Ardent Fabrication Autocross Truck

[Jakee27]

Sundays autocross was a success!!

Check out the videos and subscribe:

Spectator view -

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On-Truck view -

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Both videos are of the same run, my fastest of the day. I placed 13th/18, there was a lot of competition. Pretty happy with how I placed considering that my truck only makes 185HP/285TQ (back in '89 when it was new) and everyone else had at least over 300HP!

My buddy's GMT800 truck failed tech because it was 1.5" too tall compared to its track width so he co-drove my truck instead. The truck did so well, even running twice as much as it would have along with both of us getting re-runs.

Enjoy the pics too!

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Here's a professional picture from the Mirrorcross event before.

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Look at that outside front tire perpendicular to the ground and the inside tire barely touching! Almost at 100% mechanical grip [emoji41] Front springs and sway bars may get me there. Then time for some power and aero.

Btw, scored these heads from work too so gotta figure out if I want to put those on the truck or build the one I have on the stand..

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Casting number is 3998993, they're not like super sought after heads but they're much better than what's on the truck now and free so that's that lol.

Really looking forward to building some tri-Y headers once these get on, exhaust fabrication is one of my top favorite things to build.

Here's my most recent pair of headers for an LS3 Nash Metropolitan we're building at work.

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Alright so I have a couple of questions. What drop are you on and what is the backspacing on the rear wheels? I wanted to get some 15x10 Bassett’s or Aero’s but wasn’t too sure if a 7” drop in the back would be too aggressive for that wide of a rim. And did you have to make any modifications to make them fit? Thanks!

 

[Supercharged111]

Alright so I have a couple of questions. What drop are you on and what is the backspacing on the rear wheels? I wanted to get some 15x10 Bassett’s or Aero’s but wasn’t too sure if a 7” drop in the back would be too aggressive for that wide of a rim. And did you have to make any modifications to make them fit? Thanks!

If you want the truck to look cool and handle, you can't drop too far or you run out of travel. I can't speak to those limits, so I'll leave that open to those who've been down this road like the OP.

 

[ArdentFab]

Alright so I have a couple of questions. What drop are you on and what is the backspacing on the rear wheels? I wanted to get some 15x10 Bassett’s or Aero’s but wasn’t too sure if a 7” drop in the back would be too aggressive for that wide of a rim. And did you have to make any modifications to make them fit? Thanks!

Its roughly a 5/6 drop and the offset is -44 so I'm not entirely sure what the back spacing is but im sure you could punch it in a wheel calculator.

If you go back to post #43, you can see how I had to stretch the rear inner wheel tub and pull the fender out so they are flared a full inch. I still need to do the front but I'm making plans for it sooner than later.

With that being said, you probably could get something with a backspace that didnt poke the wheels out as much (I opted for these because of the price).

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[arrg]

Alright so I have a couple of questions. What drop are you on and what is the backspacing on the rear wheels? I wanted to get some 15x10 Bassett’s or Aero’s but wasn’t too sure if a 7” drop in the back would be too aggressive for that wide of a rim. And did you have to make any modifications to make them fit? Thanks!

ArdentFab, how much room do you have between the backside of the tire and the frame? Your wheels are 3.75" backspacing, and those Bassets are available with up to 6". They're 13 lbs lighter too.

 

[ArdentFab]

I'll try to measure that today but I can practically fit my fist between the two if I remember right. I'll try get you an actual dimension though.

 

[ArdentFab]

Oh man, I completely forgot to post about my last event!

Truck did excellent, as always. Tough competition but I learned a lot! Take a look at the video and enjoy!

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[ArdentFab]

Update: Installed some stiffer springs! These are MOOG 5778 and have an advertised spring rate of 1,590 lbs/in (came off a 2500 with a diesel or big block).

I believe my previous springs were in the range of 850-1,000 lbs/in.

Made a noticeable difference and really helped in the autocross (that I'll post about later).

I went through a bit of trial and error to get the ride height to match but I ended up cutting just a bit over 1.75 coils which landed me about 1/8" taller than before. They've probably settled a bit by now but haven't changed much. My alignment was actually spot on.

The coil diameter went from like 0.844" now to 1.004". Cutting the springs increased spring rate a bit but comparing the rates it's more or less increased by about 50%.

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[ArdentFab]

Video from the last autocross this past weekend! Springs helped a ton! Could really feel it. Much needed front adjustable shocks are next I think. Enjoy!

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[Garage Hack]

Thanks, I really appreciate that! I absolutely love this truck. I've owned over 15+ vehicles and this is by far my ride or die; I'm taking this thing to the grave with me!

That's awesome! My business partner has an '02 Silverado and it's the beta tester for all my GMT800 related products. I actually just finished welding up a batch of the GMT800 Polyurethane Motor Mounts tonight. Let me know if those peak your interest too [emoji6]

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As for the brackets, I fabricated some simple ones. I've actually gotten a few inquiries for these so I might actually turn these into a product.

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And yes, I'm in the developing stages of making seat brackets and then the harness bar or hoop (to be determined) but stay tuned!!

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A harness bar and the option of a hoop would be great. I want to mount better seatbelts but the stamped rear cab piece behind the seat won't cut it. The trick will be figuring out a way not to lose any seat space. The bench in my truck is already too close to the wheel for me.

 

[ArdentFab]

It's been a while and I haven't been updating this build thread but here it is! A lot has been going on but I recently competed in the Protouring Truck Shootout in Kentucky and placed 2nd in my class!

Here are the specs as of August 25, 2020:

Powertrain:
- LH6 5.3L aluminum engine
- SDPC LS6 Powermax Cam
- LS6 valve springs
- AR5 five-speed manual transmission
- G80 rear locking differential

Modifications:
- 5/7 drop
- Cut front springs (from a 3/4 ton truck)
- Ardent Fab custom axle flip
- Ardent Fab custom C-notch
- QA1 single adjustable front shocks (custom length)
- QA1 single adjustable rear shocks (custom length)
- -1.8° camber, +5° caster, slight toe-out (front)
- Polyurethane front control arm bushings (uppers and lowers)
- Reinforced UCA brackets (internally welded with additional gussets)
- Power steering cooler and Redline fluid
- Suburban rear sway bar
- Procar bucket seat
- G-Force 6 pt. harness
- Ardent Fab custom seat brackets
- Ardent Fab custom harness bar
- Rear fenders flared 1"
- Ardent Fab custom front splitter with custom splitter struts (not pictured, took off for classing in PTTS competition)

Wheels:
- Rocket Racing Wheels
- Rocket Attack
- 18"×11" square
- 6" Back Spacing

Tires:
- 315/30/18 BFG Rivals

Weight:
- 3,735 lbs (11 gal fuel, no driver)

Future modifications:
- NASCAR style front sway bar
- Ardent Fab tubular upper and lower adjustable control arms (to get some REAL camber and caster)
- CAI boxed and routed to front grill
- Ardent Fab longtube stainless headers and full exhaust
- Fuel cell relocated to rear, between frame rails
- S197 8.8 axle with three link and watts link rear suspension
- Brake ducting and/or big brake kit (TBD)
- Much, much, more!

Photo and video credits to Allie Atkission Imaging and OBS Performance, respectively.

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