2003 Silverado facelift - The Hull Truth

ScarabChris · 09-29-2009, 01:50 PM

I have had this truck since new, bought it in early 2004 as a leftover. Its been paid off for a while and I was considering buying a new truck with all the deals out there right now. But what would I want another payment for when this truck has been perfect.

I put these rims on when the truck was new, they are Boss 301 20"X8.5" with 285/50/20 goodyear Eagles. The rims were getting a little dull and I was bored of them.

I put on some new Edge Savage 20"X10" chrome rims, same tires.

This is the frnt of the truck before, all stock.

The new front end. Billet grill, billet bowtie and I cleaned up the dull headlight lenses.

The profile before.

The new profile with chrome door handles and mirror covers. I also did a 2" drop on the rear end to level the truck out a little. It was super easy, a set of leaf spring shackles from Pep Boys.

Here's a shot of the rear end (no before shot) I put the chrome handle in, exhaust with 4" SS tips and Magnaflow muffler and an aluminum hitch and SS ball. The tailgate itself is in a little rough shape and I'll replace that next.

Cost breakdown....

Rims.............................................. .$800.00 (great deal on ebay!)
Exhaust........................................... $450.00
Chrome handle and mirror covers.....~ $125.00
Billet grill & bow tie..........................$90.00
Drop shackles..................................$40.00

Total was around $1500.00, much better than buying a new rig to the tune of $40K +

caurimare · 09-29-2009, 02:06 PM

looking good nice job!!!!

fish factory · 09-29-2009, 02:13 PM

Nice, reminds me of this un.............

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propbender24 · 09-29-2009, 02:20 PM

Nice Chris.

I was expecting the use of some blue or green LED's somewhere?

ScarabChris · 09-29-2009, 02:39 PM

LOL....no LEDs in this project. But looking at fish factory's pic above I can see whats next. I have no fog lights, just blank spaces in the bumper.

I might go with some round aftermarket lights though. It will be super easy to cut the holes with a hole saw rather than try to cut the stock hole with a saw. Plus I'm sure OEM fogs will be stupidly priced.

Boatless33 · 09-29-2009, 08:39 PM

Nice looking truck. My dad has an '06 Silverado 2500. A few years ago he put on 33" tires and 22" wheels. The extra weight of the new "shoes" was too much and the power steering pump blew. I doubt you'll have the same problem with the 20's but, its still something you may want to keep in mind. Good luck with it!

reelapeelin · 09-30-2009, 06:48 AM

Nice job, Chris!!...whole new look w/out a new coupon book!!...

...any difference in the ride from the rear end mod?...

ScarabChris · 09-30-2009, 08:37 AM

Nope...it rides the same. All it takes is a pair of leaf spring shackles. They just move the rear mounting point of the leaf spring 2" higher which lowers the truck by the same amount.

I actually put some air shocks in as well incase the 2" drop made the truck sit to low when the boat was hooked up. I haven't towed the boat yet so I'm not sure if there will be a difference. Though I can't imagine 2" will make much of a difference.

Striper4 · 10-01-2009, 04:53 AM

Clean looking Truck !! I don't blame you for not diving back into Truck payments. I just did after several years without payments. Can't wait to pay off. Rims look good but I also like the previous rims.

doughnut · 10-01-2009, 08:17 AM

Even though I Drive a Dodge tow vehicle. I have to say, Chevy consistently builds a better looking truck. ( I mean, forever, from the 40's on) Dodge just doesnt get it when it comes to looks and interiors etc.

ScarabChris · 10-01-2009, 04:15 PM

The previous rims were nice but they were looking very dull. They looked great when new, kind of a polished aluminum look. Now they look bad. The pictures make them look way better than in person.

Plus the new rims are 10" wide instead of 8.5. I like this better because the tires stick out beyond the fenders by that 1.5 inch difference. It looks very tough now.

Other stuff I did but didn't mention. I used to use this truck for work so I had a standard plastic bedliner and a roll-n-lock cover on the bed. I hated the way it looked and because I no longer use the truck for work I got rid of the roll-n-lock and plastic bedliner and put in a simple rubber bed matt. It looks much cleaner and now I have full use of the bed if I want to load something. Plus stuff doesn't slide around on the rubber matt.

Oh and uhhhh....what they say about the damage a plastic bedliner does to your bed....its true. The bed floor is torn up with rust. Luck for me the inside walls look great, nice and shiny still. The new bed matt covers the rusty bed floor perfectly.

Sailor · 10-02-2009, 07:12 PM

Looks good Chris. How does this truck tow your scarab? On the bed - a liner will cure that and is the best thing I ever did my truck. I will NEVER own a truck without a spray in liner.

ScarabChris · 10-02-2009, 08:44 PM

Yeah I should have done the spray in liner from day one. I think the bed would need some work to get that to work now.

This truck tows the Scarab pretty good, especially considering it has the smaller 4.8 liter V8. And my boat/trailer combo weighs in at around 8000 pounds.

blackfinmike · 10-04-2009, 06:29 PM

I think you should smoke out the headlights, Looking good

Idiot · 10-04-2009, 06:39 PM

what? no spinners?!?

ScarabChris · 10-06-2009, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Idiot

what? no spinners?!?

Naaaa.....I was actually going to put some 13" gold Dayton spoke rims and hydraulics so I can hop the front end or ride on 3 wheels.

Not!

Venture34 · 10-06-2009, 12:20 PM

I had the EXACT truck and ABSOLUTELY loved it. But with a growing family I traded it in for a Suburban.

Nice touches on your ride Chris - she looks great.

Can you tell us more about the exhausts? What needed to be done and does that include installation or did you do it? Also did it improve the performance?

I like the look of the dual exhasts...

btw my mileage sucks on my suburban relative to my Silverado..

ScarabChris · 10-07-2009, 05:06 PM

Thanks Venture.

Yes...this truck has been absolutly perfect. It has never had a wrench touch it except for oil changes and brakes. Its got 90,000 miles and still runs and feels like new.

The exhaust was done by a local muffler shop. All they do is cut out the stock exhaust out behind the cat converter. Then they weld in the new muffler which is a Magna Flow. Single input and dual output. Then they just put the dual pipes over the rear axle and weld on the SS tips.

It looks and sounds very tough, nice throaty sound, but not obnoxious like a Flowmaster muffler would be. I did notice a slight increase in acceleration. But that could just be because the sound tricks you into thinking the truck has more balls. Its not like I put it on a dyno or ran the 1/4 mile before and after.

welder · 10-07-2009, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doughnut

Even though I Drive a Dodge tow vehicle. I have to say, Chevy consistently builds a better looking truck. ( I mean, forever, from the 40's on) Dodge just doesnt get it when it comes to looks and interiors etc.

All was cool with this thread UNTIL the forever/40's on thing popped up.
Dude , NOTHING beats the , 1956 Ford F100 big window Custom Cab short bed step side......................Nothing................. ..