turbo task force

[akdg87]

This project is my first in depth build, I've been working on it over the past year when time allowing (still in college, renovating a house and working a demanding job where I'm out of town frequently in remote parts of Alaska.

My dad has quite the collection of Task Force trucks, since i was toddler he has been scooping these trucks up, at this time we have around 25 of them. He's fairly big into the NAPCO conversions.

So i picked a truck out from our "fleet", sourced a cameo bed and a 72 C10 frame. We started by setting the bed on the frame, it pretty much bolts right up, and then i pulled the cab and front clip off the donor truck (it was a delivery truck around Fairbanks Alaska for sometime before my dad picked it up).

I knew from the start i wanted go with an ls type motor as i've done a few conversions including my 1993 K1500 blazer, 70 K10, 84 k20 to name a few. But i have a few friends who have gone the forced induction route and i wanted to give a swing at it.



Below is a list of what has gone into this truck:

2004 5.3 engine with "317" heads, upgraded valve springs, push rods, oil pump, head studs, ls6 cam and an ls1 intake. 8.5:1 compression
TH-350 transmission (upgraded internals, 3K converter)
Rack and Pinion steering conversion
2.5" drop spindles and 1" drop springs for the front
4" drop springs in the rear
Modified 72 C10 frame to accept the 56 cab and front clip
Home built turbo kit using flipped truck manifolds (Ceramic Coated)
Home built downpipe into magnaflow 3" muffler and dumping under bed.
70mm T4 turbocharger
Precision 38mm waste gate
50mm BOV
Air to Water intercooler system
18 Gallon Fuel Cell under the bed.
Bosch 044 style inline pump, all summit 8an feed lines. Boost reference FPR, Holley EFI rails and summit 6 an return line.
70's van column, 94 chevy truck bench seat.
Aftermarket gauges, plus AEM wideband and Boost/Vacuum gauge
Rebuilt front end components (ball joints, etc)
Disc conversion for rear axle
CPP firewall mount brake booster.
Cameo bed with all the trim removed, frenched taillight bezels and a 1 piece fiberglass rear bumper.
20" mb racing "old school" wheels. 255/50r20 tires

The plan is to leave the paint in its current state until i get the truck dialed in, then do a satin black paint. I will temporarily match the bed to the existing "patina". The cab is very clean, no panels need to be replaced at all. and very minimal bodywork. Luckily i have a few friends who are good at welding and fabricating which have made this project a lot easier.

The Collection:


Donor truck:


Fabricating Cab Mounts:


Assembled Motor:


Installed:


Post frame painting:


Homebrew Turbo Kit:


Repairing the bed sides:


Bed in primer:


Bed Again:



Currently i am in western Alaska on a job and wont be back until mid next month, but i have been acquiring needed parts and should have quite the puzzle once i'm home. I should have it up and running at some point this winter.

[alaska gasser]

Welcome neighbor. Nice looking truck and congrats on finding the bed.

[Kim57]

Welcome
This looks like a real nice build.
Kim

[59stepside]

Welcome!

Well, that escalated quickly. -Ron burgundy

[ddubbs]

Subscribed. Can't wait to see how this one turns out. Nice collection to of old iron.

[STOCKISH]

Looks like a killer donor to start with. Look forward to seeing how this turns out.

[OrrieG]

Right now someone in AK is searching google earth for you dads stash! Good start on the project. I would expect the Cameo bed was very rare for Alaska.

[akdg87]

Couple previous ls swaps that i have assisted on:

70 K10 shortbed fleetside with a 4.8 and nv3500, gm hotcam and doug thorley longtubes:


84 k20 Longbed with a LQ4 and 4l80e.

[_Ogre]

this looks like paradise
your father is my hero



how will you tune the turbo to the ls motor?
installing bigger injectors?
you have access to a dyno and a tuner?

[Wasted Income]

Awesome project. What was the reason for going to 317s on the 5.3? I did that a few years ago, and man was the thing doggy when it was out of boost with the compression drop.

[akdg87]

Originally Posted by Wasted Income

Awesome project. What was the reason for going to 317s on the 5.3? I did that a few years ago, and man was the thing doggy when it was out of boost with the compression drop.

