2006 GMC Sierra/Silverado

2006 GMC Sierra/Silverado

The Silverado SS Clone stage 2! Same as the previous Silverado plan, this carries on from where I was, but on a much cleaner body in a more desirable colour. –#update#– Sadly this truck was stolen, and written off. See the full build log below.

Stock Specs :

  • Regular Cab / Short bed
  • 4.3L V6 Vortec 200hp/260tq
  • 5 speed manual
  • base model
  • Black paint, charcoal interior

Convenience / Retrofit Modifications:

  • LS door panels
  • Power Windows 
  • Full stereo system 
  • LS carpet kit 
  • Wise Bedrug 
  • DeeZee Tailgate assist

Cosmetic Modifications Planned:

  • Roll pan
  • Shaved tailgate
  • 03+ Front end swap
  • Silverado SS Bumper cover
  • Toneau cover 
  • Driver door hinges
  • Complete re-paint
  • 03+ Tail lights
  • 20″ Chevrolet LTZ wheels

Performance Modifications Planned:

  • DJM Calmax 4″ Lower Control Arms
  • DJM Calmax 6″ Flip kit
  • DJM Calmax Front and Rear shocks 
  • DJM Calmax adjustable shackles
  • Magnaflow exhaust

Repairs:

  • Transmission repair/replace 
  • o2 Sensors –
  • ignition control module 
  • evap leak 
  • Roll rear fender

Long Term/Potential Changes :

    • Rear sliding window
    • Flush transmission cross-member
    • DJM sway bars
    • 5.3Litre V8 engine
    • K&N Air intake
    • Limited Slip Differential
    • Rear disk brakes
    • OEM SS body kit (sides + replace front)
    • T-56 6-speed transmission

 

Project SSierra  SSilverado.

Here will be my work progress on my Silverado SS Clone Project. More like the beetle, It will be a slower, more methodical build then most of my others. The plan is to build a Silverado SS clone in a regular cab body. I won’t be going into the 6.0L All-wheel-drive, but I will be moving up to a v8 at some point with basic bolt ons, possibly even a blower someday. Time will tell.

