"52 3600/3100"

[Mains52]

Originally Posted by joedoh

yeah but I bet it was a fun 2 hrs!

looking good!

Thanks! You're right its always fun fabbing stuff up.

[dsraven]

looks good. the only thing I wouldda done different is make it a bolt on. thats just me though.
whats the plan for the old cross member? are you gonna connect the dots for frame flex concerns without the cross member where it used to be? remove it entirely? something different?

[Mains52]

Originally Posted by dsraven

looks good. the only thing I wouldda done different is make it a bolt on. thats just me though.
whats the plan for the old cross member? are you gonna connect the dots for frame flex concerns without the cross member where it used to be? remove it entirely? something different?

I will probably just take the remaining parts of the old member out. Art Morrison only has the MII, trans and drive line x member so I figure Ill keep it like that. I am measuring the angles from the tailshaft of the trans.

[dsraven]

a more accurate reading of the angles can be had by using the oil pan mounting surface. sometimes the play in the rear trans bushing can make the angle gauge lie when it is using the ujoint or the yoke. you prolly have it dialed in the way you want it now but if you need to change it later you can always use a shim under the trans mount to jack the trans end up some if needed. otherwise slice a piece out of the square tubing under the trans mount and weld it back in lower, if it is already too low.
keep plugging away man. looking good.

[dsraven]

sometimes the frame flex can make the cab mount points become closer or further apart. time will tell. could be horsepower/horseplay related for some trucks I suppose, lol. I remember having an old V8 Vega back in the day. sometimes I had to do a burnout in reverse so the doors would close. haha. no subframe connectors on that one. sold it too soon to finish it properly. I remember it went like stink though.

[dsraven]

where are you measuring your angles from? oil pan flange on block?

[dsraven]

No pics, didnt happen. Lol

[Mains52]

Got the passenger side cowl going. Just need to finish it up so I can move on to finishing the bed and running boards. Also got the 5.3 completely torn down. Thankfully I went with my gut and tore it down because the " low oil pressure" that the previous owner was having could have been from the roached / stuck cam bearings and lack of maintenance. To be fair the main and rod bearings weren't too bad and the cylinders still look good but will get ball honed. 175k miles of crappy maintenance I expected some of this.

[Mains52]

Well after selling my motovan and having a stack of cash to put into the truck I decided id get a running driving 5.3 to hook up and drop into the truck since my other engine is now going to be a full rebuild. So I found a local guy who does ls swaps for a living and he just pulled a 160k mile 5.3 out of a silverado last tuesday. Ran great and had no issues. Picked it up complete with pcm and harness for 600. Also after a year of dragging my feet I bought my second project for the family and brought home my new 1939 Chevy Master 85. Needs some love but 98% of the parts are there and it was on the road in the early 2000's so I know it can be a runner while the truck gets finished.

[8man]

Cool car. Nice find on the 5.3 too.

[Tempest67]

I have always liked the 'Businessman's Coupe' body style....... nice

[dsraven]

do you recall what the booster set up was from? I am using a set from an envoy which has the booster and pedal set up allk in one. cut a hole in the firewall, bolt it in. are your pedals integral with the booster mounting panel?

[Mains52]

Originally Posted by dsraven

do you recall what the booster set up was from? I am using a set from an envoy which has the booster and pedal set up allk in one. cut a hole in the firewall, bolt it in. are your pedals integral with the booster mounting panel?

It was out of a 2007-2013 Silverado 1500 single cab 2wd.

[Mains52]

Update: The LS RUNS!!! Tested it on the stand. Steering mocked up ready to be permanent. Fuel Cell mocked up. LOTS of Parts coming in. Big push is about to go down to get it put together.

[8man]

Big day, vroom, vroom noise!

