JerWA

Pretty sweet. The old turbo Caravans also made me smile (I even owned one for a little while). Drag racing is all about getting it done, not what could have or should have been. My '02 Lightning (light mods) ran a best of 13.02 @ 106 mph, but regularly fended off the newer s/c Cobras, Fbodies, etc at the track, all of which should have been faster. Conditions, driving skill, whatever. Unless you're putting money on it (which I'm not a fan of), it's about fun competition. The shock value of something like this van should make it that much more fun.

Thanks for the welcome, all. I've been busily digging through the forums, trying to find information rather than asking for it. Seems like a lot of the info is a bit out of date. I think all the old "newbie" information is going to be coming back into usefulness as more people pick these trucks up used like I did. That's ok, I'm fearlessly leading the charge for asking for updated info lol.

I agree, since I'm looking for that info. Couple quick questions you can probably answer right off: 1) I thought the '04 AWD SS came with the 4L85... I don't see a single mention of that though, so I'm guessing the articles I read were wrong? Time to check the build sheet I suppose. 2) I'm 4 pages deep and haven't seen any mentions of swaps yet. I know the 6L transmissions use a new controller that doesn't like older ECMs, and I know some people were working on aftermarket controllers for them. Did any progress ever get made on that? 6L85E AWD SS please? 3) Any updated info on the big transmission coolers? I saw a setup linked here where it was below/behind the radiator rather than in front of it (angled with some big fans on it? HERE). <~ I really like that one, because it means I could still FMIC if I boost it bahaha. Any suggestions? It'll be daily driver and towing 6,000 lbs on a semi-regular basis, and I'd like to get it to run a 13.0 1/4 mile eventually. I don't want to go through 3 transmissions to get there (and can't afford to). 4) Should I even bother with trying to rebuild/shift kit my current transmission given that I know zip about it? Should I try for a mildly built stocker or jump right to something like the FLT level 5 (or 7)? 5) Is there anything I need to do to the rest of the AWD drivetrain (driveshafts, transfer case, diffs, etc) to keep it together with however much power it'll take to run a 13 flat and tow 6k lbs? I'd rather overbuild than rebuild and possible take ancillary parts down with it when it fails. Thanks in advance. Feel free to link me to existing articles, I'm not afraid to RTFM (and am crawling the forums already, as you could probably tell by me digging up this one haha).

Got the truck from Evergreen Ford, in Issaquah. Oddly/ironically enough I traded in my '08 Mustang GT for it because I couldn't afford another 2+ weeks out of work due to the snow that never falls in Seattle. It's in pretty good shape for 58k miles. Couple small dings but no paint chips, but does have a pretty nasty tear in the driver side carpet if that jogs anyones memory (plan to just bury it under a mat as I'm too cheap & lazy to pull everything out to replace the carpet). Looks like it has at least one mod, an intake tube of some kind (pics below) and a GMPP placard (that part might be stock?). Looks like the front windows have been tinted too. Not even sure where else to look to find what mods it might have as I'm new to these trucks. If anyone knows whos it was that'd be sweet to find out, even if you ditched it because it's seconds from blowing up lol. No hard feelings, I'd rather know what to fix/replace first than find out the hard way. Anywho, my name is Jeremy and I'm a car fanatic. I'm only 33, but the '04 SS is vehicle #28 if you count my motorcycles (not all at once, just how many I've had). Trying to act my age for a change and keep a vehicle for awhile so I can get other stuff done. The truck will be my daily driver, winter too (sorry guys), and will be doing some medium duty (~6,000 lbs) towing a few times a month as well. I know, I suck. Long-term plans include some mild stereo work (already talking to Trav about it), mostly a new HU to add mp3/usb capability, an 8" sub box under the back seats, and some mid highs that'll clear up the sound a bit. Not looking to spend $5,000 on audio gear, but I miss my "Shaker 500" already. Beyond that I'm not sure where to start since I don't know for sure if there's a gremlin lurking in this beast just waiting for the wrong mod to blow up. Always nervous modding without a backup budget/vehicle. I'd like to eventually get it to run a 13 flat like my Lightning used to, is it generally cheaper to boost these for that or keep 'em n/a? I'll probably look into the HID replacements too, because my eyes aren't what they used to be and I'm a bit obsessed with good lighting. If anyone has any good sites for mods and such, feel free to pass them along. Having a bit of a problem finding sites with parts broken out specifically for these trucks, rather than just mixed in with 10 years worth of GMs. Here's the pics: Anyone know what flavor air intake that is? Doesn't look stock to me hehe.