97 C3500 Crew Cab Long Bed SRW

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Jetson105

Newbie
Joined
May 17, 2016
Messages
25
Reaction score
8
Location
NorthernVA
1997 C3500 Crew Cab Long Bed single rear wheel, Cheyenne trim

Sold my Nissan hardbody to upgrade to this in 2011. Here's what it looked like when I got it.

You must be registered for see images attach


Previously owned by a metal building company since new, it had a rack from front to rear bumper and was used to deliver metal building components and crew to work sites. ~184,000

I was looking for at least an extended cab and at least a 2500, so I found bigger in both aspects. At the time I thought a 1 ton would be more towing capacity than I would ever need. That was before I researched this particular configuration (5.7) and various trailer weights.

I'm restoring a 70s Datsun, but it's not done yet because I keep getting distracted by upgrading the truck.

A few more before pics.
Rear 3/4
You must be registered for see images attach


Bench seats, rubber floor.
You must be registered for see images attach


Vinyl steering wheel, basic AM/FM but with 4 speakers, no cruise, no power windows, no power locks
You must be registered for see images attach
 

Jetson105

Newbie
Joined
May 17, 2016
Messages
25
Reaction score
8
Location
NorthernVA
First non-repair upgrade was newer style steel wheels.
You must be registered for see images attach
 
Last edited:

Jetson105

Newbie
Joined
May 17, 2016
Messages
25
Reaction score
8
Location
NorthernVA
I found Suburban front leather buckets, rear 2nd row seats and carpet at Harry's U-Pull-It up in Hazelton.

Some notes from this project
-the stock rubber floor mat could use some improvement. the edges tuck under the door sill plates so the mud and water tracked into the truck build up in the door sill channels and rust out the wiring running to the rear of the cab for speakers and lights
-the front bucket install wasn't too bad, I think that has been covered in other posts here
-the rear seat install was more involved than expected because the crew cab floor profile was a lot different from the Suburban.


You must be registered for see images attach
 

Jetson105

Newbie
Joined
May 17, 2016
Messages
25
Reaction score
8
Location
NorthernVA
May 2012 Seat upgrade (continued)

To finish this mod here's a view of the front seats, center console, carpet and GM floor mats. They aren't perfect and the drivers' seat is ripped a bit on the side, but still an upgrade over the vinyl bench seats.

You must be registered for see images attach
 
Last edited:

Jetson105

Newbie
Joined
May 17, 2016
Messages
25
Reaction score
8
Location
NorthernVA
April 2012 - Tilt steering column

Another trip to Harry's U-Pull It and I found
Tilt Steering Column, Leather (or leather-like) Steering Wheel with airbag center

You must be registered for see images attach
 
Last edited:

Jetson105

Newbie
Joined
May 17, 2016
Messages
25
Reaction score
8
Location
NorthernVA
April 2012 - April 2015 Audio system version 1

install of audio system version 1 (This is my current system as of June 2016, but I'm shopping for a different configuration that does Bluetooth streaming from android. If I make a change I'll update you with the version 2 changes.)

Source
GM cassette player with all bulbs replaced
USA Spec (PA11-GM45) (30pin) iPod Interface input to CD player input
Speakers
Blaupunkt 6.5" front door speakers
Infinity 3.5" rear c-pillar speakers mounted in adapter plates from Crutchfield
Alpine 8" Type R SWR-823D Subwoofer in truck-style box, I think I wired this for 4Ohms
AMPs
Sony XDP-MU110 17W x 4-channel "factory system upgrade" amp
Kenwood 8101d subwoofer amp, 200W @ 4Ohms

My goal was iPod input, better quality speakers and a little more power, which I achieved with this configuration. I used mostly parts left over from previous cars or items I bought for different project(s) and didn't use that I had lying around to keep the cost down.

The Sony amp is made to take speaker level output from a factory stereo and it came with like 8' of interface wires both for input and output, so I put it under the driver's seat. I wired it up like this:
GM radio output plug -> truck wiring harness-side plug that I cut from a junk yard truck spliced into the Sony amp input wires
=== under the carpet to sony amp under driver's seat | output from sony amp under carpet back up to radio area of the dash ===
Sony amp output wires spiced into Crutchfield GM stereo-side plug adapter -> truck wiring harness.
With plugs on the radio (input) and truck (output) side I didn't have to cut into the truck's wiring harness to add the Sony amp.

