ITGuy's 2003 Sierra 1500/2500 4x4 RCLB Build Thread

What about the Front / Rear bumper? Any ideas? I could colormatch my existing.
A buddy of mine is running a Gen 3 Roll Pan and it looks great but it's a lowered SB.
Very clean looking though.

My rear bumper is about a year old and mint. The front has some rusty spots.
If I get a new rear, I'll donate mine to No1Limit - were you still looking for one?


Still working on the shopping list.
 
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No sir, I got a fresh ebay one I colormatched and threw on, thanks anyways though... and color matched is your best bet in terms of use, I couldn't stand mine if I had a roll pan on it, however if you never plan on using the bed its up to you.

Oh and as far as front bumper goes get a color matched one and a chrome grille with cleared head lights and bumper lights
 
Ok I was going to color match my grill.. but chrome would be fine.. Nice shine with the cleared lights.
As far as front bumper I'll see if I can find another stock one, unless there is something better.
I'll spray the parts myself.

- Door Handles / Gate handle & bezel arrived.
- Leveling Kit Arrived

I probably won't get to it until mid-next week :\ Oh well.
 
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Had some time tonight to start prep work for leveling kit.
Spraying all the bolts w/ liquid wrench to let them sit overnight.
Also gave me a chance to inspect frame rust.. not as bad as I thought but I still need to do a lot of work to prevent further deterioration.

Working on getting the damn hitch out. Hit it with the liquid wrench and managed to get the pin out after 20 minutes. I'll let it set overnight. I'm going to de-sticker and start de-badging while I wait.

Also spied a chevy 1500 shortbed off an '04 on CL cheap. Wish I had 8 of me to work on everything at once.

IMG_20131004_183209_619_zps06afe85a.jpg


Someone come chop a couple of feet off of this bed for me? Cold beer awaits.
IMG_20131004_183228_821_zpsb68402d2.jpg
 
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I had to use liquid wrench and my impact gun to get the torsion bolts out.
Used my torsion tool (glad I got it) to compress the keys and removed the t-bolt blocks - also had to bang them out.

You guessed it... now my torsion keys are rusted / siezed on. Inside taking a break and letting more
liquid wrench set it in. So annoyed right now. This should take about 2.5hrs. It took me that
long just to replace my compressor (It wasn't working well, had to buy a new one) and get setup again.
I tried banging them out with a metal stub and a hammer but the torsion bar will not budge, let alone the key.

I really hate rust.
 
Torsion bars removed. Had to remove torsion bar cross member and hit them with the sledgehammer. Repeatedly. Keys are still stuck on them, but I'll see what I can do with them tomorrow. I gave up on them for now. - Moving on.

I gutted out the fancy AM/FM work truck head unit.
IMG_20131006_164219_834_zps71c91575.jpg



And added this:
AVH-X8500BHS_large_zpsc88a2a0f.jpg


IMG_20131006_212940_365_zps1f35f770.jpg


It's a Pioneer AVH-X8500BHS - Pretty sweet. Linked right into my hotspot.
It took a little while to get it into the dash. The 8500's backplate extends too far into the dash, so it needs to be cut along the bottom. About an inch all the way across was removed along with the plastic center channel. I had to test fit several times to get it flush with my dash bezel. The kit I purchased to install it didn't fit well, so I needed to fabricated new standoffs to push the right side out about 1/4"

Gotta have tunes!
 
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jelly of the double din, my keys are rusted to the t bars as well! it made putting the lift on so much harder haha

Sent via Glade Plug In
 
looking good !! yeah rust is a bitch i hope my keys aren't rusted in..... haven't got my keys put in yet also don't have a tool :facepalm: but yeah that deck looks sweet too
 
Checking today online, torsion bars at the 'Yard are like +/-50 bucks each! (and with no keys) Good to know. I think I might go grab a couple. My time is worth more than that. I couldn't believe how hard they came out.
 
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I have 285/70R17 and 4.10s, love it, I noticed the drop in power a little bit at first but its not bad. My speedo is 2 slow at 60 but also used to be 1 fast so off 3 overall. I really wish I could justify 4.56s with 33s, stock 265/70s and 4.10s was awesome just don't know if its worth the money to go from 3.73 to 4.10
 
So you had just about 33" w/ 4.10's? I think the 3.73's strike a good balance between the 4.10's and say something like a 3.55.
The cost of changing both front and rear gearing (unless I got a donor vehicle) would probably stop me from doing so. That could change if I found a great donor. My performance will take a hit with the 4.3l, but that's ok for now.

I am browsing through some rims/tires today. Stock rims/tires are 245/75/r16 (30.5") Looking at upping my rims to a 20x9 to run either 305/50r20 (32") or a
305/55r20 (33.2") with a zero offset on the rim. I can't have it sticking out past my fenders much. That's about the maximum I can run without lifting it and looking too stuffed. I could run a 275/60r20. Just a an inch or so less width than a 305, but basically same height.
 
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3.73s are a decent gear for a 33" tire on a truck with a 60E. I'd rather 4.10s but it's sort of the "law of diminishing returns" when it comes to swapping from 3.73s to 4.10s, the cost just isn't justifiable for the difference. I had 3.73s with a 33" tire on my 2009 5.3/60E truck and it felt okay at most times, but sometimes a bit "anemic" down low. Any larger than a 33" tire and I'd jump to 4.56s. With a 6.0, a 33" tire, and 3.73s, I think you'll be happy. If it were my truck, I'd run some GMT900 GMC 20s and 295/55/20 Nitto Trail Grapplers or 295/55/20 Toyo M/Ts.

Nice progress so far, that double din looks very nice.
 
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My truck had 4.10s factory, she sings on the interstate but mileage never made a huge drop going to the 285s, went from 13-15 now it gets 12-13.5 15ish all highway but that's untuned
 
Tackling the suspension again tomorrow. If I have some luck I will finish the leveling kit + shocks.

Also decided I will be running a 305/55r20 based on above comments.

For rims I am liking the
BMF Reaper http://www.autoanything.com/wheels-rims/61A7795A0A0.aspx?kc=ffproduct&kpid=7795&k_clickid=4d00a6ac-1a66-c8a9-b2ae-0000686dccbd&k_trackingid=274x&gclid=CMnRw-z1jroCFQqe4AodyVsAKw
BMF Rehab http://www.carid.com/bmf-wheels/rehab-6-pvd-896540.html
LRG 20's http://lrgrims.com/rim-details/#lrg106-2
V-Tec Warlords look ok http://www.carid.com/v-tec-wheels/warlord-chrome-965834.html
ATX Artillery as well http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelCloseUpServlet?target=wheelCloseUp&wheelMake=ATX&wheelModel=Artillery&wheelFinish=Chrome+Plated.

Hope I can decide over the weekend so I can put an order in - Looking at zero or a + offset because I don't want them sticking out more than an inch. I'd be forced to run flares up here.
 
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