fr34kout's 08 Envoy Denali Build Log

[fishguy1123]

I'd bet lot's of ppl would want ur stocker if you try to sell it. Only bitch is ur in Hawaii... (If you can bitch about that, that is) I think your truck looks great though.

 

[fr34kout]

Thanks lol but I don't really sell the stock parts, I like to horde them incase I ever want to go back to a certain look I guess lol. And the only bitch about living here is shipping, and it's a big one lol. Perfect example I was asking about regearing my rear end, and people linked me to an SS 4.10 rear for ~$425. Only thing was shipping here was $350 lol

 

[fishguy1123]

Yeah, thats what I figured.... Hopefully you have a big place to store all ur stock goodies!

 

[fr34kout]

Got a few small sheds in the back of my parents house with everything I've replaced so far. Stock upper control arms and strut mounts, stock struts, air bags, roof racks, door moldings, rear shocks, etc haha

 

[fishguy1123]

I guess thats the price you pay for paradise! lol

 

[ItsOnVoy]

Thanks lol, I was actually considering flip-flopping the whole thing and seeing how I liked it. Put the trim back to chrome, plastidip the grill, and get a chrome GMC. Not sure how that would look though

Me personally I would leave it like that cig looks really good. It's clean and simple you know. Flows really well with the truck

 

[fr34kout]

Got in my second set of helper bags and got the height pretty much dialed in at where I want it.

Rear

Front

The first bags I had were 4.35" in diameter, and 5.5" tall but they lifted the rear end up about 1". Emailed Airlift and was told that was the smallest bag they had in that diameter. Asked if they had a bag 3.5-4.5" tall in a smaller diameter and I was told they had a bag that was 4" diameter and 4" tall, decided to grab that.

Before I put the first bags in (just spring and shocks) I was tapping axle over bumpy roads pretty bad. After I put in the 5.5" bags it rode AMAZING but sat too high. With these 4" bags it was back to bumpy because the bag was a little too short. So today I cut 2 rings out of 1/2" MDF and put them in the bottom of the spring to elevate the bag a little. The ride is inbetween now. It rides really smooth, but on large dips in the road I do tap axle. I can handle how it is until I can get a c-notch done

 

[fr34kout]

Got some stuff in, didn't take pictures of everything.

Got a pioneer 4300 since a friend wanted to buy my 4200. Pretty much the same thing just newer, and it came with a remote lol.

Ordered an engine cover from a guy in Canada with a TBSS, got it and sprayed it with plastidip so it didn't look faded. Went to put it on and something just wasn't right. Found out I also needed a rear piece that bolts to the intake manifold that the cover clips to in the back, then there's a single bolt in the front. Ordered the bracket, waiting for it to come in.

Also the factory 4-link and panhard weren't meant for these heights. Wasn't planning on ordering adjustable bars until I did the c-notch, but I have to wait on Ness (NRS Fab) to get back from a trip in early august to do the notch, and Tony was running a sale on these. So I grabbed some Spohn adjustable Upper / Lower control arms and adjustable Panhard bar.

Now I can center up the rear axle before I do the c-notch :thumbsup4:

 

[Irishboy02]

Absolutely awesome truck. I love it - and that exhaust came out perfect!

 

[fr34kout]

Thanks man appreciate that. Was debating with myself whether to do headers or rims next, I think 22 FR chrome's are going to be the next buy.

 

[Irishboy02]

Definitely! Will look great - arent you low enough now to take off those dam side steps!

 

[fr34kout]

Haha the thing with those is even if I WANTED to take them off (which I don't), I would need different rocker panels. They're shaped for the steps, they poke out in the corners with the steps off. Plus personally I think not only does it look better with them on, it makes the truck look lower.

I remember people from the OS used to try to get these running boards to put on their non denali trucks lol. One guy had a blue envoy with the denali side steps and 24's, his truck looked sick.

 

[ih8bumps]

Looks real good dude. I wanna go that low with my truck, but the damn Canadian winters can be shit here.

 

[fr34kout]

Thank you lol. I encourage people to lower their trucks, but if you want to go this low most people don't understand the price of doing it correctly lol. I could of got this low with DJM drop strut mounts, drop springs in the front, drop springs in the rear for around $500 but it would ride absolutely horrible lol. By the time I get my c-notch I'll be a little over 2k into suspension, and still not done haha. To me it's worth it, but for the average person it won't ride comfortably and will be too pricey. Plus like you said with winters, here I don't have to worry about that.

 

[kjkim93]

How many cans of Plasti dip did you have to use to the the pillars?

 

[fr34kout]

I think about 4 for all the panels including the trunk.

 

[kjkim93]

I think about 4 for all the panels including the trunk.

Oh darn. I only have 2 new cans. But I wouldn't do the trunk. Btw I love your envoy

 

[fr34kout]

Thank you

Time to start on the links!

 

[fr34kout]

Todays project, install Spohn adjustable 4-link and panhard bar.

Here's the links

Panhard in, starting on driver side links

Everything's in and adjusted, axle is centered

Guna hit up my alignment guy to adjust pinion angle after I do the c-notch.

 

[fr34kout]

No love on the adjustable links? How about for a c-notch?

Just got my c-notch done today. Truck rides great with 3" belltech springs cut to make it a 5" drop, and Airlift 60789 airbags. Currently sitting at 28" left rear and 28.5 right rear with a full tank of gas. Looks like I have to cut a little more off the right side spring.

