SS build , round 2 brakes/4 link / led's and appearance
 

ok so i have been putting a ton of time in the SS again .

ive done alot including getting ripped on my interior and then getting fed up with other have learned to do it all by myself. first i did some color changing , powdercoated alot of parts, leanred how to r&r brake caliper , lost a thumbnail learning to remove pistons (use a 2x4 in the caliper or a piston compressor when blowing them out with air) had to re seal all of them and remove all powder coat which isnt to hard but must be careful with the stripper and not ruing your new coating. i also had some chrome on my wheels chipping so i deceided to change them to all black and make the brakes pop with the gm orange . i also changed the shopman bowtie to all black and thought it would look good with the added orange accent's, also powder'ed the dam lug nuts and center caps.

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needed some new rubber so i broke down and bought the 305/40/22 bfg kdw tires which are freaking awesome

ive still not finished the 4 link but that is about half way done(coil overs are the threaded body qa1's im using but without a spring) the custom brackets ill be using are cut and on the way , i just need alot of time to measure , measure and measure more to set up the anti squat just over 100% to get the rear of the truck lifting or staying exactly where it is on a hard launch to keep weight on the front to help the front grab as well as pushing the rear axle into the ground for traction .

ill start with suspension i ditched the mcgaughy knuckles for djm control arms (upper and lower) stock knuckles , heim tie rods and all new pitman and idler arms w pivot assembly , the new idler is also forged and not cast although imo it wont make a big difference but should outlast the stocker by far. i also swapped in double adjustable qa1's (adjustable rebound and compression) so i can set them to not lift for launching at the strip , i previously had limit straps and this should do even better and be much easier to adjust as well as being good on the strip and on the road course.

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next was the rear suspension as well as me wanting to go a bit lower to help get the center of gravity down to help in the corners. dropping one more link on the hanger got me to a 4" drop and from previously riding in other trucks dropped 4" in the back i had felt some bottoming out on the bump stops and didnt want that in my truck so a c-notch was necessary . a saw-all made this an easy job imo . only part that i didnt enjoy was drilling 24x 1/2" holes in the frame , hopefully if i ever do another one ill have my mag drill. i swapped the included bump stops from the c notch to a longer softer beltech stop so it would keep it from hitting hard( although @ 4" it never will) i also completely eliminated the stock shock mounts and made my own adjustable versions. i got the lower mounts from competition engineering and the uppers i fabbed a cross member with 1.5x .125 tube with shock tabs and moved them outward as far as possible while still leaving room to run the qa1's as coil overs since the version i got are a threaded body and i am going to be 4-linking the rear soon as mentioned , im going a different direction than most and am going to make the trailering arms on the outside of the frame this will allow me to keep the stock tank and still run a bit wider tire in the rear . i still will need a small section added to the fender wells to clear tire though. ive got some cool ideas on the link to possibly make some kits as it may be bolt in . the coil overs can be welded for better angle or possibly used in the stock location although not ideal

https://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b...4-16115932.jpg
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and here she is all done in the rear with new color on the brakes, wheels , and lug nuts

https://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b...5-01154203.jpg

i had to add some safety equipment aka driveshaft loops to be compliant with the rules and did so using the minumum 2" wide , 1/4 thick steel flat bar on both drive shafts , im still making two more for the other u joints but this will technically pass for now , still need a cage but its not ideal for me and still enjoying this thing. pics of my helper mechanic too

https://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b...5-08175556.jpg

(above) suspension unloaded
(below)suspension loaded

https://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b...5-08182511.jpg

(below) front shaft loop (its a fixed position so i made it fit alot tighter)

https://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b...5-08181714.jpg
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and my #1 helper

both shaft loops are 100% bolt in on any stock SS , the front may need to use a larger loop on a stock ss since my shaft is a bit small diameter

now here it is with the new suspension out of the garage for a quick picture

https://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b...4-29160512.jpg

now on too the interior mods , i went with a bit more hydrodipped carbon fiber , defrost vents,homelink addition to the overhead, rear seat belt covers,seat controls,e-brake handle, and the suicide door overhead latch covers.
I also added dual aeroforce gauges (thanks to the owners for the help on their product which is something everyone should have) , i added some custom SSS emblems to them for a little custom look as well as installing a homelink console since im getting new garage doors finally. I also added the stock lighting for 194 bulbs(used leds) that came in the 99-02 trucks that gm deceided to delete in 03 that go in the foot area of the driver and passenger. I had some suede from my previous interior make over and thought the passenger airbag would look great covered to match the rest of the interior.

