98 GMC C1500 - Texas' Finest!

[satxwy]

Ok so maybe not Texas' finest, but I needed something to set it apart!
Anyway like I said its 1998 GMC C1500, about 215,000 on it right now. I've had it since about 170,000. 5.7 with 3.42s from the factory. Always surprised how peppy it is even with the 3.42s and 31" tires, way snappier than the 99 Tahoe with 3.73s I drive sometimes. From everything I know it's the original engine and transmission, but not 100% sure on that. Since I've had it, I've done a lot of maintenance type stuff on it, including replaced just about the entire front end. It currently sits on 31x10.5 BFG AT's with a 1" (or 1.5"? - can't remember for sure) coil spacer and 1.5" rear block. This thread is a long time coming.

Here is about what it looked like when I got it back in 2010.

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After that I found some used 31" BFGs not too far away.

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Then came the front end tear down and rebuild with the coil spacer installed. Next time I'm skipping straight to spindles for the amount of work each involves.

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And finally the last thing I've done that affects its stance, last fall I added a 1.5" block to the back to give me back some more rake. And I also took off the valence, which I know can be a controversial thing on this forum! Haha.

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And finally, here's my truck next to it's hero! Or at least a good role model for how it should look in the future. That one is probably one of my favorite 400s I've ever seen.

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In the near term future I'd like to do a 4" spindle lift, switch to a 3" block maybe with an AAL as well and run 33s, and then longer term, add a 3" body lift with 35s, regear and maybe swap the rear for a 14b.

Sorry if some of the pictures are a little big or off on the dimensions, this photobucket thing is giving me fits! I feel like the grumpy old guy with this technology, hopefully in the future I can get a few more pictures added. I tend not to take very many pictures so I'll have to get better about that.

 

[am92]

Awesome truck! Welcome from College Station!

 

[satxwy]

Thanks!

Today I ran some Seafoam through the Brake Booster line, and was a bit disappointed when I didn't get much of a smoke show afterward. I got some smoke but that cleared out within a 1/4 mile or so. Hopefully that just means that things are relatively clean, or maybe I should have let it sit longer or used a little bit more? Ended up using only 5-6 ounces and letting it sit about 6 minutes. Seafoam experts feel free to chime in with your tips and experiences!

 

[phule]

Do you have any info on the Chevy in that pic. That's the hieght/look I'm looking for

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[Vortec Lover]

Do you have any info on the Chevy in that pic. That's the hieght/look I'm looking for

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Looks like a 4x4 with 3" BL and 2" block and crank to me. Probably on 35"s

 

[satxwy]

Looks like a 4x4 with 3" BL and 2" block and crank to me. Probably on 35"s

315/75s and a I believe 3" BL, with what looks like a 3" block in the back. Is there anything that might be on the front besides just a crank? I'm not an expert on the front ends of the 4x4s, but I thought his CVs looked nearly flat. I'll have to check again. I've never met the owner, just see this truck out in the parking lot.

 

[Vortec Lover]

315/75s and a I believe 3" BL, with what looks like a 3" block in the back. Is there anything that might be on the front besides just a crank? I'm not an expert on the front ends of the 4x4s, but I thought his CVs looked nearly flat. I'll have to check again. I've never met the owner, just see this truck out in the parking lot.

315/75 = 35" tire

Hey, I was dang close! The only two options with these trucks are full drops (suspension lifts), cranking and levling kits (glorified cranking). So it's probably just cranked hard and rides like a bucket of rocks. If you don't feel really obnoxious doing it, you can snap a picture of his CV's and post them up- then we'll tell you

 

[satxwy]

Well, noticed today that the radiator is leaking so it looks like I get to replace that tomorrow. I've never done much on cooling systems but it looks like it'll be easy enough. I had much better ideas for those couple hundred dollars, but oh well!

When I put the new coolant in, I plan to use the green stuff instead of the Dexcool. I shouldn't run into any problems with that should I?

 

[satxwy]

In response to you guys who were wondering about that other truck in one of the pictures, I got a pretty good look at its front today. Looks like its got a full drop kit on it, couldn't tell you which one, and it's CV angles are nearly perfectly flat.


Thinking about tires here, thinking about going with 31" Treadwright Guard Dogs in a 2+2 manner of replacing (replace two worn out tires first, then the not so worn out tires as soon as I can afford it). Would be cheaper than replacing the worn out ones with BFGs, and I don't want the Treadwright Wardens in the BFG pattern if I'm not getting the 3 ply sidewall like the BFGs.

Still haven't gotten to that radiator, but it's a slow leak at the moment so I just make sure it's topped off. Did have to replace the door handle last week thanks to someone trying to break in overnight.

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[satxwy]

May have found a deal on some pretty good shape 33s, specially some BFG KM2s.

Do you guys think I could run them as is without running into too many problems up front? I know the BFGs run a tad small, so that would actually help me. Eventually I probably wanna do spindles, just don't have the time or money for a while.