1999 RCSB 408 s480 6 speed manual AWD build
01-31-2017, 09:57 PM
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1999 RCSB 408 s480 6 speed manual AWD build
Hello guys. New to the forum. Long time GM truck fan. I'm a HVAC contractor and have had dozens of gasser heavy duty trucks. I'm in the middle of a pretty straight forward 2003 quadrasteer 1500hd crew cab extracab conversion (6 door) but that's for work
. This one is for fun.
I'm not new to modding and serious projects. I'm well known over on bummer forums and am a big z3 Mcoupe fan and have one of the most developed cars out there.
I've always been a fan of the sychlone, as I'm 43, it was a fast car for back in the day.
Really, this project has turned into a mega sychlone.
It all started when a friend of mine who is constantly flipping trucks found this one in Vegas. I've always been a fan of the single cab short bed street truck. I loved the whole build and he was in need of cash and I loved the truck.
It was lq4 converted, stock 4l60 trans, beautiful paint and interior. I'll post better pics eventually. Maybe you guys even know the truck or who built it. The gears are 3.73, open diff, and it just lays single stripes. Engine has a sound, likely a wrist pin from high compression Pistons that weren't put in right, and tranny doesn't select anything but "D". But it does shift nice. Love the color, love the interior and overall quality of the build.
So I'm building a 408 10.5:1 motor, all forged, AEM infinity standalone, with traction control, and lots of safety features. Today I contacted Rockland gear, and they are providing a 6 speed manual (their tr6060 tranzilla) along with a built AWD transfer case. I need to convert the hub's to AWD, and axels and diff also. Not sure what kind of project it's going to be to convert a coil springs 1500 truck to a AWD, but it's going to be valuable to have anyone's help. I have lots of junkyard buddies, so that's good, more importantly I have a incredible tuner and mechanic /project manager.
The wheels were Aweful (to me) and I wanted to go with a old school look that screamed 68 Camaro. My love of the better off dead Camaro back in 80's if for sure responsible for the wheels.
I built custom spec 20x10 fronts on 285 35 20 and rear 20x12 with 335 30 20. I'll flare the bed sides to honor my East county sandiego desert truck roots, and I've always thought a flared fleet side street truck would look a bit e30 m3 ish in a subtle way.
It will run a hot side trick t6 manifold setup with a Borg Warner s480 1.53a/r turbo. We will be running e85 as there is a close station right by my home here in Utah, and my turbo mCoupe runs it and without a cat, it smells soon good, and boost is so good with that fuel.
I have a few hurdles that I need to get advice on, I need a limited slip in the rear end, and of course the AWD conversion is going to be challenging. Of course a g80 is a joke, great for my work trucks, but nothing good for a street truck/high speed track road course truck. So if quaife made a 40/60 clutch diff for it, that would be amazing, but I'm lost as I'm just not aware of what's what in this world of GM. When it comes to sports cars, I know, but here, I'm lost.
The truck will have c6 upgraded z06 brakes, trying to keep it all GM. Trying to keep it on a smart budget that is relative to what the truck will deliver in overall performance. I'm super excited.
Here are a few pics....
. This one is for fun. I'm not new to modding and serious projects. I'm well known over on bummer forums and am a big z3 Mcoupe fan and have one of the most developed cars out there.
I've always been a fan of the sychlone, as I'm 43, it was a fast car for back in the day.
Really, this project has turned into a mega sychlone.
It all started when a friend of mine who is constantly flipping trucks found this one in Vegas. I've always been a fan of the single cab short bed street truck. I loved the whole build and he was in need of cash and I loved the truck.
It was lq4 converted, stock 4l60 trans, beautiful paint and interior. I'll post better pics eventually. Maybe you guys even know the truck or who built it. The gears are 3.73, open diff, and it just lays single stripes. Engine has a sound, likely a wrist pin from high compression Pistons that weren't put in right, and tranny doesn't select anything but "D". But it does shift nice. Love the color, love the interior and overall quality of the build.
So I'm building a 408 10.5:1 motor, all forged, AEM infinity standalone, with traction control, and lots of safety features. Today I contacted Rockland gear, and they are providing a 6 speed manual (their tr6060 tranzilla) along with a built AWD transfer case. I need to convert the hub's to AWD, and axels and diff also. Not sure what kind of project it's going to be to convert a coil springs 1500 truck to a AWD, but it's going to be valuable to have anyone's help. I have lots of junkyard buddies, so that's good, more importantly I have a incredible tuner and mechanic /project manager.
