Build 05 2500 SAS, The Red Rocket

Update?

There isn’t one. I’m the king of starting projects and not finishing them.
Currently still have the Ram Charger in the shop. We had to take the heads off of it because of some push rod interference. Two steps backwards on that front. That thing has gotta leave before I can get back on the rocket. Life has been wild with my mom being in pretty bad shape and I haven’t gotten **** done on anything this summer.
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Finally got that Ram Charger project done enough to drive on the street, It's going to leave for a while so he can do some shakedown. That means that some time this summer I'll be moving the Red Rocket back into the shop. I think the 4 link should be a pretty easy job but I am still toying with the idea of keeping the leaf springs. the cost is pretty close once I buy fancy leafs and shocks. it would simplify things a good bit since ill be able to keep the fuel tank in place. in other news, the exhaust will get reworked, I scored a set of new shorty headers for free that will make the driver side pipe a lot better. I've got a factory E fan setup to jam in as well. parts are piled up all over the place that I have been collecting.
 
I've been wasting a lot of time and money on this 1995 GMC 3500 I've got. I'm not sure if I want to start a thread about it or not. it's a tired old 6.5 that my dad and I put together back in 2013. he daily drove it for a few years, and then it sat around neglected. After dad passed in 2020, I can't bring myself to sell it even after several good offers. I got the itch to do some revival on it and I have it running and driving better than it ever has since I owned it. I got the courage to take it on a decent trip last days off down to my friend's camp. that's the farthest it's been from the house in years.
 
I wanna see this thing done! Badass build so far . :smokin:

I havent made any progress on the cummins swap in my squarebody at all since I gathered up the parts last summer, stuff happens. Bought another truck and have been fixing it up, and thats turning into a restoration and the chevy is on the back burner.
 
I pulled the red rocket back in the shop this afternoon. Got the axle out, fuel tank dropped and cut off some unneeded brackets. I plan to put the new rear axle under it and start mocking up links tomorrow
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Spent the past week building a removable “chase” rack for my daily driver. It latches into the factory 5th wheel mounts for easy out so I can still do truck stuff.
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wvracer821 said:
Getting some eye ball figures. This is about 130” wheelbase and it’s absolutely adorable at just less than 16’ overall
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Im 130 currently, soon to be 131.. Personally I think thats a great number lol..

First thought: I92 overall length? Wow... I'm as short as I can go at 214-215... But mine is also my camper and I need every inch of the 8'4" available length in there. Alps Engineering air mattress is 76 x 50. W/o that 24" at the tailgate end I couldn't....well it would suck because a whole bunch of stuff would be outside overnight.

Next thought was of the chopped and screwed F350 thats been in 3 or 4 of the 24HOA's now. Ive got pic of it from the start of M&L1..... I find



Found: Started in order of tire size from small to large for that one.... Starting 2nd to last out of 180-some wouldve been miserable if you wanted to run with any pace at all...


Id say he may be more in the 122-126" range? Maybe 178-180 overall?? It's friggin short!

I wonder how much that affects ride quality?


anyways... nice thread!

Two things I saw in there I wanted to mention:
1. There were some changes in the 2015 IBC (International Bulding Code) that no longer permit for deck piers to be submerged in concrete :laughing:

2. There were two words in one post that jumped off the screen at me: "6 years" !?!?!?!? Dang lol

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good to see updates

got more pics on the bed rack mounted to the 5th wheel puck system? very cool idea
 
Snowracer said:
good to see updates

got more pics on the bed rack mounted to the 5th wheel puck system? very cool idea
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Here’s some more random build pics. The puck hardware is replacement parts from a Curt 5th wheel hitch
 

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McBastard79 said:
How do you like the Geolanders on your dd?
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i like them. this is my 2nd set. they are loud as expected but they run smooth. they have been the cheapest "name brand" 37 ive been able to find. I got about 45k miles out of the last set which is pretty good for an 8,500lb truck with a pile of torque and an exhaust brake
 
Good to know man. I've tried: Pro Comp M/T, Toyo M/T and R/T, currently on Nitto Ridgegrapplers. I ****in hate the Nittos. They cause my truck to drift, wander/tramline on all types of roads including highways. They're stiffer than frozen dog ****, even with 48-50 psi and unloaded. Been debating on going with Falken AT4W, BFG K03, or Geos.
 
McBastard79 said:
Good to know man. I've tried: Pro Comp M/T, Toyo M/T and R/T, currently on Nitto Ridgegrapplers. I ****in hate the Nittos. They cause my truck to drift, wander/tramline on all types of roads including highways. They're stiffer than frozen dog ****, even with 48-50 psi and unloaded. Been debating on going with Falken AT4W, BFG K03, or Geos.
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whats your alignment look like? i find the OEM Ram specs to be horrible. they put way too much toe in them and then if you add big tires it makes it worse. one tire is always going to win the fight when you have too much toe. here is what i shoot for (right from Don at Thuren Fabrication)

 
wvracer821 said:
whats your alignment look like? i find the OEM Ram specs to be horrible. they put way too much toe in them and then if you add big tires it makes it worse. one tire is always going to win the fight when you have too much toe. here is what i shoot for (right from Don at Thuren Fabrication)

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My alignment is good. I don't have a Ram, I've got an LBZ with a '07 SD Dana 60 under it. I've had good luck with other brand tires. For some reason these Nittos have been way more finicky. Even talking with guys at work who have HD Rams, Super Dutys, HD Silverados/Sierras all mentioned the same experiences. Hell, some dudes ran Nittos for about 500 miles or less and sold them to someone else, because they hated those tires so much.

Anywho, thanks for the info.

Good progress on the Red Rocket
 
McBastard79 said:
My alignment is good. I don't have a Ram, I've got an LBZ with a '07 SD Dana 60 under it. I've had good luck with other brand tires. For some reason these Nittos have been way more finicky. Even talking with guys at work who have HD Rams, Super Dutys, HD Silverados/Sierras all mentioned the same experiences. Hell, some dudes ran Nittos for about 500 miles or less and sold them to someone else, because they hated those tires so much.

Anywho, thanks for the info.

Good progress on the Red Rocket
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got any pics of the SAS? sounds like sweet unit
 
I'm currently out of town. I could take a couple for you when I get home. The current rendition of SAS setup is a WFO 6" radius arm kit. That's lowered to 5", and 4" Deavers in the rear. This setup rides way better than the previous setups I had on the truck
 
bumping this thread once again. KOH was a blast and my tow rig needs some love after romping through the woops out there. once that is taken care of I'm getting back on the chevy. One question i have for the group is about the Goatbuilt fuel fill plate. My plan is to run the Jaz Jeepspeed fuel cell with an OEM sending unit/ pump. if my measurements are correct the depth should be nearly perfect. I remember reading somewhere that the goatbilt plate was designed around the 99-04 pump which is slightly different than what i have. can anyone confirm that the 05+ gm sending unit will fit without major nonsense?

goatbuilt.com

IBEX Fill Plate With Remote Fill

goatbuilt.com goatbuilt.com
 
Had some free time and got some rear link brackets tacked in. Did my best to square up the rear axle. It’s looking like I’ll have room for a 48” trailing arm which will put the shocks in a good spot to mount the top of them near the cab around the area where the cage will go. Small update but progress nonetheless. It should have a very flat belly and minimal change through the travel. Lower links will get mounted to the outside of the frame similar to where the leafs mounted just forward quite a bit. 4’ level for scale
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