Looking for recommendations for a scope for an AR10.  The longest distance I'll most likely be using it is a couple hundred yards.  I don't want to go cheap, but there's really no need for anything super high end at the distance I'll be shooting.  What have you had good and bad experiences with?

Nick,

take a look at the air ride suspension fuse if it has one. if it's been deleted and the fuse is still in the block it'll pull when the level sensor engages, thinking it needs to engage the compressor, or lack thereof. When I went through my engine swap on the 04 I chased battery draw for a solid week until I discovered that little gem.

Also, if this had the factory Bose system, that amp is relatively complicated and linked in with the main GPS and other systems than just sound. could just be tied into something that's not keyed power. just my $0.02

Good info to have on the air ride.  I never thought of that.  Of the billions of trucks we've had in here, I can't remember ever having one other than mine with the AutoRide and it's still intact....for now.

She lives!  Truck started up today and heat cycled.  Should be a video on our facebook page shortly.  Battery seems like it's struggling to start it though, so may need to address that one.

Next on the list is getting it onto the other lift to drop the tank and do the fuel pumps and wiring harness.  Intake tube was fabricated today and went across the street to powder coat.  We'll need to find a longer throttle cable and air filter as well.

It's getting there.  We tend to start with an order of operations and stick to it.  Things move fairly efficiently that way.  Couple pics from the last two days.  The front portion of the accessory bracket does have to come back off so we can put the updated piece on it.  They moved an idler to a different location that allows for better belt wrap and less chance of slipping.

*Don't worry, the cam gets covered in Lucas assembly lube as it goes in.  The stuff is nasty so we put it on as we go instead of getting it all over

Seems right for ol Joe

Nick. Not to junk up Dons thread but I have a 2018 denali with the 6.2. What’s the recipe for more hp?

Figure out your goals for the vehicle and a budget you want to work with. Easier to start from there. Could be talking cold sir and a tune or you could be talking big cubic inches and a blower, but it's usually somewhere in between and determined by budget.

I could, BTW, always throw a Texas Speed 408" short block in there later on...

Them's fighting words right there.  If it tells you anything about quality, I have a separate liability waiver for any customer asking me to tune an engine with China Speed parts in it.

You'll also NEVER find a professional engine builder that uses or recommends anything from them.  Lots of reasons for that.

So, I just sent a message to two members who had expressed interest in the 6.0 motor.
I'll wait to see what their response is, then offer it publically.

But on the motor thing, I wanted to score the square port heads. With this 6.2 motor, those heads are already there. the send out to port and fix up, finishes that.

The short block is something I have been thinking about. So, I will be starting with a motor with 100K on the rotating assembly. I am asking myself if that makes sense. From what I have read, some people say that although the rods are better in the gen 4 motor, the pistons may be the weak link.

So that begs the question, should I upgrade the pistons to some forged units??? And if I am tearing down to do that, obviously, I would be replacing the bearings. If I had the motor torn down that far, then cam bearings should be replaced as well, I think

Now if I am going through all that business, why not drop a stroker kit in the bottom end which already has the pistons/rings, bearings, a nice forged crank and super strong rods? But not that I am there, I am adding a bunch of cost to the project and did that tip the scales too far and cause me to just stay with the cleaned up 100K short block???

And to further complicate things, why not just tear down and restroke the 6.0 block? It's iron and stronger than the 6.2 aluminum block...?!?!And if I went this direction, all I'd have to do is to purchase a ready made set of LS3 heads and be done with it.

I am presently stuck in this loop...

Lets discuss the merits of going further in the short block.

I've never had any issues with pistons in them.  Even at 1,000 plus horsepower if tuned properly.

The benefit of the 6.2 is the upgraded internals and it already has the better flowing heads that match the blower without any adapters.  It wouldn't hurt to hit it with some new bearings while it's already on a stand.  If you're replacing any hard parts, I'd do pistons and rods as a set since it'll need to be balanced anyway.  And if you're already going to have to have it machined and balanced for a new set of pistons and rods, might as well buy a stroker kit while you're in there.  These things snowball real quick.  I don't see a need for it unless you're preparing to make some stupid power later on.  If you're going to go that far into it, you are probably better off using what you have and just buying the rectangle port heads.

