306K5

TireTech, a member from another forum compiled the chart I attached. It turns out he too has the same spring rate as my truck, which is 810lbs.. the highest you can get due to a snow plow prep package. Knowing that I'm running that ridiculous spring, I'm going to give a lighter oem spring a shot. He went for the 612 lb springs. I think I may go for 515lb springs. Or try a KYB strut with spring assembly for a 2015 Tahoe RWD. Just waiting to hear back from them on spring rates. My truck is a good guinea pig for the light spring, I'll eventually post when I get to try them out.

Just a quick reply on my phone here. No offense taken at all to any of that, all valid points. You are correct in saying off road suspension is really not being utilized. I guess my issues is, the regular cab short box trucks are sprung for big payload and I'm assuming share the same front coil as the heavier trucks so it rides like a lumber wagon. I can't go buy off the shelf front coils that have a spring rate I'm looking for, so I'm forced to go custom off road stuff. If a 2.0 shock will give me the ride I'm looking for I'm happy. If I could buy a $150 Monroe shock and coil setup that doesn't ride like a pogo stick I'm also happy. My truck sees 30mph driving around rough roads. I rebuilt it from salvage, so it has a unique use case. Have a dually for heavy stuff etc. Just on a mission to make it ride nice, and enjoy talking/reading about it. Appreciate your input!

Hopefully this summer I can reach out and make a move. I will definitely price out fox as well. Fingers crossed I get someone at accutune who wants to help with a street setup. I think you and I are the only two looking for a suspension setup like this. Baffles me.

I think I'm going to spring for the 500# front setup. I want car like out of my 16 rcsb. I've been following your posts for a couple years now. I like the 2/4 drop as well. I was going to go with an older model rear leaf, still not sure there yet. Bums me out there isn't a more affordable custom spring/shock supplier out there. I was going to try viking but just can't find enough feedback on ride quality long term.

I've maybe asked you in the past, but have you heard much about atomic fab coil overs? Apparently he will tune to your liking. https://atomicfabandperformance.com/product/07-18-gmt900-front-coilover-kit/ I still haven't driven my 16 RCSB much due to the rough ride. I need to pony up some $$ for some proper shocks/spring rates.

I have bought a 2nd hand IHC 4/6 drop for the truck. I have yet to install as I haven't spec'd out viking coilovers for it yet. I'm also fearful about the ride being worse without factory style bushings. I am going to try it though, I hate how high the truck sits. Since the post, the truck has been parked in storage as I've had company truck to use for all my needs. The savings is nice but I sure miss miss the single cab! It isn't going anywhere, the rebuilt title is a negative to others but somewhat of a trophy to me. Hopefully I get some suspension ordered up for it soon.

Have you kept the swaybar off? I was going to order custom king coilovers to cure my rough ride. My 2014 single cab truck is only used for 30mph trips to work in the winter months. It's rough enough where I don't enjoy the truck. It's starting to seem silly to spend $2000 + on coil overs for a secondary vehicle. I may try removed the swaybar. I would like a lower spring rate, but other than Viking shocks/coils.. everything is $1600++

Thanks! Hopefully a few more changes to come to improve it some more. Good for you rebuilding your last truck as well! Takes the right kind of person without a doubt. A rollover would be a smarter move than what I did, the frame probably didn't suffer. The rebuild made me appreciate the fine details on new vehicles that much more. Always lots to learn!

I rebuilt my 2014 Silverado, the AC system worked fine but I had the system open. I just replaced the driver/accumulator, do I need to add PAG oil? It lost very little oil when I pull the rad support off, but the old drier looked a bit saturated in oil. Searching forums nobody gives a spec for just a drier change inside the condenser. Any help is appreciated!

Thanks! I actually forgot about the rear bumper! Yes that was the plan, I need to start keeping an eye out for a painted one. I have a feeling I'll have to go new though. The other thing I need to change is the box cover. I put the fiberglass solid cover on that it came with, but that has to go at some point.

