1998 K1500 for my boy

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ahill003

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Cliff notes:
I had a 90s Extended Cab Z71 for my first truck and loved it.. But didn't treat well and sold it when I went to college. One of my college roomates moms' had a super nice 1998 that I always told her to call me if she ever wanted to sell.. She did about 7 years ago and drove it to me in Texas and I bought her a plane ticket back to UT. My dad retired around the same time, wanted a truck but not a payment, and my wife/I had more vehicles than people to drive them... So we "loaned" it to him for 7 years. ;) Well we got it back a few months ago and started to piddle with it for my oldest son to drive in 5 years. Plenty of time to spruce it up and enjoy it ourselves. I have another son that we are looking for a 2 door tahoe or a regular cab 4x4... But he's 5 so not exactly in a rush.

2 Owner Truck
Has had seats and carpet covered since new for the most part. (Other than a sagging headliner I'd challenge anyone to find a cleaner one.)
Paint is old but not terrible (my dad attempted to "touch up" the peeling paint on the sides. I about had a heart attack but it is what it is. I'm probably going to try and just strip off the touch up. I don't really care to repaint the whole truck at this point.
Mostly straight with a few dents. Had one accident about 10 years ago (driver fender, grill,headlights)
Has a little surface rust here and there from a few years in the mountains.
289,000 Miles. Engine has about half that and trans has about 10k on a rebuild (that shifts like poop)
Rear End was rebuilt around 200k, T-Case and Front Diff are Original
Has a Bunch of New Maintenance and Wear items but I won't bore anybody with that.

What we've done in the last few months:
Pro Comp 4" Lift w/ Shocks
New Wheels/Tires
Dash Carpet... I've always thought these were dorky but quickly realized we had a rare non-cracked dash so decided not to tempt fate since it will be garaged about 50% of the time and out in the texas heat the other half.
New Exhaust from the Cats Back. Just a quiet magniflow dumped right before the bumper.
New HeadLights, Tailights, Corners, Turn Signals, and bulbs for all.
New Hitch.

Stuff Sitting in Boxes:
New Window Trim
Door Seals
Door Pins and Strikers
Dynamat
4.10 Gears (I should have done these with the lift but got impatient.. I also probably need to think about a rear diff while i'm at it)
Steering Stabilizer

Stuff I want/need:
Headliner repair (We have a great place in town I just need to make some time to get it up there)
Stereo: TBD.. Double Din, Speakers, Amps, Probably 2-10s. Ideally I'd like to do the whole interior at once. Does anyone still make a good pre made box for 2-10s under the seat?
Seats: As nice as these are I like leather. Probably Katskins.
Steering/Bushings/ETC... Nothing is in bad shape per se but it's a little loose and most anything plastic or rubber is pretty well worn. Yet another thing I should have done with the lift but did not.
Headlight and Big 3 Harness. I found these on here and plan to order. My headlight harness is getting a little brittle so I figured it was a good upgrade.
Gauges: I had a K5 with Dakota Digital Gauges and Liked them. Going to research those for this.

Drivetrain: This will be a bit longer term than the stuff above and I really don't know which direction to go... The motor is pretty tired in it... Runs good enough but burns plenty of oil and doesn't make much pressure when warm at all. The trans rebuild is also pretty sub par. So I'm torn between just a good old Vortec 350 (or 383?) long block and a nice trans or just 5.3 w/ trans.
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Love the extended cab, that's what I really wanted. Maybe on the next go round. That looks pristine!
 

Caman96

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Makes me think of my white 98 GMC K1500 Ext. Cab(leather interior)I bought in 2000. I miss that truck! :nono:
 

Treybiz

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Mar 2, 2016
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So I got new window "trim" from LMC to replace the trim on the front windows... Do those have a tendency to dry out and scratch the windows? I need to take some pictures of what I'm talking about. Also hoping I can polish out the existing scratches after.
 

Luke Stratton

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Add up every possible bolt, nut, gasket, and part. Add any labor and total it.
Add 1/3 to that number. That is the REAL budget.

I know there isn't a hurry but tripping @ the finish line and you can't fire that fresh engine until you get paid is frustrating.

Doing the fix up will teach him skills he will use in the future. That is almost as important as the hangin' out with Dad!
I agree too many kids can't even start a lawnmower, I would have loved working with my son on a truck but I was gone too much and focused on soccer and little leagues when I was home. Now we get together and work on his house and I get to catch up on what I missed. My wife (his Ma) did a great job raising him.
 
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