86 K10-Orion

[toomany]

Drilled the holes for power windows/locks in the door jamb and door shell. Probably should have done that before I painted....

Finished the body work on the fenders and doors. Passenger fender had a few dings I didn't notice till I was washing it off the other day. Most of them would have been covered by the bumper, but since I had it off I fixed them.


Painted insides of the doors and touched up the jambs on the cab from drilling.




Tomorrow I'm going to either figure out how to get them vertical or hang them back on the cab to paint. Fenders I can do easy enough.


Wheels finally showed up today. Probably spent a little more than I needed to on them. But they are refinished and look brand new. Nothing fancy, just some silver H2's. Picked up some newer caps to go on them as well. Going to my buddy's place tomorrow to get the tires mounted.





Have a bunch of parts rolling in this week to get going on the interior. Ez-wiring harness, door switches, new window seals/fuzzies. I'm adding power windows/locks and a few other modern conveniences. It will be easier to do that all now (or at least set up for it) while the cab is bare and wire is being run.

 

[toomany]

Update time

Wednesday I got the tires mounted on the wheels and the doors/fenders painted. Had a mishap with the drivers fender, bumped into it and knocked it over after the first coat. Thursday I sanded it down and got it ready to paint again. Tried this morning and I knocked it over again (actually it fell this time)! Managed to catch it as it was falling and it ended up coming out ok. Have one spot that needs a touch up on it.

Thursday also brought my wiring harness from Ez Wire. Looks like a good product. Instructions seem rather lacking. I doubt I'd use them anyway as I'm pretty familiar with the wiring on these trucks and the harness is labeled every couple of inches.




When I go to wire things, they can be broken down into a few categories. Interior, exterior, lighting, gauges, factory items, non factory, engine control. Still waiting for a few things before I can dive into it. Wiring truck side will be seperate from engine side. Idea is to use the BpAutomotive harness in a stand alone configuration, only needing 3 or 4 wires from truck side to power on/off.


I didn't paint them this way (had them hanging from the hoist arms). Color laid down nice on the fenders. Drivers side has one bad spot that might need touch up if I can't wet sand it out.





I hung the doors on the cab and couldn't resist putting the fenders on to see what it'll look like. Got ahead of myself and scratched the front edge of the door when I opened it. Not a big deal as I figured on something like this happening. Should have taped the edges first. Will be easy enough to sand back and blend in.






Picked up some sound deadener for the doors/cab. Riding around in a tin can is not something I want if I can avoid it. Taking a lot of steps to prevent that... probably overkill. 50mil thickness Kilmat. Had good reviews on Amazon and it's from Russia, so that's got to be worth something. Lol No asphalt smell and it is relatively easy to work with for what it is.




Started with the doors tonight. If you've ever spent any length of time inside the doors you know what kind of fresh hell this was. Ended up with 8 full sheets on the inside. 6 on the outer skin and 2 on the inner. Generally, this type of product, you don't need to do the entire panel. It's main job is to add mass to the metal to prevent hollow sounds. But it's cheap enough and not much more work to do the entire thing.







Once it was all in I hit it with the heat gun on low and rolled it with a heavy socket. The bumps smoothed out and the glue really stuck. Not having the latch/striker in yet it's hard to gauge how it sounds when shutting. But just banging around on it you can really tell a difference. Only have one door done so far.

Firewall, parts of the floor and rear of the cab will also be getting some Kilmat. Then a coating of Lizard Skin sound control (I've got some extra I need to use up). Firewall and select parts of the floor will also be getting some of their heat control as well (picked up some more for the Jimmy project). Topping that off will be the firewall insulation pad. Floor and back wall will be getting carpet. Sounds like a lot, because it is, but I want quiet and comfortable.


Parts from 1Aauto came in today too. New window rubbers and fuzzies. The old stuff crumbled when I took them out or was missing. Vent windows will have new seals going on too, that's where most of the wind noise comes from in my experience.




Along with the soft parts, I got new PW/PL switches and lock actuators. Converting both over from manual. Have the plugs for the switches coming from LMC, be interesting to compare quality on the two aftermarket parts that need to mate to each other.




Fairly certain I ordered everything to reassemble the motor. Went through my list a few times. Hope to have that together and in next weekend if parts show up early enough in the week.

 

[toomany]

Finished the other door, back of .
cab and firewall today.

Drivers door didn't take as long as the first one. Maybe because I already had a plan of attack in my head.

Cab wall went pretty smooth. Did as far into the corners and up the B-pillars as I could reach too.




Firewall took some time. Because of the odd shape, most of the pieces had to be cut all sorts of weird. Started with full sheets where I could and filled in the rest.

Having so many compound curves, nothing lined up from one end to the other. You're left with odd shapes like this one.




