cjpett
Newbie
Walter is my 1995 Cheyenne K1500. Despite the title, Walter is a great truck. Walter was picked up by my Dad probably around 2013-2014. It was owned by a drywall foreman beforehand, so it's had a pretty easy life. Since I've had it I've done quite a bit, so I'm going to go through it area by area.
Let's start with the exterior.
The front end has had the most work to it exterior-wise. My buddies and I all went camping last July and right before we left to do some trails I slammed the front end into a log. So a quick trip to the Pick'n'Pull and I got a new grille. And a grille guard. And some "new" headlights. I go a little insane there. There are just so many cars and so many things to look at and if you don't get it now then you may never be able to get it again. Anyway. As soon as I got the grille guard on I ran to the Autozone and got some lights. This was a HORRIBLE purchase. They don't light ****, they don't look good, and the wiring was the length of my hand. Fortunately, my friend gave me his old foglights from his jeep. Little finagling and I got them on. Yes, they are zip tied. No, I'm probably not going to change it. In December I got a 12000-pound Badlands winch and the hidden winch mount that rough country offers. I had to do some cutting so I could have access to the clutch but overall it works great and I think it looks awesome.
I put a 3" suspension lift on it. It was pretty painless, mostly because I gave it to a mechanic. The kit I got leveled the rear, which posed two problems. 1. I like the rake. 2. For about 6 months Walter sat in a field with a bed filled with concrete, which meant the level was more like a lean. No biggie though, just bought some bigger blocks and stuck them under the leafs. Along with the lift, I got some big tires. They are 33" Milestar Patagonia's on 16" NBS Z71 wheels. I frickin love these tires. I only have a couple 100 miles on them, but they ride great, look sick, and are cheap. If they do well on the trail then they are well worth the purchase.
I also stuck some nerf bars on. I would get some real rock sliders, but I like these and they were miles cheaper.
Okay, let's move to the interior.
This is probably where I've done the most "work". By "work" I mean dumb things that didn't really need to be done but I wanted to because why not? The biggest improvement I've made is the 60/40 seat. This truck came with the awful bench seat. So another quick trip to the Pick'n'Pull and I got a really clean 60/40. No tears, decent foam, really great condition. On another trip to the Pick'n'Pull, I found a nice roof console and a mirror with a compass and temperature sensor. While I was up there I figure I replace the headliner. I thought I got OEM replacement stuff but it turns out I got suede! I was worried it would look bad but I think it really classes it up. On yet another trip to the Pick'n'Pull I found some sweet Esky and Denali stuff. I pulled the dashboard fascia, two 120MPH gauge clusters, and the center console. The Esky and Denali consoles have a whole bunch of goodies. The subwoofers are excellent under the seat if you don't have space for the whole enclosure. I spent about an hour making a temporary little box and threw it under the seat. I think I'm going to get another one and put it under the passenger seat for a little more thump. Anyway, I cleaned up the center console and fascia and gave it a couple coats of paint. Everyone goes on and on about SEM and whatnot but I went to Advanced and picked up the Dupilicolor Vinyl and Plastic Medium Grey and it's fine. It isn't an exact match, but it's close enough.
Alright, the best part of the interior is the little gauge cluster on the passenger side. You guys aren't gonna believe it, but I found it at the Pick'n'Pull! We pulled this unit from an early 90s Mitsubishi Montero. It has 3 gauges. The left one is oil pressure, then middle one is a roll/pitch thing, and the right one is the voltometer. Right now they aren't doing anything, but at some point, I would like to make one a trans temp gauge, and the other an altimeter.
The second best part is my Bluetooth radio mod. I did a whole write-up about this, but it's basically the theftlock mod on a non-theftlock unit. If you wanna look at it or try it for yourself, click here
More recently I installed a CB radio. I took a broken CD player unit and disassembled it, I then dremelled out the cover and stuck it in there. It's not perfect, but it'll do until I can model and print a better unit. It's hard to see, but you can see my antennas in the first picture. I mounted them to the rear stake holes and followed the taillight wires to the cab. I had no reason to go dual antennas, but I like them and the better front-back range will help on a lot of trails that I go on.
And finally, the engine.
Really nothing special going on here. The biggest change is the exhaust. I pulled off the stock muffler and got a Dynomax welded muffler. I would've gone with a cowboy pipe because these 5.7s sound great, but the cops are kind of strict about noise around here and it was just awful in the cab. I was fortunate enough to find a complete Magnaflow exhaust at the Pick'n'Pull, but the muffler was all cut up so I just stuck it to the back of the Dynomax. I know how restrictive the Y-Pipe is on these, so I'm planning on swapping that out sometime soon.
I'm stuck with a 4L60E right now. It's starting to slip after shifting into 1st and Reverse, but I'm not going to worry about it until it's almost all gone. I swapped out the old air intake for an open element. I know, I know, it's not going to help performance, or milage, or really anything, but I like the way it looks, and I like hearing the engine suck up the air. I changed out the side post battery mounts for the top mount ones. I've had nothing but trouble with those side mounts so I finally swapped them out. I didn't swap the battery though, I will when it dies. Other than that the engine is pretty well stock. It runs just fine right now, and there are a couple of small things I gotta fix at some point. The coolant hose to the overflow is leaking, and the windshield washer pump is dead. I think. I'm not sure. When I try to wash the windshield I only get the wipers.
I have a lot of dumb ideas and a lot of love for this truck, but I am a bit of a scatterbrain so I'm probably not going to update this very consistently, but I will try.
