Great White: A Chevy K10 Build

Ouiwee

Observer
I managed to get the last of the parts installed. Here be the alternator. It is nice to just plug it in and move on. I think it is slightly larger than the regular one. It provides 170 amps at idle.

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The damper was a pain in the neck, but mostly because I took my time. Everything on those guys is tight and a close fit.

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The 5% overdrive is the closest to stock I could get. I suppose that means a slight tweak to the tune is required.

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Here is the supercharger belt and routing.

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The belts all clear fine and everything fits perfectly.

I got a bunch of mandrel bends in aluminum to think about piecing together some better looking water lines. I guess the factory quick disconnect fittings would make sense too.

I attempted to fire it up and no go. I diagnosed it to the high pressure pump supply to the engine from the sump tank. I had the wires backwards (an honest mistake given the colors) and no fuel to the high pressure pump. I got all of it sorted out and the fuel pump controller will not turn on the pump. So, I am inclined to think I might have fried the controller. The system can be reworked to drop the fuel pump controller, but I'm not considering the option. I reckon that a trip to the GM dealership is in order for Monday morning.
 

Ouiwee

Observer
I have yet to sort out the issue with the fuel pump fault (P023F). I had a Walbro 450 pump in the surge tank and swapped in a new pump from a Camaro ZL1 and still no go. I've ordered a new pressure sensor in the hopes that it will fix the problem. The ground at the sensor is good, and it is getting 5 volts. The controller has power and ground and a turn on signal.

I have no idea why I have the P2128 and P2122 codes. The pedal that came with the harness might not be the correct one or could be faulty.

It seems crazy to me that I get an engine and wiring harness directly from GM and when I plug it in, I get DTCs and it doesn't work. I anticipated issues, but not these.

At least I can communicate with the ECU...
 

Ouiwee

Observer
I got some parts finished and installed.

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Gates makes a permanent clamp that installs with a heat gun.

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I got the intake painted as well. I'll have to get a picture of these parts installed.
 

Ouiwee

Observer
I started on the transmission skid plate and made some progress.

Here it is from the rear looking toward front.

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It attaches to the front skid plate/crossmember with two 1/2" bolts.

Here is over the drive shaft. I think a gusset of some sort is needed there--maybe cut a circle for the driveshaft out of some chromoly sheet. Sorry for the bad picture...I was rolling around in the snow under there.


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I have a gusset on the other side.

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I had the notion of putting on some aluminum plates for the bottom. It might make more sense to just weld some chromoly 3/16" plate on there and be done with it. Thoughts?

There will be a bridge piece that is welded onto the back of the skid plate and bolted into the bottom of the cross member. Lastly, I need to sort out a skid plate for the transfer case. It is the most exposed part of the driveline.

I would like these skid plates to be strong enough to handle the weight of the truck. They might not be quite there yet. I guess I could test them with a floor jack.
 

Ouiwee

Observer
I got the skid plate finished. I added a gusset above the driveshaft.


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Here is how it ties into the shield/crossmember/engine mounts.

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The back most skid plate has some 1/2" square runners on there and bolts to the cross member.

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Ouiwee

Observer
This picture is cocked somewhat, but it is hard to get them just right.

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Well, you get the idea. It's off to paint next week to get undercoated like the rest of it.
 

Ouiwee

Observer
I did slide a floor jack under there and lift the truck using the skid plate. It moved very little with the front tires off the ground.

I think I forgot to post a shot of the painted pipes.

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Ouiwee

Observer
I got the skid plate back from paint. Here it is installed.

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One more to go for the transfer case. I reckon I'll knock that one out tomorrow.

The truck goes to an LT4 guru for diagnosing the wiring harness issues and to adjust the tune for the 4% overdrive pulley on Monday.
 

Ouiwee

Observer
I didn't weigh it, to be honest. I'd guess the entire thing to be 60-70 lbs maybe.

It might be possible to make one out of chromoly tube and save some weight. 7075 aluminum would be best, but it cannot be welded.
 

Ouiwee

Observer
With some help, I got the wiring sorted out along with a few other things.


The driver side header was just kissing the oil cooler brick, which produced a slight exhaust leak. A flap wheel will take care of that.

The LT4 is much more quiet than the SBC and idles as smooth as butter.
 

Ouiwee

Observer
The header is clear on the driver side and quiet as a church mouse. The oil is changed and it looks like it holds approximately 10 quarts total (at least that is what goes in once it is drained). I have a slight exhaust tick on the passenger side that seems to be coming from the merge collector...

It is odd how much quieter it is now compared to the 454 SBC. The idle is great and the blower whine is fantastic.

I'm now attempting to sort out the speed sensor. The GM harness is a 2 wire and the Dakota Digital sensor is a 3 wire--a ground, +5vdc, and signal.

The Dakota Digital dash also has a GPS unit, so speed can be GPS derived. That leaves finding the right sensor for the NV 4500.

If anyone has advice, I'm all ears.
 

Ouiwee

Observer
I bought a Dakota Digital 128k pulse per mile speed sensor. It took a couple of tries but I got it to work. Just in case anyone else out there goes this route, the signal from the sensor (white wire) goes to the signal + on the wire harness (in the GM documentation, purple/black wire). The sensor should be powered and grounded independent of the harness--only the signal wire is connected to the harness. The signal - wire on the harness is not used.

It was pleasant enough driving around in limp mode. It didn't have a lot of power but got around okay.

At full power, this thing is stupid. It chugs like a diesel in high gear--just give it some throttle and off you go. I'm still breaking it in for the first 500 miles, so not doing any full throttle pulls yet. It wouldn't matter anyway since at just over half throttle it simply overpowers the clutch. I currently have a centerforce clutch that is rated at 500 lb/ft of torque and it is nowhere near enough for the LT4.

It is nice to drive. It idles great and is smooth on and off throttle with no jerks or other issues. The factory tunes really are nice in terms of street manners. I started it yesterday at 20 degrees F and it fired right up. I can tell already it is much more fuel efficient than what I had before.
 

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