What's up guys. Some of you might remember my rusty green piece of **** from a few years back:


My goal for that truck was to get a 12 second pass, but I never got it quicker than a 13.12. Basically was a stock LQ4 with a small cam.

Just under a year ago I lost oil pressure (oil pump bypass valve hung open), and decided to cut my losses and pull the drivetrain since the truck was rusting to pieces and literally falling apart.

So I flew down to Georgia, and picked this up. '01 RCSB Z71, 5.3, 190k on it, and no rust.


Drove it a bunch, and decided it should be lower than the green truck was. Went with DJM LCAs, McG's 2" spindles, flip kit, Belltech shocks, and I built a step notch. That's how the truck sits now, in a storage unit, waiting for the salt to go away.


by https://www.flickr.com/photos/danvalanzola/, on Flickr

by https://www.flickr.com/photos/danvalanzola/, on Flickr

by https://www.flickr.com/photos/danvalanzola/, on Flickr

by https://www.flickr.com/photos/danvalanzola/, on Flickr

The notch and my ugly welds.



And the stripped pathetic rust pile.

 

What happened with the 6.0:

As I said above, bypass valve in the oil pump was hung open. One of the cam lobes was also fucked, and the cylinder 1 rod has some noticeable play.

So the plan is:

New main/rod/cam bearings, lifters, cam, valve springs, and generally just clean everything up. Still no idea where I'm going with the cam, but I want to keep the 3000 rpm converter, in the extended cab it flashed to around 3300, and had good manners on the street, and I don't feel like spending the cash to upgrade at this point.

Goal is to get the 6.0 in the blue truck for under $2500. I'm not looking to build a race truck, just a fun street truck that will run 12s and embarrass some muscle car guys from time to time.

Here is my preliminary parts list, if anybody sees anything dumb that I'm missing please let me know, it's been about 6 years since I've worked on any LS engines.



Some pictures of the 6.0 when it came out last summer:





The fucked cam lobe:

 

makes me wanna flip kit my 4x4..... that doesn't look to low at all

 

It's almost identical to my buddy's 2wd with a 4/6 drop. I'm about .5" higher up front.

 

got any pics of your CV angles?

 

Lots of potential there!

Who is cartek tuning? $500 sounds a little steep unless its on the dyno. Cam only 6 liter should be a breeze to tune.

 

Keep up the good work Dan!

 

Looks like a fun build. Love the new truck.

 

I don't, they're not pretty.

They're nothing scary, all the angles are actually better than I expected them to be, and I have no noticeable bump steer. Biggest issue is the upper ball joint angles, but I'll correct those by flipping the UCAs when I get around to it. I've put probably 4-5k on the lowered setup with no issues so far.

I'll grab pictures when the truck comes out of storage.

Thanks man! I'm excited for sure.

And Cartek is a well established Vette shop in NJ, they've built a bunch of fast cars, and I know the owner's son personally (worked with him when I was tuning an FSAE engine, the dude really knows his ****). I believe that's what they charge for a dyno tune, but it's been about a year since I talked to them.

I'd like to start doing my own tuning soon, but that's not going to happen right away.

Gonna try.

Thanks man!

 

Good looking truck, i was following you over on CustomGM