Looking forward to the next installment!
Builds 2F Retirement/ Vortec Resto-Fresh
- Thread starter cruiser enthuiser
- Start date
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gregnash
Anal Retentive Analyst
Nice job dude. Still need to get over and check your truck out at some point. Maybe you can show up to one of the club meetings or join us on a run...
An old friend of mine, Michael, owns and operates Improved Racing.
Cool little piece there.
He has lots of neat stuff to solve issues like this (mostly for LS motors). I keep looking for a reason to buy some stuff from him for mine!
Anyway, nice job on your 60 - Thanks for the overdue update!
- Brian
- Thread starter
- #224
Coming soon...
A club run would be super cool. Something this spring perhaps? I’ll keep an eye on the clubhouse board.
Just checked out their website, it’s been a while. Pretty cool stuff. And thanks!
-Ed
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- Thread starter
- #225
So to pick up where I left off...my tcase developed a nasty whine about 25k miles after doing the swap. I had rebuilt this thing once already but simply didn’t have the time or desire to do it again.
Fortunately, the AA adapter makes it possible to drop the case without splitting it. I dropped mine and shipped it to Georg at Valley Hybirds for a rebuild. He also added the twin stick shifters while he was in there.
Special delivery:
Inside the box:
Twin stick goodness:
Fortunately, the AA adapter makes it possible to drop the case without splitting it. I dropped mine and shipped it to Georg at Valley Hybirds for a rebuild. He also added the twin stick shifters while he was in there.
Special delivery:
Inside the box:
Twin stick goodness:
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- Thread starter
- #226
Stainless tray (sooo beautiful) and Odyssey battery added:
Both items are extremely badass. The Odyssey battery gives a great level of comfort when far from home and the battery tray will last forever.
Both items are extremely badass. The Odyssey battery gives a great level of comfort when far from home and the battery tray will last forever.
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- #227
More recently I invested in some SCS f5 wheels. These things are gorgeous. I don’t need to tell this crowd how difficult it is to find wheels with the correct back spacing for our old Toyotas especially in a 17” diameter. SCS deserves big props for being a manufacturer willing to do it.
I wrapped them in some in 285/70/17 Goodyear Ultraterrain tires and I’m super happy with them so far:
I wrapped them in some in 285/70/17 Goodyear Ultraterrain tires and I’m super happy with them so far:
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- #228
This post is a little out of chronological sequence but I forgot to mention that we dragged the old travel trailer out to the Playa last Labor Day weekend. What a blast we had out there! Pulling the 3000+ lb trailer along with all of our gear for four nights of camping was easily accomplished with the 5.3l and 4l60e. The LS upgrade has added a ton of versatility to this old rig. I also welded on a 2” receiver to the rear bumper of the trailer for our bike rack that worked out perfectly.
gregnash
Anal Retentive Analyst
Truck looks good with the SCS wheels... If I ever get to the point of getting new rims it will be a toss up between the SCS wheels and some OG looking Mickey Thompson Classics.
Was always curious what the addition of an LS engine would do to the towing capacity. From everything I have read the stock engine/drivetrain towing capacity is 3500lbs max. So if your trailer is 3000lbs and you had, say 500lbs of gear you would be at the very max of the capacity but would probably feel like "the tail was wagging the dog" so to speak. I don't get that impression from your statement above.
Was always curious what the addition of an LS engine would do to the towing capacity. From everything I have read the stock engine/drivetrain towing capacity is 3500lbs max. So if your trailer is 3000lbs and you had, say 500lbs of gear you would be at the very max of the capacity but would probably feel like "the tail was wagging the dog" so to speak. I don't get that impression from your statement above.
- Thread starter
- #230
Yeah, probably about 3200 lbs. Power is definitely not an issue but I don’t think I would want to tow much more weight than this with a 60. The road out to Black Rock is really rough in places and I got some sway going with the trailer. I’ll be adding an anti-sway setup for the trailer for future trips.
That's impressive....
Im thinking of pulling a 2900# trailer and worried as to how it (engine/tranny) would fair.....
Specially..... on them long grades...
Rig looks great....!!!
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- Thread starter
- #232
That's impressive....
Im thinking of pulling a 2900# trailer and worried as to how it (engine/tranny) would fair.....
Specially..... on them long grades...
Rig looks great....!!!