I think Don pretty well covered our options.  I feel our best bet to make this thing work would be the 6.2 with a cam ground specifically for this application topped with the 1.9 liter LSA supercharger making 10-12 psi of boost.  A complete fuel system upgrade with flex fuel capability to feed it pump gas or E85 depending on what's available would make sense as well.  The rest of the drivetrain and chassis seems like it's ready to handle whatever we throw at it.

I did reach out to Cam Motion as well to get a recommendation on this particular application.  In many of our projects we end up going with a custom designed cam from Brian Tooley or Cam Motion instead of something off the shelf.  These guys are excellent at what they do.  Brian uses Cam Motion or Comp Cams to grind their cams.  Both Comp and Cam Motion have perfected lobe design that allow us to do some really wild projects.  We used one of my personal vehicles to work with BTR to experiment and develop what is now their off-the-shelf spring kit for high RPM use in LS engines.  My engine uses hydraulic roller lifters, off-the-shelf pushrods, and stock rocker arms turning 8,500 RPM for the past two seasons with absolutely no maintenance or problems at all.

The 1.9 liter blower will support way more than what the Suburban will need.  There's plenty of them making 800 hp or better out there.  If more is needed, we can always step up to one of the new TVS 2650 blowers or a Whipple unit instead.

Turbos are fun and I'm definitely not against them.  However, for a truck application that will be worked it'll be expensive to do it right and reliable.  The hot side has to be carefully designed to prevent any failures due to a wide temperature range with rapid increases at times. You're adding a bunch of potential exhaust leaks and ANY exhaust leaks will hurt performance and cause issues for the PCM operating in closed loop.  Your potential for oil leaks becomes far greater with the added plumbing for turbos.  Oil changes should be more frequent due to the turbos relying on engine oil.  Maintenance in general can become more time consuming with all of the added plumbing.  Lag is also a reality in a turbo application.  On the plus side, turbochargers make great mufflers and will be more efficient in higher RPM.

When it comes to the positive displacement superchargers, whether its the factory LSA blower or a Whipple, they fit truck use better.  Self contained oiling requires almost no maintenance and no extra oil lines.  No clutter to work around in the engine bay.  The entire unit sits on top of the engine so packaging is simple and clean.  No charge piping to leak or pop off.  The only fabrication needed is an intake tube and the only things added to the engine bay are a couple water lines to a pump and remote mounted reservoir.  No exhaust hot side to leak, crack welds, melt plug wires, etc.  Vacuum operated internal bypass valve unlike old blowers, which means no loss of fuel economy and maintains perfect drivability.  Boost is instantaneous when the throttle opens, you don't need a bunch of RPM to use it.  Less heat produced in the engine bay is always a positive.

Appreciate the kind words.  If anyone is interested in following along, there's a complete gallery on my business page for the Daytona here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/skaatsprecision/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1952667521654654

Don, I still consider selling the 5 ton.  It's mostly sat for the past two years.  Running this business plus other endeavors have left little time for it unfortunately.  I really need to clean it up and drive it soon.

Farmer Jon, I LOVE that truck!  I've been itching to get my hands on a post war truck.  Ideally late 40s/early 50s for a shop project.  I have a major weakness for that time period.  Definitely one to keep in the family.  Do a bit of a resto-mod on it and use it as a sunny day driver!

Let's see some more rides!

We have lots of truck build threads on here, but I'm curious to see what other project vehicles and toys you guys have.  Most of us enjoy plenty of four wheeled hobbies.

Driver:
01 Yukon XL 2500 2WD with the 8.1 - Dad ordered it new as a tow vehicle.  I bought it from him.  Currently at 237,000 miles

Tow Pig:
2017 Sierra 2500 Denali 4WD with the L5P - Picked it up new in June 2017 as a tow vehicle.

Toys:
2001 Firebird Formula - Street/Strip toy - Had it since April 24th, 2003
1994 Camaro Z28 - Currently apart waiting for me to put the engine in it
1986 AM General M923A1 - Because I can
1965 Shelby Daytona Coupe Replica - Factory Five car being built for SCCA use and to irritate purists

Hauler:
2017 Intech 26' Enclosed Trailer - All aluminum hauler for track days and the occasional pickup/delivery

As it turns out I remembered my login information for this forum.  Since starting the business I've had minimal time for forums and such.  It's nice to see this one is still active!  I'm happy to help with the truck anywhere I can, Don.  We have a lot of trucks in and out of here among many other projects.  I haven't had time to get a full website up and running yet but you can follow us on the old bookface at www.facebook.com/skaatsprecision.  I only get a chance to post a portion of the projects we do on there but I do my best to keep things updated regularly.

