If it was a cable throttle body i wouldn't have had an issue. The issue in the tune was basically a failsafe for a DBW Throttle body.

 

The white hood w the camaro style vent (on your insta) looks great! Part #? Difficult to cut in?

 

Actually going through my pictures later today. It wasn't too bad. I'll get all of the info up shortly.

 

Sorry for the delay. I ended up getting sick last weekend while trying to post this. Still recovering so I've got a bit of down time to play catch up.

I have the transmission back in one piece and back in the truck. It was installed with a new Centerforce throwout bearing and a bronze pilot bushing. While I had the transmission out I took the time to pull the front cover off the transmission and make sure the nothing else was damaged when the pilot bearing failed. Everything in the front of the trans looked ok so that was re-assembled and I finished getting the output shaft bearing kit put in. One of the snap rings and a spacer were missing from the kit so I had Rockland send those out.



















I also finally got my fiberglass hood on the truck. Not wanting a cowl/drag race style hood I ended up finding McNeil Off Road had a fiberglass stock replacement hood for the 03-05 trucks. The fitment is pretty good and it bolts up to the stock hinges. Mc Neil says it can be made to work with the factory latch as well, but I didn't want to cut the rivets off the stock hood hinge catch in case I had any problems with the glass hood. From the start of the hood project I wanted to install a Z28/1LE Vent extractor so I found a GM one while searching eBay.





I ended up pulling the stock latch off completely and saving it with the old hood. I found a good deal on a set of Aero Catch Latches to keep it in place. I opted for the steel pin/locking versions for added security. Now that I had all of the pieces it was time to start cutting... Measure ten times and cut once.


To be Continued....

 

Not wanting the hole for the vent to look like an after-thought, I decided to fiberglass in the opening to help the hood keep it's shape and strengthen it back up. That was my first time playing with fiberglass and it wasn't too bad. knowing it was going to be a sticky, itchy process I kept covered up and it kept the scratching to a minimum.











I'm really pleased with how the hood turned out. Now I just have to figure out what to do about the mismatching color... Maybe a color change coming to the truck soon.

 

Thanks for continuing to keep us updated. So much useful info on this build. Keep up the good work!

 

That hood looks good! I say paint it to match the rest of the truck, but I'm a little biased

 

Thanks! I'm trying to keep the updates coming. It's so much easier just doing it rather than documenting it the whole time, but it helps answer a lot of questions so that's why I do it.

Thanks, I'm still tossing around the idea of painting it. The problem with that is the whole truck could use a re-spray. I couldn't just do the hood and leave the other problem areas. Most of this truck has been painted before and I'm noticing bad prep in a lot of places and a few spots starting to fade. I am considering wrapping the whole truck. Not only would it give me the option to change the color if I wanted, But because I do race it I wouldn't have to worry about new paint getting scratched/chipped.

 

Man, that hood looks killer. Nice job on the install.

How's the steering quickener holding up? Did you happen to update that and I miss it? Did you end up picking up another column and resolving the problem with the original one?

Are you still on the 1200lb front springs?
Did you end up sticking with leafs? Did the dodge leafs help out enough to stick with them or will you eventually convert to coil overs?

 

Thanks! The quickener is doing alright. I was thinking about pulling it out and taking it apart to to grease it and see if I could take some of the resistance out of it. I've got the stock steering wheel back on to help with steering effort, but I would like to go back with an aftermarket wheel at some point.

Still running 1200's up front. I may try a set of 1300's to see how they do. Still on the stock leaf pack with the dodge overloads. I still don't think it's enough spring in the back. I did find a few companies that sell a 5 leaf rear spring that should still be at stock height (would be the same for me with the flip kit) I may try a set of those just to see. I can get a pair fro around $400. I would still like to go 3 or 4 link in the rear, But I've got to have the budget for it.

I would really like to make it competitive on leaf springs, Just to prove a point haha. I really need to get out and drive it more and work out all the little bugs.

*Another thought I wad was to try a helper bag in the rear. I can play with air pressure easier that swapping leafs*