Well, they stuffed these motors into lots of GM vehicles with much higher tow ratings than this. My trans is a rebuilt/upgraded unit that’s probably comparable to the 4l80e. I figure it’s the chassis that’s the limiting factor here.
And thanks for the compliment, Manu. Wait until you see it in a few days from now!
gregnash
Anal Retentive Analyst
yeah I was wondering if the limiting factor was going to be the chassis or not. On the highway, how did they towing go? No tail wagging the dog there? Wife and I have been contemplating something like what you have, we pulled a 21' light trailer for our anniversary in October with the 4Runner and it did fine, but was definitely getting to the point of that thing (4k lbs) being close to max.
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- #234
Up to Speed
This thread is pretty close to current now. With the mechanical side of things satisfactory I am now committed to improving the cosmetics and adding a few creature comforts. Remember, this is my daily driver. I spend a fair amount of time in it during the work day and occasionally drive associates and coworkers around. While most people immediately appreciate the uniqueness of the truck it’s starting to show its age inside and out. The fact is she’s 34 years old now and overdue for a serious refresh. The goal is to make her into a respectable gal again; one that can go anywhere, even the corporate office.
Much earlier in this thread I mentioned some front end damage at one time in her life. I had replaced the damaged lower valence panel but the radiator core support was also a bit jacked. Before getting too far in this process I wanted to address this. I sourced a nice used one from Mud classifieds, did some minor body work to it and painted it. Came out really nice.
This thread is pretty close to current now. With the mechanical side of things satisfactory I am now committed to improving the cosmetics and adding a few creature comforts. Remember, this is my daily driver. I spend a fair amount of time in it during the work day and occasionally drive associates and coworkers around. While most people immediately appreciate the uniqueness of the truck it’s starting to show its age inside and out. The fact is she’s 34 years old now and overdue for a serious refresh. The goal is to make her into a respectable gal again; one that can go anywhere, even the corporate office.
Much earlier in this thread I mentioned some front end damage at one time in her life. I had replaced the damaged lower valence panel but the radiator core support was also a bit jacked. Before getting too far in this process I wanted to address this. I sourced a nice used one from Mud classifieds, did some minor body work to it and painted it. Came out really nice.
- Thread starter
- #235
I threw the new piece in 2 weeks ago:
- Thread starter
- #236
Next, I stripped her down and dropped her off off at the paint shop. I have been wanting to do this for a VERY LONG TIME. It’s exciting and a bit nerve wracking too. The shop has a good reputation so that helps. They’ll be taking care of the multitude of dings and scratches, and doing the jambs. All this in a two stage paint in the stock color.
Dropping her off:
And several days later in primer and guide coat:
Dropping her off:
And several days later in primer and guide coat:
- Thread starter
- #237
I dropped by the paint shop this afternoon to check progress. Holy $hit! It’s almost done! They had just sprayed it that morning.
Sneak peek in the booth:
Sneak peek in the booth:
Just read this whole thread from the top. Great job. Brings my fear level one click down on my one day LS Swap. Good luck on phase two.
- Thread starter
- #239
Truck is back home and the Paint looks amazing! I don’t have any good shots to share yet, sorry. I’ll save that for a sunny day once it’s all back together. Suffice to say for now that it’s better than I expected and I’m very happy with the job the shop did. The old girl literally looks like new.
Reassembly has begun! My first step was to take it to the glass shop where they installed a new windshield and new rear glass. I had to source the rear hatch glass on line, the glass shop told me it was discontinued. Onur confirmed that OEM is gone. Found a Chinese made piece that looks decent. I would have kept my old Toyota one but the defrosters were jacked. Front windshield gasket came from City Racer LLC, rear gasket from Toyota. I ordered the black lock strip from Trail Taylor and it worked perfectly.
Crappy pic picking it up from the paint shop:
The Chinese rear gate glass. This was from EBay. Came very well packaged and looks good so far.
Reassembly has begun! My first step was to take it to the glass shop where they installed a new windshield and new rear glass. I had to source the rear hatch glass on line, the glass shop told me it was discontinued. Onur confirmed that OEM is gone. Found a Chinese made piece that looks decent. I would have kept my old Toyota one but the defrosters were jacked. Front windshield gasket came from City Racer LLC, rear gasket from Toyota. I ordered the black lock strip from Trail Taylor and it worked perfectly.
Crappy pic picking it up from the paint shop:
The Chinese rear gate glass. This was from EBay. Came very well packaged and looks good so far.
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That looks amazing!
