97 RCSB 6.0L + 4L80E + Procharger swap:)

[mattc]

finally got a little more free time to tinker with the engine a bit, i pulled the accessories off and valve covers and get the crank bolt broke loose, man what a bitch that was lol. i ended up sticking a 12" extension in the pulley and let it rest on the a/c bracket, got another 3/4 drive socket and a 12 in cheater bar + a 4 foot jack handle and lift up and broke it loose, when it moved it literally made a spark lol and i damn near had the front of the engine stand off the ground but its loose! the top of the heads look pretty clean and nice so i'm happy with that.

now i just gotta wait for one more paycheck so i can order a cam, pushrods, springs, and a timing chain from Bob @ Brutespeed!

[mattc]

still haven't had much time to tinker with the engine buttttt i did get enough time to weld/redrill the holes in my axles back to a 5x5 pattern so i could install the new wheels and M&H tires and HOLY SHIT does this thing hook and go now. wheels are Weld RT-s 15x8.25 w 5.50 backspacing with 275/60s. i did manage to get some brackets cut out for the caltrac bars but i'm still waiting on my heim joints to get in before i put it all together.

[mattc]

added some home made caltracs today cost me right at $100 bucks for everything! sure beats 400 for the premade ones!

[TRPLXL2]

This is going to be an awesome build I can see it now, that was a really good price on the drivetrain too! Do the caltracs really do any good? I was thinking about buying a set for my colorado, but I have to buy the pre made ones because I don't have those skills///

[mattc]

This is going to be an awesome build I can see it now, that was a really good price on the drivetrain too! Do the caltracs really do any good? I was thinking about buying a set for my colorado, but I have to buy the pre made ones because I don't have those skills///

i'm not sure how good they do yet lol hopefully i dont get called out to work and can go to the track this weekend and find out, i know when i first put them on i used a setup from this site http://www.hotrodsandhemis.com/Traction.html


but it was WAYYYYY to stiff as in i think i dislodged a few vertebrae lol a lil while ago i went outside and loosened them up so well see this weekend how it does with the new M&H radials!

[mattc]

well now i'm just waiting on my ls2 lifter holders which will hopefully be here tomorrow and i can start putting her back together!

[mattc]

got the short block put together now just waiting on all my gaskets to come in

[mattc]

well i've had a few people ask about the traction bars so here are the drawings i made to have them cut out, obviously you need to measure your setup before you have these made since i can only gauruntee that they fit on my truck lol

hopefully this helps anyone wanting to make their own set and save a couple hundred bucks!

[MrHorsepowerLSx]

Sweet build on the truck and congrats on getting everything up and running.Thanks for all the input with the Traction Bars. Do you have any more progress to add to this build thread? Are you running a 9" rear?

[mattc]

Sweet build on the truck and congrats on getting everything up and running.Thanks for all the input with the Traction Bars. Do you have any more progress to add to this build thread? Are you running a 9" rear?

Yes i am running a 9" rear, right now the truck has been sitting for 2 months due to work, i got it on the battery charger now and hopefully i'll have some time to work on it, still having some fuel pressure problems but someone gave me a fuel rail with a regulator so i'm going to try that and see if that helps or fixes the problem i have now then i'll get back to working on logs for Nelson to do some more tuning!


also since you sent that PM i'll just put it here as well for anyone else who has the same question.

the heim joints i used were ordered from www.mcmaster.com here are the part numbers and which ones i used.

1 4444T501 2 Each Steel Ball Joint Rod End With Grease Fitting, 3/4"-16 Rh Male Shank,3/4" Ball Id,1-3/4"l Thrd
2 4444T502 2 Each Steel Ball Joint Rod End With Grease Fitting, 3/4"-16 Lh Male Shank,3/4" Ball Id,1-3/4"l Thrd
3 94640A365 2 Each Alloy Steel Tube-end Weld Nut, Fits 1-1/4" Tube Od,.120" Wall Thk,3/4"-16 Rh Thrd
4 94640A369 2 Each Alloy Steel Tube-end Weld Nut, Fits 1-1/4" Tube Od,.120" Wall Thk,3/4"-16 Lh Thrd