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6.2 mods Complete Build by K.P.

561K views 1K replies 220 participants last post by  LosDoyersBlue 
#1 · (Edited)
Ok to start here is a little history about me. My name is Keith. I have acquired the WIZ nickname through my endeavors with professional motor cycle drag racing.
I have been building, maintaining, riding, driving and racing high performance vehicles for over 20 years. I am currently employed as a skilled tradesmen at Ford in Sterling Heights, MI.
This will be my second internet build as I built a Corvette C5 for my wife over 3 years on the Corvette Forum. I will be breaking this build into three sections which will include 6.2 engine mods, exterior and suspension mods and interior modifications. To set the stage, this truck will be built and used for its intended purpose. It will not be a "Street Queen". Even though we will keep driveability, reliability and good looks as our priorities. If you are a person who is infatuated with grammar and spelling, this thread might not be for you as I constantly spell to, by and there wrong. LOL! Also, please try to keep this thread as professional as possible for all who will be visiting. That means no unnecessary pictures and lude comments.
With the introductions done, let's begin!!
First off we need to get a base line dyno pull so I took the truck over to Lidio at Alternative Auto Performance. The magic # on my 6.2 is 328.4 H. P. and 351 F.P.T at the rear tire. sorry about the scan quality..After the pull I went over to Gary Cook at PF&E and had the muffler cut off and an exlerator can welded in. Along with sticking a K-N filter in the box. I will be back to Lid's next week to see if there was a gain..Just so you no I have secured dyno time with him for all my engine mod's.
As a note to all you puddle jumpers there is some work that needs to be done to shroud the air intake in the fender. As the pic. shows the bottom of the air box interior and the filter were wasted with mud on my truck. This was a result of some mild puddle runs as you may have seen from the vid I posted last week...I will be looking at fixing this VERY soon...
 

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#2 · (Edited)
Exterior Mod's by K.P.

We had a busy weekend working on the truck. The wife and I went to my parents for a little BBQ and to install my after market graphics ...I think they came out great and I couldn't beat the price...Under a 100 bucks with a few hours of patients ..I haven't seen a Ford one side by side yet but I think there very close .I had the wife and my dad involved...
I'm laughing right now because a just seen I don't have a side shot of the finished truck...DUH.. I'll put one up tommarow
I also have to give prop's to my buddy Chris for stopping buy and making the cuts around the rear tail lights....:smileup:....
 

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#3 · (Edited)
The mod for today was to install the way cool SVT light tape. This has been covered very well by the guy's who came up with it so I won't go into detail but I will add a few pointers... First you can cut this tape with no ill effects..I cut a peice of yellow that I was going to use on the Vette but desided not to...I had nothing to lose so it was sacrificed..lol..
I also just wanted to add for some people that don't happen to no you can make a nice little wiring harness by chucking up your 2 wires in a drill and have your buddy hold the other end and just spin the wires together...
 

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#4 · (Edited)
What a great Idea! I will be watching your build like my Granny watched 'Days of our Lives' <G>. Looks like your lady is a playa too. Have to get my wife involved when I get my truck (Black 6.2) finally. Just a question... if we have a question about something you are doing, is it cool to ask it? Funny about your nickname... I used to work pits for a Stock car driver/mechanic that we called "Whizzo" ... for the same reasons I bet... he was a wizard at fixing things <G>.

Red
 
#5 · (Edited)
Front raised by K.P.

Yesterday I did the front end height adjustment...Very easy to do all you need as a two jacks and a spring compressor..I am lucky enough to have a toe adjuster tool that I bought back when I was setting the rear end on my Corvette.But you can use a tape measure.
All you need to do is find zero on the toe gage and then just do one side at a time. You use the second jack to compress the spring using the wait of the truck to get it started and then put the compressing tool in and squeeze it some more, the when you release the jack the spring is just dangling in there. Move the clip up and jack the second jack back up and release the tool...Repeat for the other side. When your done just set the toe back to zero...The toe will be out about a 1/2"..2 turns on each side got it back right and a centered steering wheel...
 

