1998 Silverado 1500 Z71 ECSB Daily

[OutlawDrifter]

so i need to update this thread with some pictures, but that may not happen until this weekend. i've got the led's installed in the cluster and HVAC controls. also picked up some crystal/chrome headlights and clear corners off of ebay. i'm quite surprised with the cutoff and light ouput. while putting in the headlights i also added an HD wiring harness with a 4-hi modification.

hoping to come home with some 18" Z71 wheels with low mile tires tomorrow to update the rolling stock a little and i'll finish up the exterior (for a little while) with some raptor liner in the bed.

[Palf70Step]

Kewl.....

[83GMCK2500]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Kewl.....

That's what I was thinking. Here we are, waiting for pictures...

[OutlawDrifter]

haha, Devin you crack me up!

well wait no further!

picked up the tires/wheels friday night. they measure brand new.

painted the bowties on the center caps red to match the rest of the theme on the pickup. i really went back and forth on these wheels, i've only seen them on 2 other gmt400s and one was a rcsb and the other was an ecss, and both were in pictures. i'm very pleased, keeps the "stock" gm look, but has a nice update and fills the fenders well.

[Palf70Step]

Purty!!!

[54 jimmy]

love the wheels they take 10 years off the truck.

[83GMCK2500]

I love that wheel design! They look great on a GMT400 too, nice touch on the center caps.

[OutlawDrifter]

Thanks guys! I have to admit I'm going to miss the saw blades, but these give it the look I was going for.

[1966burb]

Great looking truck. I am getting ready to upgrade a 1996 myself. What brand cowl hood did you go with? 2 inch? Jim

[OutlawDrifter]

It is a 2", unknown brand, I bought it used.

[OutlawDrifter]

Boy this thread got boring fast! All I've been doing is driving the pickup...

I did change the oil earlier this week and dropped the tranny pan for a new filter and some fresh fluid. I installed the Dormann deep pan with the drain plug, so I'll drop the oil out of it about 3 more times and that should equate to a complete flush. Pickup had the deep pan from the factory, but no drain plug.

Still needs the bedliner sprayed in the bed and some more interior modification. Bedliner will have to wait until it warms back up, but more on the interior later.

[Palf70Step]

Yeah, that is about all I been doing with my 64...drive it and normal maintenance. It's boring, but nice at the moment

[diveplane]

Originally Posted by OutlawDrifter

as promised

beautiful shape, looked after

[83GMCK2500]

Such a clean truck. Glad you're enjoying it. Recently a friend of mine installed the metra double din kit in his 98 with a Pioneer touch screen and it is awesome. I hope to get one in my '96 in the next couple months.

Looking forward to the modifications you mentioned.

[OutlawDrifter]

Originally Posted by 83GMCK2500

Such a clean truck. Glad you're enjoying it. Recently a friend of mine installed the metra double din kit in his 98 with a Pioneer touch screen and it is awesome. I hope to get one in my '96 in the next couple months.

Looking forward to the modifications you mentioned.

Is said friend's pickup a black crew cab, that is 454 Whipple equipped? If so, I saw that on GMT400.

I've considered the double din...just not sure I want to go that route yet.

[83GMCK2500]

Originally Posted by OutlawDrifter

Is said friend's pickup a black crew cab, that is 454 Whipple equipped? If so, I saw that on GMT400.

I've considered the double din...just not sure I want to go that route yet.

Yeah, that's the one.

And yes, it's fun as hell to drive.

[OutlawDrifter]

My wife was giving me grief the other day that I've had this pickup for over a year, "shouldn't you be looking for another one?". I have a bad habit of buying and selling at a profit, especially when I get bored with a vehicle. Well, at this point, I'm in this pickup pretty deep, enough that it would take the right particular buyer to pay my asking price...just to come out even.

I'd been eyeing GMT800 1500HD's but have come to the conclusion that I still don't like the interiors in those pickups. I don't pull a trailer often enough to need the heavier 3/4t parts ALL the time, and the 6.0l may have 360ft/lbs of torque, but it does it at 4000 rpm, not like the 2800rpm @ 330 for the L31.

I'm in the process of building a new 36x40x14 shop. When it is done, we are going to build this pickup into something I won't be able to get rid of. 14b sf axle, air helper springs, 4L65E or 4L80E, worked over SBC with true multiport injection(TPI, ProFlo, RamJet, etc). Why spend $4-5k on a pickup that I have to start over on, I'll just build the one I have! This will give me a few months to plan and budget. I wanted this pickup when I graduated high school, why not keep it now and put one in the win column, haha.

I'll still be doing the interior and exterior upgrades planned, and I'll build the drive train up and install in one big shot.

[83GMCK2500]

Originally Posted by OutlawDrifter

My wife was giving me grief the other day that I've had this pickup for over a year, "shouldn't you be looking for another one?". I have a bad habit of buying and selling at a profit, especially when I get bored with a vehicle. Well, at this point, I'm in this pickup pretty deep, enough that it would take the right particular buyer to pay my asking price...just to come out even.

I'd been eyeing GMT800 1500HD's but have come to the conclusion that I still don't like the interiors in those pickups. I don't pull a trailer often enough to need the heavier 3/4t parts ALL the time, and the 6.0l may have 360ft/lbs of torque, but it does it at 4000 rpm, not like the 2800rpm @ 330 for the L31.

