Doing Modifications To Obs Trucks

mcreyaufmiller · May 25, 2008

I have recently been asked a lot of questions about doing modifications to our trucks. I will say this first, be careful and do your research.

The most costly mod I have done is the 383 stroker, the engine itself, was about $8500. But this was not the stopping point. The radaitor had to be upgraded, electric cooling fans, custom headers, full exhaust system, computer and dyno tuning. The total? so far I have almost 3 time what the truck is worth in modifications. But let's not stop there. I realized that there was too muck power on the ground, because I had 1 tire tat looked like a drag slick. I could not go anywhere without spinning the tire (well no fun anyway). Cost = new set of tires, posi rear, $2000. So now the truck will haul ass, but as all of us know with these trucks, they cannot stop very well. Here goes the brake system. Since I had the rear torn down, I started there. Added the Disc kit to the rear, nice addition. $1500. Now the truck stops better. Only 1 problem, the body rolls too much when I take the corners at speed. Need sway bars. $600 front and rear.

So lets run down this again. I started with a new motor, and ended up with a complete drivetrain and almost complete new brake system.

Oh yeah and I forgot about the front end rebuild since I found a few bad ball joints. $1500.

When you start a project, do your research, you really need to focus and plan for every addition. Most projects will have another attached to it to make it better, and the list goes on. I was prepared for mine, I knew the cost and really did not care. It's my truck.

The next important thing to remember is time. If you think it will take 2 hours, plan for 4. If you think 1 day, plan for 2. If you do not need the extra time, no problem, but if you plan on rebuilding your rear tonight in the garage and go to work tomorrow morning, then when you get into the project, you find that you have the wrong bearings for the carrier and it will be tomorrow before you can get them, well you need to find a way to work. But if you planned ahead and had another way to work tomorrow, little fustration over the problem.

Do not plan on long trips directly after modifications. You need a few days or weeks to work out bugs, make sure eveyrthing is right before you leave your home area. If you build that rear tonight and you go on a family vacation tomorrow pulling the camper and the rear freezes up because it did not get it's required 100 mile break in before you started working it, well now you have a towing bill for your truck, and your camper and your vacation is shot.

These are a few words of wisdom to help as you plan your mods, if someone had told this to me a long time ago when I first started playing with cars, it would have saved me a lot of trouble. I hope you can use it.

Mike

pennzoil29 · May 25, 2008

Very well put my good man. It's nice to see that, through experience and what not, that you shared your advice. I hope more members read this, so they can better prepare themselves on future projects.

Drunken Sailor · May 26, 2008

Amen brother! I second all of that. Especially the part about time. If you think it will take 2 hours and cost $100, GUARANTEED it will take at least 4 hours and cost $300. Every time.

2000DV4.8 · May 26, 2008

I agree completely. Pulled my rear drive shaft today to replace the front u-joint, and when I got it out, one of the rubber seals on the rear u-joint that was dry rotted cracked off. Seeing as today is Sunday, NAPA wasn't open, the guys at Autozone are complete idiots (had to wait 15 minutes to get helped and it wasn't busy, the guy didn't know that a Silverado was a truck not a car, and he couldn't understand the concept of an aluminum drive shaft, so I just walked out), and Advance didn't have it in stock, my truck is now sitting in the driveway, and the drive shaft is sitting on jack stands in the garage next to the newly smoked tail lights that need to be sanded, wet sanded, and buffed. And since tomorrow's memorial day, I don't think I'll be able to get the u-joint this weekend. Oh and the vice is too small to press out the old u-joint.

Looks like I'm taking my mom's car to school on Tuesday...

Sorry for the rant.