2002 LB7 First Truck Build

[dieselson]

So I finally got a chance to finish building my truck, for now at least. I've been around the diesel industry for a long time and have always wanted to have a fast truck of my own. This truck is the truck I bought when I was 17 and have had for almost 10 years now. I could never see parting ways with this truck. My dad and I have both been into fast trucks for a while and he had a fast duramax for a long time. Unfortunately he passed away about 3 years ago. Around the same time, my truck also broke down with injector issues. It was definitely a hard time for me, so it took me a while to start my truck build. I decided to build the fun truck that I have wanted to build forever. I ended up trying to keep this build as budget friendly as possible while still being fun and reliable. Here is a list of mods:

Engine: 16.5:1 Mahle Race Cast Pistons, LBZ Rods, Balanced Rotating Assembly, Pinned Balancer, Wagler Stage 1 AF Cam, Comp Valve Springs, PPE Manifolds and Up Pipes, PPE Oil Pan

Air: Garrett GT4202R turbo with 1.01 ar. housing, PPE pedistal and install kit, 3" HSP intercooler piping, 3" HSP Intake bridge, 5" HSP Intake w/ air box, 3.5" PPE Downpipe, 5" AFE Atlas Exhaust, Spearco Intercooler

Fuel: DDP 45% Injectors, Dual CP3s, FASS 250GPH Titanium Series Pump, FASS Drawstraw kit, 1/2" CP3 inlets, 1/2" Fuel line all the way around, no filter housing

Transmission: Alto G3 Clutches C1-C4, Precision HSB 2400 Stall Billet Stator Converter, TCS Billet Input, TCS Billet Output, TCS C2 Billet Hub, Transgo valve body kit, RatioTek pressure springs, Mag-Hytec Deep Pan, Mike L. Cooler

Tuning is EFI Live done by me.

I still got a couple things to do like put in a rear locker, get some cal tracs, and then just do various interior mods, but the truck is basically where I want it, and it is a blast to drive. It is quite fast, and I will be taking it to the track soon to get a baseline and see what it can do.

I gotta thank my friend Drew for helping and John @ J & S Motorsports for letting me use his shop for this, and helping out with his knowledge. It definitely would've been really hard to do all this without having a lift and a shop to use.

 

[zakkb787]

That’s by far the best color, body style, and cab configuration combo GM ever made. Nice build brother

 

[D_Ferrante801]

Looks awesome!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[TheBac]

Very, very sorry to hear about your Dad. I remember how you two would work together on his truck, yet you were the one always asking intelligent, thoughtful questions over at the Place, and you were...what?....13 at the time? Youve got to be approaching 30 now, eh?

Glad you were able to finally put your truck together like you wanted.

 

[lutzjk913]

Sorry to hear about your dad man. Seems I’ve heard a couple similar stories like this now.

 

[dieselson]

I appreciate it guys, I've always loved this body style too. Can't seem to get away from it.

Very, very sorry to hear about your Dad. I remember how you two would work together on his truck, yet you were the one always asking intelligent, thoughtful questions over at the Place, and you were...what?....13 at the time? Youve got to be approaching 30 now, eh?

Glad you were able to finally put your truck together like you wanted.

Hey Tom, yup I remember those days, feels like forever ago now. Definitely miss those days. I'll be 27 this year, feels weird getting this old haha. I still have his truck too, and I plan on building it up eventually with a really nasty motor setup with a lot of fuel and air, and turning it into a race truck. It's kind of beat up so I don't mind cutting it up to save some weight, but I could never imagine parting ways with either truck, too many memories.

 

[Bdsankey]

Like said above, it's never fun to hear about someone's father passing but it is great that his love for the sport was passed on to you.


You've got a great build here for a fun budget oriented truck, I can't wait to see what you pull together in the future with your father's truck!

 

[Pure Diesel]

So sorry to hear about your dad Drew. Talked with him and you many of times, whether at a dyno event or at the track(on top of your trailer) he was a nice man.
This looks like you got a nice build going on. Good luck with it and keep us updated.

 

[dieselson]

So sorry to hear about your dad Drew. Talked with him and you many of times, whether at a dyno event or at the track(on top of your trailer) he was a nice man.
This looks like you got a nice build going on. Good luck with it and keep us updated.

Hey Greg, I remember those times well, some great memories from back then. Nice to see you on the forums still, hope you are doing well!

I'm hoping to hit the track next weekend to get a baseline, I'm really curious. I would guess the truck is making around 700 RWHP right now.

 

[dieselson]

Took the truck out to Irwindale dragstrip (1/8 mile) for fun and to get just some baseline numbers. Didn't change anything on the truck or pull anything out, just got to the track and ran it. Ended up running a best of [email protected]. I tried launching harder later on in the night and spun the tires, so it could definitely use more traction. Hoping if I get the 60' down then turn it up a bit I can get down to 7.50s. I definitely had a lot of fun getting to the track again and had a couple of really close races.

Here is a video:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/embed/1hLb05XiW-E

 

[ironmax]

Looks like a good list of parts, and fun to drive! Congrats!
I'm patiently waiting on doing something similar with my 02 in my sig. Its been down with injector issues aswell, and I can't seem to find the extra hours to play with it.