Rounding up Parts, Cleaning the Frame and start assembly
Day 9 – 3 hrs.
Fun day today as I found one of the major pieces of the Puzzle !! Yup the Engine – 5.3L LM7 LS from a 2003 Yukon XL. Very Clean Engine and seller was very informative about it. Thanks Paul !! Took it back to the shop and took it into the shop. Could not wait to set it in place. LOL!! From the test fit, it looks like it is going to be a good fit. Exhaust manifolds will probably need to be changed. Very Typical for a swap. Casting number confirms it is a 5.3L LM7 LS – Cast Block.
Day 10 – 3 hrs
Heard back from TCI and they wanted some measurements and pictures. Sent them off to see what our options are. Appears this has the Half Ton frame with 6 bolt wheels. TCI figures it was a Canadian option.
Decided to look better at the engine. Removed the wire harness to send it out to get configured and ECU reprogrammed. Then removed the exhaust manifolds as my test fit indicated the stock manifolds would not work for us. No big deal. Found a broken Map Sensor and seized A/C Tensioner Pulley. Pulled a plug and it looks great. All in all the engine checks out really good. We will wait and see when it runs.
Day 10 – 2.5 Hrs.
I came in today and finished the platform for the cab that will hold it while getting moved around to and from Body shop or where ever it needs to be. Then I looked at the one broken exhaust stud that needed to be removed and tackled that. I got it !! All good now.
Plan is to blast the frame and cab tomorrow so I worked on getting it out of the shop to the back of the yard. With help from Scott and Hayden, we got it out and put the cab on the ground and flipped the frame up on its side. This way I can blast the underside of the frame easily and then flip it on its wheels and blast the top. Everything set for tomorrow.
Day 11 – 6 hrs.
Busy day today. Waited until weather warmed up a little and then went to town. Borrow my old Blaster from Alberta Mobile Dual Blasting – Kyle and he allowed me to blast things myself. He had water in the tank so I blasted the frame until I ran out of water and media. Filled the tank and then started blasting dry. Finished off the frame in about an hour. Then started blasting the cab. I had it on its firewall so I could do the underneath first. Then I started flipping it around to try and get all angles. Would have been easier with a second person but I managed to get it. Cab took about an hour and a half.
Put the cab on the dolly I made so it could be rolled onto the trailer and then taken to Jus Cuz Customs. I had to get it there today as it was dry and the weather was great. Off loaded the cab and we were able to have a good look at the cab. Looks like the cab was hit pretty hard on the right side and it will need some love once the body work begins. Mitch and crew will just put it in Epoxy primer to seal it from rusting. After they are done, it will come back to the shop to fit the cab back onto the frame once the engine and transmission is installed. NOTE: I did not blast the right side area of the cab as I have a replacement panel for that area.
Day 12 – 4.5 Hrs.
Started the Day off and ran to St. Albert to pick up a 4L60e Transmission. Discussed with Seller and got a Driveshaft thrown in with the deal. This saved some money down the road. Got it back tot he shop and unloaded everything.
Looked at the frame to see how to tackle removing the front and rear axles. Plan at first was to change out the rear end as the frame needs to sit at the proper height to install the front end. However looking at all the rivets that need to be removed, I decided to remove both the front and rear Axles. This surprisingly went relatively easy. Removed the bolts from the springs and the front end fell out. Moved that out of the way then went to tackle the rear. Had to deal with one shock and the emergency brake cables. Found them to be rusted badly so a little cut and they were out of the way. Knocked the bolts out of the shackles releasing the springs and the rear was loose. Used my engine hoist and lifted up the frame so I could guide the rear axle out of the way. Down to a basic bare frame. Now I can tip the frame around to get at the rivets holding items on out easier.
Day 13 – 4 hrs
Today was the day to tackle removing all of the brackets that were not needed for the new setup. Had to remove front and rear spring hangers, Transmission support brackets, Shock brackets, etc. Getting the rivets holding these brackets on are a major pain in the butt to remove. Picked up a Multi-unit Welder, Tig, Mig, Stick and Plasma cutter to speed up the operation. Boy did that make things go a lot faster. You can see the pile of brackets that were removed.
Also got a surprise from Jus Cuz Customs. I drop the cab off with them to put the cab in Epoxy Primer so it is sealed and prevents Flash rusting.
Day 14 and 15 – 5 Hrs. *
Spent a little bit of the time doing the Math to install the front end. Rear suspension should be a straight bolt in. Front is a little bit more complicated. However the instructions from TCI and very clear. The hard part is to transfer that to the frame. I need to make the front boxing plates as the ones from the kit did not work. Contacted TCI and they were very helpful.
The next day I had to go pick up the Cab at Jus Cuz Customs and I arranged to have the owners of the Truck meet Mitch as well. Put the Cab into the Trailer and took it to the shop.
Day 16 – 2 Hrs.
Came in and did a little shaping to the front Boxing plates and got them sitting in almost like they should be. Still a little fine tuning. However i wanted to see how the cross-member would sit in there. Found it was a little too tight and buffed a few areas to get it to fit better. Placed it in as per instructions so that the frame sits on the cross-member supports. Then the instructions states to have the frame at the correct rake and then have the cross-member level. Reading the updated instructions, they say to have a 2 Degree Rake and then cross-member at 0 degrees. I got the frame at the correct rake of 2 degrees but the cross-member is at 3 degrees. I think I know how to fix this but I am confirming with TCI. Better to be safe than sorry. This is very critical so the vehicle will steer and drive correctly.
Day 17 – 3 Hrs.
More test fitting and trimming metal. I installed the Rack and Pinion to check fit and to see what needs to be trimmed for Clearance. May not have to trim as much as I thought but I found out the spacers were missing which will make a difference.
