Oakley's History Lesson and Build Thread
01-17-2013, 08:39 PM
#1
Oakley's History Lesson and Build Thread
I figured I could start a place to document my changes and receive feedback on future additions to my 2003 Silverado. I'll start with the background and show the changes I’ve made since I bought it back in 2006. Sorry for the length but its been through a lot.
This is the first day I brought it home. A couple weeks before my 16th birthday.
Specs:
2003 Silverado work truck
4.3L V6
NV3500 5 speed
20” Wheels
Sick chrome bed bars
From there I mostly did exterior mods. I changed to wheels to 22” U2’s with toyo tires, 3/5 belltech drop, Snug top, mirrors, and roll pan. I ran this around for about two years.
My senior year of high school I got a crazy idea to swap a gen 1 small block chevy in to get rid of the V6/5 speed combo. I built the sbc from the block up with all new parts and backed it with a TH400. Also ran it with 4.11 gears and a posi unit. Needless to say, it was a fun build but it wasn’t too good as a daily driver. Here are some pics of the sbc build.
And here is a vid showing the engine bay when all said and done.
SBC Engine Bay in 2003 Silverado - YouTube
I drove that set up back and forth to school for about two years until I rolled it in a bad snow storm. Here are some pics of it the day I rolled it and when it arrived to the body shop back in Vegas.
This is the first day I brought it home. A couple weeks before my 16th birthday.
Specs:
2003 Silverado work truck
4.3L V6
NV3500 5 speed
20” Wheels
Sick chrome bed bars
From there I mostly did exterior mods. I changed to wheels to 22” U2’s with toyo tires, 3/5 belltech drop, Snug top, mirrors, and roll pan. I ran this around for about two years.
My senior year of high school I got a crazy idea to swap a gen 1 small block chevy in to get rid of the V6/5 speed combo. I built the sbc from the block up with all new parts and backed it with a TH400. Also ran it with 4.11 gears and a posi unit. Needless to say, it was a fun build but it wasn’t too good as a daily driver. Here are some pics of the sbc build.
And here is a vid showing the engine bay when all said and done.
SBC Engine Bay in 2003 Silverado - YouTube
I drove that set up back and forth to school for about two years until I rolled it in a bad snow storm. Here are some pics of it the day I rolled it and when it arrived to the body shop back in Vegas.
01-17-2013, 08:39 PM
#2
The body shop had the truck for 3-4 months. While it was there I decided to have them shave the handles, tailgate, weld in the roll pan, and add a new hood. Here is the first day I got it back home.
That summer I got a hard-on for autometer gauges. So I built an autometer gauge cluster with all Ultra Lite II’s with a plexiglass bolt in housing. Was a fun project and was pretty rewarding once I got all of them to function.
From there I got tired of the unreliability of the sbc. It seemed like I had a new problem every week. While I like working on it, I was busy with school so I needed a change. To make it more of a daily driver, I bought an LQ4 out of a crashed 03 2500. It came from back east so it didn’t look too great when I got it.
Plans were to tear it completely down and do a mild rebuild. Clean up the block, change all bearing, seals, gaskets. Well that plan went down the ******* as soon as I got working on it. I thought, well I might as well throw a stroker crank in while I have it apart. Then I thought, well I might as well go all forged incase I want to go fast later down the road. So my original plan snowballed into a N/A forged 408 with LS3 heads/intake, and healthy daily driver cam. I backed it by a built 4l80e I had laying around the shop, and paired it with a 245mm yank 3200 SST converter. Here are some pics of that process.
And finished engine bay:
I fully built the bottom end of this motor to handle some power. I ran out of money by the end of the build. I threw some budget LS3’s on there and a matching LS3 car intake that I bought off eBay for $250. Besides the rotating assembly and cam/springs, everything in this engine is stock from the factory. First day I drove it, I took it down to the dealership for the tune. When I got it back from the tuner it completely ran like **** and I was pretty disappointed. I bought HP Tuners and have been at it ever since. Here is the dyno sheet from the dealership. Nothing special
So the work continues on the truck. I plan on hitting 500rwhp N/A before I put any kind of boost through it. Also before boost, I think I will play with nitrous. I don’t have much plans for that yet as my main focus is the 500rwhp mark. Right now I have an order in with Tony Mamo for a fully ported FAST LSXR. I’m hoping for another 30 hp from that. I also need to get the heads ported. I’m thinking I will go with a WCCH stage II.
