LT1 powered stepper

[1981Stepside]

Hello all! Now that my very slow going project is almost complete, I figured it was time to post some pics and share my blood sweat and tears with the forum. All comments and (constructive) criticism are welcome!

My current project is a 1981 Silverado stepside. I bought it about 2 years ago in Victoria, BC. I have loved the look of stepside pickups for as long as I can remember, so when I saw this one listed for sale it was love at first sight.

This is what she looked like when I bought her:




Nice solid base to start with. Frame was rock solid, cab and front clip were in pretty good shape, but the rear stepside fenders were toast. Standard rot spot below the fuel fill doors (yes it has the dual tanks) Interior was well weathered and needed some attention.

The biggest issue was the old powerplant. Tired ol' dog 350. Had an edelbrock carb and I was told it had an RV cam too. I figured the heads were shot or the cam wasn't enough for the carb because it was getting something like 200km to the tank. Pathetic even for a 350.

So after many thousands of dollars of fuel later, I decided to pull the old motor and drop in a newer fuel injected motor.

The old mill, nothing special:



So the search began. My build was on a budget (or so my wife told me) so I needed to find the best bang for my buck. I needed an engine, transmission (the TH350 screaming on the highway wasn't cutting it) wiring harness and ECU/PCM. I obviously wanted an LS1, but the cheapest combo I found was around 5k. I was looking into a TPI because I liked the look of the intake, but after reading up on them I didn't like the batch fire on the injectors and I had a hard time finding a 350 TPI. (all the wreckers had 305's)
So I finally decided on the LT1 for the reverse cooling, fair choice of aftermarket goodies, etc. Now it was just a matter of finding one.

[1981Stepside]

After a search through many a junkyard and CL ad I finally found a winner! I picked up a 1996 caprice 9c1 for a thousand bucks. I liked the fact that it was a 96 for the vented optispark, obd2 and the owner claimed that the engine was recently rebuilt. So with the deal sealed, the caprice came home to live with me having no idea the horrible fate that awaited it. *insert sinister laugh here*

Unfortunately I live in a condo, so all the work had to be done at my in-laws place. Thankfully my pop is mechanically inclined and still tolerates my projects.

So over the next 3 or so days, my new aquisition turned from this:



into this:



and finally into this:



From all the carnage emerged an iron head LT1 engine, 4L60E trans, PCM and every scrap of wiring from stem to stern. I was also able to sell a bunch of parts from the shell and with the cash I got from the scrap, my net cost was about $500 for the powertrain.

[Pop's C-10]

something similer to what you doing

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=492640

[1981Stepside]

Originally Posted by Pop's C-10

something similer to what you doing

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=492640

Cool! I don't think I'm daring enough to drop a truck body on a car chassis. The fab work is a little too daunting for me.

[1981Stepside]

Since we've all heard the old story that the engine in the used vehicle has been rebuilt recently, I decided to do a bit of a teardown of the LT1. Here's what I found when I popped the valve covers off:



Looks like for once the PO was telling the truth. Score!
I decided since the top end looked so good, I would only tear the engine down to a long block and freshen it up with some new gaskets and a coat of paint:





Now the fun can begin! Time to rip the heart out of my truck!

[Jonboy]

You will like the swap. I had one in a '79 (aluminum headed version) and had no problems with it. It had good power, and got pretty decent mileage too.

[1981Stepside]

Time to pull out the old and busted and replace it with the new hotness.

my pal chaining up the block



and out she comes!

and dropped my sexy purple TH350


buddy looking like he's ready to crap himself lifting the old engine (ignore the hoist)


EWW!

time for some scrubbin'

puttin' the old man to work

and then some paint:

In with the new:

[1981Stepside]

I lucked out with the transmission situation. I had a long nose TH350 so I didn't need to modify my driveshaft when the 4L60E went in. I did however, need a new crossmember to accommodate the dual exhaust and catalytic converters. Here's what I came up with compared to the stock mount:

Now the exhaust is nice and happy.