Fortunately, the paper backing makes for the perfect thing to make templates out of. Pressing it against the edge, you can run a sharpie along it and get a decent line. Transfer it over to the Kilmat and cut it out.




Little bit of heat from the heat gun to soften it up and it forms pretty easily. Some of the areas were to much for the foil and I had to make a relief cut, which was easy enough to fill in with some scraps.




Finished product. Need to cut out openings for the column and other things passing through still.






Waiting for my other box of Kilmat to come in before I finish the floor. Have enough left to get a decent start on it though.

Put the door latches back in along with the strikers and got those adjusted. Doors close with a nice solid thud now. Probably going to work on getting glass back in them next.

 

[toomany]

Installed the power window regulators, door glass, new vent windows seals and window run seals.

Regulators went in easily, holes were already in the doors. Cleaned all the old dried up grease from the rollers and door tracks. I normally lube that stuff with silicone spray, but with some painting left to do, that is a big no-no. So that will have to wait till I at least get the touch ups done on the truck.

Door glass was pretty straight forward too. Putting that in with the vent windows out is the correct way to do it. It can be done with them in but it's a pain in the ass.

Rebuilding the vent windows is as much fun as everyone says it is. It involves cutting a couple of rivets and trying to squeeze rubber that is too thick into a channel that is too small. Soapy water helps lube it up but it's still a struggle. I bought the parts from 1Aauto and they were Precision brand. The fit is decent, nothing like OEM though. Same goes for the window channel runs. They fit like they are supposed to but feel lighter than the ones I pulled out. I'd give them a 7.5/10.

Windows go up and down real smooth. I've got a relay kit for them when get to wiring. I'm leaving them up overnight to hopefully get them to set some before sticking some adhesive on the new parts.

Power locks and inside door handles will be next. Have to wait on the outside handle and lock cylinder till those gaskets come in.

 

[toomany]

Spent most of today cleaning parts and putting the 5.3 together.

BTR Stage2 truck cam, Ls7 lifters/trays, Ls6 springs, Melling timing chain and damper kit, Melling oil pump, new bearings, rings, complete gasket kit and Dorman knock sensor kit. Picked up new main and head bolts along with balancer bolt.

Assembly went smoothly. First time I had been this far into an LS Other than having to torque to angle, it was pretty simple. Short block is done, tomorrow or Friday I will go through the heads and get them on. Hope to drop motor/trans in Saturday.

Didn't get any pictures tonight. Being in/out of the parts washer and having diesel/assembly lube on me I didn't want to be dealing with my phone.

 

[2Dogs]

I like the mock-up out in the yard. When I have had projects at similar points I would sit and just look for hours. With a beer.

 

[jekquistk5]

Are you tuning the Ls yourself or taking to someone?

 

[toomany]

I like the mock-up out in the yard. When I have had projects at similar points I would sit and just look for hours. With a beer.

Sometimes it's nice to see it coming together even if you have to take it apart again.

Are you tuning the Ls yourself or taking to someone?

I'm undecided if I'm going to send it out for a base tune and go from there or do it myself. I've got HpTuners and am familiar with deleting VATS and the un-needed codes. A friend of mine just took his swap to a guy in Tuscola and is happy with it. I don't know if it was a dyno tune or no though.

Except for the cam and probably some headers, it'll be mostly stock. I might try it myself and see how it runs. I've got 3 PCM's, so I could even send one out and still be driving it. Working in HpTuner is a little easier than TunerPro or EBL Flash...both of which I have for my 92 Formula.

 

[jekquistk5]

The BTR stage2 might be close enough to the sloppy stage two cam. Might want to look up on Sloppymechanics tune library. Could get it some what close. I know the BTR stage 3 will not work with a stock PCM. It will start but once it goes closed loop it falls on its face.

 

[toomany]

Finished door assembly today.

Had to do a weird double split shift today at work so I only had a little bit of time to on this.

Put the outside door latches and lock cylinders in with their new gaskets. New power lock actuators didn't go in the easiest. The supplied brackets that came with them were completely wrong. Holes in the wrong spot and bent way off. I had one OEM bracket to use for a template to modify one of the wrong ones with. Even then, I still had to tweak it some once it was in the door. Both doors lock/unlock with a nice positive click, not the usual half travel where you have to hit the button a couple times to make sure it's were you want it.

With the exception of the mirrors and door panels, the doors are done mechanically. Easily the best set of square body doors I've dealt with as far as how smooth everything works now. It's amazing what some new parts and lubing everything up can do for them.

Tomorrows game plan is to get the heads done and on to the motor and probably dropped in place. Going to try putting the transmission and transfer case on at the same time too. Once that is in I can put the core support on and hang the fenders. I should wait till I have the wiring done, but I'm trying to get some space back in the barn and I don't like having to keep moving the fenders each time I go out there.

