Strikk's '98 ECSB K1500

[BURBAN GUY]

Good build keep going.

 

[strikk]

I took the front end apart today to take a better look at fitment of the grille I picked up.

Profile shot for you guys, its sagging in the rear, i have a compressor back there

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Fitting the grille on before I get it all painted up. It going to be color matched. Fit wisedo you guys think this is usable? I am very picky with this, I expect it to be on it until the day it gets hauled away or sold, better get it right the first time around

Head On:
TYC Parking lights,

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Drivers Side:

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Passenger Side

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The passenger side is all out of whack from a previous accident.
The headlights are tied on with some rope for test fitment. I still havn't received the missing screws and bolts from LMC or the bottom filler grille panel which should help with fitment

The headlights need some serious adjustment, I don't want them sticking out that much, should have gotten TYC clears instead of the ebay specials

Thoughts?

 

[am92]

Grille fitment looks pretty good to me...just as good if not better than my cracked stock one, I'd be fine with it but you said that you're really picky so will you be ok with it?

 

[strikk]

Heyo nice truck where in MA are you? Nice bike we should hit up the trails this summer.

I'm in Northborough, I try to hit up trails after work and on saturdays as much as possible. I'm usually at Pisgah/Vietnam/Leominster state park.
Where are you at?

Grille fitment looks pretty good to me...just as good if not better than my cracked stock one, I'd be fine with it but you said that you're really picky so will you be ok with it?

The more I look at it the more it grows on me, I think i'll paint it and go to town with some washers and shims to get it looking clean.
I feel like the mounting tabs are an 1/8th inch to short on top, causing the hood over hang. When I look at my old W/T grille and all of the broken mount points, 6 out of 7, I guess its fitment sucks a lot worse.

I'm waiting on my HD headlight harness from Baron and the HID's from DDM still, once they come in I'll grab some paint and match it up.


A local company was getting rid of pallets yesterday afternoon so I picked them up and had a good old pallet fire.

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[am92]

The more I look at it the more it grows on me, I think i'll paint it and go to town with some washers and shims to get it looking clean.
I feel like the mounting tabs are an 1/8th inch to short on top, causing the hood over hang.

Sounds good man, on the top tabs you could probably just drill or dremel them out a bit to bring it forward some...keep us posted on how it turns out!

 

[strikk]

My grille has been painted, waiting for it to dry. I can tell already it needs to be buffed

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Now my big rescue project is the issues that I have with rust on this beast. The previous owner never had it in a garage, 10 years of sitting under trees in his driveway has allowed moisture to get the best of this thing.

I have horrible looking rocker panels, one bad driver side rear cab, all 4 supports under my bed are 2 sided square beams. The tank straps had to be replaced and the wheel wells in the bed are showing through.

Rear Driver Cab

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Driver Side Rocker

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Passenger Side Rocker

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I'm going to get some patch panels and go to town. I've been told that OEM's now recommend using chemical glue and adhesive for patch panels instead of welding to ensure that welding doesn't weaken anything adjacent to the panels. Anyone try out Fusor or some of the 3M two part adhesives for this?


In other news, the durajap likes to slide it out

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[strikk]

Those ebay headlights weren't really my thing. 2 month later after being resealed, twice, water was still getting into them and the heat from the HID's were making them yellow. Most of the reflective backing in the driver side was cracked and falling off. They were simply pieces of .

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That brings me to my next purchase, a pair of TYC elegante's, what look to be one of the last pairs floating around on amazon. These things are perfect.

My front end now after the full composite conversion!

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closeup

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I'm wicked pumped that this is done. I absolutely hated the work truck sealed beam setup. It made the truck look ancient.

Now to get those cab lights installed like all you other cool kids

 

[strikk]

These are 5k 35watt ddm tuning bulbs and balasts installed with MeanGreen's heavy duty high and low harness. I've got to tap into the parking lights for the corner ambers

TYC oem parking lenses
TYC elegant headlight lenses
DDM Tuning 5k 35watt bulbs+ballasts
Depo corner ambers

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[badazzbulldog]

its looking good, grille came out nice did you paint it with rattle cans?

 

[strikk]

Yeah, a can of primer, a can of base, and a can of clear from automotivetouchup.com ad recommended by Chris. any defects are from the painter, not the paint
It could use a good few hours of rubbing compound to remove the orange peal but I'm happy with it, anything to replace that grey work truck front end I had before

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I have another can of base and clear waiting for a good day to fix my driver side extended cab panel before it rusts away on me