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#6 · (Edited)
What a great Idea! I will be watching your build like my Granny watched 'Days of our Lives' <G>. Looks like your lady is a playa too. Have to get my wife involved when I get my truck (Black 6.2) finally. Just a question... if we have a question about something you are doing, is it cool to ask it? Funny about your nickname... I used to work pits for a Stock car driver/mechanic that we called "Whizzo" ... for the same reasons I bet... he was a wizard at fixing things <G>.

Red
I'm sorry Red for sounding the way I did. I've been in this site just about from the start and I've come to notice that there seems to be a few immature people in here and folks that like to post just to see there name on a page..I would love for people to ask questions and give interaction .I'm just trying to keep the refrafe out that's all...lolol...
Ask away my friend....And yes momma is a team player...
 
#7 ·
hey wiz, did you notice how the "red" el tape has a much more orange look to it. I just replaced mine and had to put a thin piece of red plastic in front of it to make it look red.the old stuff was a true red. I was going to mention it in the backlit svt thread for ppl with molten orange its a pretty good match.
 
#8 ·
I am very interseted in following all the mods you will be doing and say thank you for all the posting you will be doing :smileup: great job! I do have to ask though and sorry if I missed it but do you have any vids or sound clips of the new exhaust, would love to hear it specially with the 6.2.
 
#9 ·
Great stuff Whiz. Please keep it coming. Nice of you to take your time to enlighten us about how exactly engine mods translate into actual power at the tires!
 
#10 ·
hey wiz, did you notice how the "red" el tape has a much more orange look to it. I just replaced mine and had to put a thin piece of red plastic in front of it to make it look red.the old stuff was a true red. I was going to mention it in the backlit svt thread for ppl with molten orange its a pretty good match.
Duck you are right the tape looks killer orange when not lit up, but when the power hits it it's kinda pink-ish. I think your right with a cover needed.. What did you use on yours??:smileup:
 
#12 ·
Duck you are right the tape looks killer orange when not lit up, but when the power hits it it's kinda pink-ish. I think your right with a cover needed.. What did you use on yours??:smileup:

I went to rite-aid in the school supply section and found a semi transparent red file folder. cut it to size used some clear glue to apply. Its a good little trick, you can get the white el tape, which is actually pinkish when not lite and cover it with whatever color you can find.
 
#13 ·
I went to rite-aid in the school supply section and found a semi transparent red file folder. cut it to size used some clear glue to apply. Its a good little trick, you can get the white el tape, which is actually pinkish when not lite and cover it with whatever color you can find.
Thanks Duck i'm on my way to Right- Aid..:smileup:
Here is the pic of my new graphics..
 
#17 ·
First, thanks for your write-ups, I'm glad to see some basic how-to's and fresh ideas.

So, you picked up a Raptor w/o graphics and basically duplicated the design and installed them at a large discount? Why? Were you only able to pick one up w/o and wanted them on? Were you trying to save $? Just trying to see if you could?

I really like the idea of a graphics package for this truck, but I'm not impressed with the Digital Mud. If I had the tools / motivation / skill / truck, I'd consider designing a unique graphics package. I guess I'm just wondering, when you're attempting to upgrade/modify your Raptor, why you've chosen to replicate the graphics to the stock option?
 
#18 · (Edited)
I am very interseted in following all the mods you will be doing and say thank you for all the posting you will be doing :smileup: great job! I do have to ask though and sorry if I missed it but do you have any vids or sound clips of the new exhaust, would love to hear it specially with the 6.2.
If you ask you shall receive my friend....lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tX_Pfszp5k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omiIALn-lWU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4EWbk-CXGU
The plan with the exhaust is that we will be building long tube headers for the truck..This can is just temperary...
But it sounds great to me.Gary at PF&E is looking into demand for the long tubes so we will see if a set of fixtures will be made...Any one that might be looking for some real dyno tuned headers for there truck please sound off. I all ready have dyno time ready to go so the tube length can be optimized...
 
#21 ·
ME:wavey:

Nice build up by the way. VERY interested to see what the dyno says with your progress.
Pardon a noob question Wiz... but it is a serious one. Why mess with what the SVT did? Did they have to make some kind of compromise and trade power for economy or emissions? I don't understand how changing the exhaust can improve so much on a truck that is supposed to be eeking every Horse and Torque-foot out of the engine. I always thought people who started messing with the exhaust system on a Raptor were amateurs that care more about looks and sound than power... either that or they are too arrogant to realize the were de-tuning the truck. But since you are doing it, I am no longer convinced that is true. What gives?