  • September 28, 2014 – While looking for parts for my 2000 Silverado, I came across a new truck. Essentially the same as I have been working on, but fresh paint and body work, 20″ wheels, 4.8L V8 engine, headers, flowmaster exhaust, and some other items. I will be migrating all of the ‘upgrades’ from truck1 to truck2 and then selling off truck1. Overall plan stays the same, continuing on from where I was. Only difference is, much cleaner truck to go forward with.
  • September 29, 2014 – seller of the amazing 02′ backed out. A major piss off, I’m not gonna lie. But while moping around I stumbled across an 06 GMC Sierra. Not as done and ready to go as the other truck was, but a MUCH better body then I currently have and will make a fantastic platform to finish my SS build.  Same goes as with the 02, I will be moving some key items over.
  • September 30, 2014 – Picked up the new beast today and drove it to Smouts to have a safety inspection, oil change and a couple small items looked into. Should be home within the week. Time to strip the stereo from the old girl, and get it ready to sell ASAP
  • October 6, 2014 – Picked up a new ‘middle seat’ today that actually works properly. Once truck comes home, I will be doing a bit of a seat shuffle between the two trucks. CD players have been swapped. Just need to finish removing the wiring and seat shuffle and the old girl will actually be ready to go. Hopefully someone buys it soon. Daddy needs his money back
  • October 7, 2014 – Completely removed the stereo system, all wiring and the power windows. Stock door panels and manual window rollers re installed. Truck is back as close to stock as it’s gonna get. Ready to go now!
  • October 8, 2014 – Safety inspection completed. Just need to wait for the 00′ to sell so it can go on the road. Or November 1st, whichever happens first. Old truck 100% ready to go!
  • October 9, 2014 – Stopped to see Paul and discuss paint and body plans. Struck a deal and decided to drop the truck off now and proceed. Once again, the black truck is out of my hands. He now has all the body parts and will start on the paint work ASAP. Hopefully he will have it all sorted out within the month. Little to do now but wait…
  • October 13, 2014 – scored a great deal on the flush toneau cover i’ve been hunting for. Super stoked. Dropped it off at Pauls to be painted with the rest of the truck
  • October 14, 2014 – ordered quick release hinges for the toneau cover and a new steel roll pan. Should have pan by Friday, and hinges next week. Then I FINALLY have all the parts needed for paint.
  • October 16-19, 2014 – Installed headunit. bluetooth, Sirius, and wiring for amplifiers. RCA’s run to the seats. Just need to mount the amps. Door wiring is complete. Power windows have been installed and switches re-wired from door to do. Pre-wiring ran for the keyless entry. Just need to run the main power line to the amps, and physically install the amps and should be rocking. Gonna be a few days/week before I get back to it sadly.
  • October 23, 2014 – mounted the speakers in the doors and wired in the tweeters. Did  a temp mounting of the amp so that I could have some tunes. Once the new carpet is shampooed and ready, I will remove the interior again and mount things exactly where I want them as i’m not happy with the half-ass mounting i’ve done to get going.
  • October 29, 2014 – Had the input shaft bearing replaced. Sadly 400$ later, the noise is still there. I have sourced a used transmission. Hopefully it can go in and simply work with no more issues.
  • November 12, 2014 – Picked up a used transmission from a buddy’s shop. Hope it’s solid and goes in without issue.
  • November 14, 2014 – Riveted the quick release hinges onto the new toneau cover. Now just need to mount the receivers onto the head of the bed and mount the shocks. Will have to wait for spare pair of hands.
  • November 15, 2014 – Took the used transmission out to Smout’s garage and within an hour we had the old one out and the new one installed. Test drive showed no signs of noise of issues. Shifting was smooth and tight. Hopefully it stays that way for many many years. When I got home I stripped the seats and vinyl floor out of the truck along with the underlay and cleaned up the floor pans followed by laying down some sound deader. With that done, I tweaked my amp bracket to work in this truck and got it all ready for carpet tomorrow
  • November 16, 2015 – First I attached the cup holders to the bottom of my jump seat. Then after sorted and routing the wiring I installed the new carpet and trimmed it to fit around the shifter, etc. After screwing the shift boot back into place, I mounted my amplifier to the bracket and shortened all wiring to an appropriate length. With the amp and crossovers installed, I was able to reinstall the seats finally. With the interior finally put back together (with exception of sill plates) I then moved onto the toneau cover. With some help from Shannon I lined up the brackets and bolted them on. All that’s remaining for the cover is the shock mounts on the sides of the bed rails.
