Overland K1500 Silverado Project "Old Red"

[Matt Dylan]

The truck did well on the drive to the airport. Definitely going to see what the mpg was for the hour drive when i get back from this business trip next month to get the interstate mpg. When i get back I'll see what I need to do for installing the front Timbrens.

I'm definitely going to order more Mevotech TTX parts for the front end before i get my alignment done.

 

[Matt Dylan]

Overall, the only real benefit of the tb spacer that i immediately noticed was that the intake tube lines up nicer to the air box (side effect of the body lift). No noticeable improvements in acceleration or mpg yet. So more driving will be necessary for that determination. And i had to cut some flex conduit to replace my valve cover breather tube that goes to the intake.

The mechanic did say that the 40 amp ignition fuse did blow before they could work on my ac so I'll need to get that diagnosed eventually in the near future.

Next on my list will be the fuel injection, pump and filter since i have to take the bed off anyway to replace the bed mouting bolts since one snapped and i want to take the body lift out anyway. But right now the front passenger side corner is being held to the frame with a lift puck, a stub of the bolt, and a 500lb ratchet strap.

 

[Matt Dylan]

Finally on my way back, I don't know why I used to complain about connecting flights when direct seem to be more excruciating. Looking forewarned to seeing old red again.

 

[Matt Dylan]

Starter went on the fritz, so i pulled it, cleaned the air filter, and it looks like the TB spacer doesn't do any good for the spider injection style engines as the truck actually felt more sluggish and lumbering (also my fuel economy went down by a full mile) than it had before. but I'm currently waiting on a new starter and I have to replace some seals and gaskets to stop the persistent leaks that may have made the starter go haywire.

It will be a good opportunity to change the transmission fluid having over 221K miles on it since the seal is leaking and I'm pretty sure the filter needs to the changed on that as well

definitely getting a tonneau cover for the bed and I'll get some fresh keys for the truck cut at the local dealership to have spares.

It is a shame that the spacer didn't work out but i held onto the old hardware in case this was going to be the case. I can probably make good use of the old parts (spacer, volant intake) on eBay.

 

[Matt Dylan]

New starter installed, looking into some stuff for some parts to remove the body lift from the truck so that the truck probably will ride a little nicer and less tippy (it does off road OK in spite of this). One of these days i will find an OEM set of skid plates that bolt to the factory locations along with new fuel tank straps and pads.

 

[Matt Dylan]

I decided to repaint the tailgate, I sanded, primed, raptor lined, and got the first coat of color onto the tailgate today, I'm gonna let it dry for a bit so that i can see any spots that i missed before i finish with a clear coat. i had two cans of enamel gloss cherry red paint and i purchased UPOL Raptor Liner primer, bedliner, and clear coat and using the tailgate as a means to see how well it will work for the rest of the truck.

I ordered a set of 99-07 "Silverado" and "1500HD" badges to finish off the look, the 1500 badges arrived today and the Silverado tailgate emblem will be in middle of this week so there'll be enough time for the paint to cure before it's time to attach the emblem on the back.

Its finally slowly starting to look more like how I want the truck to be.

Of course i still need to get a bezel for the tailgate handle along with a few odds and ends but none the less it's getting there.

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[Matt Dylan]

got the first clear coat onto the tailgate, and got the hood sanded, primed, raptor lined, and color coated. now i just have to let it set before i clear coat the hood and then place a set of "5.7L VORTEC" badges on it. I also took the liberty of cleaning some rust off of the hood brackets and spraying some rust reformer and primer on them to hopefully preserve them for a bit longer.

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Something i noticed when i was sanding down the tailgate yesterday was that there was the faintest impression left behind in the old paint of the big "CHEVROLET" band that was common on those trucks when they were new, indicating that one of the previous owners had yanked it and then painted over the area.

 

[Matt Dylan]

Is there anything to need to know before i buy and try to throw a 1999 Chevy 1500 rear axle?

I'm still looking into upgrading the rear springs and change the gears from 3.42 open to 3.73 lsd

I'm torn between if i want a clutch style in the back with torsen up front or if i want torsen front and rear.

 

[Shwa Kid]

Is there anything to need to know before i buy and try to throw a 1999 Chevy 1500 rear axle?

I skimmed over most things so maybe covered, but you'll have to re-do all of the axle and shock mounts, which gives a good opportunity to get your pinion dialed in. If you don't have the axle already, some years will have discs vs drums (and SUV's have dual piston calipers vs single on the pickups), not sure if you've got a plan for e-brake cables too. Need to make sure the ratios match front and rear. On GMT400's the 4x4 and 4x2 have different widths, not sure about the GMT800's. Lastly, IMO the limited slips aren't worth paying extra for as they're just the typical Gov-Lock, doesn't matter if you're doing your carrier swap as part of the axle swap.

 

[Matt Dylan]

Quick build update.

I finished the hood and tailgate, I had to replace the tailgate latch as well as the bezel since the old latch was damaged enough to the point the latch wouldn't open the tailgate with the bezel installed.

But all the new badges except the door emblems are now applied to the truck and I'm pretty happy with how well the updated badges work with the truck.

I think for now I'm going to have the rear axle refurbished for now since I don't have the tools, electrical service, or space to fab up a '99 rear end at the moment so that's gonna be on the back burner until further notice. Next on the list will be rear brakes, a 12K hitch, updated leaf springs, ring and pinion gear in 3.73:1, seals, bearings and potential brake lines just in case the brake line fittings the truck currently has decide to round out when i redo the brakes.

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