1987 R10 - 5.3/6L80E Project

[GAM3OVR]

Hey Fellas,

I have been here for a couple of weeks and decided to go ahead and start a build thread, so here goes....

My first truck was a 1979 K20 that was pretty rough, after that I got a 1986 C10 that I drove for a while when I first got my license. Being a speed hungry 16 year old, I wanted something fast so I sold it and bought a 1998 Z28. That car started my love for LSX engines and platforms and I have been hooked ever since. I have owned a half dozen F-Bodys, several 99-06 trucks, and a few LS swap vehicles that I bought. I kept missing my square and lately I have had the itch to have my own build, one I could point at and say " I built that."

The search began and I picked up a 1976 C10, it turned out to be a bigger project than I had planned for. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when a Facebook friend picked up a truck that I had been eyeing on Craigslist. I called him up and he had decided to sell it to fund another project. I headed right over and paid him.

The truck is a mostly original 1987 R10 Silverado. The original owner was an older man that used the truck around his farm and checked his cattle in the evenings, it has holes in the LF fender from his spotlight! The only modifications to the truck so far are LED taillight conversions, HID low beams, and a 5/7 drop using DJM components. The previous owner had described the drop as a 5/7 but the ride was terrible, I took it apart and found it had 3" drop springs and 3" spindles, I swapped the springs out for some stock ones and cut 1.25 coils and the ride is better now. I also removed the bed rails and horns on the front bumper.

Here's a few pics:











Shortly after I bought the truck I heard through the grapevine about an awesome deal on a 2012 5.3 and 6L80E, so I snatched them up. It will be a while before I begin swapping it over, but this is a start.








I have a lot of mini projects planned for this truck, so stay tuned!

[GAM3OVR]

Went out and worked on a couple small projects today. I have fun tinkering with small stuff such as this and maybe by sharing I can give you guys a few ideas as well.

In my opinion on of the bigger drawbacks to these trucks is the lack of cup holders. I don't like the look of the universal jobs that the auto parts stores sell. I was at a local salvage yard a few days ago helping a friend locate some leather seats from a Durango to transplant into his Dakota R/T. I liked the looks of the cup holder in one Durango we looked at. It is a stand alone unit that was mounted to the center hump. I took it out and paid them a cool ten bucks for it.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics before I started but this thing was gross. I cleaned it up good and used a cut-off wheel to grind the original mounting points flush with the base of the unit. I then disassembled it and sprayed it with some Bulldog adhesion promoter. The pic below is after a coat of Bulldog.


I had picked up a can of SEM Color Coat in the only darker blue I could find. This isn't a perfect match, but it seems that every piece of the interior is a different shade of blue anyway.



I did one light coat of the SEM followed by two medium coats. This is the end result after reassembly of the cup holders and rubber mats.




It could be mounted either way, but i think I am gonna go with the bigger end towards the seat. Either way I mount it there will be a gap and it is not going to sit perfect on the hump, which is fine because this may be temporary unless I really like it. I still have to figure out a way to mount it securely to the floor, but it looks good sitting in there and hopefully it will be convenient.





Another thing I tackled today was my map pockets. They were sagging and gave the interior a tired look. I picked up some 3M Dual-Lock fasteners from Advance Auto. These were on their clearance rack and rang up for 5 cents! They have adhesive on the back side and seem to be stronger and easier to work with than standard hook and loop fasteners. I know it's not a major modification, but this project cost me a nickel and 5 minutes of my time and in my opinion is worth a lot more.





This is where the map pockets sat originally, the fasteners are in place in these pictures.




With the fasteners stuck together.

[Mattthecat]

Subscribed. Whats your plan for the standalone wiring harness for the engine and tranny? where r u getting is programmed at? and was the 5.3 and 6l80e in the same truck?

Just wondering. I want to do a 6.0 with a 6l80e in the next few months and trying to get all info possible.

[custom97]

Very nice truck you got there and waiting on the swap. You might find a store that sells fabrics and buy some of those snap buttons. I'm using those for my pockets. Using the original screw and making a hole on the pocket for the snap.

[GAM3OVR]

Originally Posted by Mattthecat

Subscribed. Whats your plan for the standalone wiring harness for the engine and tranny? where r u getting is programmed at? and was the 5.3 and 6l80e in the same truck?

Just wondering. I want to do a 6.0 with a 6l80e in the next few months and trying to get all info possible.

PSI Conversions makes a wiring harness for this setup. I'll be having it tuned by a local tuner. Yes the engine and transmission came from the same truck.

Originally Posted by custom97

Very nice truck you got there and waiting on the swap. You might find a store that sells fabrics and buy some of those snap buttons. I'm using those for my pockets. Using the original screw and making a hole on the pocket for the snap.

Thanks. I might give that a try if this doesn't work out.

[amberkalvin]

Subscribed!! I like the little changes that make all the difference in the world!

Keep it up!

[RUN GMC]

What year Durango my Squarebody bretheren........

[erichevy]

As a fellow 87 R10 owner, I'll follow along

[Low Elco]

Saaayyyy.... That ain't bad! Pull the big hole rubber, wide flat head screws into the floor, put rubber back over them, wha-la! Nice little truck!

[phillipm]

Originally Posted by Mattthecat

Subscribed. Whats your plan for the standalone wiring harness for the engine and tranny? where r u getting is programmed at? and was the 5.3 and 6l80e in the same truck?

Just wondering. I want to do a 6.0 with a 6l80e in the next few months and trying to get all info possible.

I like to use the factory harness and just modify it for my needs. AlldataDIY.com is your friend if you go that route.