Speaking of exhaust, I wanted to re-use the old headers that were on the old engine. I sandblasted them and welded the AIR injection and O2 bungs, and a nub for the steam trap from the back of the intake:

then wrapped them up with DEI header wrap:

and finished them off with a spray of high heat silicone spray:


Then the real nightmare began - wiring up this pig

[1981Stepside]

Wiring! Normally I don't have a big issue with 12v systems, but this - this was not fun. Until I finally fired it up of course. To wire up the new engine, I used the orignal harness from the caprice. Here it is laid out:

A few pals were ragging on me for not buying a painless harness. Yes, it would have been a bit easier but I kept the original harness for a few reasons.
1) I didn't have a spare thousand dollars to buy a painless harness
2) The painless harness only covered the engine compartment wiring
3) The caprice harness already had a HD headlight relay wiring harness, and provisions for power door locks and windows (which I added later)

So, with the FSM for my truck and the caprice in hand with a pair of wire cutters and soldering iron, I began the 2 week journey into madness. I stripped all the wiring from the cab and engine compartment. While I was at it I added a layer of peel n' seal and stuck a layer of water heater insulation down with some 3M spray adhesive. My carpet underlay was rotted and smelled pretty bad, so I decided to pull it out and replace it with something a little more resistant to moisture.

While I had the access, I cut a hole in the firewall and mounted the a/c heater box I scavenged from a part-out on CL.

Once I got the critical wiring connected under the hood, I had to try a test fire. Needless to say I was happier than a pig in mud when she fired up.

http://s280.photobucket.com/albums/k...=VIDEO0011.mp4

The other thing that was pretty important was to keep all the factory gauges and switches intact. Especially because I scored on a tach dash for 40 bucks! I ended up doing a pinout of the headlight switch and instrument cluster and tied them all in. I also picked up a mechanical speedo conversion kit for the 4L60E to keep the original speedo. After the interior was in order, I connected the headlight relay to the H4 and H1 headlight conversion that was installed. Needless to say, a wiring harness from a luxury size 4 door sedan is considerable larger and longer than what would be found in a regular cab pickup. Thankfully I was able to shrink the harness by deleting unnecessary items like ABS, airbags, DRL, back door/trunk wiring, etc. I was also able to discard about 6 feet of wire from each harness so things started to clean up pretty quick after I had everything connected and working
from this:



to this



to finally this

[Fan2zee]

Okay, all looks good. Wiring, that doesn't look like fun.

[1981Stepside]

Thanks - yeah wiring was a little daunting, but what a payoff when it all worked.
No updates tonight - gotta take care of the trick-or-treaters!

[1981Stepside]

Okay - so in the process of wiring up the cab, I scored a pair of rust free power doors from an 87 suburban. The only issue with them was the giant speaker holes cut in the bottom section of the doors. This proved to be an advantage on the passenger side as the connector for the window motor was missing and there were just the two wires siliconed into the motor. Needless to say that a new connector was soldered in.
I replaced the motors after I did a weatherstrip replacement as the old motors wouldn't roll the glass up all the way in the new rubbers. I followed this procedure: http://www.73-87.com/7387garage/interior/winmotor.htm
I haven't had the truck out on the highway yet so I'm hoping that resealing the vent windows will eliminate the whistle that was driving me insane. Here's the write-up I followed for the vent windows:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=514602&page=2
A big thank-you to 1425956 for the excellent instructional!

*** NOTE - if you have a 1981-1985 chevy truck and are planning to rebuild your vent windows and have the 2 piece seal - DO NOT order from LMC. They have a one-piece seal listed for 81-87. This incorrect and will not work. I found out the hard way. I got the correct seals from Brothers truck parts ***

I didn't want to cut holes in the new carpeted sections I ordered from LMC to put door speakers back in the holes cut by the PO, so I followed an article I found on custom classic trucks:
http://www.customclassictrucks.com/t...l/viewall.html

I didn't like the ghetto plumbers putty way they sealed the speakers, so
I did mine a little different. I cut out a surround similar to the article and mounted my 6X9's in each. Then I bought a pair of foam 6X9 backers:

Siliconed them to the frame and bolted them to where the crossflow vent was in the door. 6X9 sound, no more holes.