  • November 17, 2014 – Toneau full installed. Interior all reinstalled. Stereo complete. I think I may build another sub box that fits a bit better, but I’m still calling that done. Tonight I dropped off the rollpan, shaved tailgate kit, grill, bumper cover and bumper at the body shop so Paul can prep and pre-paint the addon parts this week and then Friday I will be dropping the truck off for him to assemble the front end, and spray the rest of the truck. Hopefully less then 2 weeks till its all finished up and back home.
  • November 21, 2014 – Dropped the truck off at Pauls place to have the paint and body work all completed. should be all done and back home within a couple weeks barring any issues. Can’t wait. Gonna look amazing@!
  • November 22, 2014 – Placed order for a BedRug. Once the body work is done, need to protect that bed while using it
  • November 26, 2014 – Picked up a sheet of 3/4″ MDF and started the fabrication of a new, every-so-slightly smaller subbox to fit better in the new truck
  • November 27, 2014 – Ordered a DeeZee EZ tailgate assist shock. This way, when the kids open the tailgate, it would come slamming down on them. Now it will be a nice, slow controlled descent. Also, popped in to see Paul and the truck today. Sandblasting is done, body work started, tailgate is shaved, rollpan was in the process of being fitted. Another week or two and it should be all done, painted and back home!
  • November 30, 2014 – Finished the assembly of the new sub box. Glued and screwed, followed by coating all seams with latex caulk to make it air tight. Just need to carpet it and screw the sub in and it’s all done.
  • December 2, 2014 – Dropped off the headlight brackets, headlights and grill emblem with Paul today. Trucks coming along. Body is ready for paint from the doors back. Next up is install the new front end. While out and about, I picked up some carpet and spray adhesive to finish the sub box.
  • December 4, 2014 – Finished the sub box. Carpeted, holes cut for speaker etc. Ready for the truck. Picked up a gasket for my toneau cover so that it will lay flush on the bed top without scratching the paint. Speaking of paint, I stopped by Pauls today and the back 2/3 of the truck is in paint! Everything from the doors back is done. When I left he was starting to prep the new front end parts for paint. Still looking good for an early next week completion time. Soooo shiney
  • December 5, 2014 – Picked up a pair of tail light wiring harnesses so that my 03+ tails will bolt right in without modification. Dropped the harnesses, tail lights and gasket at Pauls place so he has them for reassembly.
  • December 10, 2014 – Picked up BedRug today.
  • December 19, 2014 – Picked up DeeZee tailgate assist, and ordered my alarm online.
  • Decmber 23, 2014 – Truck is DONE. Picked it up from Pauls place and it looks great. Couple little items i’d like to do to finish it up (lower grill fabrication) but all in all i’m very happy. Front replica cover fits — like a replica but not bad enough to bother me. Wheels and a drop and she’ll be golden.
  • December 24, 2014 – Joe helped me in the garage today. We got the BedRug installed and the Deezee tailgate assist installed (slows the tailgate down when opening so it doesn’t slam down). Quick tasks. Trucks now usable. While I was at it, i tossed the new sub box in. Fit is much better.
  • December 28, 2014 – Sold the GMC bumper/grill and picked up a cheap set of 20″ wheels and tires to roll around on for a while. Not sure if I like them or not, but the price was right, and will be easier to sell for profit then the bumper.
  • December 30, 2014 – Started stripping the Plasti-dip from the 20’s. Tedious project to say the least. One wheel ‘good enough’.. Three to go.
  • January 2, 2015 – Well I got the wheels stripped, just in time to throw them on Kijiji and swap them with a local girl for a set of Chevrolet OEM 20’s in much better condition. She wanted an aftermarket set to paint black, and I wanted stock looking wheels. We’re both happy 🙂 Just need to slam the truck now 😉
  • January 3, 2015 – Picked up the alarm I wanted. Glad I opted for this one as the remote is much nicer then the other one I looked at.
  • February 15. 2015- Bought a decent set of 275/45/20 tires to install pre-lowering of the truck. The current tires are too tall to be able to turn without rubbing fenders. Also looks like I’ll be needing 2 o2 sensor this spring.
  • March 11, 2015 – Picked up 2 new o2 sensors today. Install to follow.
  • March 20, 2015 – Had Smouts garage install the new o2 sensors. Hopefully this ends my CEL for a while, and drastically improves my mileage.
  • March 22, 2015 – No such luck. still throwing codes. New bung welded in to help the sensor screw in correctly, but alas.. Still having some sort of gremlin. Will revisit in a few weeks.