GM Cassette radio
You must be registered for see images attach


USA Spec iPod input
ProFit phone mount (nice design, uses existing screws behind the trim) and iPod cradle
You must be registered for see images attach


Sony 17Wx4 "factory upgrade" amp under driver's seat
You must be registered for see images attach


Infinity 3.5" speakers in rear C-pillars, mounted in Crutchfield adapter plates
(I didn't need any bass here since I was adding the sub, so the 3.5s work fine)
You must be registered for see images attach
 
Last edited:

Jetson105

Newbie
Joined
May 17, 2016
Messages
25
Reaction score
8
Location
NorthernVA
April 2012 - April 2015 Audio system version 1 (continued)

I wanted to use the Kenwood amp and a 10" sub I had left over from a car I flipped (flipped as in bought and sold, not flipped as in flipped) but the 10" was too deep to fit behind the rear seat and I couldn't find anywhere else to put it. The 8" sub that I bought for a different project and decided not to use was just shallow enough to fit behind the seat in a $35 truck-style sub box I found on amazon. The 8" is just enough to round out the system and is set so that it doesn't overpower the sound or break the neighbors' windows.

Kenwood KAC8181d subwoofer amp under rear seat
You must be registered for see images attach


Alpine 8" Type R SWR-823D subwoofer in generic truck box behind rear seat
You must be registered for see images attach
 
Last edited:

Jetson105

Newbie
Joined
May 17, 2016
Messages
25
Reaction score
8
Location
NorthernVA
June 2014 - Repaint worst areas

More and more paint was falling off of the roof and rust was coming through the primer. The rockers/door sills were scraped, rusting and ugly, the tailgate and rear bumper were scraped and ugly. So I got the roof, rockers and rear bumper repainted, and I found a used tailgate at Harry's U-Pull It that I had repainted white to replace the beat up one. The paint shop also shoved a bunch of paint stirrer sticks between the roof supports and the sagging roof to help take the bowing out, but more on that later.

Roof before and after (this is an old before picture of the roof, it was much worse by 2014)
You must be registered for see images attach


Door sills before and after
You must be registered for see images attach


Rear tailgate before and after replacement with a re-painted used one
Added Maxxima 3/4" red LEDs with clear lenses (stealth looking when off, red when on)
Added new style Chevy bowtie emblem pn 228 29 422
Added new style CHEYENNE script pn 157 91 217
Rear bumper repainted silver, I'm still undecided if I like silver or the stock black better on the GMT400s.
You must be registered for see images attach
 
Last edited:

Jetson105

Newbie
Joined
May 17, 2016
Messages
25
Reaction score
8
Location
NorthernVA
August 2014 - Strengthen roof and add sound deadening

The roof was dented in and holding rain water so the paint shop shoved some paint stirrer sticks in between the sagging roof and the metal roof supports and siliconed them in place. This helped a bit, but a little pressure between the middle and rear support caused the sheet metal to bow again. I notched the wooden stir sticks enough to hold some 1/2" (or 3/4", I forget which) square tubing in place running front to back, one on either side, to give extra support to the roof across the mid to rear span.

I also added Second Skin Damplifier sound deadening material everywhere I could to quiet things down a bit.

Wood shims added between the stock metal mid-roof support, siliconed in place, square tubing added running front to rear on either side to support the roof between the mid and rear supports, Damplifier sound deadening material added.
You must be registered for see images attach


Also added Second Skin Damplifier to the rear panel
You must be registered for see images attach
 
Last edited:

Jetson105

Newbie
Joined
May 17, 2016
Messages
25
Reaction score
8
Location
NorthernVA
August 2014 - Recover Headliner

I hesitate to post this one because it was not successful.

Due to the roof repair I had to take the headliner out. It smelled like cigarette smoke and was ugly and falling down, so I got a "ends and pieces" roll of vinyl from eBay and bought the (supposedly) good 3M headliner adhesive and recovered it.

I started at the rear and glued in 1'-1.5' sections, rolled it with a heavy duty Dynamat wooden roller to press it together and followed the instructions on the adhesive - I think it said 'let set for 5-30min to tak up before pressing the pieces together' or something like that. But for some reason the first foot or so that I did held up ok, but after that all the way to the front let go and is hanging down again after 1 summer in the hot direct sun, unshaded, with untinted windows.

Anyway, maybe you'll have better luck.

Headliner before
You must be registered for see images attach


Removed cloth, then had to scrape the foam off. Only thing I could find was a stiff wire brush. The brush is still packed with foam.
You must be registered for see images attach


Clean headliner board
You must be registered for see images attach


eBay vinyl glued with 3M 38808 Headliner and Fabric Adhesive
You must be registered for see images attach


Another Harry's find - overhead console recovered with what was left of the vinyl.
You must be registered for see images attach
 
Top