04silvy1500 2wd

Lq4 budget build plans:
Hey guys I have been doing months of research on this subject and there's so many options and opinions and I was just trying to get more of a direct answer specifically for my plans on the build and have some people suggest parts they think will better suit me. Keep in mind my main goal is going 0-80 as fast as possible whiteout sacrificing any reliability and still passing the lame California sniffer. This is an offroad truck and a daily driver. I love racing the little Hondas and ricers around and then jumping my truck right after. Here's my current specs on my truck and I'll get pictures uploaded after I get my new tires thrown own.
2004 Chevy Silverado 1500 w/ 305,000 miles on the frame. The 5.3l motor has 150,000 miles and the new 4l80 trans I installed has less than 3,000 miles on it. As far as performance I have a cold air intake, custom street tune, a full 3" exhaust, and a 2800 stall TC.
My truck is used for offroading so it has 35" tires and I upgraded the rearend with 31 spline axles, detroit tru trac locker, and 4:56 gears.

Now that you guys have background info I can tell you what I want and hope to get suggestions and comments.
Main thing to think about with this build:
I want it reliable as hell. I will sacrifice power for reliability all day. I want to be able to go 0-80 pretty quickly so torque is a must as well as horsepower(reliable tho). Oh and I live in California so It HAS TO PASS SMOG!!! With a good tune I've heard anything under 224/224 on 114 will work. But that like a different language to me so I'm not sure what that means.
So far all I have on my list of what I need to buy are the following.

-LQ4 engine
-243 heads(should I mill them for more compression? And what's it cost?)
-Looking for a good cam that I can pass smog with. I really like Vinchis "The Trucker" cam but not sure if that will pass smog. LS TRUCK CAMSHAFT
-Valve springs! Help me out with these guys!
-Good tune
-Melling high pressure oil pump.
-True Union upgrade? (What's that? I've been told it's a necessity for reliability.


Let me know what you guys think! Thank you for your help and opinions.

04silvy1500 2wd

100+ views and nobody has any thoughts?

Funkster

iTrader: (97)

Engine choice is fine, 05+ has a better design.
Stock 243s are more than adequate for what you want.
Call some shops for a custom cam, make sure it meets your goals. (Tick, Comp, Lil John)
Valve Springs are whatever, stick with a known brand. (I have Tooleys and they are great)
Melling Pump is fine
I think the Trunion upgrade is not needed for you. Stock rockers are plenty capable.

Do the LS2 Timing chain while you are at it as well.

04silvy1500 2wd

What springs would be better for less maintenance? Behind or duel springs?

Funkster

iTrader: (97)

I run Duals, it depends on the cam lift what is truly required.

Beehives are lighter and because of this widely considered easier on valvetrain parts.

slick_sierra

I have similar desires as you haha. Leveled truck with heavy 20inch chrome Silverado SS wheels and heavy 295/55/20 nitto trails. For me if I can ever get around to build a lq4 i would use stock bottom end, 243 heads milled to net me around 10:5:1 compression, valve job with 2" intake and some prc 1218's. Then just a mild cam like a TFS 214/220 and some headers. Trunion upgrade would be a bonus as well as the high pressure oil pump. Not necessary but would be cool

01silvy

Even on a stick engine the trunnion upgrade is a good idea. It prevents little needle bearings from poiring out inside your engine. The stock trunnions have failed on stock engines that didnt have a lit of miles....

GREENSIERRA

defanitly do the trunion upgrade.
being someone that has been down this path I will tell you it wont be cheap to make a lifted truck quick.
if you care about 0-80 then gears will be your best friend, scrap the 31 spline axle upgrade and just go straight to a SF14b or 14ff diff and put some 5.13 gears in it.
the best thing to do after that would be a supercharger, if you don't have money for that then getting a custom cam from Geoff from EPS or stock48 would be a good idea. I also found a stall to be a great investment but if you do a lot of slow trail riding then you will want to keep the stall a little tamer.
nitrous is also a cheap way to get these heavy trucks rolling faster

04silvy1500 2wd

Whose a good shop/person to talk to about getting 243 heads milled and what's that cost on average? And how about the trunion thing? What's that cost? Just so I can build a plan and get my average build price I'm trying to work with.

Atomic

iTrader: (42)

Pretty much this exactly...

Gears will be your friend. You didnt say anything about highway driving, but with 35s I would go 5.13 or so. Next step would be nitrous or a blower. Really depends how much you want to spend.

Just to get heads milled is usually pretty cheap at any machine shop, maybe ~$100 for both. The trunion upgrade is a comp kit, I think its around $120 or so. Any performance shop could do it for you, or you could do it yourself with a press/vice. If you go the nitrous route go ahead and mill them, but if you go boost route I would not advice any milling at all. The stock style oil pump really is fine. Valve springs I prefer dual kits because aftermarket springs are less forgiving than factory ones, so if a spring breaks you still have another one to keep it intact. With beehives if one breaks at the least you need the head rebuilt if not a new piston.