Big Red

[brak]

New year, new project

Some may remember me from the early 00's, had a '72 C10 frame off restoration, but that died when my life imploded in 2012...

Well.. I'm finally back in the GM world with a 2003 Sierra...

Been looking for a Std Cab for years, but it's slim pickins up here in the Salt capitol of the world

Picked this up for $1k, with "brake issues" (foreshadowing?)




I prefer a SWB, but otherwise this ticked all of the boxes...
Price, Body hasn't been ravaged by salt, price, and it's the Base WT model (More on that later)...

Sure the rockers are gone, and one of the wheel arches is showing signs of cancer, but that's nothing my mig welder can't fix.

Best, thing, is that it's had a tonneau cover from day one, so the bed floor is perfect!!!



by minnesota standards, this truck is mint

[brak]

The truck lived it's life as a maintenance vehicle, at a trailer park. basically only leaving the property to get gas. like the proverbial "little old lady only drove it on sundays, to church"

Odometer is just over 200k, that's a lot of laps around the trailer park. LOL

[brak]

Don't really have "BIG PLANZ", other than get it roadworthy, and a couple creature comforts

After thourough inspection, it needs the following

Reliability
Brakes are Numero Uno
new shackles
shocks (eventually)

Creature Comforts
Tunes
Center console (acquired)
seat heater (by winter)
remote start (by winter)

Lets start by making a reliable Daily Driver, and see where it ends up

[brak]

last week, i dug into the "brake issue" and found what i assume were the factory installed brake lines... as you can assume, it wasn't pretty.
Front drivers side had already been "patched", but the rear line was completely disconnected, which explained the mediocre stopping power.



luckily, one autozone within 50 miles had a set of pre bent lines, In stock.
For $85, minus military discount, I can't really complain.



Took 4 days due to the weather, since the trucks too long to fit in my garage, and had to do all the work in my driveway. but i managed to get it done.







Not my finest work... just kind of shoved them in there, and had to call a couple audibles.

1: Front pass side is so long and complex, that it wasn't possible to snake it in there without removing the front fender, and lifting the cab, so i split it mid way, and had a local shop do the flares (my cheap flaring tool wasn't up to the task).

2: I hadn't anticipated the need to replace all of the lines, so obviously i had a full tank of gas. rather than try to wrestle a full tank out of the truck, i ran the rear line on the outside of the frame rail.
I know it isn't ideal, but it's better than it was, and should be fine for a few months, until the weather warms up, and i can do it right.

[brak]

Also, i needed a scan tool capable of operating the ABS bleed function, so i picked up A FOXWELL NT630 Plus.



was $140 on Amazon, and had decent reviews.
did the trick

[brak]

Today, the weather was finally cooperative, so i got my seats pulled.

This is exactly why i pull the seats from every vehicle i buy.



I desperately want to shampoo the carpet, but it's still too cold, and would never dry.
had to settle for good vaccuming...

Console goes in tomorrow. fingers crossed

[brak]

Console very installed, Much success

[Greg58]

Console look great in there, did it come with buckets?

[LT7A]

That's a neat truck and I like the idea of starting with a W/T and working it up into the truck that you want. Good work on the brakes and the console looks nice. I agree with the idea you had on the brakes to get it workable and solid and then come back and tidy it up when conditions permit. Look forward to see what else you have in store for it.

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by Greg58

Console look great in there, did it come with buckets?

Those look like the 03-07 GM T800 WT cloth bucket seats. They wear like iron and they don't burn or freeze your butt like vinyl or leather. I like my uplevel cloth, they're really comfy, but they aren't as tough as the WT seat.
Prolly the seat foams are a little cushier on the uplevel seats.

Nice looking 03. Especially hard to find em that decent in the salt belt

[brak]

Thanks guys.
Yeah, they're the WT cloth buckets that came with the truck.
Had a center seat, but the back didn't fold down, so it had to go.

like this (not mine)


As discussed in my console thread, i need to replace the drivers seat foam, but i would like to keep the WT cloth, for all the reasons Hatzie stated...

the butt pads have a couple tears, but nothing i can't live with...
Hopefully i can find new, or better shape covers that match the existing pattern.

[brak]

yesterday i swapped in a new head unit.
One of the nice things about the WT, is it doesn't have a factory amp to deal with.

got the harness soldered and heat shrinked.
no loose or shorted connections in my future



Had this alpine deck laying around. was purchased for my daughters car, but it recently committed suicide, and no longer needs a new head unit.



unfortunately the metra kit is missing the correct mounting tab on the right side, so i'm going to have to go get another one.