Kinda jumped the gun when i started with the motor, if it proves to be too doggy ill swap back to some stock 862 heads. I enjoyed reading through your blazer build by the way

[akdg87]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

this looks like paradise
how will you tune the turbo to the ls motor?
installing bigger injectors?
you have access to a dyno and a tuner?

1. I have HP Tuners, so i can datalog and send my tuner(go wheatley tuning, he did my buddies turbo silverado ss and it runs great). I'm not too comfortable with tuning, i can do basic stuff but this turbo tuning is new to me.

2. Forgot to mention that i have the Siemens Deka 60# injectors already.

3. No dyno here in fairbanks, although there are a few down in anchorage, but i think we should be able to get it dialed in by data logging back and forth, he did a great job on my 2 door blazer with a 5.3 swap and bolt-ons.

[Wasted Income]

Originally Posted by akdg87

Kinda jumped the gun when i started with the motor, if it proves to be too doggy ill swap back to some stock 862 heads. I enjoyed reading through your blazer build by the way

Thanks.

Yours might be alright with that small T4 housing on there...should light up pretty fast and be pretty fun around town.

With the 317s on mine, I had a big A/R T6 on it, and it took a bit for it to come online...so off idle torque was needed.

[akdg87]

Originally Posted by Wasted Income

Thanks.

Yours might be alright with that small T4 housing on there...should light up pretty fast and be pretty fun around town.

With the 317s on mine, I had a big A/R T6 on it, and it took a bit for it to come online...so off idle torque was needed.

Yes, my buddy said i should be alright, at least if i opt to switch to some different heads its fairly easy and i always could just slap a bigger turbo on...

[akdg87]

alright well I have been back home for about two weeks, worked on getting the fuel system installed, all in all the AN line is not bad at all to assemble, i actually enjoyed it (plus it looks great). Laid out the wiring harness for the chassis and got it routed properly. I got the standalone harness in as well (top notch quality). Just been trying to spend time installing all these parts i have. Going to be cutting the inner fenders to clear the front suspension. Will post plenty of pics this evening with the progress thus far.

[69trk]

What manifolds are you using? And are you keeping the coil packs on the covers?

[akdg87]

Originally Posted by 69trk

What manifolds are you using? And are you keeping the coil packs on the covers?

I'm using the stock truck manifolds flipped upwards with the 3 bolt flanges cut off and 2.5" v-band assemblies welded on.

yes the coil packs will remain on the valve covers, I bought everything to build custom length plug wires and will route them towards the back of the heads.



I had to get ugly with the cut off wheel to clear the turbo...


I think I will be making an enclosure to shield the turbo

[akdg87]

done with the accessory drive system, just need to measure for a belt. Snugged up fuel lines but i need to find a couple mounting clamps for my fuel filters. Wire wheeled the core support and driver side inner fender, then painted them (I used bed liner on the wheel side of the inner fender). Mostly just wiring and tidying up stuff i have already done)


installed a fender too..

[Wybrow]

You sir, are awesome. Can't wait to see it all come together.

[Kim57]

Very cool build.
Kim

[akdg87]

Mostly wiring and misc. stuff right now. Been working on 4-5 nights a week for a couple hours here and there.

[Kim57]

looks good.
Kim

[JML55]

cool project, i like it

[akdg87]

i'm terrible about updating...anyhow just spending about 4-5 nights a week working on it, terrible how all the little things take up so much time. But i'm in no rush as snow will be on the ground for 3 more months. I am really close to starting this thing up. attached are some photos for your viewing pleasure.

Headlights wired up as well converting the the parking lamps to dual filament bulbs:



Gauges wired in, as well as the boost and Air/Fuel Ratio gauges. I bought a generic 2 gauge mount as i could see myself drilling into this unmolested dash.



New 3 core aluminum radiator installed:



Installed new windshield that i found for free on Craigslist, initially i tried the string trick with help of a friend, but it wasn't working. So i borrowed some window install tools and used about a can of foaming glass cleaner, had this thing installed in less than a hour BY MYSELF.



Heres my dads newest addition, he bought it in arizona as a 2wd, they did the napco conversion and he is driving it from california to alaska currently, of course loaded to the hilt with some goodies for my truck and his collection of parts.

[Kim57]

Everything is looking real nice.
Kim