All assembled in the shop.. the lights look much better now. Still don't like them as much as OEM but light output is way better, with a clean cutoff and no blinding other drivers. Lights on Day time after some miles Beside the old cab Close up on the mangled cab.. I'm glad that repair wasn't attempted. For those that scrolled through and read it all, thanks for taking a look! I don't know if I'll do another one again, but it's cool to have a truck that I tore down and rebuilt. It had to pass 2 inspections to be road worthy again, and did so with flying colors. Anything that had damage was replaced. IMO the proper way to repair a salvage vehicle. It does have a rebuilt title now, and it's officially a 2016 model . Apparently the cab determines the year where we are. The frame is technically a 2018 part #. But built even after that. Maybe I have one of the last produced short box frames around who knows. What does the future hold? I need to replace the suspension and upgrade that 4" screen. Have been invested in Grumpy Bears 2015 Silverado suspension and want to go the route he did. Plus.. who on earth has studied it more than him? Foolish not to take advantage of that info. The truck is currently resting for the summer inside, sorry about all the winter pictures but it was built for a purpose and winter driving/fits in my small garage is it.

Had to set on the new front bumper, this item cost more than the whole truck. Truck was $1500 CAD by the way. Two of the bolt holes in the HD bumper matched up with the 1500 brackets. Very thankful for this! Unfortunately details are vague on the bumper installation. I had to extend tabs on the frame horn brackets for full support The other thing I did was re-drill the 1500 frame horns and move them down all way, as the HD frame is much taller. I would've like to had HD frame horn brackets to try, but I was obsessed with proper fitment on the frame and safety. That bumper had to be as strong as OEM for me to be happy. On this test fit the bumper is sitting way too high. There has to be a cab below the grille. I was still figuring that out here. Somewhere around here the truck came to life again. I was able to put the other Sheetmetal on once I knew the engine bay was good to go. The feeling you get when you drive a project out like this was pretty good. Good motivation to keep rolling. I had lots of visitors pointing out how crazy I was... lots of fuel to keep going. Box went back on Had to try out the lights, hated how they looked here. You can see how badly the truck needed paint correction here. Hey it was a $1500 write off, it didn't have a great past! Back to bumper alignment. Starting to get it figured out, that bumper was on and off probably 40 times. Starting to look like a truck Box liner kept the bed nice at least! I wanted to stick with 18" Wheel for ride quality, found some used off a 2019 wrapped in new Blizzaks. Perfect for me, won't look super cool though. Function for me sometimes wins over looks. Husky brand mud flaps to kick the junk off before parking in the garage: I hated that fake chrome, had to order mirror caps, door handles, and a new gas door lid. The awesome body shop manager who convinced me to replace frame and cab did the spray job on these.

Tear down begins.. I was happy to do this. Truck sat for so many years I wanted to check/clean any rodent action. Dash out Definitely the worst part of the job. Taking a part a dirty interior carefully. Added just a bit of sound dampening.. used the 25% rule from advice from http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/ I was going to do a full 2 step treatment, but I had ridden in other newer trucks and was happy with the noise level. No regrets not going further, it sure is quiet. Also I plan on parking this truck for half a year. I didn't want more stuff to be damaged if rodents ever got in again, although I am in the city so it shouldn't happen. Install into the replacement cab I cleaned the carpets best I could without pressure washing, at the time I was trying to keep the project moving and making maximum progress day by day without many breaks. I was able to add amp power wire through the factory passenger side grommet for the most ultra clean short power wire run. Dash part way back in I ended up buying a salvage heated steering. This truck will be winter use only so a must have! I wanted OEM heated seats too but apparently that is next to impossible to put in easily. The wheel however was a piece of cake. Carpet got a bit dirty from me being in there but it's starting to come together. Now the cab can go on the new frame. Back to the 4 post with the lift kit

