My '93 C1500 Stepside - 5.3L/4L60E Swapped

[CSchledt]

Cruised through here looking for some info today and figured...lets go down memory lane.

I've had this truck for 17 years now. It was my first ride in high school so it went through all my good and bad phases in regards to mods along the way. It started as a 4.3L V6, factory THREE SPEED auto truck. Fairly odd.

Here she is before I even brought it home, circa 2004.

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Somewhere along the way, I picked up a set of wheels for it, put on a lower valance, and changed the mirrors. This is around 2007.

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Fast forwarding to 2011, according to the photo file info - I had swapped on a '94+ grille and a smoothie bumper with the intake holes.

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Also in 2011 the truck was becoming pretty unreliable. It had persistent electrical issues causing one injector to die out. In frustration, and with poor support, I carb'd the 4.3L V6. It never ran in this configuration. Admittedly, a poor move on my part and a complete failure.

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Continued in next post.

 

[CSchledt]

2011 - truck is sitting with no engine and I'm daily driving another rig.

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Around this time I acquire a Vortec 350 V8 from a '96 and have it built. The result is what you see. It had a ZZ4 cam but otherwise mostly stock. 367HP and 425TQ on the engine dyno. Plopped this into the truck. Truck ran like this for a year or two, but I ultimately get sick of dealing with carburetors (they are great some people, I personally dislike them - no offense to those that love them!).

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Around 2013, I acquire this 5.3L and 4L60E from an 01 Sierra I believe it was.

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[CSchledt]

Let's skip way head in 2013. The ZZ4 355 comes out. 5.3L/4L60E goes in with Schoenfeld swap headers, a PSI harness, Fragola/Summit lines and hoses, an EBay cold air intake, and dual Magnaflow exhaust all the way out the back. Ends up being an absolute gem and runs to the present day with ZERO malfunctions or break downs, though the trans is starting to get tired.

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It's around this time that the truck gets lowered. It was all Eibach suspension, Hellwig front and rear swapbars, stainless steel brake lines, all new brakes and bearings, etc.

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Also, remember the 96 that the Vortec 350 came out of? It donated its interior, too.

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[CSchledt]

Full 96 Interior swap done. Integrated the old AC controls into the new dash. Everything functions, except the truck is completely devoid of AC due to the LS swap. This is still around 2013/2014.

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Getting into 2015, the truck was put back to stock height and is sitting on all-terrains - I was driving primarily sports cars at the time and didn't want the truck to be lowered anymore. This is the last transformation it made. You can see the paint on all horizontal surfaces has failed at this point.

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Also a little better picture of the interior at this point. I forget what the steering wheel came out of.

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Between 2015 and now, unfortunately not much as changed. I bought my Wrangler and since then, another SS Camaro, and the truck sits at another property now - often for a couple months at a time without being ran. I hope to change that though. It's a reliable runner but it needs a lot to be 'right' again. Hoping to get back in the mood to love on it again. Since 2016 it's mostly been used as a work truck. Not abused, no...but just needed for being able to throw junk in the bed then shuttered in my moms carport for months. I know I blew through the history and left a lot of details out - but this was the highlights.

This picture is from about a month ago when I picked it up and kept it for a week. October 2021. This is actually it's anniversary month. This makes 17 years with my truck. I'm not sure what the plans are from here, but maybe I'll start posting some progress again...

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[CSchledt]

Just some odd and end 'beauty' shots I found from across the years.

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Whoooops....

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[CSchledt]

Here is a snip from me thinking out loud on my Excel spread sheet. I'd love to finally convince myself to 'make her right'. A truck I'd drive across the country. I want to start with getting the doors and seals right. The door gaskets, pins, latches, are all very worn and the cab does not seal well and the doors rattle.

From there, get under the hood. I have an NBS brake master cylinder for it, swap in Camaro electric fans, high amp alternator, new battery, new steering box...

Go through the front suspension. New bushings, ball joints - they are all original...

Cover the bed so I have a place to store things...

Get AC swapped into the truck finally. It has heat, just no AC...

Re-gear the rear end to something sportier. 3.73 minimum, Detroit TrueTrac diff...

Transmission will die eventually. Consider some money for that.

Wheels and tires? It's due for a facelift. I have no idea what to do here, other than I'd like to leave the truck at factory height with it's 2" drop shackle in the rear.

Paint....one day it will get painted. Factory color code will be what I go with.

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[1997]

nice truck, great story, life changes, good to see you're still planning its evolution