[BombDocDiesel]

Well, this has been a while in the making. I finally had to take a month off work so it made sense to get to work on the truck.

There are a few parts to the project. Short bed, McGauhy's 4" rear drop, Super Coils front 3700 pound coils, Allison Build, custom drive shaft, ARP studs, 110HP injectors, Garrett BB turbo, MBRP 4" turbo-back exhaust, new cab floor, Automatic steering column, complete LS interior with Katzkin leather, Adrenaline 4K tuning upgrade, enough B-Quiet to hear myself think in the cab, POR-15 the frame and most likely new 110LB springs and pushrods. I'm sure I forgot something.

Parts!!

First up, short bed conversion! I will have to put some pictures of the new bed in later. I found a short bed step-side in summit white. I ended up getting with the step-side bumper and all for a song compared to what they are bringing. The drive to get it and back could have been better.

This is also the first project in our new shop.

Hood and grill removed. Oh, I noticed the sway bar was broken in half! Those are so not cheap for what they are.

Bed, springs and axle removed.

For those that have not removed the amazing wax crap GM was so kind to grace our frames with; BUY A MEDIA BLASTER! That junk fills pads and wheels like a champ. I spent 6 hours scraping and grinding the frame. I still have a lot to do. FWIW, the Marine Clean that POR-15 recommends cleans about as well as Dawn dish soap.

Getting the spring hangers off is a chore. There are eight rivets and it's a PITA to keep from getting the frame really hot while burning through them. The grinder and a big punch helped a lot. I still have to tackle one of the rear shackles as the sleeve and bolts are bonded to the bushing.

The cut is made 14" forward of the mid-section.

My favorite tool!

Yes, that is a Milwaukee Portable band saw. The cut is pretty clean for working on a frame.

Tomorrow I will dress the boxing and get the sections ready for welding.

 

[BombDocDiesel]

frame back in one piece

We put the frame back together today. I still need to cut the second row of bed mounts off to move them.

The process requires removing the factory splice in the frame. The mid-section, or splice, overlaps the front and rear sections and the tank and shock support runs through it.

This is what it looks like when you cut the rest of the mid-section out. Not just a straight cut.

Then, with some help from a friend here, the frame was welded back together. You can see that we just took the splice out and made the short bed the same way the factory does.

My new 3700# coil springs also came in today. As well as my Katzkin leather for both Chum and Slick.

 

[BombDocDiesel]

More of the front end

I had to buy a new wheel hub assembly and tore into the brakes. I learned a valuable lesson. Some early 2500LD trucks use 1500 series brake hoses. That was fun learning the hard way.

Old 2800# coil springs

New Super Coils 3700# springs installed

I will have the front back together tomorrow morning, save the shocks.

Oh, my new 11.50" 14 bolt came in today. Now if only I could get my bushings and the one bolts I had to torch off for the leaf springs.

 

[BombDocDiesel]

Allison

Once I had it up on the stand the break down began. It gets tanked tomorrow and back together.

She was pretty clean for 225K.

 

[BombDocDiesel]

Allison rebuild fun!!!!

I am almost finished with the rebuild on the Allison. I tracked down all of the balance pistons, bearings, bushings, seals and a new C5 from TKT Sales out of PA. Ted is the guy at TKT and he is pretty sharp. The kit is a Stage 4 from PPE. The pump came from a new pull-out '09 Allison.

I am including most of the build up pictures. I have yet to get the mainshaft to re-seat once I flipped the Allison over. I am following step by step in the ATSG manual and I don't see where I missed anything.
I should have it finished tomorrow, even if I have to take back down to the case.

The stand

Torn Down

I somehow deleted most of my C1/C2 pics.
Modified C2 Piston

Valve Body

Drill the green holes

Swapped 09 pump

Going back together

I rebuilt the extension housing assembly the morning I did the C1/C2 so I lost those pictures as well.

 

[01Duramax6spd]

Keep up the good work Josh. Looking good .

 

[ryanryan]

Very cool. Keep the pictures coming!

 

[BombDocDiesel]

Thanks guys!

The Allison went back together today. I quick call and a few pictures to Mike and he pointed me in the right direction.

I also stripped most of the front to get ready to pull the cab and front clip. 110lb valve springs, push rods and cam from Hamilton should be here tomorrow.

 

[BombDocDiesel]

Cab ready to come off

I got everything ready today. I will have the cab in the air in the morning. Hopefully, the motor will be out tomorrow as well so I can replace the oil pan and pump.

GM ECM and harness. Yeah, it goes back in.

 

[BombDocDiesel]

Cab came off

I took the cab off today.

I had to cut another 4" off the rear of the frame. Yes; the bed is slid forward.

Shortbed Step-Side teaser

New AAM 11.50 rear

 

[Chummins]

ha and people say i'm crazy josh. It's nice to actually have the time to put into it right lol. keep it up man, also very good pics of the teardown on the alli.

 

[BombDocDiesel]

ha and people say i'm crazy josh. It's nice to actually have the time to put into it right lol. keep it up man, also very good pics of the teardown on the alli.

Thanks. I'm somewhat stumped, though. I am yet to find where the A/C circuit was cut out.

 

[BombDocDiesel]

Rolling Chassis today

It doesn’t look like much. The spring hangers will be welded tomorrow. The measurements take forever. I’m pretty sure at this point the frame is probably closer to true than it was from the factory.
I spent a lot of today pulling rear brakes from the new axle. I will be busy tomorrow taking the axle apart to fix it.

 

[DieselS10]

Awesome project!

Keep the pics coming!

 

[BombDocDiesel]

A bit of progress

More new parts

My new borescope. I did lots of looking around in there before I pulled it out.

Blown Head Gasket

Motor Pulled

Frame to carwash

Frame prepped

POR 15 does not stick to bare metal worth a crap! It does; however, stick to skin very very well. I wasted a lot of time prepping the frame. DO NOT USE A BRUSH! I pushed the stuff all over the frame and got it everywhere. I spent $48 on an HVLP gun and had it all done within an hour.
Frame POR-15

Oil Pan

Motor Prepped

Mag-Hytec Cover

 

[ryanryan]

AWESOME job man! Everything is looking great.

 

[BombDocDiesel]

Motor's back in!

Colt Cam, 110# valve springs, and pushrods all in. 110HP DDP injectors in. Studs in. Mumau came through today with the rest of the gaskets and seals I needed.
I still need to get a bolt for the Destroked plate since it needs to be 10mm with a 12mm head! I also need to source my Allison bolts so I can get my new driveshaft made. I’m really hoping the one-piece shaft can be done.

 

[Duranut03]

Great job. Loved the show. Keep up the good work.

 

[1lowdiesel]

very cool! looking good. I like that bypass plate for the oil filter too. Where'd you get that?

 

[BombDocDiesel]

very cool! looking good. I like that bypass plate for the oil filter too. Where'd you get that?

Destroked. I can run the lines straight to my dual bypass housing.