Updating my 2003 extended cab on a budget thread

[firedog]

I purchased my 2003 Chevy extended cab in March. I was surprised to find it rust free. In my neck of the woods it is almost impossible to find one of these trucks without rust. After the purchase the title stated transfer from Georgia which explains it. Everytime I wash it a little more red clay washes out from underneath.

My truck is only a V6 and I am not planning any performance upgrades. So most that I will do will be cosmetic. To go along with that I have a limited budget so that is a big factor.

So first up was what I consider an unattractive and not very aggressive looking front end.





Finish product, it may be hard to tell in the pic, but the bumper and grille are color matched and the Chevy emblem and the egg crate in the grille are left black.

[firedog]

Now for the how to...

Make sure every thing to painted is clean and bug free.

Mask off everything no wanting to get painted. I masked off the plastic bumper covers planning only to paint the chrome portion of the bumper.

Then proceed to paint it all using black plastic dip spray paint. If you havent used this product you will be surprised what it will stick to and if you make a mistake you can usually peel it off.

I then allowed it to dry which is fairly quickly. I then masked off the areas planning to be left the flat black.

Next I found a Dark Mettallic Paint from Rustoleum that is as close as a match to the body color that I can find anywhere. I proceeded to Paint over the Plastic Dip. Surprisingly enuough the paint color is a near match and works well with each other.

This budget upgrade cost less than $15 and took about 2 hours to complete.

[firedog]

So chatting with a friend of mine in the tire business and he has a set of aftermarket
17s sitting around for $80 and he would give me the best friend hook up on a set of used tires. Then yesterday he told me he stumbled across the wheels again and an employee of his is very interested in them and might be willing to trade his 20s for them. So today I should find out if I am going with 17s or 20s.

The same friend told me where a 99 gmc is sitting in the weeds rotting away with a drop kit on it. So guess I need to warm up the weed eater and go parts hunting.

Updates to come shortly.

[firedog]

So I located the 99 GMC at a cabinet shop out of the view of most passerby's. I called the shop and they told me they are attempting to take ownership of the truck because it has been sitting there for a couple years. I explained that with or without a title I am interested in it. They claim they will call me back once they figure out if they can get the title. My research shows the plates are for a passenger car and the truck has not been registered since 2011. Wish me luck.

[firedog]

Well got the wheels mounted up and put on the truck they have some pitting but work great and the tire shop matched up the tires exactly with a pair of used ones. My only expense was $30 for lug nuts. Now will probably craigslist the factory wheels and caps.

[Hankster]

Originally Posted by firedog

Attachment 1261478

Well got the wheels mounted up and put on the truck they have some pitting but work great and the tire shop matched up the tires exactly with a pair of used ones. My only expense was $30 for lug nuts. Now will probably craigslist the factory wheels and caps.

Good lookin' truck! Anymore planned for the truck? Anymore on that truck with the drop kit?

[Hankster]

Originally Posted by firedog

Attachment 1261478

Good lookin' truck! Anymore planned for the truck? Anymore on that truck with the drop kit?

[firedog]

Still havent heard about the other truck, however it is still sitting in the same place.