2003 GMC Sierra z71

[Irishboy02]

Meet Maggie. Drove home from the dealership, got around the corner and realized that i had steering wheel controls for the radio. After messing around with the buttons i realized that there was also a CD in the CD player, first song that came on was Maggie May by Rod Stewart - practically named herself! Traded my 05 TB for her. After I hydrolocked my tb, i went through an engine swap, rebuilt trans, countless electrical problems and 4wd problems I decided to throw in the towel. Traded it in for this. 2003 GMC Sierra SLE z71 ECSB. 70k on the clock, and came with a fiberglass/painted tonneau cover.

Closest to purchase picture I have. I quickly put on the rims and tires from the TB (silverado z71 rims with nitto terra grappler 285/70r17)

Got black housing corner lights and plasti-dipped around the outside of the 'chrome' grill

8k HID lows, 3k HID fogs, LED switchback and LED corners

3

3" torsion keys up front with 2" rear block. Sitting on Hummer take-offs 315/70 BFG all-terrain. Window tint

Bilstein 5100's all around, also had pitting on my rear diff cover so i painted it Hammertone Silver Metalliac (Rustoleum) [sorry for the duct tape, had no painters tape to mask it off, took the pic while the paint was still wet]

Volant Cold air intake


Future plans:
____________
1.5" body lift
magnaflow exhaust
e-fans
Recon smoked tails
LEDs everywhere...EVERYWHERE
Roof clearance lights
set of summer shoes
duramax tow mirrors
Black housing front headlights

 

[Short Bus]

Nice

IMO time to Plasti-Dip the rest of the chrome and de-mold

 

[jrSS]

I know u just got the truck so I won't beat on u too bad.....demold..debadge...and paint the gmc grille emblem black. It'll make it look soooo much cleaner. (And yes eventually "dechrome"...unless u like chrome).

 

[smitty5150]

Pretty gay. You should probably just give it to me.

 

[Irishboy02]

Demold / debage has been a heavy thought, however its a 10 year old black truck, not sure how the paint fade will look. I am going to nightshade the GMC in the front grill, also going to nightshade the third brake light in the rear (going to leave the cargo lights white though). Going for a black/chrome look. Keep it clean and classy, yet aggressive looking. Also going to do the Duramax tow mirrors, and Paint the front headlight housing the same color as the truck

Definately keep the ideas coming....as if i need any more excuse to spend money

 

[jrSS]

Well u could take one door molding off if faded buff and wax the shit outta it. It'll make a world of difference.

 

[The_Roadie]

Cool. I'm terrified what happens when the NEXT owner of the TB discovers us. Do us a favor and send him to trailvoy if you get a chance?

 

[jrSS]

^^

 

[Mesoholics]

Nice truck, as much as a Ford Guy as I am (yes yes let me have it...) I would choose this generation Sierra/Silverado over any of the other 1/2 tons of the same generation. I think you got the best proportioned Body Style out of the bunch, what % tint is that on the front windows?

 

[strat81]

Pretty gay. You should probably just give it to me.

The double entendre is strong in this one.

 

[ItsOnVoy]

Demold / debage has been a heavy thought, however its a 10 year old black truck, not sure how the paint fade will look. I am going to nightshade the GMC in the front grill, also going to nightshade the third brake light in the rear (going to leave the cargo lights white though). Going for a black/chrome look. Keep it clean and classy, yet aggressive looking. Also going to do the Duramax tow mirrors, and Paint the front headlight housing the same color as the truck

Definately keep the ideas coming....as if i need any more excuse to spend money

My truck is 10 years also and I removed emblems and side moldings and they were fine! Well kind of on The side moldings but nothing you can see. I hope lol also remember if you don't like they stick back on

 

[Irishboy02]

Was looking at my tailgate the other day and I think I might de-badge. Even though i have a quarter sized dent on each side...we shall see. Being black i am nervous about the fade, with the new dents there it might take the focus off the possible color difference.

15% tint on the front, am seriously thinking about doing an additional 35% over everything now to keep it all even. Also going to do limo across the top of my windshield. VHT nightshade spraying the third brake light and putting LEDs in there, going to mask off the white cargo lights though and leave those clear.

