1998 K2500 Daily Build | Colorado | 109k

[OutlawDrifter]

TB spacer will not provide you any gains.

 

[Djp86mcss]

This is my first post on this site so feel free to relocate if not in the correct location.

Backstory:
Myself just like many others are circling back to pickup these OBS trucks right now as the used vehicle market in 2021 hits record highs. My funds in my opinion are better spent buying a $6,000 truck and putting $6,000 of work into it. Compared to buying a $12,000 tuck that needs maintenance. This will be my third K1500/K2500 over the last seven years, and the sixth or so in my family. I've owned around 12 vehicles in that timeframe. Lots of flipping. LS platforms, Duramax, etc. At this stage in my life it was time to jump back this direction. I had a 1996 K2500 (gold) I unfortunately had to sell in 2017. Before that I had a 1997 K1500. (red). There was something about the extended cab long bed that I personally loved for the 88-98 looks. Crew Cabs are awesome too but I was searching for a 5.7 platform so much harder to find.

Here was the build breakdown for the 1996 K2500 from 2017:
Fully Loaded K2500 With Semi Float 5.7 and 4l80E 4:11 Gears, Leather interior, Keyless entry, 6" ProComp Lift Kit, Add-A-Leaf, Torsion Keys(mild crank), 22x12 Scorpion Gloss Black Milled, 37x13.50R22 Toyo Tires, Smooth front bumper, aftermarket headlight and taillights, 2015+ Tow Mirrors, 3" Back custom exhaust, and some other misc. This truck sold for $12,500 back in 2017. Which was my break even price.

Here was the problem with this truck. It looks awesome and was so not practical for anything other than a grocery getter. The 5.7L had great power even on 37s and I could have towed anything around town but it was a "show truck" that was built essentially for instagram at the time. So fast forward to 2021. I'm ready for a K2500 again. I miss it badly, but I'm not going down this route again. Maintenance and function are more important to me this time around. So here starts this next build thread for my (forest green) 1998 K2500 Ext Cab Long Bed with 109,000 original miles. I'll warn the big block guys ahead of time I favor the small block for certain reasons but we can get to that later. I'm going to detail and outline my route. Certain cost savings measures, and parts links for anyone in 2021 attempting to daily drive their K2500. Even though this is my third K1500/2500 I am still learning a lot along the way and hope it helps others.

I have a 95 k2500 with LS1 swap and sas nv4500 14 bolt front and rear lockers. Much more if u are interested

 

[Djp86mcss]

I have a 95 k2500 with LS1 swap and sas nv4500 14 bolt front and rear lockers. Much more if u are interested 7500 beat offer I’m in NJ

 

[Mvp808]

Front IFS Completion and Overview:

One part I forgot to mention and link to above is the first-gen Duramax extended HD sway bar end links I used:
$50 11-19 HD Sway Bar Extended Links - These are 2-3" longer than the OBS links and will be needed if you run cranked keys and a diff drop setup

Overall I am very happy with the diff drop kit. I still retained a large amount of travel in both directions. Keep in mind if you go this route you will need to cut off your upper bump stops and purchase those extended shocks for a 2-4" lift kit. The kit does come with shock extenders that are supposed to solve the problem. But since I was buying new shocks at the same time. I went this route.

The measurements are 39" height from ground to center under side of fender flares and 21" from ground to cab bottom. The 39" number is the same on the front and the back. I have minimal rubbing with the 305/70 tires and it's a very smooth ride. The kit could have gone up another 1-2" but as stated earlier I didn't want to force the IFS. If you want to go any larger than 33's I recommend a suspension lift. Cranking the keys is not ideal and will cause problems. Of course you can go the body lift route and add an extra 3" of lift for $300 or so. I decided against this. My red truck in the photos above cleared 35s on a leveling kit and a body lift. But all 9" the frame shows and isn't a clean stock look (in my opinion).

the eBay diff drop link is here - please note the kit does not bolt right in and requires slight fabrication or cutting. The instructions for the kit are also here.

Before this kit was installed I decided to crank up the keys to get the same height as whats now shown. My shocks were maxed, my cv axles where maxed, and my uppers were riding on the bump stops.The truck had a rancho leveling kit on it so keep that in mind. The truck sits very similar in height to a K1500 with a 4" suspension lift.

I did attempt to order a 1" ball joint spacer for this to help with the upper ball joint angles. Here is the kit link. The company never shipped the part and I was refunded. but this would also be an option rather than trimming the upper bump stops. I do think you would need to run 18-20" wheels though otherwise the upper control arm would hit on the 17" wheel. If you have a K1500 the newer control arms come with longer ball joints and you can drill the rivets out and flip them to the bottom to get the same effect. K2500/3500's factory have the ball joints below the control arm so this is not an option.

Now that I have the entire front end replaced and new when and if I decide to add a suspension lift I have crossed off the restoration part of the process before I go aftermarket.
Here is where the truck sits now with the measurements above and 305/70s plus the Hummer H2 wheels 17x8.5 +18 offset and 2" rear wheel spacers.

Overall I would recommend this setup for the price. The truck drives very smooth. Keep in mind running 20s or 22s on 33s will be a harsher ride and and wider than what is shown here would rub. If I do go to tow with the truck frequently I will be adding a set of adjustable tow bags to bring the rear up a bit. Right now if I go to tow my rear tires only have 1-2" of clearance. The 2.5" blocks provided in the kit would also solve this problem but I personally don't like the raked look.

Thanks for attaching extended sway bar links. I recently got my 6” lift installed and the stock endlinks keep hitting my tie rod ends hopefully this helps.

 

[Burdom13]

Curious what lower control arms you have? Are they the cast steel? Much different than the stamped steel arms? Obviously different but they have the same BJs and pivots/location/sizes?

 

[Supercharged111]

The kiddo seems to fit just fine in the bed, not sure why the obsession over the extended cab.