88 Slammed C1500

[JJHUSSY]

Long Box 'Cus IDGAF!

Start off with who I am. I am Jeff, 21 years old, living in Medicine Hat, Canada. I am a coiled tubing operator for a hydraulic fracturing company.
This truck was originally bought as a winter vehicle, and to tow my other projects in the future. The later is still correct, but there is NO way I will drive this bad boy through snow.

I purchased this truck for $1200 from some kid's dad here in town. He was sick of it sitting in his driveway and he knew nothing about it. Sorry I don't have before pictures of when I originally purchased the truck, as I had never expected to build it.

Interior stripped to dash, carpet, and seat I knew I was getting what I payed for it. Under the hood was the typical 350 EFI motor, but there were headers on it, and a throttle body spacer. NO EXHAUST FROM BACK OF HEADERS.
Man that was a loud drive down to my local muffler shop, but I knew I had made a good deal.

So I true dualed the exhaust through a set of cheap glasspacks. (temporary, trust me)


INTERIOR:

I hummed and hod, deciding whether I should convert, or restore. Figuring it is a 25 year old truck (CLASSIC THIS YEAR), I decided to restore. Besides, I like to do things differently! It is a long box
I could have ordered everything online, and payed a fortune, but I decided that if I am really going to do this, lets do it on a budget.
A trip to my local pick-a-part proved worth it. New door panels, all new plastic trim (which was a ***** trying not to break), headliner, sun visors, and multiple other small pieces.
DID I MENTION I GOT IT ALL FOR 80 BUCKS?!?!

Here it is, restored to the proper 88 fashion (dirty, I know, I'm sorry):

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AUDIO:

Next, as I am kind of a car audio nut, I figured lets do it, if its gonna be my daily driver I might as well have good tunes!

I installed (sad, yes I know, but trying to find a 4x6 that I can amp is impossible) four Alpine Type-S 4x6 two way speakers. I have these amped at approx 100 watts/speaker RMS, my last set amped like this lasted 5 years, so I figured, why not?
For subs, regular cabs really get on. Wish I could have put my W3s in, but I guess I'll save them for my Beaumont. Two Alpine Type-S 10s in individual ported truck boxes. They just barely fit. They are powered by a 1000 watt JL audio JX1000 Mono amp, and a four farad capacitor supplies the juice for my amps to roll at high levels.
To tie it all together, I run my old pioneer head unit. I love the design of it, and will not change until it s the bed. Fully adjustable, and a quality Ipod hookup, so I don't have to chase CDs all over the place. All of my amps and my cap fit nicely under my bench seat, with plenty of room for them to breathe. ANYONE DOING THIS I HIGHLY RECOMMEND SAUTER, SHRINK WRAP, AND LOTS OF P CLAMPS. I hate seeing half-ass stereo jobs.
P.S. before you start drilling holes and using self-tapping screws, MAKE SURE YOU AREN'T DRILLING INTO ANYTHING UNDERNEATH. And make sure that when mounting amps, that you face the adjusters out, so that you don't have to pull the seat just to tune

I will have more pictures up of the interior later, need to clean my truck but I am busy here, talking to you all!

Next, to do something about my "f***ed up and crushyard worthy bed"

I have a close friend that works for an offroad building company. I had been bugging him for almost 3 months about doing a bedliner for me. He always beat around the bush, saying "lol, maybe someday." That someday was two weeks ago. He did one hell of a job!

Here is an image of the truck before (and its pre-bath):

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Taping off areas:

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Starting the spray!:

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First coat, just drying now:

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Final Product (WOW!):

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Did I mention he did this for free? All he asked me to do was to get him name out to the local croud! Wow almost like a real sponsor!


PARTS:

I am addicted to this website, it's called Kijiji.ca. It is basically the Canadian version of Craigslist, with less scams.
Every day I am on it, looking for cheap parts, and I have found some amazing deals! I found this truck for $1200, I found the set of 22" Boss 304s (20mm offset) WITH four almost new 285/45R22 tires, FOR ONLY $1000!!!
I took a three hour drive to Moose Jaw for a 4/6 lowering kit (something tells me its 5 in the front, but like a retard I didn't measure before) and picked it up for only $600 (with shocks and all!)


