Speeding Brick Redux

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abrasumente

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Whats up guys and gals. Long time lurker, first time poster here. Thought it was time to introduce myself and my plans for this 07 Suburban I picked up a few months ago from a friend.
First, a bit about me. I'm new to this generation of SUVs but have been wrenching on vehicles as a hobby for almost 20 years (sounds unreal when I say it out loud). I have made a few attempts in the past to build a performance vehicle, but my personal life is pretty chaotic and my wife has a lot of medical issues, so there has always been something that comes up where I have had to sell off my project. I am a family man first, there is nothing I won't sacrifice for her or my daughter!


That said, I had started a build on a gmt400 Suburban back in 2017. I poured a TON of effort and money into this truck, not least all new suspension components, a 14 bolt rear, and had even gotten as far as purchasing a gen 3 5.3 and all the fixin's with plans to rebuild and boost it. At the time, I was going back and forth between whether I wanted to install a turbo or supercharger. Here's a beauty shot of it:
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Then in 2019 disaster struck. I was working on the truck when a piece of metal broke off the tool I was using (I had literally just taken my safety specs off and didn't put them back on), and put my left eye out. I had five surgeries to try and save my eye, which were successful, but it's basically useless now. I tried to keep working on the truck but got to the point emotionally that I couldn't stand to see it anymore, so I put it back together enough to sell it. That little debacle put an end to my wrenching for a few years.
 

Joseph Garcia

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Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

OMG! You are the poster person for the importance of wearing safety glasses.
 
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abrasumente

abrasumente

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So, fast forward to now. Things have gotten a little better for us, and I guess my wife had noticed I was moping about without rusty nuts to cuss at all weekend. We'd been discussing buying a second vehicle again, and considering what the job market is down here in the deep south, I definitely needed something more than her Infiniti hatchback to run side jobs in. A friend of mine had been gifted an 07 Suburban from a family member, but they'd driven it for a while and were having progressively serious issues with it, so after some discussion, I bought it from him for $1500. It has 283k miles on it, ran like crap, and would fog out the whole neighborhood it was burning oil so bad. 332504116_6105895546135078_1728152270238183114_n.jpg
After draining the oil and finding a chunk of a ring in the bottom of my drain pan, I decided I'd start by doing the ol junkyard gamble. I have a personal stipulation that all my projects must run and drive, beyond any motor or trans swaps it may be down for. I found a 5.3 out of a wrecked 07 avalanche on Ebay for 800 shipped, supposedly with 137k on it. Since my injury, I am very careful with working on vehicles, so it probably took me way longer than it should've. I figure I have close to 40 hours in swapping these motors out.
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I also ended up putting aftermarket cats on it for the time being. The old one on the passenger side had broken up and overheated, likely from all the oil the old motor was burning. The plan is to redo the exhaust with something that flows better but doesn't sound like a dirt bike on steroids.
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abrasumente

abrasumente

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Running and driving again!336233685_1928996070767506_169534004974898830_n.jpg
I haven't done much since the motor swap, other than cleaning it up, pulling the ding guards off the doors, and swapping out one of the cigarette lighters with a dual USB port plug.338570263_769463004697900_4339758166703567744_n.jpg

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abrasumente

abrasumente

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@Joseph Garcia yeah, tell me about it. I stress the importance of PPE and proper use every chance I get now. Some brush it off until you start talking about being awake while someone's digging around inside your eyeball trying to remove scar tissue. Seems to be more compliance in my friend/work group now
 
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abrasumente

abrasumente

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So the plan for the truck is the same as what I was going to do with the gmt400, and should be significantly cheaper since many of the systems are already in place. If the old LC9 is rebuildable, I will build it for boost. If not, I'll scrap it and source another block. I gave much thought to a turbo but have ultimately decided on installing an intercooled supercharger system. I don't feel a turbo will be ideal in my use case, and this thing is a heavy pig- I need grunt. The goal is in the neighborhood of 600 horses at the crank. It will take a large sum to achieve this, so time will be my ally in this endeavor. There aren't any tuning shops around me that I'm aware of, so I'll be doing a lot of study on HP Tuners to teach myself how to set my tune properly.

I also plan to install a 4l80e. I strongly considered a built 4l60e, but again, she's fat. I feel the 60e will grenade itself under the stress of hauling around a boosted 6000 lb vehicle, regardless of how much money I sink into it. I am not loaded, so I have to be smart about how I spend discretionary income. The 80e is more expensive but I seriously doubt I'll be putting in multiples of them. Fabricating the crossmember will be the biggest challenge for me, as I have zero fabrication experience, but I have no doubt I will become at least adequate at it. The 60e currently installed still shifts fine, but the fluid is black and I'm hesitant to change the fluid until I have a replacement transmission sitting in the garage.

It has the regular Bose system installed. I have been gathering information here on swapping in the premium Bose system. There are a few Denalis in yards near me with the premium system installed that I will be getting parts from soon. I'd considered building my own system with a digital processor at the heart of it, but considering how much I'll have to invest in go fast parts, I think the factory system upgrade is the move.

Finally, the only other major mod I'm considering is a small lift with 33s. I had put a 3" body lift on the gmt400 I had because I didn't want to jack with the suspension, but between needing custom fab work to raise the rear bumper and smoking two body bolts, I think I'll go with a suspension lift this time.

I will keep this thread updated with my progress.
 

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