Tommy66 5.3/4l60 Build

[tommys66]

I got the color idea from Alans classic build. The company is powdercoating plus, I think there is a pic of the sign on this page with their phone number.

[Alan's Classic]

Man that looks awesome I'm glad I inspired your color scheme.

[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.

[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]

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.

[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.

[tommys66]

Here is the only pic of the cross member i currently have. I will try to get a close up later. I believe the cross member is possibly out of a 67-72 but not sure. It was already in the truck when I started. I made the spacer from a piece of 1" flat steel, using the stock trans mount as a template.

[tommys66]

pic

[tommys66]

I was scuffing the new rockers I installed to prime and noticed there was surface rust underneath the reproduction sealer! Is this normal? I am gonna go ahead and strip to bare metal then prime to be safe, but wtf?

[tommys66]

Originally Posted by 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.

I think I said I used 1" plate to make the spacer, but I used 3/4" with 1/8" piece of rubber.

[Strodder]

Subscribed. Now I have to read it all and catch up.

[Roadhammer]

Tommy,

Lookin through your build and here i s see you have the saddles mounted or sitting on the trailing arms and not welded to the axle tube...It this just for the fitting process or are you leaving it like that...im changing diffs on my truck and was planning on welding saddles and track bar mount to the new rear end...let me me know what you did how you did it and pics if you could.

You can PM me or post it on here..

Jory

[Roadhammer]

Here is what im asking about...

Jory

[jgh64pkup]

cool build

[tommys66]

Originally Posted by jgh64pkup

cool build

thanks, its such a slow process though