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drivetrain specs: 11’ Vortec Lc9 (ls series) aluminum block 5.3. 
Torn down and rebuilt from bare block with stage 3 BTR cam, ported heads, Novak motor mounts and radiator/3fan assembly, stock intake(for now) stock alt, p/s, a/c locations and brackets (for now), coated short tube headers and custom full exhaust with quiet magna flow mufflers 

08’ 4l60E transmission - rebuilt after first drive, I burnt up 4th gear. Circle d 3800 stall converter 
custom drive shaft- one piece with Ford flanges. 
ford 8.8 rear end with 4.10 posi custom purchases for the rebuilt stock leaf springs, custom shock mounts with ranchero 9000s 

all new moog front end parts, including gear box and re-enforced frame 

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I’m not the best with documenting while working- progress is addicting, but I did manage some. 
 

the Jeep was in pretty rough shape when I got to it. The windshield molding had been leaking, along with the fuse box seal. one of the previous owners must have broken the windshield trim clips and decided to screw it right into the roof.  After removing the windshield I used Eastwood Encapsulator to seal the rust in the framing and prevent it from spreading. And made a temporary runoff/ Awning for the fuse box to divert any water, and resealed the hood at the wiper cowl with new gasket  BB84E90C-5741-4269-ADAC-6F929E6879D0.jpeg.2e44f68662037ddc9034006bf50ce9b7.jpeg

I also treated the floors with it- being they weren’t too bad and I live in Louisiana I wasn’t too worried. 
 

Having removed all the interior to repair the floors, I decided to get rid of the carpet and bench seat. 
That’s when I found this forum and got the idea to make my own brackets. 
seats are from an 86(?) corvette and I Frankenstein’d those seat tracks with some xj brackets 26C40BE8-A918-498D-A2E7-35A9D3049DA9.jpeg.ca01c52905aaba02aaf3058526e55b8d.jpegI had to cut a hole for the seat brackets to fit- but NBD because It’s a 2wd, I have tons of extra room under it. D7BF0855-4934-4459-A3A4-52E40DD85CF4.jpeg.1f5153363bb691aa335bbfe3321bdf9c.jpeg634AB054-FA80-4BB0-8F06-207BF6A873E3.jpeg.8598698829fd07b23dff679bb9724d7b.jpeg3492202E-77D7-4C86-A0EC-94D89694E39A.jpeg.37157276ab68303b2c5e5d5a48431303.jpeg

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I had done a few engine repairs- leaks, 

oil pressure and etc sensor swap from light to gauge,  distributor. So I’m starting to spend money on it, with knowing the front end parts are all completely wiped out, interior needs to be addressed (I’m driving around on an unbolted seat and unbolted seatbelts), needs lots of body work and paint, and after figuring a portion of the cost I wasn’t liking this project idea. 
 

I had the opportunity to get an aluminum  5.3 out of a wrecked 11 Chevy 1500, I was told it had lifted tap. 
 

that’s when I decided to do the swap. I’ve always wanted a loopy cammed vehicle and a Jeep truck seemed the like the most bad @$$ thing to have it in. 

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After retrieving the 5.3, it got torn down to a bare block for cleaning and reassembly. Some go fast parts were ordered, and the rebuild starts. 
I documented some of the assembly with time lap- unfortunately most of the files will be too big to use the forums upload feature- 

This is installing the pistons(stock), timing chain(vvt delete), and valley cover(ICT billet)- crank (stock) and cam(BTR stage 3 car) already installed. 

 
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Lots of little things were starting to be taken care of- clearing out the wiring, frame stiffeners, new steering and suspension components Novak motor mounts, removed the 4.0, installed the 5.3 for test fit- need to get measurements for drive shaft and make sure the dang thing will fit. I’ve read on here that it’s impossible to fit the stick alt/ps brackets as well as stock a/c locations- the only thing that doesn’t fit is the hood! Lol I didn’t even have to lift it for the deep oil pan to clear. I worked out another deal and got a body guy to get the body straight and get it into primer- he needs mechanic work done on his own project. AA176993-3E7F-4069-80AA-4CFFB8CC1ACE.jpeg.bd77f275a01a01d999791d90d68fe846.jpeg6F59C111-E00C-4F87-81B7-F4C085C41FE6.jpeg.b434461257b8d42aa07a5e9d2e9b18f3.jpegA6620FD3-91CB-41FE-BA5B-0CE7D9F50583.jpeg.e0dde4c1cdbcf3c57a66fa3fa00480ea.jpeg102C8D04-01D6-40C1-8E05-4F3073FADAEB.jpeg.02da9c6cd6524fee8e14add0b4b0216a.jpegCF16FE1B-C5F3-4104-AAEB-DEFE7009B632.jpeg.18dc97bf24c51f9c502423a94b3f1d6e.jpeg47319963-8547-4D0D-98DF-5F0418CB950A.jpeg.8e6069a5297c0f937d3fad3eb3f6c846.jpeg
shot of the body work and original paint3A3E2A7B-1F3E-4151-A5D1-E044D595C951.jpeg.68b4b560a944248431d17ab68bfb1e2d.jpeg21C4F92E-2B94-45E9-B4BA-0F7841DBF106.jpeg.c6e11d91efd19aefb97adb7da2216337.jpeg

