Vortec Lover's '98 K1500 Build

[bluex]

Spring I got:

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/view...mp;index=3&nav=SEARCH&nid=05825699749

Heavy spring

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/view...mp;index=4&nav=SEARCH&nid=66538502609

They also sell them with out the stud on the bottom, I needed them so it was cheaper for me to get them with the spring. If you want just the spring take the a out of the firestik part number....

 

[Vortec Lover]

^ Thanks!

 

[semiguy409]

Cool! I'm going to be painting my frame and underbody here shortly as well, but I'm not going to pull it apart much, just going to jack it up and get to work. I checked out your build- nice job! Very thorough. I would like to do that to mine, but its too much work for right now. After powerwashing and maybe a little grinding, I'm going to brush my paint on and rattlecan the really tight spots that I can't reach. I'm just waiting for the forecast to clear up so that I can get started on it...that and waiting for a break in my work schedule that lines up with the weather.

Thanks man! And the only reason I am going this thorough is because I am going to be repainting the outside and want to get between the cab and the box, so while I have it apart I said why not...

Looks like you have big plans like I do for mine! You planning on putting bigger tires on?

 

[Vortec Lover]

Thanks man! And the only reason I am going this thorough is because I am going to be repainting the outside and want to get between the cab and the box, so while I have it apart I said why not...

Looks like you have big plans like I do for mine! You planning on putting bigger tires on?

Awesome! What color are you doing? I'd go two tone- but maybe I'm biased.

Bigger tires? Definitely!! But I bought these 285's brand new and I'd blow a lot of money if I didn't wear some tread off of them first...oh well, it'll give me some time to get some other stuff done on it. Either 315's or 325's on 16 inch rims or 35's on 15 inch rims is the goal, but I'm probably going to do that next year, since it's a little expensive to go much bigger. I'm going to get some really nice offset rims the same time that I get new tires, so that will be a big hunk of money right there. Plus I'll have to re-gear- probably to 4:10's and probably block the back up an inch and crank up the torsion bars an inch or two...that way I can still go higher. (I'm even tempted to save up and get a 6" suspension lift and 38's or something like that, but I don't want to get too crazy just yet ) (once my engine goes, I'm sticking in a crate motor, bwahahahaha!...problem is, this truck runs so beautifully, I don't think it's ever going to die!) I plan on keeping this truck for the rest of my life, so I'm going to try to do everything right and make it last as long as possible. Plus I'm going to be doing some under-the-hood mods here soon, (BB tune, long tube headers, LT4 hot cam, etc...) and that always costs a ton of $$$. I plan to get this baby up to about 350 rwhp and that should be enough for a while. It's always a tossup of what mod you can afford to do next. PLUS I'm trying to save up for a car at the same time...

To sum it up....big plans? Heck, yeah. Moolah, or rather, the lack of it, is what's holding me back.

 

[semiguy409]

Sounds fun! My truck is my first thing I got... I am going to be painting it a dark met. grey on top and keep gloss black on bottom. I just put an exhaust on, but I wanna put something louder on, so I might change it again.

And yeah i see why you wouldn't change the tires just yet... I plan on in the future because my rims on this are crap. I don't plan on messing with much on the engine... maybe a K&N or something but not much. Gotta have something to put money into at all times... right? Lol

 

[Vortec Lover]

Okay, here's my grill as it looks now, and I am opening the floor to suggestions. (I am going to be sticking in some new headlights sometime in the future) I don't plan on changing my grill guard just yet, because I kind of need the chrome look. I don't think blacking out would look very good on this paint scheme, personally. What I want to do is add some off-road lights on my grill guard, but I am not sure how to configure it... if anyone has any suggestions, go ahead and make them. Round ones? Square ones? Two? Four? Right now I am thinking about sticking on two round ones. I haven't picked a brand out yet, I'm just narrowing down what layout I want.

Pics or opinions?

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[GMCTRUCKS]

Looking good..........

 

[Vortec Lover]

Sounds fun! My truck is my first thing I got... I am going to be painting it a dark met. grey on top and keep gloss black on bottom. I just put an exhaust on, but I wanna put something louder on, so I might change it again.

And yeah i see why you wouldn't change the tires just yet... I plan on in the future because my rims on this are crap. I don't plan on messing with much on the engine... maybe a K&N or something but not much. Gotta have something to put money into at all times... right? Lol

That paint job should look really sharp! I'm going to be redoing my exhaust too. It's way louder than it was, but I wouldn't mind a little more rumble. When I get my longtubes I plan on either taking out the cats or replacing them with high-flows. Then I'll upgrade the entire exhaust to 2.5" or something instead of the stock width that I am running right now (which I think is 2"?). I might dump it behind the axles or run it out like I am...I'll decide when I get there.

Looking good..........

Thanks! I'm working on it...

 

[Vortec Lover]

Okay, when I picked them up they were supposed to be temporary. But now that I stuck them in I kind of like them. I didn't want to go with the camo-look, so this is what I tried. Yup, wally-world seats covers, but they look pretty sharp I think.

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[Vortec Lover]

Got my mudflaps on yesterday despite the bursts of rain that I had to work around. I had already stuck the front ones on during lunch-break a few days back, so I had to take those off and realign them. I then pulled off the back ones and replaced them to match the front.

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I know that most people think that mudflaps really knock down the truck's looks, but I don't think that they look bad at all. Plus they help protect my paint. Nothing wrong with that.