88GMCtruck's 98 Silverado Towpig Build: "Black Fox"

[ak diesel driver]

maybe I missed it but did you do any upgrades to the dually fender marker lights?

 

[88gmctruck]

The lenses were sanded smooth and wrapped in black vinyl, and I have drop in LED bulbs in them

 

[ak diesel driver]

Thanks I've got a socket bad on mine and searching the net there's not much available. I'd like to do some sorta protection for them as the metal boxes were packed full of road grime.

 

[88gmctruck]

Thanks I've got a socket bad on mine and searching the net there's not much available. I'd like to do some sorta protection for them as the metal boxes were packed full of road grime.

Yeah there is no aftermarket I could find for them. I just pull them and clean them every now and then. I have some other plans up my sleeve but there are more pressing things to do first.

 

[ak diesel driver]

I'd be cleaning every week. Be interested to see what you come up with.

 

[88gmctruck]

Here she is.... Rebuilt Whipple.

We will get that, along with a new starter installed shortly. But first I needed to get away from things and drag the camper/quads over to the sunshine. First time using the new camper with the cargo trailer.

I think a shorter hitch extension is in order..........

With my friend's 98 GMC K2500 454/4L80E truck

 

[88gmctruck]

Welp, got a few things done. Waterpump went the other day, lost a bunch of coolant. Luckily I noticed it while at home and not towing. Threw some paint on before install.

Then swapped out the Whipple

Also noticed an exhaust leak, figured out it was the manifold donuts.... which were new about 2,000 miles ago. Seems like the Whipple is burning the graphite out of them........

And more maintenance going around - the starter was doing the dreaded key turn and nothing happens. It went on for awhile and I finally replaced it. But, I decided to go with something that was a good upgrade. This is a Denso unit a friend of mine found some others using online, it's a heavy duty application (think delivery trucks) that start and stop a hundred times a day..... plus it's a very gear reduced starter and sounds way cooler.

And it was a direct bolt in, and only $160 on Amazon.....

 

[DieselSlug]

That is a sweet starter. Got any vids on how it sounds?

 

[88gmctruck]

That is a sweet starter. Got any vids on how it sounds?

I haven't, but I could LOL

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Welp, I think we've hit the "nickle and dime" stage of truck repairs. Last week while backing up i hit the brake pedal only to be treated to a harsh vibration and grinding sound..... only to have the same sound when I turn the truck. Welp, the power steering pump went out as well.

So, new pump was ordered along with a new pressure hose from a 96... Why a hose from a 96? Well, I got rid of the EVO steering valve on the pump... Installed that and all is well.

Then on a trip down to the junkyard, I FINALLY found a clean set of grey cloth bucket seats. I cannot express how happy it made me. And only for $100. As pulled from the junkyard...

Hit them with the carpet cleaner and began tearing out the old 60/40 bench.

Awhile back I picked up a grey GMT800 console for this purpose. Been tripping over it in the garage for far too long. Spent about 5 hours measuring, cutting, shaping, trimming, coming up with ideas on how to mount it....... yeah. It was a process. Front console mounts are directly on the floor, and the rear needed raised up so I made a little bracket. The console profile is WAY off compared to the truck, It took a bit to make it look decent and there are still some gaps.

So much better! Now I have 2 USEABLE cupholders up front (that pull out dash abomination can die in a fire) and rear cupholders, something this truck desperately lacked. I also deleted t he rear seat nets. I think it's cleaner this way.

I also installed a set of Infinity component speakers in the front doors, will be installing a rear set tonight.

 

[Will L.]

Just a warning on the rear cup holders- no drive thru cups. Screw on lid water and soda bottles only.

Looking good.

 

[88gmctruck]

Just a warning on the rear cup holders- no drive thru cups. Screw on lid water and soda bottles only.

Looking good.

Thanks. Yeah I can tell they are the best cupholders out there, but they are better than the rear cupholders GMT400 consoles had or the fact I had none at all :lol:

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Finished up my speaker upgrade last night. Not sure why it took this long to accomplish, but the GM issue speakers were shot. They never sounded good to begin with... So out they came and were swapped for a set of Infinity component speakers.

Front doors were easy... Now in the rear I went a different direction. The Crewcab trucks have the same door panels as a suburban, without speakers installed. They use the same rear pillar trim as a regular cab pickup, and have 4x6 speakers in the pillar. 4x6 speakers very rarely sound good, particularly compared to components. I started out investigating and low and behold, the rear doors are already wired for speakers, in the door itself. It ends at the center pillar plug. Still made my life WAY easier.

