release. The GTO was more difficult because I pinned out every wire. I don't think that is necessary for your project (I don't plan to do it on my truck). The absolute best thing you can do is to get the engine wiring schematics from that year harness to plan it out - I'm sure I used AllData. Good luck, and PM me if you want to chew the fat.

Ricky

[dug224]

Got the harness off. Looks a bit less intimidating. I have an '04 pin out plan that I will follow.

Ricky: The plugs had been removed from the transmission. They came right off.

[dug224]

Mainly following instructions shown on "lt1swap.com" for the rewire to make my 2004 5.3 LM4 engine stand alone. Wire loom removed from harness and connector C2, Underhood Fuse Block connector, labeled for surgery. Among others, got some valuable hands on input from veltboy314 on his multipart YouTube video titled "LSX 5.3 / 4L60E wiring harness LS1 vortec". Next move, in general, is to start removing circuits that will not be used. The fun part of this is the fact that getting this right gives me the opportunity to drive the truck around the neighborhood. dug

[Kim57]

I didn't have the courage to do mine.
Good luck on the mods.
Kim

[dug224]

Originally Posted by Kim57

I didn't have the courage to do mine.
Good luck on the mods.
Kim

Kim...may have to resort to your approach if I fail but the more I read about it and watch YouTube, the more my confidence goes up. Seems to be more of a book keeping effort and with my recent dramatic drop in my hourly rate, it may be near free by the time I finish!!! Stay tuned...dug

[ricott]

As you said, reworking one of these harnesses is more of a "bookkeeping" issue than anything else. With a good wiring schematic and a list to check off, you can do this. You are definitely on the right track by labeling each wire in the connector block. I like your idea to actually mark the number/letters on the junction block. My eyes nearly crossed trying to see the tiny numbers on those blocks. Looking at the weather today it looks like you have a chance to work indoors on this project! If you want to talk about any of the wiring issues send me a PM and we could discuss.
Ricky

[LSXapache]

People blow it out of proportion, it aint rocket science. I did mine on a rainy day in the shop, just spread it out on the floor or large table, keep it from becoming a tangled mess, label as you go, and I found it easier to have a printed copy of the instructions in my hands that I could consult and make notes on.

[ChuckDriver]

Very cool build, looking forward to more updates!!

[dug224]

My buddy Jim came by for a consult and an update on my wiring. Also worked through plumbing the radiator, power steering lines (and PS cooler) and fuel lines. Looks like the 4.2 I-6 fuel lines that came with my frame will clip right onto my 5.3 lines. Will have to massage them a bit to make them look like they came from the factory for the 5.3.

Wiring is close. Decided to keep PCM controls for the factory Trailblazer/Envoy fuel system so had to re-pin a few un-pinned wires per advice from Brendan at LT1Swap.com. Having a bit of a problem getting the DBW gas pedal, associated wiring harness and TAC (Throttle Actuator Control Module). According to what I have read, only an '03 or '04 setup will work with my Engine/PCM. Seems the majority have been crushed. I keep getting the old "we don't inventory gas pedals" comment. Calling all the yards in the country (car-parts.com) that have an '03 or '04 TB, Envoy or Ranier 5.3. I will get one eventually.

LSXapache - I agree. The more I read and the more I look at the wiring, the easier it has gotten. My printed copy and binder have come in handy.

By the way, if anyone is looking for an inexpensive low mile 5.3 LM4 there is one available out of an SSR for $350. It is located at a wrecking yard in Mississippi. Has busted oil pan and water pump. Not sure what accessories are on it. If interested, send me a PM and I will send you the number and name of wrecking yard. I don't know these guys but sounded like they were tired of owning it. More to come...dug

[dug224]

Baby steps....wiring still underway.

Plumbed the radiator. Used the end off of a new '89 to '94 Jeep Cherokee hose for the bottom. Has 1.25" on one end and 1.5" on the other. Could be 3/8" longer for appearance sake but it will do. The upper hose is one of many GM (I hope) hoses that I have picked up at my buddies wrecking yard. Cut it in half. As of now, can't seem to ID it. Ordered an inline 1.25" Moroso Radiator Filler neck from Jegs for $35 (#63745). Nice unit. Got my eye on a small overflow tank out of a Scion but won't worry about this until I have the fender liners back on. Installed my serpentine and A/C belts.

Grabbed an aluminum Power Steering radiator off of a late model Ford Expedition. Looks nice and the rubber hose size is correct. Not sure where it will go until I get the front clip back on. Vice gripped it on the core support for now. Went out to have someone rework my I-6 PS hoses. No luck. Kept finding guys who build industrial hydraulic hoses. If I can find a set off of a V8 trailblazer, problem solved.

Looking for an inexpensive way to build up fuel lines. The I-6 lines aren't even close. Any good ideas will be appreciated. They don't have to look like a show car. This is a driver. What I really need are the fuel lines off of a V8 trailblazer. dug

[ricott]

Your project is looking great. Love the idea of using the ford Expedition Power Steering cooler. As for fuel lines, I plan to use the ones found on a Chevy truck. They are attached to the motor/tranny and exit the back of the tranny on the driver's side. I will make up the lines from that point to the fuel tank. Does the Trailblazer PCM program have a circuit for the electric fans - or do you plan to control them with a "stand alone" system? I used a Camaro program on the GTO because I needed electric fans, and those circuits on the "truck" programs control something on the HVAC.

I hope to work on shortening the Trailblazer EXT frame this weekend - we will see. Thanks again for posting your build - it has been a real timesaver.
Ricky