Rizzo's '08 Envoy

[rizzo20]

Well, the SLE has been traded in and this thread is retired. I didn't let the Denali wheels go with it, I'll probably post them for sale here in a few days. Now I'm down to one GMT 360.



I've never done a "Build Thread" before but hey there's a first time for everything.

The Truck:
2008 GMC Envoy SLE 4x4
4.2 I6
3.42 Gear
109K miles (when purchased)

Current Mods:
Denali Wheels
PCMofNC Tune
275/45/20 Cooper Zeon LTZ Tires (removed)
20" x 8" Chrome TBSS Replica wheels (OE Performance) (removed)
Debadged
Roof Rack Delete
LED Low Beams & Fogs (removed)
Eagle Eyes Headlight Assemblies
Spyder Smoked OE Style Tail lights (removed)
Dual Comp/Temp Rear View Mirror
Kool Vue Power, Heated, Turn Signal Side Mirrors
Sport Mesh Plastic Grill
White Painted Mirror Backs



Here she is when I bought her from the Used Car Dealership:


My first thoughts and impressions..... I knew I wanted an '06 or later TrailVoy, it had to be white, 4x4 and clean inside. This '08 Envoy was all of that. Things I don't like: it was hit lightly in the right front I could tell. Having a new aftermarket head light assembly, some light sand scratches under the paint, body lines that aren't matching up and a poorly attached front bumper cover were all signs that it took a RF hit.

Things I knew I would address ASAP: tires needed replaced and that ugly ass pin striping had to go. To be continued............

 

[rizzo20]

The 1st thing to arrive was wheels and tires. I went with 275/45/20 Cooper Zeon LTZ Tires and 20" x 8" Chrome TBSS Replica wheels (OE Performance) all from bbwheelsonline.com . The transaction was very smooth.

Out with the old and in with the new



Next was losing the pin stripe, roof rack, badges and mud flaps.

 

[rizzo20]

Things that went on behind the scenes in between those mods really sucked. I had the power steering lines burst where they are mounted on the driver side inner fender well. All power steering lines were replaced, and both front wheel bearing hub assemblies were replaced. A good friend of mine has been sitting on 1 Moog and 1 Timken assemblies for a few years as spares for his Envoy but he sold them both to me for $100 .

The only good thing that happened was I received my PCM & TCM from PCMofNC so we also installed those. She drives so much better now.

OK on to the next mods, Spyder smoked OE style tail lights and driver side Eagle Eyes headlamp assembly.


The tail lights were installed within 10 minutes. I may pop them back out and put the factory light board in those aftermarket lenses. I read somewhere that the Spyder plug assembly isnt very good. Looks to be an exact fit from factory.

As far as the Eagle Eyes headlight assem. in the drivers side well the factory GM assem. didnt "accept" my LED bulb too well. It was an extremely loose fit and since the lights have to be run without the dust cover on the backside to accommodate the heatsink,I want a very tight seal around the bulb itself. I noticed when doing the passenger side bulb that the EE fixture that was put in after the front end repair had a nice tight seal with my LED bulbs so I ditched the GM fixture for the tight fit.

 

[dna59]

You sir have just convinced me that I need those wheels on mine. It's a sign!

 

[rizzo20]

dna59 don't you hate it when that happens? $$$$

 

[Mooseman]

Mod envy!

 

[rizzo20]

Well I have some things planned for this weekend as long as the rain holds off.
I will probably start sanding this grille getting it ready for paint. I want to keep the center section black (mesh & inner lip) and paint the rest white to match the bumper. Or should I go all white?




Here's just about everything I need minus the wire and rear view mirror to do the Temp/Comp mirror upgrade. Headed to a junk yard on Saturday to find a mirror hopefully.



He are parts I plan to put in this weekend too. Not looking forward to doing the T-stat....

 

[Capote]

IMO you should keep the grill black. It'll keep the great black and white contrast you currently have.

 

[Mooseman]

I agree. You need some contrast.

 

[rizzo20]

So keep the mesh part black but paint the outer pieces that border the headlights white, correct? Or leave the whole thing black just as it is?

 

[SnowBlazer]

I've seen these with the chrome on the inside of the headlights blacked out, and it looks sharp as hell. I'd love the grille and mod the headlights.

 

[Boricua SS]

Im impressed! For once, a smoke advertised light is actually.... SMOKED!

years ago when i purchased my Avalanche "smoked" led 3rd brake light it wasnt even tinted. Smoked headlights... same result... glad to see Spyder is holding up their end of the advertisment...

nice ride

 

[dna59]

With a Denali front bumper your truck would look awesome. I was able to find mine on eBay used with minor damage for pretty cheap. took a couple months of looking at waiting though. I'd paint the outer part of the grille white and leave the middle black.