The wheels were Aweful (to me) and I wanted to go with a old school look that screamed 68 Camaro. My love of the better off dead Camaro back in 80's if for sure responsible for the wheels.
I built custom spec 20x10 fronts on 285 35 20 and rear 20x12 with 335 30 20. I'll flare the bed sides to honor my East county sandiego desert truck roots, and I've always thought a flared fleet side street truck would look a bit e30 m3 ish in a subtle way.
It will run a hot side trick t6 manifold setup with a Borg Warner s480 1.53a/r turbo. We will be running e85 as there is a close station right by my home here in Utah, and my turbo mCoupe runs it and without a cat, it smells soon good, and boost is so good with that fuel.
I have a few hurdles that I need to get advice on, I need a limited slip in the rear end, and of course the AWD conversion is going to be challenging. Of course a g80 is a joke, great for my work trucks, but nothing good for a street truck/high speed track road course truck. So if quaife made a 40/60 clutch diff for it, that would be amazing, but I'm lost as I'm just not aware of what's what in this world of GM. When it comes to sports cars, I know, but here, I'm lost.
The truck will have c6 upgraded z06 brakes, trying to keep it all GM. Trying to keep it on a smart budget that is relative to what the truck will deliver in overall performance. I'm super excited.
Here are a few pics....
01-31-2017, 11:39 PM
#4
The most important question, exactly what is your budget?
There are more people going fast at the drag strip with Trutracs, but the Eaton LSD folk vehemently describe the LSD as superior.
If money was not of concern, I would do a Ford 9" with strange center section and S trac.
There are more people going fast at the drag strip with Trutracs, but the Eaton LSD folk vehemently describe the LSD as superior.
If money was not of concern, I would do a Ford 9" with strange center section and S trac.
02-01-2017, 08:56 PM
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Budget....It's a moving target. So far....The value I think most one would expect to shell out.......
Converting to AWD is going to be $3-5k a Denali donor. Still need to figure out how much a pain that's going to be....
Rockland standard gear 6 speed with Transfer case about $6000 rated for 1000 torque (12 month warranty even)
AEM hardware $3500
S480 turbo $1400
Wheels/tires $3500
Trick hotside divided t6 setup $2100
Turbo cold side $2000
Rear end $500-1500
Fuel system $2500 (e85 flex, sensors injectors)
408 forged built stroker $5k
Brakes $3000
Labor $10k.
I got the truck for a incredible deal. And there is a lot of horse trading going on with my HVAC business with people that need my services that are involved with this project.
The amount previous owners spent on truck was well documented and subtantial. It's a bit of a splurge, but in the end, it will be anything but normal, and like nothing I've seen. And I think I will value and enjoy every penny, and when it sells, I think I will recover reasonably well, if that ever happens. The trucks I dream of are 68-72 c10's and if we'll done command more money than I would ever want into a truck, and way too nice to drive with me still wanting more technology than a LS swap.....all Less money than a new Camaro zl1(not saying I'm a fan or not if that car), and with AWD 1000+ HP to the ground it's going to be a blast. The AEM electronics side and technology of it are stunning. The AEM will activate and engage the AWD based on a voltage input which can be dictated by boost pressure, steering angle, and tons of other inputs decided once things get together. As can the traction control. I have used race logic traction control on several projects and the AEM works the same, and it makes driving high powered projects amazingly accessible even in compromising situations.
From my own previous project cars, and from projects I've helped a bit engineer with my tuner, one of my closest friends, this is something that he has done on several projects and works with AEM on their product development. He currently has a Acura 3.5RL drivetrain swap into another car, with a manual trans, and he is controlling the the complex Acura torque vectoring system with his own accelerometers and other variable inputs. It will be soon turbo charged to exploit the traction.....
Rockland gear is so reasonable, and I'm excited to work with them. The value they bring this project has made me very excited about it, as all my other cars are 2wd, and having AWD really allows for the use of street tires and big power.
Gearing will likely stay 3.73 (I had planned to go as tall as 3.08) but as that's what's common in the front GM AWD systems, 3.73 will be it. The gear ratios I'll select will make things much taller, so boost torque can be enjoyed and applied for a wider range of speed. I just rode in a 1000 HP Evo 8, and it was bonkers, but just when the fun starts, it's over and your bouncing off the rev limiter because the gears are so short. First good for about 55, second around 80 Third gear will be good for about 120mph. 6th a nice cruising gear with great gas mileage with the AWD disengaged.
