Allenfab’s 2008 5-lug SAS and LS swap

Finally picked up another t-case with the correct input and got that mounted up. It’s getting a sye and new chain down the road, but just needed it in the truck for now to build other stuff.

This is the start of the transmission crossmember. Moved the driver side frame mount in some to clear the driveshaft, then made the trans mount and the crossmember. I will still have to do some cutting and clearancing in order for the front shaft to clear it, and adding skids and such.






@xweslingx talked me into boxing the rear of the frame while I’m doing everything else, so I hand cut some some 1/8” and added some dimple dies (leaf trucks can be boujee too). Welded those in and will move on to the rear box plates. I have them cut, just need to be cleaned up and welded in. After this, I plan on ordering the new fuel tank.

 

Glad you got it sorted out. I'll fix the countersink issue on the adapters, they're definitely not deep enough. On the plunger adapter I have started to see different internal depths on the master itself. The master I used for my truck and the kit had a much deeper hole in it, but longer is better than shorter. I'll start checking the coupling nuts. Typically I grab from a bin and toss one in the kit.

Sorry you had some issues with the kit, but it looks like everything is sorted now. Good luck with the rest of the build.

 

No worries, super easy fixes in my eyes. As for the countersink issue, it appeared that it was countersunk to 90* when it should have been to 82*. the bottom of the countersunk bolt was hitting while the rest of the head wasn't.

I kind of assumed the plunger extension was left long intentionally for just those scenarios and like you said, better to leave it long for trimming. Still very happy with the kit and can't wait to have it all working

 

Been working on the truck a lot more lately, hopefully that trend continues…

Had to re-up on wire and gas for the welder and some metal to continue on this thing. The rear-most frame box plates are welded in and the upper cradle for the gas tank. I chose a 25 gallon tank from an 87 blazer with matching sending unit. I ordered some replacement tank straps but I think they’re going to be too short for my liking so they may end up getting hacked up to make my own. That will be on the menu for the next few days. A skid plate will be built at some point down the road. At this point, I just want to get it running and driving, even if it’s on factory gearing and no lockers.



I pretty much just took notes on the jdfab kit, but notched out some of the ribs on the underside of the bed to gain roughly another inch of ground clearance. I know that the “it hAnGs ToO LoW” argument is coming, and that’s fine. This tank as it sits, is roughly 4.5” higher than where the factory tank would be, has 7 gallons more capacity, and places weight over the rear axle so I won’t have the annoying lean we all love. I think the factory location is way more of a rock magnet than the rear location anyhow. The new tank hangs just as low as a factory spare tire would.

 

how big is this tank?

 

25 gallon

 

Didn't realize you had a build thread on here as well. Definitely following this closely as I'll probably be doing something similar when my time comes for 4wd.

 

OMG‼️
What kind of welds are those⁉️ You must make a living on the end of a MiG?
Todd, If someone drove from AZ to FL w/ an aluminum 5.3 that’s been refreshed w/ some updates & upgrades, new Tremec TKX 5 spd and a bed full of parts would you be interested in doing an LS Swap for me? I would gladly pay for your troubles!!
I have a 07 5 lug that I want to keep it a 100% street! At my age I’ve moved away from 4x4’s back in the mid to late 80’s when I gave up two Yoda’s to someone who decided they wanted them more than me but they didn’t want to pay for them. PD said they were most likely living S. of the border.
Again I would Love to hire your talents. Between your fabricating skills and you wanting to make it look factory you have the Best business card I have seen! The suspension and braking have been upgraded. See last 3 photos.

 

I’m no LS swap guru, this is the first time I’ve ever done one and still have little knowledge as to what I am doing. There’s a dozen places near you that I know are more qualified to do that kind of work than I am. Plus, you’d probably be waiting on your truck for over a year with me lol

 

So ask me if I care? I still love your skills and attitude!!..

Well if that’s the case I sure like to know who they are! I guess I’m going to LS Fest in Vegas in April. I got permission from the promoter to park the truck buy the gate. I’m then going to cover the windows with
“Can U LS Swap Me” and hopefully I can find someone.
As for the locals that I have asked is either they don’t want to do it because it has emissions equipment, they are to busy or they won’t even try to give me a Guesstimate on a price. I did talk to one gentleman and he said he gets $160 per hour plus supplies and parts. But he wouldn’t allow me to supply any more parts he would get them then markup & charge me. I then asked him just a for a rough guess. $30 to $35k or more… Sorry but my wallet isn’t that thick…

But seriously you should make and sell motor mounts for these trucks. Because it’s starting to look like more are wanting to do this! I know another member here that really wants to also but he won’t admit it. Right now the 5 lug is supercharged but premium is just stupidly priced and it just burns me inside. I really feel for all my friends who own diesel powered vehicles. They are getting bent over from gas companies around here! Anywhere from a $1 to $2 more per depending on if the yo-yo prices are going up or down…

 

Come on Robert, we all know that little 2TR of yours screams with the Turbo but I bet you really would love the torque of an LS.

