1998 Chevrolet Silverado K2500 SS "Blue Beauty"

[98chevy2500SS]

Hello everyone,

Here is my truck, I call her "Blue Beauty."

A little story behind the truck: I bought her in 2014. It had an engine problem, bought her for cheap, turns out she needed an injector spider. Now she runs like the day she came out of the factory. I have been adding and buying accessories for her and doing more clean-ups/restoring more (slowly). In Summer 2016, me and my dad painted my truck the factory "Indigo Metallic Blue." She used to be a Blue/Pewter two-tone, but I didn't like it. Replaced the rust on the body, cab corners and rocker panels, she wasn't too rusty for what I paid for (less than $2000), not common here in Iowa. Added lots of accessories as you can see in the before and after pics. She is a beaut, I have put a lot of time and money into this project and haven't regretted it. She will be pulling a lawn mower trailer about 50 miles each week in the late spring, summer, and early fall months. I try to clean the "h" out of this truck about 1-2 times a month, just don't want it to get like it did before. I take pride in my stuff.

I might be able to get a video maybe Thursday of a tour of the truck. I probably won't, got a lot to do that day.

Before:

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After:

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[shovelbill]

nice truck....glad you're taking care of her, she'll appreciate that.....what did you do with the grill guard, interested in selling it?

 

[gstubbz]

Looks nice with the new coat of paint! Color matched grille and fender flares complement the truck nicely.

 

[98chevy2500SS]

Thanks for the nice comments!

@shovelbill Not sure about the grille guard, it's stashed somewhere. If I ever plan on selling it though, you will be the first one on my list, I will keep a note of that.

 

[98chevy2500SS]

Well guys, rehashing my old truck thread, here she is remodeled! Summer break has been going quite well, made lots of changes and improvements. Changing this thread into build/change thread.

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Going to be putting some tow mirrors on, can't wait!

Here's some things I am planning on doing to the truck :
- Finally going to convert it to a 3/4 ton in August
- Tow mirrors, GMT800 style
- Flowmaster 40 Series - love that deep "blub blub" sound
- Chrome tube steps
- Black diamond tread rear splash guards
- Paint the chrome to Satin black on the body side molding
- DIY paint on bed liner, going to do bed caps and tailgate cap too
- Paint outside of the frame so that it looks more rust free. Will be getting as much as I can painted to make it much more restored.

Things I removed :
- Chrome handles as they were too much and kind of ugly on a dark truck
- Racerback/FastBack, off but not forgotten
- Hood guard, bug shield
- (GOING TO REMOVE) Thinking about removing the huge mud flaps in the rear
- DRLs, as those got annoying and just wanted parking lamps to be on all the time, mostly just for the LEDs I have in my clusters to be on, I love looking at that blue.

Things I have done to improve restoration process :
- Repainted wiper arms back to Satin black
- Painted emblems to match SS theme
- Got new TYC headlights (not installed in picture as it was taken before I got the new lights), Eagle Eyes headlights I got in 2014, are kind of junk tbbh.

Thoughts from public?:
- Bought some bed rails for $30 a few months ago at a swap meet. Think I can pull them off on a SS truck? lol If not, it's no biggy, I can probably try and sell them, they actually fit a newer truck, so it doesn't line up with the stakes on the bed. If I can't sell them, oh well, it's only $30, it's not gonna break me. It may not blend since the grille is not Chrome and only the bottom will be chrome, since I have the chrome bumpers and the tube steps will be chrome.

Will take some more interior pics tomorrow, I used that ArmorAll Original Protectant wipes on the dash and door panels to make that blue shine! Really impressed with the wipes.

Also, I will be updating this thread more often.

 

[98BlackSierra]

Looks like a good looking truck. What's up with the 3/4 ton steering wheel? Did you swap it in or someone else?

 

[98chevy2500SS]

I did, didn't want the airbag in.

 

[98chevy2500SS]

Wow, a long time has passed since I have updated this bad boy. She has gotten a lot of attention since July of '17 and has gotten many upgrades, will post pics sometime this week, bad weather right now.

Here's some things I have done to the truck :
- Finally got it converted to a 3/4 ton, which was a huge success, even though people said it wouldn't work
- Tow mirrors, GMT800 style
- Dual Flowmaster 40 Series, sounds better than the Dual 50 Series
- Chrome tube steps
- Mud flaps w/ stainless at the bottom of the flap and chrome naked ladies... on all 4 mud flaps... naughty
- Brand new GMT800 style rims (replicas)
- Painted the frame with undercoat, looks much better, haven't done under the cab yet - this summer
- Black low-profile tool box
- New clear headlights, LED parking lights, clear side markers w/ LED bulbs in bottom, LED tail lights, and LED third brake light (SO MUCH BRIGHTER!)
- Express van knobs (really matches the chrome door handles/bezels in the cab!)
- Added Western Uni-Mount plow brackets and wiring harness (plowing is much fun )
- Smoothie front bumper, much cleaner look
- Painted Vortec word on intake air-cleaner box deal red (made me go faster, lol )
- Add some black door edge trim on my doors, clear coat was peeling on passenger door so had to do something, actually looks pretty cool, matches with window molding.

Things I removed :
- Body-side molding, what a great new fresh look.
Things I plan to do, but don't have money for right now, lol :
- 14 Full Float rear axle
- ^Aftermarket rear locker for it
- Transmission valve body shift kit w/ Corvette servo
- LED lights for the bed of truck
- Bed liner in the bed (any recommendations of brands? I see there is a Rustoleom or a Dupli-color roller kit. *no aerosol can*)
- Tail gate cap from LMC Truck
- Clear dome light and LEDs for rear reading lights
- Chrome license plate bracket (winter is still here, UGG)
- LED auxiliary back up lights (not sure on mounting ideas)

I think that's about it. Whew, what a lot of stuff there... When you love your truck, this is what happens! lol.