the Novak radiator assembly fits like a dream- it was a great investment 

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As I said, all the front steering and suspension components were shot. Rockauto had everything I needed in moog (lifetime warranty) tie rod ends, drag link, pitman arm, remand gear box new springs, ranchero 9000 shocks, steering stabilizer, even got ahold of some Polly bushings C71A1878-D494-4F74-815A-92711826E841.jpeg.289572e4b42ff54d36984b8515722a8a.jpeg

the driver side rear leaf spring seems to have gotten worn out, and hangs lower than the other- I decided to have the local spring shop rebuild the stock ones- 

and I found a Ford 8.8 from a junk yard out of a explorer with 4.10s

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the Jeep wheels actually fit great around the brakes, the only issue is the rear tires sit a 1/4 narrower than the front. It’s hard to notice without looking for it though. 2655ED75-1568-4343-BFFF-A96E6CFD225F.jpeg.04b33d8ae32244133db6bd3c9c64bc1d.jpeg7483CE73-086F-4C82-B827-7171C3A6CC53.jpeg.23e969fccac5ce19daa9a2210a036ade.jpeg

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Onto the body work- my guy has done some spectacular work. This things is baby smooth! 
he used some “pink” primer- it sprays pink but dries grey4AE73670-FD15-44EC-A877-A0C795AD61DC.jpeg.eeb4c63575bc474a90e4947b5565d251.jpeg3150A98A-6AF5-4959-848C-07A47A2C7879.jpeg.db22ec0477054ce29b174501959ac254.jpeg73E5CFA7-A59A-4119-9823-04B4CCAEBF92.jpeg.083fb32a7c21a756a62a09bd153ae950.jpeg8CC7AC61-FC31-479A-BA4C-5D2A30A69D82.jpeg.72cb0ffb4287a6cb6a5194d1ef69fc7a.jpeg

 

I'm really having a hard time choosing a color and design to wrap it but I do have a few ideas. Maybe the pizza truck from toy story (I know it’s a Toyota but don’t care) or Like this, keeping it in it’s time era70B441E9-6E8D-47C4-B4A3-FAB68B0C8823.png.5176ca0f3426bdf030c0a248dddeedaa.png

and this one as rough general idea of striping and different colors DD6E5167-5CA4-40BC-A346-123D9E5CA9D1.png.53448515c1437af405ef3d77cf286b76.png

I think any thing with a base of a military style color and then some accent that realllllly pops on it- I’m also open for ideas! Post up some pictures!

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After the install, wiring and tuning were a big hurdle crossed. With a sloppy home brewed tune (professional was booked for over a month)
I got the truck together a week before Crusing The Coast, and made the trip to the Mississippi coast. It was tremendously successful, with only one late night autozone parking lot repair!

 

 

 

man does this little truck RUN! 

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Wheel hop was terrible.  light truck and leaf springs, my axle wrap was brutal. 
A set a Caltrac traction bars did the trick! I called Caltrac and they sent me over a form for a custom set of traction bars. With a ford 8.8 out of a explorer and Jeep mounting points, they made it really easy to get these parts installed. 
 

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  • 10 months later...
On 9/16/2022 at 10:33 PM, pago cruiser said:

That is awesome!:L:

On the strip, were you slightly crossed up most of the way, or just the camera angle?  Looks... odd.

What was your time?  

I think it’s just the camera angle.. 

my best time so far is 12.4@105mph

mu goal is to break out into the 11’s. 

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22 hours ago, CaptainPatchy said:

Man, this really makes me wanna swap mine at some point!  You caught that Mustang driver snoozing that light!

It was my plan from day 1 of ownership. It’s been a dream of mine to have a loopy cammed mini truck. I couldn’t recommend it enough. It’s so much fun to drive.
Everywhere I go, and especially when I race, I have a ton of people showing me love

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Yesterday I did a shakedown day, drove 150+miles and then ran it 3 passes at the track. 
got over 10mpg, no breaks, and happened to win all the races! 

cruising the coast is in 2 weeks and it’s a week of abuse I put on the truck. I plan on doing a lot of racing, and I’m going to do the burnout competition. 
 

I added a drive shaft safety loop,

and some pvc pipe over my traction bars- I think it’s a pretty funny trick FA7E2992-BA5D-48F0-AA21-FA66A135B2EF.jpeg.7c6e025f90a0605d867039fe0e827640.jpeg2D5B2848-F72F-4EF7-95E9-2E76E7E4A391.jpeg.aeec5d466d06e994cd394356c84f882c.jpeg74268A6B-F152-4518-81FF-717CAB60AFC0.jpeg.24546af8f3b2d9b153402f337926b9e4.jpeg

 

 

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