With the guts of the doors up to snuff, I had to do something about the interior - The door cards were pretty badly sun damaged and the tops were flaking off. Also the dash was cracked in 4 places (sorry - no pics). I nabbed an entire interior from the same guy that I got the a/c from. The pieces were in great shape - Best of all, the truck still had it's headliner! (mine was gone when I bought the truck) Needed to be recovered but it was intact! Yeah! So after I pulled my original black carpet and gave it a mega scrub, it got laid back in with my new sparkly interior panels.
The instrument cluster bezel was going to pose a bit of a problem. It was an original, uncut bezel. With how hard some of these parts are getting to find in good condition, I couldn't bring myself to cut that bezel.
The only recourse was to install a knob radio. I found the Concours USA-630 radio on fleabay and ordered it. Getting it into the dash would be another story. The PO had cut the steel dash to get a late model head unit in. After a stop at the local wreckers I came home with a donor dash plate.
Here's what I started with:


The new side tabs welded in, and painted:


The new radio installed - looks almost factory

and powered up:


The pros: looks original, deters theives, has USB and AUX inputs, has subwoofer and cd changer outputs

The cons: underpowered - pre-amp sucks balls. Needs an amp for the internal speakers

[1981Stepside]

Bodywork - I hate bodywork! I hate it with a passion.
The reality is I hate it only because I'm no good at it. I mean diasterous.
As mentioned in my first post, the stepside fenders were toast. I bought a new pair from the same junker I got the radio plate from. A little surface rusty and a couple of dents, but no rust holes.

Thankfully the bedside was in great shape underneath, so it just needed new fasteners (from the bed kit I foolishly bought from LMC. Had no idea it was going to be home depot bulk bolts . . .
I also got a new front driver fender - the original one had a couple of holes around the wheel well.


The worst of the damage I only found out about when the truck sat out in the rain. I thought the carpet was wet because of water coming in from the kick panel vent. Boy was I wrong! After the windshield was pulled this is what was left of the windshield corners:

Thankfully, the body guy patched it all back up and no leaks!

Once I get the wiring finished, I'll be posting about the install of (in my opinion) the mother of all aftermarket accessories! A NOS power-lite power rear window!

[1981Stepside]

Okay - still working on the wiring for the rear window (forgot what a pain in the a$$ running wiring into the doors was) I did however get my new temp/compass mirror installed and wired. For anyone interested in doing the same, the writeup is on gm***************/forum/showthread.php?t=3547. Unfortunately, no pics as I foolishly tightened the hold down screw too much and popped the metal tab off the windshield
Also, finished fabbing my new traction bars:

I'll take some more once I have them bolted to the truck.

[1981Stepside]

Finally got the rear window in and wired, and it is fantastic! I'm sure that some of you know about the old school powr-lite kits released in the early 80's by CR Laurence:

As soon as I saw pictures of it on this forum, I knew I had to have one.

Obviously, not the easiest part to find, so decided to build my own using the same design. I built the frame based on the shape of the original slider window so I could use the factory gasket to mount it.

I got some U-channel and cut and welded it to match the contour of the steel frame and fit some universal window track inside.

I bought a blazer tailgate motor/regulator so move the glass and I was just about to get the pane of glass cut when the unbeliveable happened. I came across a guy selling a NOS kit on CL. The price was right, so we made a deal and I headed down to pick it up. I hadn't realized how long of a drive it was from Vancouver to Idaho, but it was totally worth it.

Unfortunately, when I popped the old window the frame was a little crunchy:

I've seen worse, and I probably could have fixed it myself, but as mentioned in previous posts - I hate bodywork. So off to the shop it went to get fixed up:

So cracking open the box, here's what I got -



My neighbour who helped me put it in doing his best Vanna impression


The gasket was slipped on the window frame, the rope was put into the gasket flage and slid into the truck:


It was a tight fit on the bottom corners and needed a bit of massaging to get the gasket sealed to the body, and other than the rope getting stuck on the driver side
(which I almost herniated myself trying to finally pull the rope out)

it went in well over all. A quick bench test later, and voila!


As for the wiring, I would like to meet the person who designed the pass-through for the power door wiring and punch him in the nose. Idk why they couldn't have lined up the hole in the cab with where the wires come through under the dash. Anyone who has had to fish wires through there knows what I'm talking about. After removing the rubber accordion and cutting a few fingertips and knuckles, I got the wires in.
The switch that came in the kit didn't really impress so I decided to use a factory GM window switch to keep things as stock looking as possible.

So the order of the switches are: locks, side windows then rear window. I wish there was a GM switch that has “REAR” printed on it like the lock switch. If anyone has seen one or knows where to get something like that, please let me know.