 

No doubt about it, the torque and aftermarket support are tempting. It's just that wiring process that's held me back so far..

 

Yeah, I hear you one of my many issues too plus I can’t weld! Todd welds look like machine welds!
Plus you can tell he cares about his workmanship…
I sure like to see him come up with some type of motor mount kit. He and Chris did the same type of design.
Where they cut off the stock mounts. Todd extended the mounts off the engine more, so the mounts coming off the frame aren’t as long. Then they both welded flat plate to the frame, then welded the extension/s toward the engine. I absolutely love the dimple dies on Todd’s, that looks so thought out & professional! It’s the small details in his build.

I really need to get off his build tread and let him get back to work. Also Todd I absolutely love keeping the stock front bumper facia. That just looks so clean then the rear bumper is so minimalist and clean. If he paints the truck I think he should color match the bumpers. But that’s just me…

Again if you change your mind please let me know I bring the truck and stack of C notes! Oh, do you TiG like you MiG?

 

That guesstimate definitely sounds crazy high, but so does the $160/hr rate. I've NEVER heard of a rate that high. I only charge $50/hr but that's only for side work. I really wish I would have documented how many hours I have into my truck so I could know what it would cost to charge someone for the same work, and to see how much I actually save but not paying someone to do the work. Oh well, too late for that....

As for making motor mounts, I'd really need another 5 lug to do it on because of the IFS crossmembers and such. Not worth the time for such a niche market IMO. There are a lot of decent motor mount kits out there that I really just copied for mine.

The wiring is the easiest part from my studies. Drop $1600 on the Terminator X Max, plug it all in and go. I am having a way harder time on other aspects of the swap.

I prefer MIG 10 times out of 10. I mostly TIG weld for a living and it has its place in the industry I am in (commercial kitchen fab/repair, all stainless stuff like countertops, sinks, hoods, yadda yadda...) but I FUCKING HATE doing it any other time. Obviously there are going to be some things that I am going to need to TIG weld, and already have, but for general truck fabrication, MIG is the best IMO. I will be TIG welding the gas filler neck and exhaust, since that will all be done in stainless. I've TIG welded some stuff on the steering already but that's it so far.

 

Your Hired‼️ I buy the Holley no problem or anything else you want! I asked if you TiG because I purchased all 304 stainless for the exhaust system. I’m going with a Mishimoto radiator so it’s drop in, I purchased two 12” Spal fans with a shroud that doesn’t fit as well as I like but it’s supposed to pull 4400 cfm. If I had a metal break I bend up a new shroud myself. I’m dead serious I will pay you what ever cash money you want! *Edit* $15k to start? I have seen your work and I don’t care how long it takes you. Perfection takes time and I know you wouldn’t screw me over. Shit I need to stop harassing you, you said no one time already. My apologies Sir… But you do some damn good work. You said a few things that I really admired so I figured what the Hell the most he could say is F off…

Randy

 

Sounds like it would be easy to get it running, but i want the factory gauges, cruise control, and everything else to work like normal, so integrating all of that together sounds like a big job to me. What do you plan on doing for the gauges on your truck?

 

Robert,
Chris / @tacotunner06 said (now I think it was) Dakota Digital and or HP tuners had a program that will convert the signals from one to the other. And I found a video on YouTube where the guy shows how to make any factory gauges work with an LS swap. Now I need to find it again. I also found a company that sells really good wiring harnesses. https://bp-automotive.com/
And if you send / ship them the PCM from your pull out engine that you are using for the swap. They will remove the Vats / security, emissions and give the PCM a start up tune for $75. You just have give them the transmission info, your rear gear, tires size and a few other bits of info. They will re-flash the PCM. From what I understand the GM stuff is easy to tune. Now from what I understand the stock will handle up to 2 bar of data (Per sloppy mechanics). So if you want to run big boost then go with Holley or one of the many others. The problem w/ GM tuning is there’s just to many ways to go just the opposite of Toyota.
It’s just so many ways to tune and so much or to much aftermarket products to choose from. Then just like anything that’s popular there’s a crap load of knock off junk parts. Then the engines change from generation to generation. Not much but where and what sensors and where they go. Then the new LT motors with direct injection are different.

Go for it Buddy!

 

ahh I see. To start, for the engine vitals, I plan on running the 3.5" screen that comes with the Terminator and then upgrading to the 7" screen soon after. I got a fuel gauge from autometer yesterday and I may run an autometer trans temp gauge as well just to keep the new gauge cluster symmetrical with a round gauge on each side of the screen (I am pretty certain the 7" screen has the ability to support all these different gauges on the screen, but I wanted an analog fuel gauge for whatever reason).