 

[toomany]

Pulled the heads apart, ran them through the parts washer. New valve seals and Ls6 springs went in. Used Ls7 lifter and trays, not that they are much different than the stock ones, just the updated GM parts. Dorman knock sensor kit, so hopefully no leaks there. Grabbed the valve covers from my other 5.3 because the original ones from this one had a fitting broken off. I didn't paint them red, previous owner did that.

After a quick break to eat, I got everything ready to drop into the truck. Did the whole combo at once. Had to fight a little bit to get the drivers mount lined up, and had a little clearance issue with the transmission dipstick, but it's in.



Had to dig out a "W" crossmember for the transmission. Holes lined up with a set already in the frame.





@jekquistk5 here are some better pictures of the firewall area with the Diy4x mounts now that it's in for good. The dipstick area is the closest.











There is a little more room than with the SBC, but that could be because of the 1" body lift. I can get my hand in behind the drivers head and mostly around the passenger one.

 

[toomany]

Intake, water pump, accessories and coils are on. Everything fell right into place. Stock power steering pressure line hooks right into the newer pump. Tapped the water pump for the sending unit for my temp gauge. Oil pressure sending unit went into the block off plate on the side of the filter.




Core support and fenders went on next. Spent a good hour or so getting the door gaps decent. Little bigger than I'd like, but they are even and clear fine. Passenger side core support bushing took way more shim than it should have. I don't know if it's from the rail swap, or if the frame sections are different at the front body mount on the older trucks. I do remember there being an odd number of hockey pucks up there when I took it apart though. Think when I do the glove box, ash tray and cowl panel I'll touch up the edges of the doors/fenders.



Debating on using the 05 radiator or the original 86. Leaning towards the newer one for a couple reasons. The electric fans fit it and I'll be able to use the expansion tank and hoses from that truck as well. Makes finding replacement parts down the line easier if they are something common and not and odd ball hose that only fits one model.

Next up will probably be finish off the sound deadener inside so I can start wiring. Last piece I needed for that came in yesterday. Getting some headers, tubing and mufflers ordered some time this week and I'll be close to being able to start it.

 

[UpnAdam]

That’s a really nice color, I may have missed it earlier but what is it?

 

[toomany]

That’s a really nice color, I may have missed it earlier but what is it?

It's Wine Red Metalic. Summit brand single stage. Don't see many this shade of red. Depending on the lighting, it changes a little bit. I think it's turning out well. Will probably wet sand and buff it once it's together and moving.

I didn't actually want a red for this truck. But the gauges I picked up have red backlighting and didn't think that'd go to well with the dark green I was going to use. Almost went with a dark silver or grey, but my diesel is sort of that color and I didn't want to match.

 

[toomany]

Almost finished with the Kilmat on the interior...or "operation baked potato" as the girl friend called it. Few more small pieces and I'll be able to move on.

50sqft covers most of the cab. That's both sides of doors, rear wall, firewall and most of the front floor. If you spaced the sheets out some, you could get by with one box.

This is one box worth.




Where I left off today.




The part under the 4wd hump and the hump itself will both be covered too. Figured that'd give me the best odds at keeping that area quiet.

 

[78SWB]

I like this build! Very clean work too. I’ll be watching this one.

 

[jekquistk5]

Kicking but on this thing. Good work. I think I’m gonna use the stock rad from the donor. Mounting is a little different but nothing some flat stick can’t fix.

 

[toomany]

I like this build! Very clean work too. I’ll be watching this one.

Thanks! I'm trying to do it once and be done with it. No sense in half-assing it and needing to come back later to fix it. And for the most part, it's a simple build. Once I get to the wiring that will change...adding modern conveniences and integrating it with everything else will be the challenge. Having a clean slate to start with really helps too.

Kicking but on this thing. Good work. I think I’m gonna use the stock rad from the donor. Mounting is a little different but nothing some flat stick can’t fix.

That is my plan. It worked in the donor and it should work in the swap. From what I've seen, mounting is straight forward on the bottom and just need a way to secure the top.

 

[toomany]

Finished the floor and sprayed some Lizard Skin.

Had a few small patches and the transmission hump to do before I could move on.




Top coated with Lizard Skin sound control. Have to spray the SC before you can apply the hear control. Be Friday before I can put that on (needs 24+ hours to fully cure).

My bucket is well over a year old and the shelf life once opened is only around 6 months...was starting to get a little chunky and was clogging up the gun. I got decent coverage though. Up under the dash was hard to get at. When I do the second coat I'll see what I can do to get in there better.

 

[max 02]

Nice work man!