[1981Stepside]

Originally Posted by 1981Stepside

Finally got the rear window in and wired, and it is fantastic! I'm sure that some of you know about the old school powr-lite kits released in the early 80's by CR Laurence:


As soon as I saw pictures of it on this forum, I knew I had to have one.

Obviously, not the easiest part to find, so decided to build my own using the same design. I built the frame based on the shape of the original slider window so I could use the factory gasket to mount it.


I got some U-channel and cut and welded it to match the contour of the steel frame and fit some universal window track inside.




I bought a blazer tailgate motor/regulator so move the glass and I was just about to get the pane of glass cut when the unbeliveable happened. I came across a guy selling a NOS kit on CL. The price was right, so we made a deal and I headed down to pick it up. I hadn't realized how long of a drive it was from Vancouver to Idaho, but it was totally worth it.

Unfortunately, when I popped the old window the frame was a little crunchy:


I've seen worse, and I probably could have fixed it myself, but as mentioned in previous posts - I hate bodywork. So off to the shop it went to get fixed up:


So cracking open the box, here's what I got -






My neighbour who helped me put it in doing his best Vanna impression


The gasket was slipped on the window frame, the rope was put into the gasket flage and slid into the truck:



It was a tight fit on the bottom corners and needed a bit of massaging to get the gasket sealed to the body, and other than the rope getting stuck on the driver side
(which I almost herniated myself trying to finally pull the rope out)

it went in well over all. A quick bench test later, and voila!


As for the wiring, I would like to meet the person who designed the pass-through for the power door wiring and punch him in the nose. Idk why they couldn't have lined up the hole in the cab with where the wires come through under the dash. Anyone who has had to fish wires through there knows what I'm talking about. After removing the rubber accordion and cutting a few fingertips and knuckles, I got the wires in.
The switch that came in the kit didn't really impress so I decided to use a factory GM window switch to keep things as stock looking as possible.


So the order of the switches are: locks, side windows then rear window. I wish there was a GM switch that has “REAR” printed on it like the lock switch. If anyone has seen one or knows where to get something like that, please let me know.

Sorry about that - I thought photobucket would have a clickable link to view at fullsize. Is there a way to edit previous posts instead of replying with a quote to resize the other pics?

[Skunksmash]

I'm afraid those pictures are a little on the small side.

[bk2life]

its an awesome back window. if i remember right they stopped making them like 10 years ago.

was thinking of makin a kit for my CC

[owner 84]

keep going

awesome

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

Does it use it's own glass? It looks like the factory just smaller on the corners. I wish they would start making these things again. I see some of the new Toyota's with them and I'd love to have something like that on mine.

[1981Stepside]

Originally Posted by THE "10" SILVERADO

Does it use it's own glass? It looks like the factory just smaller on the corners. I wish they would start making these things again. I see some of the new Toyota's with them and I'd love to have something like that on mine.

It's a fully contained unit - glass and all. It's pretty close to the same size as a factory window. It's inset about an inch as the cab slants forward slightly.

[EasySteve]

Thats awesome. looking great!

[Skunksmash]

I'm no fan of bodywork myself. I'm quite untrained in the skill. I think a lot of these guys on the auto enthusiast forums like this one, are bodymen by trade and they just don't mention that when they show what they did at their house in their free time. And it comes out looking great. Or the computer screen does well at hiding any small flaws they might have.

But also, where did you get that thing if they don't make them anymore? Seems like its going to take up the already limited space behind the seat.

[1981Stepside]

Thanks EasySteve!

Skunksmash - I agree with you there - I've seen some impressive bodywork skill displayed on this forum and a lot of it does seem a little more than backyard hobbyist level.

As far as where I got the kit from - It was actually thanks to this site. The member Liddy71 to be exact. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=538362
I happened to be browsing the forum while I was stuck in a work camp in northern BC, and came across Liddy71's post.
Just the right place at the right time - and yes, it takes up pretty much all the space behind the seat.
I'm definately going to have to get an underseat woofer for the stereo when I start work on it. I can fit my jumper cable bag behind the seat, and that's about it.

[MTCK]

Cool build! You will love the efi and overdrive... Back window looks awesome - I've never seen one of those before...
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