Dean's '11 Crew Cab Budget Build

[DeanH1290]

Had some free time on Friday, so decided to go on and dump the exhaust. Going to find a tip soon, just have to decide what size to go with.

This is the look I'm going for when I get a tip, it will just be at a slightly different angle and a smaller tip.

 

[DeanH1290]

Mocked up a tip today (4") to see what length I want to order. Ill be getting a slant cut tip.Thoughts?

10"

12"

14"

 

[Jordan]

12".

 

[Ginger]

exhaust one fo the things thats always bugs me. looks better chopped for sure.

 

[DeanH1290]

So I got my tax return in and want to put some towards the truck, but need to put some away as well. Need some input on what to do.

1 (cheapest) - Bilstein adjustable struts up front and Bilstein shocks in the rear. Would also get some small mods I've been planning on doing such as a tip and muffler. With the Bilsteins, I would bring the front up .5" to eliminate the little bit of rub. ~$500

2 (middle road) - New tires in 275/55. Recently I picked up a roofing nail, no big deal. Took it to the dealer to get it fixed and found out the tires are 10 years old. On top of that, they are starting to give me a vibration up around 70mph. If I go this route, I would put in the upper strut spacer to eliminate rub. Would possibly put in the belltech struts and get bilstiens for the rear later on down the road. ~$1000

3 (most expensive) - New wheel/tire setup. Found these on local cl and actually like them. Low miles and spotless. If I do this, I'd do the same as 2 for the front of the truck.

http://lexington.craigslist.org/pts/4958468991.html


So what do I do?

 

[Fiesty]

tires. truck looks goofy with spacers small tires. I'd do at least a 285/55 on your current wheels. 275/55 is pretty much stock size.

those cl wheels and tires look good. but tires too small imo. needs a decent sized 33.

 

[Alecks]

tires. truck looks goofy with spacers small tires. I'd do at least a 285/55 on your current wheels. 275/55 is pretty much stock size.

those cl wheels and tires look good. but tires too small imo. needs a decent sized 33.

This. Would do a RCX 1.25" body lift and true 33x12.5 tires

 

[DeanH1290]

This. Would do a RCX 1.25" body lift and true 33x12.5 tires

Been contemplating that. Can't fit 33s with the spacers.

I'm leaning more towards doing tires for now. I don't mind the current size since they are 32s. If anything I'll go wider, maybe 305/50/20s.

 

[Fiesty]

if it were mine I'd take off spacers and run a 295/55 or do a bl and 305/55

 

[mike.]

if it were mine I'd take off spacers and run a 295/55 or do a bl and 305/55

X2 imo

 

[DeanH1290]

Quick update - ended up spending my extra money on some other stuff, so tires aren't going to happen yet. I did go on and order an exhaust tip and got it on. Went with a 3.5x12 slant cut tip. Ill get some pics here soon.

Also traded my undercover classic for an extang solid fold. It looks a lot cleaner than the undercover since it was for a sierra.

I'm really torn on my spacers right now. I love the look they give the truck, but the truck gets crap up the sides so much easier now. I keep telling myself not to worry about the paint too much though. It has its fair share of nicks and such already.

 

[2Wheelin']

price of having spacers lol. sucks after you wash it then drive through a 1/4'' deep puddle and truck is trashed :ffuuu:

 

[DeanH1290]

Yea, lol, I think I'll just buck up and deal with it. And here's a pic of the new tip. Hard to see, but that's kind of the point.

 

[Tylers88]

Dat Dollar General parking lot tho

 

[DeanH1290]

Its supposed to be nice this week, so got her all cleaned up and took some pics. All are raw and unfiltered. I'll pick some to clean up later.

 

[DeanH1290]

Here's some of my favorites cleaned up some. Really pleased with how these came out, especially since I was using the camera on my lg g3.

 

[marc]

trucks looking good man :up: i say you should run a 285/55/20 on these rims with spacers...i think it should fit. if not then run the 305/50/20 with the spacers.

i think if you have spacers you have to go with a wide tire as well so it doesn't look funny.

 

[DeanH1290]

Thanks. Those are two tire sizes I'm considering if I keep the spacers. Also, tires are on hold until I'm done with the wheels.

On to the wheels - These wheels may look good from far, but they are far from good. They have scratches on the clear and I had no luck with compound. The only other option to clean them up was to strip the clear and polish them.

Today I had some free time after work and decided to test this out on the worst wheel. Here is how it looked before.

I started off by coating the wheel in aircraft remover. Let it sit for 15mins, did some scraping with a plastic putty knife, then sprayed everything down with a garden hose. Then I dried it off and repeated the above steps to get the remaining clear off. Here are the results.

It still needs light sanding in some spots and some polishing, but I'm pleased with how it has turned out so far.

 

[BOO5TED]

:notbad:

 

[temoney14]

I have to do this with my wheels to! You weren't worried about staining the tires with stripper or anything?