"Red Rock" 97 C1500 Build

[DeputyPelican]

1997 GMC Sierra SL 2WD with a 262 4.3L engine, and 4L60E transmission.

Little history of the truck to preface the thread.. The truck was sold in 1996 to my Uncle by my Dad was a vehicle salesman at the local GMC dealership. My Uncle used the truck mainly for various errands, all on highway/gravel roads. At this point of its life the truck was rarely used by my Uncle, who worked for Louisiana State Police and had a "take home" vehicle so he didn't have to commute in the truck.


I'm not exactly sure what year but my Uncle ended up selling the truck to my Grandfather. My Grandfather rarely used the truck either, and only used it for various errands and work around the farm. The maintenance was kept up on the truck for its entire life, but sadly ended up with a LOT of scratches from the farm work.. but no rust whatsoever! I'm also thankful that since the truck was kept under a canopy for the entirety of its life the paint isn't very faded and the interior isn't cracked.


When my Grandfather was alive I always spoke of the truck with him, and he would always say he wanted me to have it when I turned 16. My Grandfather passed away in early 2015, and at the age of 15 I inherited my first vehicle. At the time of writing this I've made several changes to the truck and had to replace & fix so many parts, lol. At the time of inheriting the truck it had approximately 58k original miles.


Here are the photos of the day I inherited the truck.

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[SUBURBAN5]

Nice truck. Any plans for the truck? Or keepin it stock?

 

[DeputyPelican]

Off of the top of my head here are the modifications made over the years. Upon first inheriting the truck I removed the god-awful chrome running boards, removed the bug guard on the front, and removed the air dam on the front bumper. I put in an aftermarket radio, got custom fit weathertec floor mats, and later repainted the front and back pumper black (PlastiDip). I also removed the trim on the rocker panel on both sides and painted the rocker panel with PlastiDip.

I've went through SEVERAL headlight/brakelight/and 3rd brake light housings. Headlights and interior lighting went from halogen to LED to halogen and now back to LED. I've now went back to all stock housings except for the 3rd brake light, and have an all white LED dashboard with halogen interior lighting. OH! I also put a black push bumper on the front. I recently removed the plastic factory drop in bed liner and put a rubber bet mat in along with a tonneau cover on top. The tailgate when I first got the truck from my Grandfather was severely dented and bent, so I purchased a new tailgate and installed all new mechanical parts. I painted the tailgate with factory paint rattlecans and it turned out.. as you would expect, lol. My upcoming projects and wishlist for the truck is to put bigger tires (keep rims), remove the PlastiDip on the front and back bumper, put a new lightbar on the front push bumper, remove the pinstriping that is peeling, and do various suspension upgrades.

 

[DeputyPelican]

Here are various photos I took over the years.

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[SUBURBAN5]

I've heard plastidip chips/peels easy just fyi. Sounds cool you have to post pics and progress. I recommend doing the 4hi relay harness. I have the same wheels lol. I put a beauty ring and purchased new hubs caps. (Mine came with aluminums) love the steel's and over here I can jump curves and not worry about people jacking the wheels lol. My tires are 15x10.5x31

 

[DeputyPelican]

I've heard plastidip chips/peels easy just fyi. Sounds cool you have to post pics and progress. I recommend doing the 4hi relay harness. I have the same wheels lol. I put a beauty ring and purchased new hubs caps. (Mine came with aluminums) love the steel's and over here I can jump curves and not worry about people jacking the wheels lol. My tires are 15x10.5x31

Same exact rims! The PlastiDip on the rims have held up quite well so far, along with the rocker panels. Both bumpers are peeling horrendously though, so I plan on pressure washing them soon and returning them to the original chrome. I'm uploading pics of the current look of the truck now, I'll post them as soon as they're done. I'll also be posting photos on here as I modify the truck. Also, I've currently got stock size 235 75r15 tires but plan on putting 265 75r15s on soon.

 

[DeputyPelican]

Current pics!

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Stay tuned for the larger tires and level kit coming soon!

 

[SUBURBAN5]

Mine a Chevy but I like the gmc billet grill so I switched my grill.

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[SUBURBAN5]

If you look a lot under the hood ( checking fluid,ect) I recommend adding another hood light. The pull out light cool too incase I ever forget a flashlight or phone dies I can pull it under the truck or pull it to the rear tire( in case of flat) having 3 lights is a bit of an overkill lol but they all have a purpose for me. Look forward on future pics and mods.

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[frito-bandito]

I like that idea of extra lights under the hood