[Mains52]

BIG UPDATE: So boxes started rolling in a few weeks ago and I have been busting some serious butt to try and get this thing together. I may not have pics of it all but.....
List of Stuff I have done.
Mocked up ad finished steering.
Brake booster and pedals mounted.
Steering column mounted.
frame notched for exhaust manifolds.
Seat mounted.
Driveshaft mocked up/ measured but not done yet.
outer cowls ready to be finished up.
Trans tunnel started.
I have everything to drive the truck besides rad hoses, internal harness for my 4l80e to update it, fluids and Registration.

[Mains52]

Big update continued:
So I was installing the new fly wheel on my 5.3 and it decided to crash to the ground and break the oil pan. Its ok I have another truck pan but dang talk about set back. Also this past Monday I had 8hrs of free time to bust out as much stuff on the truck as possible. Well in the first 30 minutes of said free time I had a cutoff wheel on a grinder decide it wanted to jump off the part I was cutting and catch an artery in my shoulder. I really want to get this thing driving but its going to fight me the whole way.

[8man]

Dang! That's a tough break. Hope you heal quickly.

[NorCalGal]

Uh oh, the wheel of death strikes again! That’s some scary stuff, as bad as it is it could have been way worse. Hope it heals quickly.

[Mains52]

Thank You all

[joedoh]

dude holy hell.


question, was it a plug in grinder? or a batt grinder? lately i have been using a batt grinder for my cutoff wheels because when they get stuck they just stop. the plug in i have just pours on the torque, I caught my t shirt once with a braid cup once and had to unplug it, it was still trying to spin.


hope you heal quick!

[Mains52]

Originally Posted by joedoh

dude holy hell.


question, was it a plug in grinder? or a batt grinder? lately i have been using a batt grinder for my cutoff wheels because when they get stuck they just stop. the plug in i have just pours on the torque, I caught my t shirt once with a braid cup once and had to unplug it, it was still trying to spin.


hope you heal quick!

It was a plug in push/lock power button. It hit me then was trying to wrap my shirt towards my face so my first focus was on getting it shut off after I killed the power I felt the warmth pouring down my side. Im bummed I lost that 8hrs of uninterrupted truck time. Im switching to a plasma cutter from now on.

[Tempest67]

yikes......... that is a reminder to all of us to be careful, and not to rush........ remember, this is our hobby that we enjoy in our spare time, it is not a race.

One habit I have picked up is to wear my leather welding apron when I get the grinder out. I know it wouldn't protect my shoulder in this situation, but I remember my sweatshirt getting caught up in a wire brush and it scared the hell out of me.


Hope you heal soon, and glad it isn't any worse.

[Mains52]

Weekend update. 6/18/23
Started prepping the interior for paint. Let my 7yr old son pick the color, he did well.(Sandstorm Tan)
Battled a stuck manifold bolt for a whole day and then 15 minutes of the next lol It was broken about 1/8 inside the threads so I had to build it up with weld btu every time I'd weld a nut on the nut would twist off!!! I ended up building it up and twisting it out with vise-grips after letting kroil do its job over night.
Headers on and torqued.
OIL pan filled after 3 trips to the parts store to find the right filter for my ebay ls swap pan.
mocked up the radiator and got some hose on but I am thinking I may have to try some flex hose as these bends are kind of funky.

Process is slow but atleast the train is moving.

[Mains52]

Starting to come together.
I have license and insurance on the ol boy. I put the glass in with the help of my dad. Doing the rear glass locking strip without the special tool is super fun. Took it for another drive and smashed on the gas. Nothing broke so Big Plus.
Started wiring the lights up. I have found that the American Autowire kit comes with more wiring options than I'll probably ever need. Still need to figure out what I am doing for a bed floor. As for the paint job, you have to understand that this was a farm truck that had 40 years of getting its butt beat on a farm. there was no amount of body work that was going to save the bumpy front fenders and I don't have the cash to buy a new front clip so I'm running it just like it looks in the pictures. Over time I plan on getting it perfect little by little, but I want to enjoy this thing.