  • April 3, 2015 – Went out to Smouts and stripped the new 20″ tires from the broken wheels. They are now ready to go on when the truck gets lowered. Speaking of lowering, I ordered the bulk of my suspension parts today : 4″ Lower control arms, 6″ flip kit w/ c-notch and the shocks for all 4 corners. That will get me at ride height. I’ll look at adding shackles and upper arms along with sway bars in suspension phase 2
  • April 20, 2015 – Truck finally let me down. Coming home from work and the fuel cut off. Looks like the fuel pump has given up. Tow truck ride to Smouts and now I wait for the repair to get taken care of. Grrrr.
  • April 25, 2015 – Went to the shop today to see how the truck is doing. Spoke with mechanic for a bit and poked around and determined the fuel pump is fine. Problem looks to be the ignition control module. Swapped in a new one, and the truck fired right up. Hopefully that’s the end of the major issues for a while.
  • April 28, 2015 – called and ordered some DJM shackles for the truck today. Realized I forgot to order them on my last order and want them when I do the suspension the first week of June. Also ordered a set of light covers for ‘evil’ days 😉 Hopefully all parts will be in before we head to FLA on the 15th.
  • May 2nd, 2015 – Spent some time under the truck trying to get the bed bolts taken out. Amazingly 5 of 8 came out with nothing more then the ratchet and some time. 2 of 8 had to be cut out with the grinder. and the last one will need some special tools to get at it
  • May 9, 2015 – Went to my friends shop (Flat Out Automotive) and Jamie made short work of the last bed bolt. Should be all good to take the bed off when I get home from Florida to get the suspension done at long last.
  • May 15, 2015 – Picked up my suspension parts for the truck. Arms flip kit, c-notch, shackles, shocks and all the hardware. Also picked up some headlight covers. May 30ths, the install begins!
  • May 30, 2015 – Picked truck up from the shop. Evap sensor fixed. 02 diagnosed. Needs new ECM. Will get that next week. After Smouts, I had my 275/45 tires mounted and installed so its ready for the drop. Finally went home and stripped down the driver side/front end to get it ready for the new lower arms.  Ran out of time before I finished. 3 days left to get it all done.
  • May 31-June 2, 2015 – Got the front arms all put back together. Sadly I will end up having to pull it back apart to remove the rubber isolators from the top of the springs to get the last inch of drop I am looking for. Back end was then all pulled apart and the passenger side has been loosely re-assembled. Driver side was more of a bugger. I had to cut 2 of the bolt to get them out.
  • June 4, 2015 – Picked up 2 new bolts to replace previously cut ones
  • June 6, 2015 – Back end assembly is complete. Leaf springs in and bolted up. C-notches have been lined up, cut out and reinforced. Shocks have been mounted. Also, I re-did the front end in order to remove the rubber isolators. Just need to tighten everything down and go for a test ride. Once that’s done, re-torque the bolts and it should be all ready for the alignment
  • June 8, 2015 – After settling a couple days, I’m not happy with the ride height. Adjustments to be made ….
  • June 12, 2015 – Took the bed off. Adjust the shackles giving the rear driver side a 1″ drop and leaving the passenger rear at 2″. Bed put back on and it looks much better in rear. Next up: trim the front driver spring for 3/4 – 1 ” more drop to even it all out.
  • June 15, 2015 – Removed the passenger side spring, and trimmed a 1/2 turn off the coil. Sits much better. Back is 1/16 of an inch difference and the front is between 1/4 and 1/8 inch difference. I can live with that. Once I’m in the truck and some fuel it should sit nearly perfectly level. Booked alignment for later in the week. Rolled the rear fender lips to give some clearance for the tires.
  • June 18, 2015 – Took the truck into Tims Tires for an alignment. Should finally be able to drive the truck again tonight!  Hopefully the rear end clearancing is enough to avoid rubbing. — FAILED. Could not get truck on  hoist.
  • June 22, 2015 – Trying again at the other Tim’s Tires outlet. Got the call that the adjusters are seized, and not enough play to get straight. New DJM upper control arms have now been ordered.
  • June 30, 2015 – Got the call this AM. Truck has been stolen from the shop. Not impressed. Waiting on the OPP to find my baby.

To be continued….

  • June 30, 2015 – evening – Opp found my truck. Parts missing, left in a farmers field.
  • July 2, 2015 – got to see the teuck. It is pretty badly beaten up. All 4 sides have some level of body damage. Tailgate missing, rollpan/SS cover destroyed, wheels/tires gone. Stereo all gone. Steering column smashed.
  • July 6, 2015 – emailed a copy of every receipt I had for the truck to my contact at State Farm. Now I sit and wait on the verdict.
  • July 7, 2015 – Apparently part of email didn’t come across the email properly. Files resent by 9:30am. Back to waiting…..
  • July 17, 2015 – Truck is officially written off.  All that’s left is to collect the cheque.

Project : Over

 

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