As far as the tuning side of things, I knew exactly who Don was referring to on his facebook post without him having to mention a name.  I've had to redo a LOT of tunes over the years from that particular business.  They have a loyal following on different forums and facebook groups because they have a good sales pitch, they're cheap, and most of their customer base really doesn't understand much about the process.  People simply don't know what they don't know.  Those in the know always find a local tuner that knows their way around a stock PCM.

In my eyes, mailorder tuning is at best a dishonest business practice.  You just can't do things properly unless you have a chance to drive and datalog the vehicle yourself.  The same thing goes for anyone that locks a PCM.  The people in our industry that do this are typically trying to hide something, often the fact that you didn't get what you paid for.  The only thing they're protecting is reputation.  Intellectual property does not apply in any way to this process.  You're using a third party software/hardware combo to calibrate a computer system that an OEM designed and sold to the end user.  The tuner literally doesn't OWN any bit of it.

Haha not this time.  These pics were actually taken with my cell phone.  I didn't bother to bring the nicer camera with me.

I tried to upload pics in here.  Submitted the post more than once.  It still hasn't shown up though.

I don't have an experience with the LMTV, but I have an 86 M923A1 that I love.  I picked it up in June and I've put about 600 miles on it to and from the farm and on the trails.  I love the thing!  I've been doing a lot of reading on both the A1 and A2 trucks and I'm happy I ended up with the A1.  The A2s have a little more power and better mileage, but you have to pick what's most important to you.  I'm not using mine to tow 15,000 lbs and it's not exactly a daily driver, so the power of the 14 liter and the mileage are fine for my purposes.  I also appreciate the simplicity of the A1 over the A2.  Turning wrenches all day means I don't really want to have to do it on my pleasure vehicle.  Anything forced induction adds more possible failure points (not to mention more expensive ones) as does the CTIS.  Some may disagree, but I prefer the simplicity.  My 5 ton is for trouble-free fun, if I want to turn wrenches in my free time that's what the race cars are for.

The entire neighborhood loves it as much as we do. No complaints around here at all. It'll be stored close, but not at home.  I put around 100 miles on it yesterday and everyone that passed was waving. Momma loved it!

To be honest, the wife is the main reason I bought it. Her birthday is in August and I planned to get her a big bore utility ATV for the farm. My cousin mentioned he needed to sell this one to get his new one, and as much as I always wanted one I didn't really consider buying it too seriously. I was at his house last Saturday and he mentioned it so I decided to show her.  The smile on her face closed the deal instantly. This is a true farm girl, she was smiling like a little girl on Christmas morning! While timing wasn't perfect, I know it was right. I haven't gotten her comfortable enough to drive on public roads yet, but she will soon (just recently got her into the track toy, so we're making baby steps).

Thanks guys. The whole truck is very clean inside and out. I grab more pics when I pick it up Friday or Saturday.  We have 3 daughters (2, 4, and 6) that are going to love it. I cat wait to see the looks on their faces.

Sent.  Pardon the photo bomb.

My thought, after working in sales and finance for years, is that dealers typically won't put on more money than they can get out of a vehicle. Especially something out of their comfort zone. I feel fairly comfortable matching their $7,500 offer and keeping it in the family. Just wanted some input from people more educated in these trucks.

Desktop is doing the same thing my phone does when trying to upload pics.  I click post and it just goes to a blank page.

I'm looking for a bit of guidance on a purchase and I hear this is the place to get it. I need to make sure I'm in the right price range on a truck.

My cousin has a 1986 M923A1 wig 24k miles on it. The truck was completely overhauled in 08 and is tagged accordingly. It's clean as can be inside and out, aside from some light dust from him driving it to and from the house. Mechanically it's perfectly sound, no leaks, everything functions, tires are great, etc. No damage anywhere on the truck that I've seen in the last few years he's owned it. The only thing that's been updated are all the lights are LED. He has a local dealer that is willing to give him $7,500 for it.  I think I'd be ok to buy it at that number but I'd like opinions from those who know these vehicles a bit better.  I'll include some pics below, let me know what you think.