 

[Irishboy02]

With me using up almost all of Smitty5150 's texts for this month, he helped me walk through the process for painting my headlights. The Sierras/Silverados have amber corner reflectors from the factory. These are easily removed, which many people do, and add a clean look to the front end. I originally took out the amber reflector to see how it looked with the chrome. It actually makes a huge difference, but looked to pretty for what im going for. Then, i masked off the chrome under where that amber was and painted the rest of the housing black. Looked good, however when on the truck you couldn't really see too much of the black, which is my whole reason for painting it. Here are the different stages I went though, and then the final results.

Factory :

Black housing with chrome corner:

Painted the rest black and this is the final result:

 

[jrSS]

Then he'll send u a bill. Hahaha lol

 

[rjpoog1989]

nice truck!

You've got me thinking I should dip the chrome around my grille and possibly my gmc logo on the front. I'm thinking camo would look pretty sexy...

 

[Sparky]

What if you painted the non-reflector portion of the buckets also? Kind of like how the earlier gen Impalas are, and how some people have painted their 4th gen Camaro headlight housings. Like this:

View attachment 21813

 

[sse1990]

I quickly put on the rims and tires from the TB (silverado z71 rims with nitto terra grappler 285/70r17)

I have to ask. I'm guessing you had adapters to use the rims on your TB? I recently traded in my Buick Rainier and have a set of winter tires and rims, but of course wrong spacing. Not sure if it is worth looking for adapters or just buy new rims?

 

[Irishboy02]

I have to ask. I'm guessing you had adapters to use the rims on your TB? I recently traded in my Buick Rainier and have a set of winter tires and rims, but of course wrong spacing. Not sure if it is worth looking for adapters or just buy new rims?

Yes I was running 1.5" adapters from the 6x5 to the fullsize 6x5.5. Thats up to you really, do you like those tires that much? Have you tried to sell them locally like on craigslist or to someone from here? Might be worth a shot for the time being. You have a few months before winter becomes an issue.

 

[sse1990]

Yes I was running 1.5" adapters from the 6x5 to the fullsize 6x5.5. Thats up to you really, do you like those tires that much? Have you tried to sell them locally like on craigslist or to someone from here? Might be worth a shot for the time being. You have a few months before winter becomes an issue.

I'm going to sell the rims, but keep the tires. My speedo will only be off by very little for the winter. I was hoping to not buy more rims, but I did find some nice black/machined aluminum rims that I have my eye on for summer, and my stockers will be my winter rims.

 

[Irishboy02]

What if you painted the non-reflector portion of the buckets also? Kind of like how the earlier gen Impalas are, and how some people have painted their 4th gen Camaro headlight housings. Like this:

I have HIDs but wont that effect the reflector and my light output on the road? Plus, being that I have HIDs, i am concerned about the heat level inside the sealed lens with paint. I could use rustoleum high heat but im iffy on how it would look in the long run.

I'm going to sell the rims, but keep the tires. My speedo will only be off by very little for the winter. I was hoping to not buy more rims, but I did find some nice black/machined aluminum rims that I have my eye on for summer, and my stockers will be my winter rims.

Hehe the new girl needs new shoes Thats actually exactly what I am going to do. This set that i have on now will become my winter set, going to be getting a summer set eventually at some point, on terra grapplers. That prob wont be until i hit the lottery though

 

[Sparky]

I have HIDs but wont that effect the reflector and my light output on the road? Plus, being that I have HIDs, i am concerned about the heat level inside the sealed lens with paint. I could use rustoleum high heat but im iffy on how it would look in the long run.

No, at most it'll reduce glare a little bit. The actual reflector is the back portion. The sides and bottom where it is just ribbed does nothing except divide the two beam portions and provide the depth of the light housing. If you use the right paint it should be fine, I know a lot of people who have painted in there without issue.

I'm one of those who would highly recommend (and even prod) to put the HID in projectors and not in the reflector housings. They really aren't made for it and you are giving out more glare to other drivers while at the same time not utilizing the HIDs to their full potential for yourself either.