Sorry for the drawn out intro but now you guys can see the mods done up to this point of the build.
That summer I got a hard-on for autometer gauges. So I built an autometer gauge cluster with all Ultra Lite II’s with a plexiglass bolt in housing. Was a fun project and was pretty rewarding once I got all of them to function.
From there I got tired of the unreliability of the sbc. It seemed like I had a new problem every week. While I like working on it, I was busy with school so I needed a change. To make it more of a daily driver, I bought an LQ4 out of a crashed 03 2500. It came from back east so it didn’t look too great when I got it.
Plans were to tear it completely down and do a mild rebuild. Clean up the block, change all bearing, seals, gaskets. Well that plan went down the ******* as soon as I got working on it. I thought, well I might as well throw a stroker crank in while I have it apart. Then I thought, well I might as well go all forged incase I want to go fast later down the road. So my original plan snowballed into a N/A forged 408 with LS3 heads/intake, and healthy daily driver cam. I backed it by a built 4l80e I had laying around the shop, and paired it with a 245mm yank 3200 SST converter. Here are some pics of that process.
And finished engine bay:
I fully built the bottom end of this motor to handle some power. I ran out of money by the end of the build. I threw some budget LS3’s on there and a matching LS3 car intake that I bought off eBay for $250. Besides the rotating assembly and cam/springs, everything in this engine is stock from the factory. First day I drove it, I took it down to the dealership for the tune. When I got it back from the tuner it completely ran like **** and I was pretty disappointed. I bought HP Tuners and have been at it ever since. Here is the dyno sheet from the dealership. Nothing special
So the work continues on the truck. I plan on hitting 500rwhp N/A before I put any kind of boost through it. Also before boost, I think I will play with nitrous. I don’t have much plans for that yet as my main focus is the 500rwhp mark. Right now I have an order in with Tony Mamo for a fully ported FAST LSXR. I’m hoping for another 30 hp from that. I also need to get the heads ported. I’m thinking I will go with a WCCH stage II.
Sorry for the drawn out intro but now you guys can see the mods done up to this point of the build.
01-17-2013, 09:37 PM
#4
Here is basically how the truck sits now
Engine:
Lq4 iron block 408
Callies Compstart crank/rods
Wiseco pistons
231/239 114+2
STOCK LS3 heads and intake
Drivetrain:
Built 4l80e
Trucool 40K
B&M Megatruck shifter
Auburn Posi
3.42 gears
Exhaust:
dual 3" into a 22" magnaflow
single 4" out over the axle
Fuel:
STOCK fuel pump (don't know how that is holding up)
-6an feed to Aeromotive fpr
-6an return
42lb LS3 injectors
91 octane pump gas
Suspension:
Belltech 3/5 drop; springs, hangers, shackels
McGaughys c-notch
Engine:
Lq4 iron block 408
Callies Compstart crank/rods
Wiseco pistons
231/239 114+2
STOCK LS3 heads and intake
Drivetrain:
Built 4l80e
Trucool 40K
B&M Megatruck shifter
Auburn Posi
3.42 gears
Exhaust:
dual 3" into a 22" magnaflow
single 4" out over the axle
Fuel:
STOCK fuel pump (don't know how that is holding up)
-6an feed to Aeromotive fpr
-6an return
42lb LS3 injectors
91 octane pump gas
Suspension:
Belltech 3/5 drop; springs, hangers, shackels
McGaughys c-notch
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01-18-2013, 05:52 PM
#10
Engine is built, staring at me on the stand. Just waiting on my harness, flexplate, and fuel pump for a full-scale install. Turbo will have to wait till the funds allow.... I'm hoping time allowing it can be up and running in the spring!
Last edited by Hivelocit; 01-19-2013 at 12:32 AM.