Shrunken66Stroker's build thread.

[shrunken66stroker]

I got a smokin deal on a brand new LS7 clutch, pressure plate and flywheel so I picked it up. I also got my bell housing from Keisler. The next box that arrives will have a 5 speed in it.

[protrash64]

Better get moving; the heat is on its way!!!

[shrunken66stroker]

The parts are starting to pile up too. I'd much rather work in the heat than the cold and I'm planning to bust ass all summer. Definitely not messing around anymore.

[protrash64]

Sweet!!!

Will your tank fit into the rails from the top or do you have to slide it in from the rear of the frame?? It's gotten me thinking about my tank.

[shrunken66stroker]

It has to slide in from the rear with the bed jacked up about a foot. I also had to trim about 1/8 to 1/4" off of the bottom frame rail to get it to slide in. Super snug. It will hang down a little lower on your truck since I raised the bed floor 3" and mounted it on top of the bottom rail. Let me know if you want to see more pics.
The quality is amazing and CPP has a sale on them on ebay once in a while for 25 bucks off with free shipping.

[Strodder]

Originally Posted by shrunken66stroker

The parts are starting to pile up too. I'd much rather work in the heat than the cold and I'm planning to bust ass all summer. Definitely not messing around anymore.

I know what you mean Greg. When I lived in Vegas I would be working in my garage when it was 115 degrees. Because it a dry heat I wasn't even sweating, as long as I stayed out of the sun. My shop now here in Hesperia, I have a swamp cooler, and in winter a small heater that keeps it around 60. Works for me. Now get to work.

[shrunken66stroker]

I'm still not using the swamper because all of the bare metal. Hopefully that won't be an issue for very much longer. The weather will be perfect for spraying in the next few weeks.

[R.A.D]

can't wait to see your progress

[c.brown]

nice unique build glad to see you decided to go with an ls

[shrunken66stroker]

Since I'm not using the blazer gas tank I boxed in the area under the rear sill that I cut out for the old tank to fit. The weight of the bed was twisting the rear sill and now it's solid. I boxed in about a 6" section underneath too.

I also made a rig to lift my bed off with a cherry picker. I cut two old bed supports in half and put a piece of 1" square tube in the middle of the piece that goes between the rails, drilled holes and bolted them together. I flipped and welded the ends on to slide up inside the bed rail. I have to take the bolts out to take it apart so my next modification is to slot the holes so I just have to loosen the bolts, slide it together and pull it out. I hope all of that makes sense.

[burlapen]

Build is looking great. Im anxious to see how that RS500 works out!!

[shrunken66stroker]

Me too. I'll keep you posted. I'm going to call Keisler tomorrow and see what's up.

[daverod]

I'll have to try the bed thing next time I take mine off. It always seems to be a pain.

[shrunken66stroker]

I cut a patch from my donor door and welded it in. I also filled all of the cab seams around the windshield, side windows and rockers.

[shrunken66stroker]

09 Silverado seats are on the way. This seams to be more of a parts thread than a build thread lately. Just buying stuff feels like progress sometimes.

[shrunken66stroker]

Originally Posted by burlapen

Build is looking great. Im anxious to see how that RS500 works out!!

Keisler is now telling me the ship date is the 11th of April. They've had a few hold ups from parts suppliers, so I'll have to wait a while longer on the trans.

[Strodder]

Originally Posted by shrunken66stroker

09 Silverado seats are on the way. This seams to be more of a parts thread than a build thread lately. Just buying stuff feels like progress sometimes.

At least you have money to buy stuff. I have to sell more crap. But I have more parts than time to install them. :haha"

[shrunken66stroker]

Yep, same here. I just sold a ton of stuff on ebay and craigslist and that's where most of the new parts came from. I've got a few more things to sell and far more to buy.

[daverod]

Are the seats leather or pleather? I like em. I think even the leather ones are only leather on the part you sit. Did you get them from the junkyard? How$$$ I see cloth ones here but no leather. Do you know what years are the same? Leather seem hard to find. Even in Vegas.http://www.car-part.com/ Guess 88 to 09 are all the same.

[shrunken66stroker]

I got them off ebay. I like the fact that they're all manual so there's no wiring to screw with. After I mount them they will probably never move anyway so there's no reason to have power seats. Just pin them to the back of the cab and go. Living in Vegas, I don't really need the seat warmers either. They came from a dismantler/junk yard and they're Vinyl. The seats are interchangeable between 07-11 Silverados, Sierras, Tahoes, Escalades, Yukons, etc. They had them listed for $425 or best offer. I made an offer of $375 and they took it. They're charging me $100 to ship them from Troy, Michigan to Vegas and they're probably going to eat some of the shipping charge. Most of the dismantlers on ebay charge close to $200 to ship a set of bucket seats. <--something to look out for when the price looks too good to be true. A lot of them have fuzzy cell phone pictures too, so the condition of the seats are somewhat vague. Everything added up with these seats and I can't wait to get them. I hope they're as nice as I'm expecting them to be.

[Strodder]

You should have come to Hesperia. Lots of junk yards here. We're just up the hill.

[shrunken66stroker]

I hope it all fits.

[shrunken66stroker]

Originally Posted by Strodder

You should have come to Hesperia. Lots of junk yards here. We're just up the hill.

Up the hill or over it?

[shrunken66stroker]

I made one tub today. They're 2 1/4" wider than stock. If you do this it's important to leave 1/16 or so between the fender and the strip you're welding in. When you cut the fender in half the wider piece wants to flatten out, so it helps to have a little play to bend it around and get it as flat as possible.

[Strodder]

Nice job Greg