Day 18 – 4 hrs.
Installed some temporary 5/8″ Spacers to check the fit in the correct position. Found out I need to do more trimming but the results turned out great. Took everything off the front end so I could flip the frame to setup the rear suspension. Way easier working from the top as opposed to struggling from underneath.
With the frame upside down, I removed the last remaining Rivets for the rear hangers. I had to also grind the head off a rivet that was holding the rear cross member but I was OK with that as two of the bolts would be holding the cross member as well. Once those were removed, I removed the rust around the areas of the brackets. Once those areas were cleaned, I applied some rust paint to the frame areas and the bottoms of the brackets. This way they are sealed to prevent rusting. Then I bolted the brackets into place as per instructions. Just had to drill one extra hole in the front spring brackets and tightened the bolts.
Day 19 – 3.5 Hrs.
Flipped the frame and worked on the front end. Installed the Lower control arms and Shocks as they are used to center the Upper Spring/Shock mount. This way I could dial it in and make sure it is in the proper place and trimmed the mounting surface to make sure it is level with the front cross member. Lots of angles to deal with and patients is a virtue as this will determine how the vehicle steer and drive.
Day 20 – 3 hrs.
I did some grinding and cleaning up some of the areas to get ready for Welding. Then I thought I should check all of my measurements again to confirm the front end is where it is supposed to be. Found out on the one side I was about an 1/8 of an inch out. Redrew the marks and measure, measure, measure until everything was perfect. From there I looked at the Engine and Transmission and I knew I had to put them together for test fitting into the frame. Like magic, they slid together without too much trouble.
Day 21 – 2.5 Hrs.
Not many pictures BUT I found the third piece of the puzzle. Yup the Differential. This makes all for the Powertrain components needed. Found a Posi – with 3.73 gears from a 2000 Chevy Blazer 4X4. Score !! I thought I would grab the Sway bar as well. Will take a little thinking to see if we can use it. They also did not charge me for it. Thanks to Ed that came with me to get this Differential from the Wreckers.
- Donor Vehicle
Day 22 – 4 hrs.
Great day in the shop. After all the measuring and fitting, the front end finally got welded in. Nick came by and welded it in for me. Required a little fine tuning and then he started to weld. Cross-member and upper A arm mounts all got three weld passes to insure a solid fit. Thanks Nick for a great job.
Day 23 – 4hrs.
So due to some up coming weather, I decided to get a few missing pieces from the auto-wreckers before it hits. I needed a left and right Caliper brackets as they were raided before I picked up the differential and a Mass Air Flow Sensor from a 2003 to 2005 LS. Got everything and headed back to the shop. Nick did a wonderful job on welding but the u shaped openings in the frame had some spaces that needed to be joined. I felt confident doing this as it is not really structural to the setup. Took a little thinking but I was able to get the job done. Note: pictures below are not the final product – Old guy forget to get the final pictures.Just before leaving I placed the Differential in position to see how it will look.
It will be great to have the Owners drop by the shop tomorrow to go through things to make sure everything is to their satisfaction.
Day 24 – 3 hrs.
I had my Grandson Treyton stay at our place and he wanted to go see what Grandpa does at the shop. I decided we should tackle the differential. Found the differential to be quite rusty but it should be able to be cleaned. Disassembled the Differential by removing the Calipers, Brake lines, emergency cables and Axles. The next item was to mount the rear springs so we could determine the exact distance for the mounting plates. Through a lot of math it was determined that we had to move the stock mounts out three quarters of an inch. This required cutting the old brackets off and then welding on the new brackets. One bracket was cut off so we could mount the axle to the stock location. Once the bracket was cut off the one side, the area was ground down smooth and the differential housing cleared of all rust. The new bracket was set in the correct position and then we had to compare the angle of the original bracket and spot the new bracket at the same angle. Then the bracket was spot welded to the housing. Now we have a base for the other bracket. That will be the first order of business the next day I am at work. Thanks to my Grandson for the help. Lots of sparks flying today.
Day 25 – 2 hrs.
Quick day at the shop. My Grandson Treyton wanted to finish what we started the day before. Came in and cut the out mount off of the differential. Tacked it in place and then we installed the leaf springs in place and mounted the differential in place. Centering holes on the mounts slide right in place. Forgot to get a picture of this. Removed the Differential and placed it back on Jack stands and welded the mounts in permanently. Definitely not Nick quality but I did the same and made three passes and ground them a little smoother.
Day 26 – 3 hrs.
Great day in the shop as I had the honor of having the Owners – Murray and Nicole – come in and offer to help out. I needed all of the front end parts scuffed and cleaned for painting. Tedious tasked but they were very eager to do this. I got pictures for proof. While they were working on that I got the rear end outside to clean off a lot of the rust. There was a lot of thick rust build up that I was able to clean up with a wire wheel and flapper disc on the grinder. Treated a couple of time with KBS Rust Blast and then got it back into the shop. We got all the front end parts cleaned and organized to paint. Opened the KBS Coating Frame paint and it had settled and after trying for several minutes, decided to take it in and get the paint shaken at the paint store. We discovered that better brushes would also be in order. Decide to call it a day. Thanks for the Help !!
Day 27 – 4 hrs.
Since the frame was coming along, I thought it would be good to position the Fuel tank. I used the Angle Iron previously purchased and cut it to length. Determined where the Tank would sit so I could make up some straps. I got it sitting were I was happy with it and took some measurements. Bent the Straps up and they looked like they will work. Drilled the holes through the straps and supports and loosely and set the tank in place.
- Metal for boxing the Frame
- Fuel Tank
- Straps for Top just laid for visual