Around this time I had to decided on what front end I wanted to use. 2014 1500, 2016+ 1500 or 2016+ HD front end. It basically came down to what I could find locally for parts, and I did want to do something different. Budget was a concern, so I couldn't go with brand new stuff. Amazing how much that stuff costs in Canada anyway. White hood located I had found this picture online. It's actually a shortened HD truck. I wasn't going to have 14 wides or the Dmax scoop but it looked different from all the white half tons that I saw. so I decided to buy the hood above and continue. My not so cool hood, and right side fender from salvage. By far the most expensive part.. the HD front bumper. I was told by all salvage places if they ever did get a fully loaded painted HD bumper in, the whole front end would generally be bought by insurance for thousands. It was far too new to be a part out item. Most the the trucks coming it the bumpers were shot as well. So ebay it is... the bumper was $1417 USD with one scratch. Perfect ones were about $1600 at the time. It arrived exactly as described. The last problem was finding paintable OEM HD headlights. Impossible!! Same story with salvage, if they had anything good it would be sold to insurance. Also were at least $800 per side. I was bummed but I went with aftermarket. Lighting is important to me so I tried to buy something with quality parts. I went with AlphaRex® - NOVA-Series Jet more details on - https://www.carid.com/alpharex/nova-series-jet-black-drl-bar-projector-led-headlights-mpn-880217.html?singleid=3034430856&url=111014919 The quality didnt blow my mind, but they were about half the cost of salvage when they were on sale black Friday. They will be painted to match later. Before I got the hood I actually found a white grille just over an hour from me at salvage. It was $350 which was super cheap at the time, considering I could find NOTHING on any style front end other than the hood local. Ok so front end parts are now waiting. Onto cab swap.

FYI the pictures were taken on my phone generally vertical, so they will be turned to fit here better. Can't wait for this ugly frame to go at this point. Now I'm learning how the assembly line assembles things The electrical, fuel and brake lines are all one large assembly that drops into place and connects everywhere. It was very to easy to remove as an assembly. Switched over to the new frame Doesn't take long and the old frame starts looking bare. The rear end and tank moved over as well. Electric power steering shown out, and I would remove the front corners from the control arms. A bit annoying to install like this. Front diff is last Out with the old.. the rust looks so bad, it was actually all just surface rust and nothing worse. The factory wax coating is not a great finish, old GM frames had better coatings IMO. Mostly assembled, still some buttoning up to do. Engine ready to go back in In goes the 5.3/ 6L80E That old frame was supposedly bent, with it stripped right down there is no way I could tell. I also noticed the cab mounts were bent, bolts VERY bent. I almost wonder if all the movement was just in these parts. I'll never know now. You can see the cab mount leaning bad.

The new frame inside.. suspended ready to start switching parts over. To be continued

Body shop/frame rack day The verdict: Frame was out a bit (no kinks, just a an inch out overall), needed a new cab mount. The cab situation was worse, and would be a costly repair as it was many seams, that wouldn't be possible to fix as good as OEM. The body man was excellent, rather than take the work he asked me how much I was willing to do. This was 6 months after the pandemic, and I was barely going in to work. All the time in the world on my hands. I had also priced out a frame from GM already. When I told him I could order a new frame, and there was a local 2016 Summit white single cab he told me if it was his truck, he would replace both if I was seeking perfection and a better end result. I agreed, I didn't like the idea of straightened parts and I like things as it left the factory. So... $900 for a cab Meanwhile the junk fake chrome had to go! Work began! Rad support comes out in one big chunk Next is the cab.. with a 4 post lift I had to get creative but it worked! Starting to get stuff spread all over Outside to wash off the filth. The surface rust on this thing from sitting in tall grass was brutal. Another reason I wanted to change the frame. The driveline getting picked out

July 15th 2020 I found the truck on marketplace and started inquiring. Details were vague, but the truck had been in a collision and wasn't repaired or reported?? (so he said) Weeks go buy and the information trickles in.. it has hit a pole and broke the entire front right suspension, but the engine still ran and it drove on 3 wheels . More info, it was actually crashed in the fall/winter of 2016. It has been sitting for 3-4 years. Fast forward to September 2020, the seller has decided he should let the truck go and now I get all the details, the VIN and we start figuring out a price. He was driving intoxicated and hit a pole, tried to drive the truck off the pole/had friends try pull the truck out but ended up getting caught. The truck was impounded and he was denied insurance coverage. He had plan on fixing the truck, but time was passing and it wasn't looking feasible. In order to get the truck, I would have to cover the compound fee, which he was able to talk the tow compound down on thankfully. Sept 28th I head there with my trailer to finally see the one I thought was getting away (and I likely should've left alone). The first look, the drivers side looked pretty good. But with the tall grass I couldn't see the damage real well. The tow truck driver pulled it party way onto the deck so I could look underneath: The rim, axle, upper control arm and tie rod took the bulk of the damage. I couldn't really see the cab damage and from the looks of things the cab was ok. Oh, and it fired right up with a boost like nothing!! After sitting that long with almost 4 year old fuel. 139,****** KM on the ODO. I quickly talked with the seller and we decided on $1500 plus compound fees. Away he goes? Yup he drove the deck around with it dangling like that to get lined up with my trailer (nightmare). Almost on, don't know how the aluminum trailer survived sliding it around with boards (no damage). Just about to head home. The starting KM Had to get this out of the way... Pulled the fender off and uncovered the damage to the cab... still hopeful here Ordered parts to get the truck fixed so I could back it off the trailer. Driving it around after it was off the trailer was such a great feeling! Next step was across the street into the body shop for frame measurements. Where I live in Canada it needs a body/frame inspection and a full mechanical inspection after a documented collision (which it turned out this truck had!). I'll try keep the posts coming when I have time.

