Bench Build: Modern Street Truck

As the owner of a 2007 Chevy that is kind of boring me, please, carry on and inspire me to do something silly to my truck.

Buddies truck is for sale.

LS1, cammed, built T56 swap, custom 2 piece drive shaft, 4:56s.

Hard stuff is done, just need some finishing.

First Start

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mluNlz8KcXU

Me (cammed T56 LT1) racing a similar setup (small cam 5.3, T56, less gear IIRC)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42c2pEnkkA8

Sales link (list of craig)

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/5002224675.html

Opti wrote: Buddies truck is for sale. LS1, cammed, built T56 swap, custom 2 piece drive shaft, 4:56s. Hard stuff is done, just need some finishing. First Start https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mluNlz8KcXU Me (cammed T56 LT1) racing a similar setup (small cam 5.3, T56, less gear IIRC) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42c2pEnkkA8 Sales link (list of craig) http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/5002224675.html

That.. Is the first truck I've actually wanted in a long time.

Im a little bummed he didnt finish it. It runs drives and is seriously quick for a truck, but he always planned on dropping it and doing some simple 20s, and we hunted forever for the right tahoe console that works with a T56 ( some specific console where you cut out the cd holder and the shifter comes right through it). Well we found the console and it never got installed and the drop never got done.

I hope it stays close, cause I'd love to see someone buy it, do the small things to finish it up, then continue tearing up unsuspecting mustangs and fbodies.

We are headed to the track in a week or two once a buddy finishes putting his 4.6 mustang back together, if hes still got the truck Ill try and con him into taking it and getting some times.

I still dream of making this type of truck only without lowering it and giving it a wider track. Something that you can get loose out on twisty desert roads and not worry about scrapping the bottom up.

PHeller wrote: I still dream of making this type of truck only without lowering it and giving it a wider track. Something that you can get loose out on twisty desert roads and not worry about scrapping the bottom up.

This thread got me looking into lowering a '00-'07 4x4 GM truck, 2/4 drop is only a cheap set of torsion keys and shackles away. Make mine a regular cab, step side, Sierra.

GRM, I am disappoint....

The answer is obviously the old C10 you want with a modern LSx drivetrain and brake upgrades.

No time for the build? $15k will get you there on someone else's build if you shop right. 5 minutes of searching found this one

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-C-10-2-DOOR-/251957670062?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3aa9d8f0ae&item=251957670062

I will never understand why people take a fantastic platform then hobble it with a berkeleying carb. Seriously? You just ruined that engine and platform forever. You took what was good, reliable, efficient and practical and made it the opposite of all that.

I really don't get it.

Bobzilla wrote: I will never understand why people take a fantastic platform then hobble it with a berkeleying carb. Seriously? You just ruined that engine and platform forever. You took what was good, reliable, efficient and practical and made it the opposite of all that. I really don't get it.

Because they can be perfectly fine, reliable and efficient, and you don't need a brand new fuel system and wiring to swap.

PHeller wrote: I still dream of making this type of truck only without lowering it and giving it a wider track. Something that you can get loose out on twisty desert roads and not worry about scrapping the bottom up.

That's kind of where my truck is. I have HUGE sway bars on it and Camburg shocks/springs that bring the front up about and inch, but more importantly, they are paired with a set of Camburg upper arms that give the truck a bit over 5 degrees of caster. Transforms the truck. I still need a different set of rear shocks and have seriously considered a softer rear spring with an even bigger rear bar to help balance the truck more.

Great ideas in this thread, and it confirms a lot of what I've been thinking. I was hoping there might be a mid-size option in the cards, but even the GMT400/800 seem smaller than these new trucks today.

GMT400's seem to have depreciated a lot more than the 800's down here, and I really like the looks of them (if I can get past the interiors). But that LS-powerplant in the 800's makes a great starting point for modifications.

We carbed the LQ9 in the S10 for simplicity's sake, and other than a few snafu's with tuning the carb (bad experience with a Demon carb so put in a Holley than ran great) it was reliable and smoked the tires on demand when you opened up the secondaries.

PHeller wrote: I still dream of making this type of truck only without lowering it and giving it a wider track. Something that you can get loose out on twisty desert roads and not worry about scrapping the bottom up.

never half ass 2 things, whole ass one thing. if you want 2wd offroad handling do it right and its only about as tall as a 4x4 truck

although handling on dry pavement maybe a little... different (i know its not the same truck)

but in all seriousness the black widow s10 used pre-runner fenders and bedsides to make a wide stanced pro-touring truck with good looking results.

JThw8 wrote: GRM, I am disappoint.... The answer is obviously the old C10 you want with a modern LSx drivetrain and brake upgrades. No time for the build? $15k will get you there on someone else's build if you shop right. 5 minutes of searching found this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-C-10-2-DOOR-/251957670062?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3aa9d8f0ae&item=251957670062

That guy seriously needs those big block valve cover style coil covers to make the engine look perfect.

On one of the SpikeTV car shows they used a MN12 IRS in a Ranger. Poking around you can find people putting them in the back of older pickups too. I thought that would be neat.

Bobzilla wrote: I will never understand why people take a fantastic platform then hobble it with a berkeleying carb. Seriously? You just ruined that engine and platform forever. You took what was good, reliable, efficient and practical and made it the opposite of all that. I really don't get it.

Stock LS intake=ugly

4bbl TBI setup on top of the already $ 4bbl wet intake to make it look more correct=money

A carb can be good, reliable, efficient, and practical, not as good as EFI, but plenty good enough. And some crappy megasquirt install or factory ECU hack can easily be worse. While IDGAF what things look like under the hood, some people do and I can respect that.

I know this is stupid, but can any of this handling stuff be applied to the GM vans like the AstroSafari and ExpressSavanna?

I like the idea of a wider track, 1-2" lift, low-CoG 2wd Safari. No huge lift, just more stable on and off road.

I think the Express Van is similar to the trucks. The Astro is B body based IIRC.