I'm in the process of building a new 36x40x14 shop. When it is done, we are going to build this pickup into something I won't be able to get rid of. 14b sf axle, air helper springs, 4L65E or 4L80E, worked over SBC with true multiport injection(TPI, ProFlo, RamJet, etc). Why spend $4-5k on a pickup that I have to start over on, I'll just build the one I have! This will give me a few months to plan and budget. I wanted this pickup when I graduated high school, why not keep it now and put one in the win column, haha.

I'll still be doing the interior and exterior upgrades planned, and I'll build the drive train up and install in one big shot.

Sounds like a good plan. I'm always reading, planning, considering options for my truck(s) if I were to come across the right parts. You mention a 14SF, have you considered the factory disc brake one from the Vortec Max/Sierra Denali/?Silverado SS?/*maybe something else* GMT800 trucks? They also went into GMT-900 but I don't know what the WMS-WMS is on them, I had some notes somewhere where I'd read the -800 rear matched -400 front, but I can't find them now.

Something else I just came across...already familiar with the MPFI spider conversion kit to get rid of the poppet style assembly example I was REALLY surprised to come across a high flow mpfi spider assembly. I can't tell who is who, they use same/close part numbering, but it's either Wynjammer or AUS Injector:
Wyn: http://www.wynjammer.com/Vortec_Fuel...on_System.html
AUS: http://www.ebay.com/itm/AUS-injectio...-/251232921475 (unable to find them on their site, just ebay listings for the upgraded parts.)

Speaking of performance upgrades...have you come across the 12200411 PCM swap?


P.S. I started to read this thread and got as far as "looking at 1500HDs" and I thought, HE BETTER NOT BE GETTING RID OF THIS TRUCK!

[OutlawDrifter]

Originally Posted by 83GMCK2500

Sounds like a good plan. I'm always reading, planning, considering options for my truck(s) if I were to come across the right parts. You mention a 14SF, have you considered the factory disc brake one from the Vortec Max/Sierra Denali/?Silverado SS?/*maybe something else* GMT800 trucks? They also went into GMT-900 but I don't know what the WMS-WMS is on them, I had some notes somewhere where I'd read the -800 rear matched -400 front, but I can't find them now.

Something else I just came across...already familiar with the MPFI spider conversion kit to get rid of the poppet style assembly example I was REALLY surprised to come across a high flow mpfi spider assembly. I can't tell who is who, they use same/close part numbering, but it's either Wynjammer or AUS Injector:
Wyn: http://www.wynjammer.com/Vortec_Fuel...on_System.html
AUS: http://www.ebay.com/itm/AUS-injectio...-/251232921475 (unable to find them on their site, just ebay listings for the upgraded parts.)

Speaking of performance upgrades...have you come across the 12200411 PCM swap?


P.S. I started to read this thread and got as far as "looking at 1500HDs" and I thought, HE BETTER NOT BE GETTING RID OF THIS TRUCK!

haha, no not selling yet.

Thanks for the heads up on the high flow spider setup. One way or another I'll be getting rid of the stocker Vortec intake. I've always wanted to try the F.I.R.S.T. TPI intake, it looks like it would be a great fit on a 383 cubed setup...or even a 400...hmmmm a 400, punched to 406 with Vortec heads (correct steam holes drilled of course). But I'll have to figure out things on the run.

I'll have to look into that GMT800 14b, hadn't considered disc brakes, but why not?

[OutlawDrifter]

Nothing super awesome to report...yet. I did borrow an idea from a black crewcab dually mentioned earlier in this thread. Spent some time today to do some more maitenance. Oil change, drop the 2nd batch out of the tranny pan, and rotated the tires.

[83GMCK2500]

2008+ Express/Savana HVAC knobs, very nice. Did you do the headlight switch too? Takes a little work, but ties everything together.

[OutlawDrifter]

Devin, I did get the knob for the headlight switch. Not installed yet. Planning a double din with backup camera to finish the dash off.

[OutlawDrifter]

Well on Sunday I had a little garage time. I had picked up a dual display Gentex 177 from a GM application. It had the correct 7-pin flat connector so all I had to do was add in the 2 pins for the temp sensor. Pins added, harness built and soldered, temp sensor in place. Plugged in the mirror, and no display. Haha, oh well. Picked it up on the cheap from eBay, seller is sending me another to cover the bad one. Pics when completed!

Still haven't decided on a double din head unit, I have a Kenwood setup in my Amazon list, I should probably just pull the trigger on it!

Also considering starting on some of the peripherals of the new build. I'd like to start with the headers and deleting some of the emissions junk. My tuner can work with the black box, but I'm not sure if I want to stay black box or go to a 0411 setup. I've considered coil on plug and e-fans...but then again, maybe not.

[83GMCK2500]

I'm really close to pulling the trigger myself on the Pioneer Appradio. First of the year they dropped the price on it and it's really tempting. I've used it in the afore mentioned black crew cab of my friend's and it's pretty nice.

Since yours is a 98 that black box is more tuner friendly, either way the options that exist today are so much more awesome than when these trucks were new.

Sooooo...I did a thing here a couple weeks ago that you might appreciate. I'll be starting a thread soon, but I have a new (to me) daily myself.

[OutlawDrifter]

I'll be watching!