my first ls swap 1996 2 door Tahoe 4wd 385 Stroker to LQ4 cam headers **pics**

[myzterray]

i will try to post pics today, but i dont know what all we will be doing, and he parks it in the garage 9 out of 10 times, but i will get a pic. next time i see it. what kind of mileage? does it allready have the new engine and everything in?

yeah, we have a 1995 suburban 4x4 with about a 3 inch lift, and it feels really safe, but it's a 3/4 ton, so stiffer suspension. maybey that would be an option, swap the silverado 2500 springs, it will feel more stayble, and handle better.

oh ok nice. right now theres a stroker in there with 4200 miles on it..yes 4200...but im getting 4-6 mpg..i want to turn this truck back into a daily driver so i think with the new engine ill get some better mpg and still some pretty good power. here are my plans for the lm7:

ls3 intake
tr 224 or 228 cam
springs? idk...
rockers idk...
3000 stall
long tube headers
performance tune..
goal= 350+ rwhp
then later add a 100 shot of nos

[smithkid1996]

oh ok nice. right now theres a stroker in there with 4200 miles on it..yes 4200...but im getting 4-6 mpg..i want to turn this truck back into a daily driver so i think with the new engine ill get some better mpg and still some pretty good power. here are my plans for the lm7:

ls3 intake
tr 224 or 228 cam
springs? idk...
rockers idk...
3000 stall
long tube headers
performance tune..
goal= 350+ rwhp
then later add a 100 shot of nos

wow, a 100 shot? lol. ok, so i was talking a some 75 year old guy, and i guess he was one of the original hot rodders, and i learned A LOT from him- balacne the pistons (i can tell you how), get the lightest valves possible, same with the pushrods and rockers, get springs with just enough tention to close the valve, you want as little tention as possible, port and polish the heads, balance the valves, and where the fuel goes in is a small tube (i think is what he told me) and that needs to be as smooth at possible, so the fuel is more of a mist when it gets in the combustion chamber. he also told me how to rase the compresion, without replaceing the pistons, but thats a huge pain in the but... but that should help to get a few more RWHP, and help the mileage some.

hahaha, our daily driver for 6 months was the 65' olds, 7MPG, it runs on premium gas ONLY, and lead additives... that thing went through SO MUCH gas...

[myzterray]

wow, a 100 shot? lol. ok, so i was talking a some 75 year old guy, and i guess he was one of the original hot rodders, and i learned A LOT from him- balacne the pistons (i can tell you how), get the lightest valves possible, same with the pushrods and rockers, get springs with just enough tention to close the valve, you want as little tention as possible, port and polish the heads, balance the valves, and where the fuel goes in is a small tube (i think is what he told me) and that needs to be as smooth at possible, so the fuel is more of a mist when it gets in the combustion chamber. he also told me how to rase the compresion, without replaceing the pistons, but thats a huge pain in the but... but that should help to get a few more RWHP, and help the mileage some.

hahaha, our daily driver for 6 months was the 65' olds, 7MPG, it runs on premium gas ONLY, and lead additives... that thing went through SO MUCH gas...

yea i can only run 91 octane with that engine because of the way it was built. dont get me wrong the thing hauls ass! yesterday on the freeway with that engine in the trunk i was outrunning anyone who tried to keep up.

[smithkid1996]

yea i can only run 91 octane with that engine because of the way it was built. dont get me wrong the thing hauls ass! yesterday on the freeway with that engine in the trunk i was outrunning anyone who tried to keep up.

our 19 foot long olds (thats all original) out ran a 2010 mustang GT... it was a few weeks ago, and we hardly got him (5 feet or so) but still, i was amazed... 420HP 425TQ, completely stock, with a tiny carb (not for long...)

