New video - 2004 Avalanche build

[L92 OLDS]

This is my brothers truck and I have been helping him along the way. The goal with this build was to have a solid, rust free driver with AC and enough power to be fun in the sand and to get groceries in comfort. Some on gbodyforum that live in Michigan have probably heard about Silver Lake Sand dunes. It's a state park for off road vehicles that draws people from all around. It's about 1 hour North of Grand Rapids on the Coast of West Michigan and a great destination during the summer months. People take everything in the sand from trucks right off the show room to highly modified 4x4's for off road only. Here are a few links

The truck was originally from North Carolina and had a 5.3. Here are a few pics that begin to tell the story.

This used 6.0 LY6 had approximately 40K miles on it and was from a wrecked 2500 truck. The LY6 made sense because it has L92 heads on it which are required for an LSA blower unless you buy the goofy adapter plates.
Since the truck is a 2004, the crank reluctor had to be changed to the older 24x version so the factory truck ECM could be used. We also pinned the crank pulley for the blower. The new cam specs were suggested by Baker
Engineering and were from other builds they had tuned. We went through the bottom end and replaced the cam bearings in the process.

Engine going in

LSA Blower installed. Cadillac CTS-V FEAD installed. The 6 rib pulley kits just don't cut it in my opinion. The factory AC
compressor required a small frame notch for clearance.

Looks just like GM installed it. We used all GM parts for the install. The factory ECM was flashed to accommodate
electric fans, E85 flex fuel sensor and among other things the larger LSA injectors

The LSA intercooler uses a liquid cooling system with it's own electric pump. An aftermarket intercooler fit well. When
done everything looked as if it came from the factory.

The factory 8.6 wouldn't last long with the higher power level. The 14 bolt rear from a 2X4 Cadillac Escalade was a direct bolt in replacement.
The freshly rebuilt 4L60 was replaced with a new 4L80 with a transgo HD2 kit installed.

Eaton posi carrier added.....

More to come when I have time up organize pics and video.....
The initial dyno with the factory diameter supercharger pulley yielded just under 600 whp. The next step is a smaller pulley for more boost.

 

[fleming442]

Curious to the reason for a factory blower instead of an aftermarket- looks? cost? etc?

 

[69hurstolds]

Curious to the reason for a factory blower instead of an aftermarket- looks? cost? etc?

I'll put money on cost. The factory units are fairly easy to find. Have to hope you get a newer one, as the older units have had snout spring isolator issues. Aftermarket makes a reasonably priced solid isolator kit to fix them. But if you had to take your car in to get it fixed by GM under warranty, they just toss on a brand new blower unit. LSA owners got a letter a few years ago extending the blower warranty on the LSA's to 10 years which is akin to the ZL1 catalytic converter marbles rattling extended warranty. Somehow some of the cat guts on the ZL1s get crunched up during high rpm use basically rendering them nothing more than a can of rocks. If either is rattling, take it to the dealer for the free fix.

Additionally, parts are usually plentiful as well for the stock stuff.

 

[CaliWagon83]

I thought about doing something similar to mine, but freakin’ CA smog rules.

 

[L92 OLDS]

I'll put money on cost. The factory units are fairly easy to find. Have to hope you get a newer one, as the older units have had snout spring isolator issues. Aftermarket makes a reasonably priced solid isolator kit to fix them. But if you had to take your car in to get it fixed by GM under warranty, they just toss on a brand new blower unit. LSA owners got a letter a few years ago extending the blower warranty on the LSA's to 10 years which is akin to the ZL1 catalytic converter marbles rattling extended warranty. Somehow some of the cat guts on the ZL1s get crunched up during high rpm use basically rendering them nothing more than a can of rocks. If either is rattling, take it to the dealer for the free fix.

Additionally, parts are usually plentiful as well for the stock stuff.

This^^^. Used, low mileage LSA take off blowers can be had for pennies on the dollar. You can't get into an aftermarket blower for less than $6,000 (Magnuson as an example). There is a place local to us that buys all the warranty blowers from GM dealers. We replaced the isolator ourselves which was a quick and easy repair. We picked ours up for $750 but the secret is out now and now they are bringing more money. My brother wanted the low end torque that a supercharger offers. I also like the nasty blower sound it makes. The 2 big ticket items for this build were the used LY6 pull out and the LSA / CTS-V FEAD system which ran close to $1,000

Not all LSA's in this video but still interesting

 

[L92 OLDS]

Looks like you can still buy them reasonably cheap on e bay.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5335822911&icep_item=303091654972

 

[olds307 and 403]

One of the plastic panelling Avalanche's, that is daring! What do those have for a front axle? Interesting on the 8.6 not holding up but I guess even upgraded is pushing it's limits.

 

[Dayzedandkonfuzed]

I love this build. Great idea.

 

[L92 OLDS]

One of the plastic panelling Avalanche's, that is daring! What do those have for a front axle? Interesting on the 8.6 not holding up but I guess even upgraded is pushing it's limits.

Right? The plastic cladding on some of the older Avalanches is definitely ugly. You would think GM would have learned their lesson with the Pontiac Aztec. This one looks as shown in the image below. I think the the 8.6 would have been OK but a lot of guys that run in the sand say they grenade. Amazingly the front diff’s are ok.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Interesting. My in laws had a 2004, ugly plastic cladding. We borrowed it a couple of times. My BIL warned me the head light might fall out. I plugged in the cooler, it blew the fuse, tied in with the interior fan, stupid. Ugly, Mexican made junk. Don't get me started on the underpowered 5.3 or the mighty 4L70E. My SIL was surprised we didn't buy it at their farm sale, I wasn't, unless it went way to cheap. Good to hear about the front differential, the 8.25" aluminum in my 94 and the 8" in my Dakota make either without lockers, useless in snow or mud. They tried with the GM 8.25", diffs came apart in testing. I actually considered a Dana 30 swap in the Dakota but finding one with 3.91 gears is the trick, not available aftermarket. Then add locker.