 

[Irishboy02]

If i have any issues with moisture after the fact, ill crack them open again and do that second stage. I was worried about having visibility issues, but if its do-able ill check it out. Worst case, i take some goofoff and wipe it up clean i guess.

Personally, I HATE projectors. I hate the way they look and how they perform on larger vehicles, trucks specifically. My truck has a pretty good cutoff to begin with. Being a pickup, not to mention having a lift, people highbeam even with halogens in, and im cautious of aiming my lights to not bother other drivers. Being higher, I need to see down the road more. Projectors give the cutoff which, IMO, impair my night driving and dont give me the full amount of light needed. Being in a compact car, you are lower to the ground so your beam pattern is lower. Having the projectors, you are able to get a larger amount of light out of the smaller area. With my larger headlights, and needing to cover a larger viewing area, projector cutoff, IMO, is too dim to give me what I need down the road. Plus not to mention that the options for projectors for my truck are ricer as all hell, including halos and LEDs (look good on the TBs, terrible on mine)

I appreciate the input and its not I dont respect other drivers on the road, buy they are safer if I can see too, not to mention that I also want to have safety in mind for myself and any of my precious cargo.

 

[pennywise]

Yeah, I'm a Ford guy like Mesoholics. I agree that this generation is way better than what Ford is offering. It looks alot better and has a better drivetrain. MOD motors suck. Good looking truck!

 

[Irishboy02]

Painted the red GMC black in the grill. My front end is officially done for what i wanted to do to black it all out. Also debaged the 'sierra' on my tailgate and tinted my 3rd brake light.

 

[Short Bus]

Much better

Here's a little help for you mod bug

[EBAY]390452591298[/EBAY]

 

[Irishboy02]

So I decided to Nightshade my OEM tails. Have done quite a few of these but for whatever reason they came out like crap. So instead of the cheap alternative I still had to buy a new set. Im happy with them, got the ANZO black housing LEDs with prewired resistor boxes, saves time money and headache. Also ordered a 60" led strip for under the tailgate. Overall im very happy with the new setup, and it keeps with the whole black/chrome theme I think. Pics dont really do it justice. Looks much better in person

New vs Old

Old

New

View attachment 22997
View attachment 22998
View attachment 22999

 

[Irishboy02]

Havn't been on here in a while, figure id give a quick update.

Had my old touch screen reinstalled (used to be in the TB). Along with RF components up front with additional tweeters. New RF door speakers out back and a custom box built under the rear seat for 2-10" RF subs. Crystal clear and gets loud, perfect balance. While they were in there I had them put in a rear view camera (amazing to have it) and reinstall my Bluetooth.

Went to a custom exhaust shop and had my exhaust done exactly how i wanted it. Used a magnaflow muffler, single in dual out, welded in. He cut out the original flange and welded directly to the factory Ypipe, 3" stainless into the muffler, dual 2.5" Stainless out to Dual 4" x 22 polished single wall slash cut tips that exit out each side about 4.5" from where the rear fender is behind the rear tire. I will follow up with pics soon

Ordered my lift, will be here mid next week. Tires and rims came in yesterday. Toyo OpenCountry 35x12.5 will be mounted on Moto Metal 962s in black/milled 18x9 with 0mm offset. They will be rolling under FullThrottleSuspension 7" fulldrop kit with chrome resi's all around.

Will post pics some point after next week once I have the lift installed.

 

[Irishboy02]

So finally got everything finished and wrapped up.

Full Throttle Suspension 7-9" suspension lift. My front fenders are at 46", I currently have it set at 7", but will most likely cranking up once everything settles in. I will be swaping out my factory rear leafsprings and putting in the factory 2500 springs in the rear, this will give me 1.5" plus the obvous strength of the 3/4ton.

Toyo OpenCountry M/Ts 35 x 12.5 r18. They measure out to about 35.5 tall and 13.2 wide on my 18x9 MotoMetal 962s with 0 offset.

GoRhino Dominator2 nerf bars. I will be changing the step pads to brushed aluminum to keep with the black/chrome styling. Enough of my chatter, time for some potato pics

 

[nieman88]

now thats one sexy truck.
great job =)