[myzterray]

alright now for some goodies! finally finished removing my stroker from my tahoe did it pretty much by myself until my buddies showed up with the hoist.



here it is befroe i starting pulling it out



so it begins!



removing the core support







core support and everything is out so now should be pretty easy to pull this thing out



as you can tell im pretty proud of the work im putting into this thing!

also decided to snap a pic of the beautiful weather we are getting in so cal today!



so engine has been romoved and sold. will post pics of engine out and everything tommorow. we ran out of light. sold the engine! goodbye stroker!!! now tommorow we begin clean up and breakdown of the lm7

[classic1]

Nice set up! I'm in socal as well off of 210/15 freeway. I've got a 5.3 in my obs silverado but building a 6.0 similar to yours. Have fun with the swap!

Nick

[myzterray]

Nice set up! I'm in socal as well off of 210/15 freeway. I've got a 5.3 in my obs silverado but building a 6.0 similar to yours. Have fun with the swap!

Nick

thats cool you must be up in barstow area. what issues did u run into installing the 5.3?

[myzterray]

ok woke up first thing this morning and got back on it. this is how it looked when i walked into the yard.





so i decided to remove the entire front end so i can clean up the frame firewall inner fenders and wells. also make it even easier to install and run the wiring to my new motor.





got the left side off




then the right side



started marking off all the plugs for the harness so i know what im going to use

so thats where i ended off today. i just bought a grinder and some sandpaper and other stuff to start the clean up on the frame and firewall. hopefully try to get it all painted and finished by the end of the week. also ordered my adapter plates so hopefully once im finished painting i i can drop the new motor in..

any tips on painting the firewall/fenders/wheel wells/frame??

[smithkid1996]

ok woke up first thing this morning and got back on it. this is how it looked when i walked into the yard.

started marking off all the plugs for the harness so i know what im going to use

so thats where i ended off today. i just bought a grinder and some sandpaper and other stuff to start the clean up on the frame and firewall. hopefully try to get it all painted and finished by the end of the week. also ordered my adapter plates so hopefully once im finished painting i i can drop the new motor in..

any tips on painting the firewall/fenders/wheel wells/frame??

i only have a few tips, and they seem stupid, but it works a lot better...

first as far as what little masking you have, raping everything in aluminum foil is 10x faster then masking tape and paper.

also, even on the frame, fire wall, and wheel wells, use engine paint, its a lot stronger, will not fade nearly as much with the heat of the engine, and just over all look better, longer...

also, for the grinder there is a wheel thats black (lol, like every other one...) but it looks like cheese on cartoons, where is has a tone of holes/boubles and its 1/8"-1/4" thick, and it is parfect for stripping anything other then mettle brackets them selfs. its like $8 i think, you should only need 3 at most for that entire engine bay (but probably 1 or 2), frame wells, and innerfenders. sorry, i really dont remember what its called...

one more thing, just for cleaning, if you don't have one, buy a cheap steamer, just for cleaning gunk in the engine bay, boiling water and staem do great with getting 15 years worth of dirt, mud, and grime out.

so yeah, they seem kinda dumb, but will save you a lot of time and frustration.

[myzterray]

i only have a few tips, and they seem stupid, but it works a lot better...

first as far as what little masking you have, raping everything in aluminum foil is 10x faster then masking tape and paper.

also, even on the frame, fire wall, and wheel wells, use engine paint, its a lot stronger, will not fade nearly as much with the heat of the engine, and just over all look better, longer...

also, for the grinder there is a wheel thats black (lol, like every other one...) but it looks like cheese on cartoons, where is has a tone of holes/boubles and its 1/8"-1/4" thick, and it is parfect for stripping anything other then mettle brackets them selfs. its like $8 i think, you should only need 3 at most for that entire engine bay (but probably 1 or 2), frame wells, and innerfenders. sorry, i really dont remember what its called...

one more thing, just for cleaning, if you don't have one, buy a cheap steamer, just for cleaning gunk in the engine bay, boiling water and staem do great with getting 15 years worth of dirt, mud, and grime out.

so yeah, they seem kinda dumb, but will save you a lot of time and frustration.

oh ok coool! i will definately try that! the foil sounds like a great idea and should be pretty easy to install. any idea on paint the wheel wells? which sandpaper to use andd stuff?