Future possible plans include: Half doors, a rollbar I saw at the Pick'N'Pull, new headlights, actually cleaning my truck for once, bigger lights, valve covers, upgrading audio, building a radio, and who knows what else!
Let's start with the exterior.
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You must be registered for see images attach
The front end has had the most work to it exterior-wise. My buddies and I all went camping last July and right before we left to do some trails I slammed the front end into a log. So a quick trip to the Pick'n'Pull and I got a new grille. And a grille guard. And some "new" headlights. I go a little insane there. There are just so many cars and so many things to look at and if you don't get it now then you may never be able to get it again. Anyway. As soon as I got the grille guard on I ran to the Autozone and got some lights. This was a HORRIBLE purchase. They don't light ****, they don't look good, and the wiring was the length of my hand. Fortunately, my friend gave me his old foglights from his jeep. Little finagling and I got them on. Yes, they are zip tied. No, I'm probably not going to change it. In December I got a 12000-pound Badlands winch and the hidden winch mount that rough country offers. I had to do some cutting so I could have access to the clutch but overall it works great and I think it looks awesome.
I put a 3" suspension lift on it. It was pretty painless, mostly because I gave it to a mechanic. The kit I got leveled the rear, which posed two problems. 1. I like the rake. 2. For about 6 months Walter sat in a field with a bed filled with concrete, which meant the level was more like a lean. No biggie though, just bought some bigger blocks and stuck them under the leafs. Along with the lift, I got some big tires. They are 33" Milestar Patagonia's on 16" NBS Z71 wheels. I frickin love these tires. I only have a couple 100 miles on them, but they ride great, look sick, and are cheap. If they do well on the trail then they are well worth the purchase.
I also stuck some nerf bars on. I would get some real rock sliders, but I like these and they were miles cheaper.
Okay, let's move to the interior.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
This is probably where I've done the most "work". By "work" I mean dumb things that didn't really need to be done but I wanted to because why not? The biggest improvement I've made is the 60/40 seat. This truck came with the awful bench seat. So another quick trip to the Pick'n'Pull and I got a really clean 60/40. No tears, decent foam, really great condition. On another trip to the Pick'n'Pull, I found a nice roof console and a mirror with a compass and temperature sensor. While I was up there I figure I replace the headliner. I thought I got OEM replacement stuff but it turns out I got suede! I was worried it would look bad but I think it really classes it up. On yet another trip to the Pick'n'Pull I found some sweet Esky and Denali stuff. I pulled the dashboard fascia, two 120MPH gauge clusters, and the center console. The Esky and Denali consoles have a whole bunch of goodies. The subwoofers are excellent under the seat if you don't have space for the whole enclosure. I spent about an hour making a temporary little box and threw it under the seat. I think I'm going to get another one and put it under the passenger seat for a little more thump. Anyway, I cleaned up the center console and fascia and gave it a couple coats of paint. Everyone goes on and on about SEM and whatnot but I went to Advanced and picked up the Dupilicolor Vinyl and Plastic Medium Grey and it's fine. It isn't an exact match, but it's close enough.
Alright, the best part of the interior is the little gauge cluster on the passenger side. You guys aren't gonna believe it, but I found it at the Pick'n'Pull! We pulled this unit from an early 90s Mitsubishi Montero. It has 3 gauges. The left one is oil pressure, then middle one is a roll/pitch thing, and the right one is the voltometer. Right now they aren't doing anything, but at some point, I would like to make one a trans temp gauge, and the other an altimeter.
The second best part is my Bluetooth radio mod. I did a whole write-up about this, but it's basically the theftlock mod on a non-theftlock unit. If you wanna look at it or try it for yourself, click here
More recently I installed a CB radio. I took a broken CD player unit and disassembled it, I then dremelled out the cover and stuck it in there. It's not perfect, but it'll do until I can model and print a better unit. It's hard to see, but you can see my antennas in the first picture. I mounted them to the rear stake holes and followed the taillight wires to the cab. I had no reason to go dual antennas, but I like them and the better front-back range will help on a lot of trails that I go on.
And finally, the engine.
You must be registered for see images attach
Really nothing special going on here. The biggest change is the exhaust. I pulled off the stock muffler and got a Dynomax welded muffler. I would've gone with a cowboy pipe because these 5.7s sound great, but the cops are kind of strict about noise around here and it was just awful in the cab. I was fortunate enough to find a complete Magnaflow exhaust at the Pick'n'Pull, but the muffler was all cut up so I just stuck it to the back of the Dynomax. I know how restrictive the Y-Pipe is on these, so I'm planning on swapping that out sometime soon.
I'm stuck with a 4L60E right now. It's starting to slip after shifting into 1st and Reverse, but I'm not going to worry about it until it's almost all gone. I swapped out the old air intake for an open element. I know, I know, it's not going to help performance, or milage, or really anything, but I like the way it looks, and I like hearing the engine suck up the air. I changed out the side post battery mounts for the top mount ones. I've had nothing but trouble with those side mounts so I finally swapped them out. I didn't swap the battery though, I will when it dies. Other than that the engine is pretty well stock. It runs just fine right now, and there are a couple of small things I gotta fix at some point. The coolant hose to the overflow is leaking, and the windshield washer pump is dead. I think. I'm not sure. When I try to wash the windshield I only get the wipers.
I have a lot of dumb ideas and a lot of love for this truck, but I am a bit of a scatterbrain so I'm probably not going to update this very consistently, but I will try.
Future possible plans include: Half doors, a rollbar I saw at the Pick'N'Pull, new headlights, actually cleaning my truck for once, bigger lights, valve covers, upgrading audio, building a radio, and who knows what else!
