Rocket Man's 2008 Bagged CC Silverado Build AKA "THE MACHINE"

[Rocket Man]

Yup- A totally new frame that's not as tall as the original, with lower body mount locations is how a SFBD is done. Often times the only original part of the frame that's retained is from the firewall forward because it has the control arm mounts and engine cradle and it's all above the bottom of the body. There's lots of careful measuring and fabrication involved, but you don't lose interior space like you do with a traditional BD where the body is channeled to lower over the rails. It's definitely had some hours poured into it.

Ah that's how they do it. I wondered when I looked in the cab and you couldn't see anything different with the floor. Yeah that's definitely the best way to do it but man what a lot of work to get it to lay down like that. The PO said he was on the waiting list a year, shipped it to them and then didn't get it back for another year. And that's just the bag and body drop work. Paint and body work took another 4 months.

 

[05alive]

Worth the wait IMO.


I know you said you can ride at 1-2” but what’s the “safe” ride height? If you had to drive it to work or a show how high would you have it sit?

 

[Rocket Man]

Worth the wait IMO.


I know you said you can ride at 1-2” but what’s the “safe” ride height? If you had to drive it to work or a show how high would you have it sit?

That pretty much depends on how much you need to turn the steering wheel and if there's big dips in the road or speed bumps. At 1-2" high you can only turn the wheel enough to operate on the freeway or long straight city thoroughfares. You can change lanes or take exits but then you need to bump the front up to turn normal city streets or make u-turns. Or go in and out of driveways.That's where having 7-gallon tank comes in, and knowing if your tank is full. You can feel the compressors running so you know when they turn off your tank is full. You can't continuously go up and down like with hydraulics. So it takes a bit of learning. The PO was good at it- and knew if he couldn't get the front up enough due to not enough air, he just wouldn't turn as much and had to plan on wide turns. I need more practice. So let's say I'm driving to work. I jump in, air it up to full normal drive height ( full height is about the same as a 6/8 drop I think since the wheels are still a bit tucked but since the fronts are 26 x 9 you get full turn and the rears are on a narrowed rear end so they tuck even though they're 26 x 12). I back out and head towards the freeway. The pumps are running now so if I drop it I won't be able to go all the way back up for maybe 10 minutes so if I go down, I'm staying for awhile. I can go maybe 1/2 way down, to say 45 psi rear and 100 psi front and still make the turns I need to as long as they're not sharp. Then by the time I hit the freeway I can go low low at say 35-40 psi rear and 60- psi front and by the time I get off on 15-20 minutes the tank is full again and I go back up to full height as I'm hitting the off-ramp, 65 psi rear and 160 psi front. It's fun and the switches and gauges are easy to operate. That was a long answer and it's not for everyone but this is a toy and a backup for me in case my Denali is down. My Street Glide and 2 of my Harley Davidson V-Rods had air and I played with them the same way. My SG had a tank too and operated just like this truck but with a bike you'd better get good at it quick or just ride aired up all the time. It's the front that you need to really pay attention to, but you also don't want to be squatting like an idiot.

 

[05alive]

That's gotta feel pretty badass. Lift it up when you start it, pull onto the highway and lay it out rolling.

Lol @ the backup truck is a doored cc on 6's

 

[HiHoeSilver]

Lol @ the backup truck is a doored cc on 6's

Well, it's not a blown Denali, so.......

 

[05alive]

 

[kbuskill]

I am guessing they went with electric pumps instead of an engine driven pump due to a lack of real estate under the hood?

I built an air ride for my chopper, but I had a tank on it for instant up.

 

[Rocket Man]

I am guessing they went with electric pumps instead of an engine driven pump due to a lack of real estate under the hood?

I built an air ride for my chopper, but I had a tank on it for instant up.

Yeah, dual Viair 480c's and a 7- gallon tank. It's instant up on a full tank. I had a tank on my bagger too.

 

[Rocket Man]

So yesterday I was checking out the speakers since I ordered a new HU and lo and behold the right rear door wasn't working and the right front was half volume. I pulled the rear door panel off and pulled the speaker. I was surprised it was stock since the sound wasn't bad from the ones that were working. It was blown, 0 ohms resistance. I figured the front was halfway there. So...ordered 4 Rockford Fosgate prime R165X3's which got great reviews even for how inexpensive they are. I'm not going crazy on the sound system at this point but even if I do add a sub under the back seat later these should do fine. All 4 speakers, free mount adapters and free wiring pigtails plus the speakers were discounted $20 a pair....$79.98 shipped from Crutchfield.

 

[Rocket Man]

And today I got a squeeze-in appointment at the tint shop and had the fronts matched to the rears . Those front windows were driving me crazy.