Please,. If anyone has insight about converting a coil sprung 2wd 1500 to AWD without having to go torsion....Please chime in. Looking forward to contributing to this forum which has been such a great resource for me for the last 10 years when I needed direction on so many work truck projects.
Greg.
Converting to AWD is going to be $3-5k a Denali donor. Still need to figure out how much a pain that's going to be....
Rockland standard gear 6 speed with Transfer case about $6000 rated for 1000 torque (12 month warranty even)
AEM hardware $3500
S480 turbo $1400
Wheels/tires $3500
Trick hotside divided t6 setup $2100
Turbo cold side $2000
Rear end $500-1500
Fuel system $2500 (e85 flex, sensors injectors)
408 forged built stroker $5k
Brakes $3000
Labor $10k.
I got the truck for a incredible deal. And there is a lot of horse trading going on with my HVAC business with people that need my services that are involved with this project.
The amount previous owners spent on truck was well documented and subtantial. It's a bit of a splurge, but in the end, it will be anything but normal, and like nothing I've seen. And I think I will value and enjoy every penny, and when it sells, I think I will recover reasonably well, if that ever happens. The trucks I dream of are 68-72 c10's and if we'll done command more money than I would ever want into a truck, and way too nice to drive with me still wanting more technology than a LS swap.....all Less money than a new Camaro zl1(not saying I'm a fan or not if that car), and with AWD 1000+ HP to the ground it's going to be a blast. The AEM electronics side and technology of it are stunning. The AEM will activate and engage the AWD based on a voltage input which can be dictated by boost pressure, steering angle, and tons of other inputs decided once things get together. As can the traction control. I have used race logic traction control on several projects and the AEM works the same, and it makes driving high powered projects amazingly accessible even in compromising situations.
From my own previous project cars, and from projects I've helped a bit engineer with my tuner, one of my closest friends, this is something that he has done on several projects and works with AEM on their product development. He currently has a Acura 3.5RL drivetrain swap into another car, with a manual trans, and he is controlling the the complex Acura torque vectoring system with his own accelerometers and other variable inputs. It will be soon turbo charged to exploit the traction.....
Rockland gear is so reasonable, and I'm excited to work with them. The value they bring this project has made me very excited about it, as all my other cars are 2wd, and having AWD really allows for the use of street tires and big power.
Gearing will likely stay 3.73 (I had planned to go as tall as 3.08) but as that's what's common in the front GM AWD systems, 3.73 will be it. The gear ratios I'll select will make things much taller, so boost torque can be enjoyed and applied for a wider range of speed. I just rode in a 1000 HP Evo 8, and it was bonkers, but just when the fun starts, it's over and your bouncing off the rev limiter because the gears are so short. First good for about 55, second around 80 Third gear will be good for about 120mph. 6th a nice cruising gear with great gas mileage with the AWD disengaged.
Please,. If anyone has insight about converting a coil sprung 2wd 1500 to AWD without having to go torsion....Please chime in. Looking forward to contributing to this forum which has been such a great resource for me for the last 10 years when I needed direction on so many work truck projects.
Greg.
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02-01-2017, 10:02 PM
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02-01-2017, 10:12 PM
#9
Full frame as i believe the nbs dont have provisions to mount a front diff, i think nnbs (07+) have the same frame, but they all use struts up front where as the older ones 2wd have coil buckets on the frame and 4wd have shock mounts.
If im rem this right sorry its been awhile
If im rem this right sorry its been awhile
02-01-2017, 10:54 PM
#10
Are some of these parts plated in gold??
A MS3 Gold box with full harness is like 1/3rd the cost of a AEM system, heck even a holley system costs less.
$2000 for a intercooler and piping? You can buy like a 4in core or 5in core intercooler and build the rest to save money.
$2500 for a fuel system sounds crazy, two 450LPH pumps on E85 can support like 900hp to the tire. Not really sure how big of injectors you are going with though, 210's?
Not trying to clog the thread but those prices just seem way blown out of the water.
A MS3 Gold box with full harness is like 1/3rd the cost of a AEM system, heck even a holley system costs less.
$2000 for a intercooler and piping? You can buy like a 4in core or 5in core intercooler and build the rest to save money.
$2500 for a fuel system sounds crazy, two 450LPH pumps on E85 can support like 900hp to the tire. Not really sure how big of injectors you are going with though, 210's?
Not trying to clog the thread but those prices just seem way blown out of the water.
Last edited by FFDP; 02-01-2017 at 11:03 PM.