Quote:
Originally Posted by mcbassin
Looks great, very clean work!
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Thanks!
I have come to a crossroads... I went to put the headers back on the truck so that I could get it back on the road for a few months before winter comes. They don't fit wit the new Ridetech suspension. Doh... My initial reaction was to scrounge up some cast manifolds and make it work for a few months. I borrowed a couple different styles from a buddy to see what would work. I was talking with my wife about the situation and she drops a bomb. She gently reminds me that #3 is due right after the first of the year and that time is going to be really limited and she doesn't want me out in the garage all of the time leaving her with my two wild boys and the newborn. She says "why don't you just go ahead and buy the LS and swap it in now while you have time instead of bandaiding it so you can drive it for a couple of months and then try to find time to swap the engine in the spring?" I'm pretty sure I was smiling like a school boy from ear to ear and said okie dokie dear.
So, plans have now changed. I am going to tiddy up everything from the rear end conversion, suspension upgrade and steering upgrade and prepare to pull the old 350/400 combo out. I have an 03 LQ4 that I bought a few years back that needs a rebuild and an 04 4l80E sitting on the shelf. In the interest of time, I am going to sell them off as well as the 350/400 combo and pickup a complete dropout LS setup. I have found a couple of yards semi close to me, American Pickup in Arkansas (board sponsor) and Sam's Riverside in Des Moines that have what I am looking for. I want to stay with a 6L, but am open to a newer 5.3. Must have a 4l80e or 6l90e. I am not messing around with a 60e. Now the hunt is on for the lowest mileage setup I can afford.
The big items left to purchase:
- Engine/Trans
- Driveshaft - local shop
- Rad - Thinking RND or Entropy. Need to dig into these
- Fuel Tank - Going with a Boyds
- Gauges - Going with Dakota HDX or RDX. Leaning towards RDX
- Aftermarket standalone harness. PSI/Speartech/Current performance. Haven't decided yet. May send off the harness to get reworked as well.
- Exhaust of some sort to start with. Thinking Magnaflow since it come with a nice x-pipe. Only save a few bucks trying to piece together a builder kit and mufflers. Possible the flowmaster kit. Neightbor has it on a truck and it sounds good.
There are lots of nickle and dime pieces as well.
Items to sell:
- 2003 6.0 LQ4 from a Denali
- 2004 4L80e, 141K miles
- 1970's era 350
- 1970's era TH400
Anyway, here is the video from last weekend. Kind of a bummer, but opened up a big door!