Red
 
#22 · (Edited)
Pardon a noob question Wiz... but it is a serious one. Why mess with what the SVT did? Did they have to make some kind of compromise and trade power for economy or emissions? I don't understand how changing the exhaust can improve so much on a truck that is supposed to be eeking every Horse and Torque-foot out of the engine. I always thought people who started messing with the exhaust system on a Raptor were amateurs that care more about looks and sound than power... either that or they are too arrogant to realize the were de-tuning the truck. But since you are doing it, I am no longer convinced that is true. What gives?

Red
That is a very good question RED.
I'll keep it kind of short because there are a lot of factors that play into this. The first is big brother. All vehicals have to meet emmisions as you stated so the state of tune that comes from the factory is one that will give the best readings on there little gages, this is never an optimum condition for making H.P. with all the cats. involved . Then you also have Big Brother giving you a DB max which is measured from the curb 1 foot high and I think that the loudest a vehicle can be is 85 db. This is why all true High performance cars have center exiting exhaust. It gets the pipes as far away from the mike as posible. Then you run into the next set of problems which is cost,warranty and ergonomics. The packaging of proper equal length headers in this engine bay will be a pain in the butt and we have to remember these trucks are built on an assembly line. Things have to be done quickly and that leads into the next thing, it cost more money to build tube manifolds out of mandrel bent tubing and weld it all together. If you make a few molds and just do pours for your manifolds you will be saving big money. Then one of the last things to think about is that this truck will be driven by the general public and even though you and I might get off on hearing our engines working most people would instantly start complaining...
You are right SVT did a wonderful job with the truck but they had rules to work within ...I DON'T...LOLOL... Until officer friendly tells me different...lolol
Hope this helps
Thanks for asking...
WIZ
 
#23 ·
What a succinct, intelligent answer. You confirmed most of my suspicions and gave me some other facts that just make too much sense not to be true. I will be watching closely to see your answer to this equation LOL. Myself, I am still leaning towards an electric cut-out like this one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMvNlcyjS_w

It would give me the sound I am looking for, and can hush up for Johnny Law if needed. I am not sure about any power gain but with 411 horse, I probably don't need any <G>. What are your feelings about this mod?

I REALLY don't want to hijack your thread with a bunch of questions, so feel free to PM me with the answer if you prefer. I can't answer PMs yet because of post count, but I think I can receive them.

Red
 
#24 ·
First, thanks for your write-ups, I'm glad to see some basic how-to's and fresh ideas.

So, you picked up a Raptor w/o graphics and basically duplicated the design and installed them at a large discount? Why? Were you only able to pick one up w/o and wanted them on? Were you trying to save $? Just trying to see if you could?

I really like the idea of a graphics package for this truck, but I'm not impressed with the Digital Mud. If I had the tools / motivation / skill / truck, I'd consider designing a unique graphics package. I guess I'm just wondering, when you're attempting to upgrade/modify your Raptor, why you've chosen to replicate the graphics to the stock option?
David thanks for the props on the graphics. The purchasing of the truck was not a matter of convenience. I did special order my truck, minus many options. Due to the speciality of the build that I am undertaking. The graphics package in particular was deleted due to the custom paint job planned for the vehicle. The only reason that I put these graphics on the vehicle was a complete fluke. While surfing ebay I came across them and could not let them get by especially at the price of $55 plus shipping. I figured I would take a shot at installing them because I have never dealt with such large graphics until now. I thought that if I screwed it up I would only be out a few cases of beer. LOL!!!!
Thanks for asking
WIZ
 
#26 ·
I went to rite-aid in the school supply section and found a semi transparent red file folder. cut it to size used some clear glue to apply. Its a good little trick, you can get the white el tape, which is actually pinkish when not lite and cover it with whatever color you can find.
You are the whip bro...They are now orange when lit ...I found a red see through folder like you suggested and made a little cover. I didn't even have to remove the covers they just slid right in, I had to use a exacto blade to get them under the letters but there nice and tight now.....:smileup::smileup::smileup::smileup::smileup::smileup::smileup::smileup::smileup:
Thank you very much..
WIZ
 
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