Rear speakers sound ok, but doors are shot.
Have a couple sets of JBL 6.5's laying around, pretty sure they'll fit.
Hopefully i can find time to swap them this weekend.

Also the console has a factory sub. i rewired and tested it before the console was installed. will hook it up at some point in the future.

[PAWS 72]

I'm going to follow you on the upgrades. I have a 02 single cab. I'm wanting a console for mine.

[brak]

Originally Posted by PAWS 72

I'm going to follow you on the upgrades. I have a 02 single cab. I'm wanting a console for mine.

was a super simple install. bolts right in place of the center seat.
just need to make sure and grab the shorter glove box panel from the donor truck, and the bracket for the dash.

hardest part was getting the seats out, since all my bolts were rusty where they poke out under the truck.

Covered in "Minnesota Gold"

[brak]

my dash cover is all chewed up on the passenger side...
Last time i was at the yard, i found one in perfect condition, but i couldn't figure out how to release the handlebar...

This time i went back fully prepared, and of course, that truck was gone.
none of the other trucks had one worth pulling.

While i was there i grabbed a few odds and ends, including new vents for the passenger side.
both were broken in one way or another.


I almost grabbed some cloth seats with arm rests ($30 each), but i drove the veloster, so i wouldn't be able to take them home. its fine, i didn't love them anyway.

I need to re-cover my headliner, it's falling down all over the place.
decided i'm going to go with the Pewter color, rather than the ugly Beige that's in there now...

i found a brand new passenger visor (in the box) locally, for $20
and while at the yard, i grabbed a overhead console in the same color..



the little things...

[brak]

Got my audio issues sorted this week...
Pulled the door panels, and this is what i found



Clearly the stock speakers were long due for replacement.

The JBL's i had fit perfectly, but the front drivers side had a short, so i ran a new wire rather than trying to track it down...

I got an amazon gift card from work, so i picked up a set of infinity's for the rear, and a small amp, to power the sub in the console. someday i'll get around to this.

on another subject, i passed 300 miles yesterday.
It runs and drives pretty well, seems very happy cruising along at 70.

I was curious about MPG, so i topped off the tank, and it looks like 16.8 (city/hwy mix).
about what i expected

Topped off the tank

[LT7A]

I often drive long stretches without the radio on. But when I want to listen to music, a good sound system is key. Not necessarily elaborate, but good speakers especially. Those look like they don't have anything left attaching the cone to the housing. Wow. Putting it together with parts that you mostly have on hand is even better.

[brak]

Originally Posted by LT7A

I often drive long stretches without the radio on. But when I want to listen to music, a good sound system is key. Not necessarily elaborate, but good speakers especially.

IMO... Good audio is only second to good running condition.
doesn't need to be competition level, but good enough that it's not distracting (harsh or distorted).

Originally Posted by LT7A

Wow. Putting it together with parts that you mostly have on hand is even better.

Being a "car guy", and collecting for the last 20 years (my ex would say hoarding), is both a curse and a blessing...
I have lots of parts on hand, mostly from previous vehicles, but many that were too good of a deal to pass up (if i knew it would be useful in the future).
I try not to think about just how much money is sitting in boxes, or gathering dust.

anyone need a new starter for an '84 RX7, or a bumper for an Opel GT?
Maybe a center console for late 90's chev (one in gray and one in tan)

[brak]

Put about 1500 miles on the truck over the last 2 weekends.
drives ok, but idle is a bit rough. need to check the timing this week.

On to the good stuff, finally found a decent tailgate.

Before


After


Needed to swap the latches over, so i replaced the handle & trim piece at the same time.

[brak]

one question...
other than appearance, is there a physical difference between the Silverado and Sierra tail light assemblies?

The mounting tabs are broken on my passenger tail light, so i need to replace it...
I much prefer the look of the Silverado tails.

[LT7A]

On the taillights, I'd bet they'd bolt right in.

Any updates? These kinda threads are my favorites: fix and drive, upgrade and drive, repeat...

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by brak

one question...
other than appearance, is there a physical difference between the Silverado and Sierra tail light assemblies?

The mounting tabs are broken on my passenger tail light, so i need to replace it...
I much prefer the look of the Silverado tails.

I swapped the 03 and later Red tail lights over to the earlier Amber and red tail lights.

The Red tail lamp housings are a direct swap.

The 99-02 Amber & Red tail lights and the 03-07 Red tail lights have a different number of lamps. They used different pigtails from the lamps down to the Metripack plugs on the distribution block on the left hand end of the rear frame rail crossmember. I fished the pigtails out along with the lamp housing from a 2001 donor truck.

[LT7A]

What's the latest on the red sled?