LOWERING:

Now its time for my favourite part. LETS SLAM THIS *****!!

Here are some before photos of my baby sitting in the garage:

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Now it turns out I did not know that extended cab trucks have bigger brake assemblies. The drop kit I purchased for my truck was for the extended cab model. I said it, bigger brakes will be better for me anyways, so I purchased new bearings, inner and outer, new rotor/hub assemblies, new calipers, and I figured if I was to do all that, might as well do new brake lines. I did rear brake lines and cylinders because if the front is being restored, why not the rear as well? As for steering components (idler, pitman, tie rods, ball joints etc.), I replaced everything. My moto is do it right once, but never for full price.


Here is a couple pictures of the front end together, before I got to the rear:

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The guy in the one below is my box-liner buddy. Also designated light holder during the slam.

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As for removal of the box, my father and I struggled, but we got it almost off when a neighbor decided to stop by for a chat. Three guys can easily lift a box on and off. One on each wheel well, and one at the back by the tailgate. I HIGHLY recommend removal of the box, I couldn't imagine the pain it would have been to notch frame with box left on.

Now, with a basic understanding of angles, you can speculate that when you raise the rear end by that much, the differential is going to move towards the rear a little bit. The "flip kit" that you purchase comes with little cups that locate on the bolt for the leafs. This hole on the cups is offset to correct the movement of the differential. Rather than flipping before cutting, I measured the offset (I believe it was 3/4" but don't quote me, measure yourself) and began notching the frame. I centered above the old bumpstop, and moved it back the same amount as the offset on the "cup". This allowed me to flip the differential without removal of the leaf springs. (I couldn't get the shackle OR the hanger bolt out, you may come across this with a 25 year old truck).


Here is some pictures after the c-notch:

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WHEN YOU ARE DONE YOUR FLIP, MEASURE YOUR PINION ANGLE!!!! IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN ANGLE FINDER, GO GET ONE!!!
I needed 6 degree shims, rides like a dream now. Don't forget your drop shocks, and your shock extenders, I love how this thing rides!


Here's how it looks when I put the box back on:

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First trip I made was to the carwash, more photos!:

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Now that my truck is slammed, has sick rims, 255/35R22 Falken Ziex tires on the front btw, new interior, brake system, steering components, exhaust, and bedliner. It has been brought to my attention by a previous owner that the motor was rebuild 20,000k ago. Along with the transmission that was rebuilt and has a stage two shift kit, the rear end was rebuilt with 3.73 limited slip. I thought she went better than the typical 88!


NEXT:

Now, here's the part that makes me sad, and excites me at the same time.
Future Mods:


The grill does not sit properly in place. Next set of days off I will be removing, and reshaping so that it DOES fit and look right. I've got the will, and I will find the way. (without swapping rad supports, BLECH)
Here is why:

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The big bulky rear bumper needs to go. When I find a good deal on a nice steel roll pan, shes going on.
Here is why:

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Ugly trailer mirrors have GOT to go. The only chrome I want on my truck is my rims, and my massive Sunpro tach. Looking for a good set of late model plastic mirrors.
Here is why:

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New hood is a necessity. Previous owner rear ended someone, hence the new grill. Nasty bump to the hood that I don't want to fix. COWL ANYWAYS!
Here is why:

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Front lower valence, while pulling out of the garage, I grabbed the concrete with it, ripped it figured I would use this one to get used to how low it is, seeing as how it is junk now anyways. That way when i do put on a good one, I won't rip it off immediately after lol.
Here is why:

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And last, but not least, respray. I love the colour, but I would like to go a little bit darker. There are some nasty chips and scratches all over the truck, and on the roof the clear has completely come off. In my opinion, it is the worst part of the truck. Here is one example, but you can see in basically all of the other pictures how bad the previous paint job was.
Here is why:

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I also want to do some other small things, like a new muffler/tips, window tint etc. But projects do not get completed overnight! (Unless your Chip Foose or something!)


I just want to say thank you to anyone who actually reads this whole thread. Blood, sweat, and tears have gone into this project, and I feel that I am off to a good start. This is my first ever project truck, and I look forward to your responses!!