Did a little fitting and cut the holes for the rear door speakers

Best question is where am I putting a tweeter, and better yet how am I going to do it so it looks factory..... Remember those 4x6 rear speakers..... Since the space was no longer useful, and the stock speakers are crap anyway, I "took them apart" and used the frame as a mount for the tweeters, in the rear pillar.

I'm probably going to steal the subwoofer from the 88 and toss it in there, hopefully I will be able to get a headunit sometime in the near future.

 

[DieselSlug]

Console looks perfect in there!

 

[Ed HD]

Looks great! I want to do a HU in my Denali, but I'd need to get a Nav HU or something, and I don't really have $1k to drop right now...

 

[88gmctruck]

Been super busy at work lately and at home, trying to get some of the project stuff off my plate lately.

Last weekend I finally got around to a good wash for the truck, and pulled the trailer out to help a friend move.

While I had the trailer and campers out of the way the other weekend, I pulled this ol' girl out. It got a quick bath this weekend and I ran around in it some.

Sunday I performed my 0411 swap on the truck, wire by wire. I used a combination of Lextech's wiring chart and one I made myself, which was very useful in the end having both. I don't know how many differences there are in wiring between 1/2 VS 3/4 VS 1 Ton trucks, or between Small Block VS Big Block trucks, or Auto VS Manuals, but there were a few things I had to figure out and hopefully can pass on to others for future use. I wanted to get everything tidied up first, but I will get the wiring cleaned up later.

With the new 0411 came a Blackbear tune. Got that sorted out and JFC it was a night and day difference. The truck feels like it picked up 50HP. Acceleration is harder and smoother, truck revs quicker and the best part, on my initial test run, while doing a ton of screwing around and fast highway driving, got better mileage. This past weekend I ended up at 10.8 MPG which includes going over 2 mountain passes... I am willing to bet I would up that 2 MPG if I wasn't playing around while driving. Can't wait to test it out with the camper. Of course I snapped a couple picts of the truck from the outing.

Stay tuned, there are more mods in the works as well.

 

[Burning oil]

Beauty.

 

[BIGR]

Beautiful pictures, that is my kind of scenery.

 

[GM Guy]

looks awesome as usual!

I was in a junkyard back in Idaho and saw a Denali, but alas, some jackass has to tear up the door panels....

Also, I am sure its in an earlier post, but what did you do in the upper console? I grabbed a horn from a burb in that junkyard and noticed a temp sensor, so the gears were turning. this 95 is likely going to be my winter time puller, and knowing if its trying to ice over would be helpful info.

 

[88gmctruck]

looks awesome as usual!

I was in a junkyard back in Idaho and saw a Denali, but alas, some jackass has to tear up the door panels....

Also, I am sure its in an earlier post, but what did you do in the upper console? I grabbed a horn from a burb in that junkyard and noticed a temp sensor, so the gears were turning. this 95 is likely going to be my winter time puller, and knowing if its trying to ice over would be helpful info.

I have a dual display mirror, it shows both compass and temperature. My previous S-series DIC in the overhead console showed compass temp and some MPG figures as well (MPG won't work on the 6.5L of OBD1 stuff, but there is a basic just compass/temp unit as well). This console has a DIC from a 01-02 Denali which is just MPG figures (a lot of them) which is why i have the dual display mirror.

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Been getting the tunes worked out with BlackBear, this has been a common sight lately.....

My gauges finally showed up though, here is what they look like out of the box. Speedhut did an awesome job, the quality is excellent, well worth the wait.

Since they were in I had to connect everything, which I pre-wired awhile back in anticipation of this.

The boost gauge uses a electronic sender, which conveniently there was a 3/8" NPT plug in the manifold already (is something for the A.I.R. equipped trucks) so I installed a bushing and adapted it to fit the sender.

Here they are installed in a autometer dual pillar pod, painted to match with SEM.

Oh, and of course, a shot at boost........

 

[Ed HD]

Somehow all your text is white...

 

[88gmctruck]

Somehow all your text is white...

Any Better?

Been getting the tunes worked out with BlackBear, this has been a common sight lately.....

My gauges finally showed up though, here is what they look like out of the box. Speedhut did an awesome job, the quality is excellent, well worth the wait.

Since they were in I had to connect everything, which I pre-wired awhile back in anticipation of this.

The boost gauge uses a electronic sender, which conveniently there was a 3/8" NPT plug in the manifold already (is something for the A.I.R. equipped trucks) so I installed a bushing and adapted it to fit the sender.

Here they are installed in a autometer dual pillar pod, painted to match with SEM.

Oh, and of course, a shot at boost........