If you've ever been on Facebook marketplace and found something that was too good to be true, seller was extremely hard to get ahold of, and impossible to go look at... You'll enjoy this build. It all started with two facebook messenger photos of a phone .... containing the photos of the truck. It ended here: I'll try fill in the gaps in between, but it may take a few posts when I have time. As a hint, the model year of the truck changed and I got to order a brand new frame from GM. More to come soon!

Black hole is right!! My truck only has a pan from the front cross member back, I'd definitely like to try one from the from bumper valance. I also need to seal up the HD grille more it has a ton of extra cooling. One of these days I'll make a thread.

Thanks, it's far from perfect my starting point was less than ideal. So with you and co-pilot out you're 4810lbs. I should still weigh again with fuel. But that's much closer than I thought. I'd imagine I have more on my front end though. Side note have you every thought about fabricating a lower air diffuser that streamlines airflow from the lower front bumper valance back past behind the oil pan? I too watch fuel economy like my life depends on it, sold my TDI VW so I've considered building some of these for my low 2wd trucks to test.

I like the idea of messing with the rear leaf, cost is low and if I need to replace it I have (thankfully) your Deaver spring specs now! New U-bolts aren't too spendy so I can take pictures as I go and post if I go down that path. I should maybe know this from your thread, but how did you gain 500lbs aside from rear leafs/shocks? I'm sitting at 4940lbs (my attached scale picture shows KG). Not sure on the fuel situation then, I had just finished building the truck. It's a 2014 originally, 2016 cab on a brand new 2018 GM frame with a 2018 HD front clip. I didnt see any differences in the cab/frame from the original. The HD front bumper might be slightly heavier however. I'm just baffled as to why our truck weights are so close with different drivetrain, but your starting weight makes way more sense.

Very helpful thanks! I currently have a couple other GM full sized lower to the earth. One with spindles, one with control arms. My 2014 drives me nuts at stock height, actually it's leveled.. for some reason I didn't remove that gift from the previous owner... yet. It makes more sense now that you mentioned the lowering spindle, I remember reading you changed it but didn't see the drop it offered. What excites me even more is you're lowered with better than OEM ride quality! Have you weighed your front end and rear axle separately? I know I'm heavier but I'm wondering how much all that adds up to be. If you have weights I'll fire it up from summer rest and go hit the scales. I am so tired of the rough ride, as is my wife that I'm willing to go on the extreme soft side with my suspension. I have an old trusty steed diesel for all my towing needs. My silverado use is opposite of yours, winter only because it's 4x4 and fits in the garage during the cold months. It also doesn't see much highway duty, just rough city roads. If it has boaty body roll but rides like a car sign me up.

Took me a couple of days but I just went through all 50 pages. If only GM knew how much attention that VIN number would get when they built it! Not like that would change anything. I PMd you regarding suspension awhile back, I think about your advice weekly on my 2014 regular cab shorty. Still have yet to pull the trigger as I'm living in Canada and the border is closed. Is 600# spring rate still the sweet spot for the front in your opinion/application? I like how it dropped the stance and uses the full range of travel much better. I almost feel like just copying your setup, as there is no way I can start fresh with a salesperson and go to the level you have. My only difference is I'm a 5.3 4x4 with a bit more weight.