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Bush Build
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1. Christmas in July at 2,000 metres included all the boxes here plus a set of tires.
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2. When performing heart surgery in the back of a mini mart, or lifting a truck in the woods, always come prepared. We packed our Miller portable worktable and Multimatic 200 welder, along with a small portable generator made for 110-volt appliances. We had on-board air systems all around us and our Tentris ArcHause kept us out of the elements and kept any sparks from hitting the forest floor. We were packin’ more fire extinguishers then a gunpowder manufacturer.
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3. After securing the truck on jack stands, pulling the wheels was followed by removing the shocks to get the torsion bars loose…
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4. …Or so we thought. The torsion keys, despite floating in penetrating lube for a week, were not co-operating with us. Hammers, sledges, and even a few makeshift presses were tried for hours with nothing but failure. Our reluctance to use massive amounts of heat to decouple them may have saved the beautiful forest around us.
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5. Swapping the tired batteries out was our next step. The Odyssey monsters were slung into place. CCA output of these demons is almost double what the factory units could muster.
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6. After pulling apart the old air box we decided to clean up the MAF sensor shown here. They are very sensitive, so be careful to keep your greasy little digits from touching the elements on the engine side and only use an MAF cleaning solution.
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7. Even in the woods, the AEM install took less than an hour to complete with only a few sockets.
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8. As part of our Hill-Billy tune-up, we decided to pull the plugs and clean them while we pondered the future of the lift. We have found that a propane torch set to a temperature of “surface of the sun” works well to clean up oil and carbon deposits when new plugs are not available.
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9. The dual beam WARN lights were simple to install and only required two holes to be drilled in the bumper cap. Tie wraps included in the installation kit made the wiring a simple affair. The 90/100W high and low beams will be perfect for running at night on the highway and trail.
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10. After a few more hammer swings trying free the torsion bars form the truck, we decided to try and make the tires fit without the lift.
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11. There is a reason that Zone Off-Road calls for a maximum tire size of 33-in with this lift and we were prepared, both mentally and with tools, to make room. With the tires mounted, we were shocked at how narrow the wheel openings were. Our choice of factory Hummer H2 wheels with massive amounts of backspacing was the right choice for proper fitment.
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12. In order to fit factory Chevy caps, a little plastic slicing and dicing was done with our workbench from Miller. The rear tire fitment was acceptable and did not rub and the addition of the Chevy lug nut caps on Hummer H2 wheels looks sharp when on a tight budget.
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13. Move to hammering only if the plan of plastic moulding doesn’t work. When all else fails, it’s grinder time. We used everything we had including tie-wraps, step drills, hammers, pry bars and a grinder to make room for the Discoverer STT Pro’s.
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14. In the end, the truck rolled smooth and we didn’t run into any major rubbing issues. Eating up a few trails was a fun trip, but as you can see here, the added 3-in of elevation from the Zone lift would be very much appreciated. Keep your eyes peeled to see what happens to the truck next in the pages of 4WDrive.
Story & photos by Bryan Irons
Good parts and bad idea’s come together beyond the wire
Sometimes, a great idea and dumb concept manage to work themselves together in our world to create an adventure. This doesn’t mean it all works out in the end, but really, what would the fun be in succeeding in everything you try? Our “Build in the Bush” concept started with a tired big block powered 2001 Chevy 2500HD with a… BIG big-block 8.1L. The truck is primarily used as a tow rig for a camper and buggy, but having a rig for milder trails opens up our opportunities for adventure. We wanted to take our “tow rig” to the next level without detracting from its primary role in the family dynamic.
Transforming the truck to have some better off-road prowess was the “great idea” of our scheme. The “dumb concept” came in the brain fart to convert the truck during an off-road camping trip… out in the woods… with minimal tools… and no easily accessible parts stores… and less than 24-hours to get it done… before we took the truck to the trail… and then head back home.
The beginning of the build started with Zone Offroad Products announcing their new 3-in Adventure Series upper control arm lift for 2001 to 2010 Chevy ¾ and 1-ton trucks. The fabricated upper control arms use easily sourced bushings and ball joints for years of reliable service and no need to scrounge for replacement parts made from unobtanium in the future. The lift includes new shocks, torsion bar keys, lift blocks, skid plates, hardware and a complete set of instruction. Some cutting is required and a little welding for added strength is recommended.
With a lift, new tires were almost mandatory. Cooper Discoverer STT Pro in a 315/70/17 got approval for being able to hold up the load of a heavy truck, and have an aggressive tread to carry the rig through the root strewn dirt trails we love. The quiet highway ride is a welcome bonus. Look for a full review in 4WDrive at a future date once we get some more kilometers on them.
A little lovin’ under the hood of our 496 ci monster was welcome as well. A cold air intake from AEM utilizing a dry flow element was ordered up to keep the motor breathing clean air, while waking up the sleeping giant at the same time. The oil free element will do a great job of filtering out forest service road dust and not require any MAF sensor clogging oil.
Future upgrades to the truck include a plethora of electrical gizmos. The HD series of trucks come from the factory with dual Group 78 batteries; ours still had the ones it left the factory with 14 years ago. We have been nothing short of amazed with the durability of Odysseys AGM batteries in past experiences and scored a pair of 78-PC1500 extreme batteries to power our current and future needs.
We’re likely to catch flack for this from Editor “Seattle’s Best” Stanley, but we still feel that a quality halogen light offers too many advantages to be ignored in today’s world of LED and HID lighting. Better colour rendition, the ability to melt snow off the lens, instant starting and lower buy in price are just a few. For these reasons, we selected a pair of WARN SDB-160 dual beam lights. With an easy to install wiring harness and illuminated control panel, we liked everything we saw.
With parts in hand, and a plan of attack/butchery in our heads, we headed of for a weekend or wrenching and wheeling. We packed a few specialty tools we knew we would require and made sure to hose down as many bolts as we could with Prolongs SPL100 penetrating lube before the trip. We even went so far as to bring a portable, modular shelter called an “ArcHause” to cover our butts if Mother Nature decided to give us the finger. Follow along as we assemble our bad idea with good parts out in the middle of nowhere. Bears don’t like chubby editors, do they?
All work on this project was performed prior to B.C. fire bans with substantial extinguishing resources. No forests were harmed in the making of this story.
- ArcHaus Shelters – www.letsgoaero.com
- Cooper Tire – ca.coopertire.com
- ODYSSEY Batteries – www.odysseybattery.com
- Prolong Super Lubricants – prolong.com
- Warn Industries – www.warn.com
- Zone Offroad – zoneoffroad.com