 

[rizzo20]

To be honest I have no idea if this is an SLT or SLE, lol . How can I tell? The amber lenses came with the KoolView mirros I recently bought. I've never used them, haven't mounted yet.

 

[rizzo20]

Ok here's an update with my Voy. I bought a Denali front bumper and waiting for Spring to come so I can paint it along with mirror back, side moldings, grille and door handle covers. The door handle covers are going to be an experiment, not sure how they will hold paint and look. The side moldings are chrome, I plan to paint them white and stick them on my roof covering the roof rack inserts like I've seen other people do.

I have the grill scuffed just have to finish masking off. I plan to lightly spray tint the amber mirror signals and put LED inserts in them. I also have 20% window tint for the front side glass if the sun ever comes back out...
The only mod I completed was the comp/temp mirror. Probably my favorite mod so far believe it or not.....OK the 20's and Zeons LTZ 's are nice, lol




Here was a dry fit pic of the grille:




Should I totally remove the two sided tape from the back sides of these moldings before stick them on my roof with new two sided tape? I was worried it wouldn't stick or it would stick up too high with two layers of tape. I guess I can wire wheel them clean?

 

[xavierny25]

To be honest I have no idea of this is an SLT or SLE, lol . How can I tell? The amber lenses came with the KoolView mirros I recently bought. I've never used them, haven't mounted yet.

The easy way would be just the slt or sle sticker on the front door by the B pillar.

 

[rizzo20]

The easy way would be just the slt or sle sticker on the front door by the B pillar.

The previous owner removed the pillar covers and painted them black. I could probably use a VIN decoder. So which one is the base model? SLT? I'd say I have the base model. No steering wheel button controls, no sunroof, plain rear view mirror, nothing fancy at all really.

 

[xavierny25]

SLE is the base model. The slt is what I've got.

 

[dna59]

it's gonna look great with those mods. Paint held fine to my chrome door handle covers. The chrome on them isn't that hard to get off if you really want to, otherwise just sand them good. If you wanna get off all the chrome try oven cleaner on them or soaking them in bleach. Off topic here but I'm ordering my TBSS replicas today. I can't wait to have them on.

 

[dna59]

@rizzo20 you will need the chrome fog light bezels for the bumper or there will be a gap. I ran mine without the bezels for a while but looks better with them.

 

[rizzo20]

I wondered about that. I can't find a part number for them. Also, what about the bumper braces (arm on each side that goes from bottom of bumper to inner fender ?) It looks to be a different part number from a standard Envoy bumper. Thanks!

 

[dna59]

@rizzo20 You wont find a part number...atleast not online. I searched everywhere and it's not listed anywhere nor does it show up on any parts diagram I found. I just had to keep searching eBay for them used and even finding them on eBay isn't easy. In fact they were so hard for me to find I had to buy two LH side and mod one to fit the RH side. My original bumper didn't have those braces at all so I am not sure about them as I'm not using any, but it is possible as I think the Denali bumper is lower than the standard Envoy bumper. I'm sure it's not hard to fab up something if needs be, especially if you already have the original ones. My plan is to fab up some for mine, I haven't had any problems without them but extra support isn't a bad thing.

 

[rizzo20]

dna59, I didnt realize they were that hard to find. So w/o the rings is the gap really bad? Will the lights even mount up without those rings? I can't even seem to find a pic of one of the rings let alone a part number.

 

[dna59]

@rizzo20 yea they will bolt up without the bezels. it seems I didn't take any pics of the bezels itself and I don't recall ever finding a pic of just the bezel. the bezels they did have some numbers on them but I recall they didn't bring up anything when I searched it online. if you give me your email addy I can email you some pics of my truck before I got the bezels.

 

[rizzo20]

@dna59 OK will do, I appreciate the info. Also, what prep work did you do on those chrome handle covers before I paint. I scuffed these with grey scotch bright pad & 3M Scuff-It Gel, will give them a wipe down with Duplicolor Prep Spray before I paint.

 

[rizzo20]

Well, I got the grill painted along with the chrome molding that is on the edge of the hood. Here it is installed. The body lines (gaps) on this thing make me want to puke, lol. I need to do some tweaking....

 

[dna59]

Grille looks great painted like that. Keep up the great work.

 

[rizzo20]

Well here's the latest look. Painted mirrors and installed rear part of Beltech SS Suspension kit.

 

[rizzo20]

Here's the latest shot of the SLE. This will probably be the last post for this build because I'm about to sell it. Today I added the side moldings and put the stock GMC logo on the custom grille.

 

[Mooseman]

Looks good! I'm sure you'll get good money for it.

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]