Joshua's 97 ECSB Z71 "Build"

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^As it sits right now


Well, I never intended to have a "build" thread because I didn't expect this truck to ever amount to much more than a daily driver and hauler, but things have a way of getting out of hand.....quickly.

Anyway, this truck came to me way of a trade, title for title. I had a 2003 HD 100th Anniversary Sportster 1200 Custom with just under 7,000 on the clock that I had done some minor work to. At the time I had just purchased a house and didn't really "need" the bike but I could really use truck. A co-worker of mine had it so we traded

This was my bike:

 

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And this was the truck at the time:

 

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Living in Texas and having always liked trucks, it's hard to believe I didn't own one earlier. As time went on I repaired some minor issues but overall the truck was pretty solid. And it has come in handy more times than I can count. But something about it just wasn't me. Sure it looked good stock but I've never had a vehicle and not added my own taste to it...so it began, slowly....Here's a few more pics early on. I got the truck around the end of 2009.

 

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Alright, so fast forward a bit. My tires were starting to wear out and this was my opportunity to start giving the truck some attitude. I didn't want anything crazy as far as rubber and was set on getting Pro Comp Steelies

 

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Then it was time to start getting rid of all the chrome. In case no one is paying attention the 60's called and they want their chrome back, it's 2014 & black is the new chrome....so it was time for the rattle can:

 

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And boom:

 

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Then I just did some regular maintenance on the rear diff. I thought I had some flat black laying around to paint the cover but could only find Flouro Orange I used on my dog's tie out that I kept kicking in my flip flops, so I figured...why not??

 

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Then I repaired my toolbox and blacked out the bed caps

 

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Tax time 2014! Let's do this....

I decided to lift the truck this year so I purchased the 6" RCX, some LED Tow Mirrors, and N-Fab's Pre-Runner Light Bar. During the installation of the lift I decided to replace the upper and lower ball joints, inner and outer tie rods, the sleeves, and all my bushings. On the bushings I went with Energy Suspension. I also replaced the oil pan gasket while I was there and the rear drums. The lift install was pretty straight forward, but at times quite the PITA. I wound up having a shop press my bushings and lower ball joints. Shaving the front diff cooling fins took a while to get just right and ate up time. Other than that, it was just a matter of working around family and work schedules. But I'm soooo glad it's over. And that's it for now. I have some other ideas in mind and am in need of a paint job but we'll see how that goes as I have other vehicles in the stable to tend to....Thanks for looking!

 

[joshuaberman]

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