ClevSix's '01 DCSB Build

I have my RAT Skids but they need painted. And just to make things interesting one of the bolts holding the stock skid on is stripped. So far nothing on this truck has been simple...

 

New Tires! Dick Cepek Extreme Country 255/85/R16s

 

All since installing the new tires... Replace a blown CV, fixed a leaking fitting on my rear brakes, rebled and adjusted the rear brakes, discovered I have the wrong replacement cable for my e-brake so ordering a new one... cleaned/freed up the rest of the e-brake cables, cams, and such so I'm ready once the cable gets here. Finished removing the stock skids with the help of a torch and some special sockets for removing bolts with stripped heads. Then I began cleaning up rust to get ready for paint/bedliner. Repairing the rust is my next priority but I have a few little projects to do along the way. Hopefully I can do armor while dealing with rust.

 

Making good progress bud keep plugging away just getting back from a week long Overland trip every trip I find something else I need to add. Next is the roof racks.

 

Clean build man

 

Got the skids partly mounted and picked up a cheep topper...

It's actually a topper for a 2012 Colorado but for now it fits well enough.

 

Learned that my UBJs are about toast and now deciding if I should just upgrade the UCAs in the process and if so what UCA... Hmm...

 

Pizza cutters.

 

Those parts look familiar. Are they Ryan's old parts?

 

Some of them are... I should have taken a few more parts when I had the chance. His frame was in really good shape and modifying it to fit my DC would have been a great way to fix my rust issues. It was just bad timing for me.

 

Getting close to 200k. Planning to do some preventative maintenance, change fluids, filters, plugs/wires, etc... This spring/summer I hope to tackle sliders and frame reenforcement.

 

So, I need to fix frame rust. I'm building a list of what I will need and/or want to do during the frame work. Below is a short list... Feel free to make suggestions, I'm sure I'm missing a lot of things.

1. 1" Body lift, I'm undecided on this one
2. Break lines, as needed
3. LSPV replacement
4. Suspension bushings
5. King Rebuild
6. Sliders
7. Exhaust (headers, cats, muffler, etc...)
8. Paint/rustproofing on everything!!!
9. Rear shock relocation, maybe...
10. Random bolts as I break them.

 

I haven't had time to do much to the truck in the last few months but I'm not giving up. I've been gradually cleaning rusty bits off from under the truck and inspecting to just how much patch work the frame will need. So far the C channel part of the frame seems solid, just the inner wall rusting out. Either the dealer I got it from or some OP used some thick coating to cover up the rust and make it look passable. There are some obvious spots where someone went to great lengths to hide the rust, even found a spot that looks like body filler. This morning I discovered that the rear U-joint and the Center Bearing are toast. More parts to add to the list.

 

Center Bering and rear U-joint replaced

 

A quick question for you, how do you like the Cepek tires? Are they relatively noisy on the highway? I went with Mickey Thompson AT3's and while they work great on and
off-road, they are noisy as heck!! (Price you pay for traction??)
The build looks great!

 

They're great off road but I haven't been terribly impressed on the road. On road snow and wet traction is a bit weak, they give a ruff ride and are really noisy. A friend of mine had the same tires on a 2nd Gen, he commented on how noisy they were. On a dedicated trail rig, it would be hard to find a better tire for the price. Since I spend more time on roads than dirt my next set will be something different.

 

Appreciate the real world feedback! We do pay a price for traction with our tires in the form of noise and lousy ice/wet traction.....At least in the dirt and mud they are
really pretty darn good!

Cheers!

 

@ClevSix - I'm putting together a mid travel setup and basically have the same parts as you but have not installed. Curious to know what shocks your running in the rear since you didn't relocate the shocks to fit the 12" travel billies?

Liking the build so far, any progress or updates?

 

I ended up putting Monroe Max-Air adjustable shocks on it for now. I'd have to go look up the exact model. They restrict my down travel a little and would allow more up so I should have gone with a little longer set. They ride OK empty and do really well when loaded.

 

I haven't given up but have been forced into putting the Taco in storage.