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(dash bezel wasnt fully seated)
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i also added a new cluster since mine was broken in a previous situation with a bad seller/installer

https://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b...4-20184907.jpg

140mph and 7k rpms with blue led back lighting

i then was so upset about that deal i bought the led's and soldering equipment and did the conversion myself , which is not hard but time consuming if you do it right and add extra led's to avoide hot spots . i also added some other touch's i havent seen yet such as using red rectangle led's to heated seat buttons when they are on ( i love little details)

(top was stock led's and lower is the new red ones)
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installed

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(ac controls with lots of extra leds (notive the pic with it apart and lots of led's , a stock one only has 3 bulbs per side

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i had 4 hrs into this part alone

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hard to see in this pic but this is the added footwell lights but it makes a big difference

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this is the part you need to do this , just tap into your stock lights(small box under the drivers footwell , remove the cover and the bottom lower wire(black and grey is what you need )

notice i did not do the stock radio , i just picked this up on craiglist , its a escalade tnr lux nav i will be added the lux amp as well i only paid 300 bucks for it with the gps antenna and nav disc so i cant loose

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my 6 disc changer was also damaged in that last transaction that went south so i couldnt load/eject or play any disc's , i just got the 6 disc changer to go in the lower center console cubby (stock mounts) as well , and im still in search of the lux amp to complete that . ill be doing a write up on it as well since you get alot more bass from the stock bose with a better amp and head unit . ive always wanted more sound but no aftermarket stuff . this will get me both and beleive me the lux upgrade is well worth the sound . ill be doing the led upgrade on both of these as well. although i have tested the nav screen and it has blue led's already.

and check it ladies and gentlemen the first ever weight reduction i have done , this is the stock exhaust heat shield under the bed , it weighs about 1.5 lbs ROFL

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i did get a chance to weigh the truck and without me and no gas (1/8 tank)
https://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b...03221821-1.jpg

id say with me and the gas i race with (1/2-3/4 tank) 5700 wouldnt be out of the question which is a dam pig imo

its still quick enough to take this car out , it was my first real kill and it was a dam slaughter , its a challenger srt-8 with a widebody conversion that through the wrong rev at the wrong truck , i had about 5-6 legnths on him after he got the jump in 3 seconds or so . he quickly exited the freeway with his head hung low. he soundled like he was magnacharged but with the cutouts open the turbos probably had him saying omfg :pepsicheer:

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and last but not least , not truck related here is my new tool ill be using to make some way cool stuff

https://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b...4-25180453.jpg

another craiglist steal , i got this for cheaper than i could turn it in for scrap (it weighs 2k+ lbs) and it looks and works like new .

ill be posting the 4 link build and bose lux upgrade soon .

and the best part of all of this , i did every single thing in my garage by myself . not a hand of help . thats the best feeling ever .

dude, that's awesome, I like it all! amazing what doing things for yourself will do.......I respect that you took the time and put in the effort to do it right.

I just had my front windshield replaced and I wish I would have done it myself!!

Chase, how do you like the DJM stuff? specifically the control arms? Do you feel the torsion bar junction is strong enough? Did you use DJM equip'd ball joints or Moog?

Man Chase you've been busy with that truck. Everything looks killer! Very nice work :cool:

i used djms cheap ball joints to se how they feel after a bit of driving , i figure i have nothing to loose if they get play ill go moog but this truck isnt driven much. after the complete steering makeover the truck felt new again . i just need to re align after i lowered the bars a bit more .

after the 4 link i will build my own tubular arms with coil overs in the front . but for now the djm's are plenty strong imo over built but i do understand why , liability concerns. i know some have not so great opinions on some of their older parts but i will say these are much nicer than some of the previous djm stuff i have installed.

4 link build to be soon , first i have some engine work this week.

yo chase what leds did u use and resistors? i need to change some on my cluster and my steering wheel also ill be replacing all of them.. .. if u dont mind let me know.. btw ur truck is just:drool:

outstanding.

i love that cluster. where did you buy it. i just got all my stuff back from tootall the leds are so distracting driving lol.

cant wait to see what you do with the bolt in 4 link!

very nice dude, i like all the work u'v done on it thus far... dude ur gonna have to teach me how to solder, i want my lights switched over to LED's but i'd like to know how to do them myself... plus i have different ideas i wanna play with and it wouldnt be easy to keep taking them to someone and paying each time i wanna change something...

anyways next time we g2g we're gonna have to talk about some stuff, might have a couple little projects on my truck i think u could help me with... almost done paying it off so i'll have a couple dollars to spare, FINALLY!!!

all in all good shit Chase...'

also about the cluster, how does the mileage work on it??? i know wat we talked about last time but is it the same deal with this one???

-Rob

nice truck good job on all that work.