Here's the notch

Outside, plated

Inside had too much shit to plate it I guess

Rides a lot better, however I need to trim the top bump stop perch. Ness cut the bottom perch, but the top is still making contact by like 1/8" of an inch. Oh well, I'll take care of it on monday.

 

[RZAwora]

Sweet ride dude...looks awesome!
What method did you use to tint the tails?

 

[fr34kout]

Currently I have VHT NiteShade on them. I honestly don't like the way they came out. In the sun they almost look brown, and I've heard this from a lot of people that have used it. I'm waiting for one of my friends to have some free time so he can spray them with automotive paint. The proper way would be to use clear with a little black to tint the clear as a base coat. Spray it until it's as dark as you want, then follow up with regular clear. Hoping to do that soon.

Your ride is coming alone nicely as well

 

[RZAwora]

Your ride is coming alone nicely as well

Thanks bro. Yeah, I was thinking of using the Niteshades but I'm afraid of the laws in my state. They say "no tint" whatsoever on the tails. I have to ask around and see if it's something enforced in this area before I decide to do anything. I'm just getting sick of looking at the stock tails. I wish we had some decent aftermarket LED's to choose from.
After looking through your pics, and the ones I posted of mine today, I think I'm going to remove the "ENVOY" and the "GMC" from the back. The only identifiers left will be the GMC on the grill and hitch cover, and DENALI on the side...leave people guessing what kind of truck it is...lol. I've got a custom license plate on order at motor vehicles, "DENALI".
The only suspension mod I did was drop the airbags to even the height of the front and kill the stock rake. They're all 33", I don't think I would like it any lower, I like to drive the truck out on the beach from time to time. Besides that, it is my daily driver too.
Good luck with the ride!!!

 

[fr34kout]

I had some run-ins with Law Enforcement after doing my tails lol. The first time I did it, it was too dark. Even at night the lights looked dim. Didn't have any problems for 6 months, then all of the sudden one cop was gunning for me. Officer Bailey, cool guy but he wouldn't leave me alone lol.

Got pulled over one night coming home at 2-3 am, just pulled off the freeway and started heading home. Had my sounds playing but sub at -15 and windows up. Saw 2 cops on the opposite side of the road with a car pulled over, found out later it was a DUI. Bout 30 seconds later I saw headlights turning around, and about a mile after that I got pulled over for sounds. Took my ticket, it was whatever. Leaving though, the female officer's partner Bailey (who I've already had other interactions with, he stops by my job to kick us out of the parking lot at night) turns on his blues, but before I can pull over he pulls up to my left side. Tells me to roll down my window and yells that he can't see my tail lights. Told him yea sorry gotta change the bulbs they're going bad (bs). He drives off.

The next night (I guess since it was early morning, that same night) leaving my job me and a few friends are heading to town at about 11 pm. As I'm pulling onto the freeway, he gets behind me and pulls me over again. Tells me I just warned you about these tonight. What happens in baseball when you get 3 strikes? You're out, now fix it.

2 days later, he pulls me over leaving work, telling me cmon man just take off the covers. 2 days after that he pulls me over a 4th time, I'm thinking fuck here's my ticket. He just tells me I gave you enough warnings man. Promised him I would change it in the morning. Sanded it down and resprayed them lighter. No problems since then, a year later.

I know what you mean about the tail lights being ugly, and aftermarkets being worse haha that's why I sprayed them in the first place, and I don't regret it at all. Also glad you could find a few mods you liked to do to your truck. As for the license plate, I wish I could think of something creative that would fit the truck. Denali is already taken here lol

 

[fr34kout]

Front swaybar out. Cleaned it up and sprayed it red to match the rear. New links and bushings next to the old busted up ones.

Reinstalled

Rear swaybar, links, and bushings installed.

Still tapping on something, yay

 

[fr34kout]

These will probably be the last things I do before I get my rims. I might suede my headliner in the meantime or something, but no immediate plans for it.

Anyways, got some new goodies in the last month or so. Nothing is going on till I get my rims, I want everything brand new at one time lol.

Stainless Steel Braided brake lines

Drilled & Slotted rotors with ceramic pads. Thanks to Tony for shipping them to me, company wanted $115 to ship them here but was free in the mainland. Got them here for under $40 with flat rate boxes >.>

Painted with high temp Martin Senour black from napa

Decided that the flat black wasn't going to cut it with satin black in the fender well so I grabbed some Dupli Color engine enamel. Going to end up sanding the imperfections and runs (damn nozzle on the duplicolor was a narry spray) and recoat them later.

Also sprayed the pads

Now the reason I sprayed the rotors is so they don't rust and look ugly behind the rims. I sprayed inside the veins and coated them as much as I could without it running then sprayed the hats and rotor surface. The pads will clear through the firepath within a mile or so after I install them, but the rest of the rotor will stay black. This should look a lot better in the long run.

 

[fr34kout]

Hmm haven't updated this in a while huh? Here's the latest.

Been a busy couple days. One of my friends hooked me up with some Nexen tires, then the place I took it to for mount and balance was trying to upsell me on everything the guy could think of lmao

Something look different?

Took off the running boards, got a little project before the a car show coming up.

Removed the top pads, used a razor blade to get down to bare plastic to shave the holes.

Plastic welded from the back, then the front.

Almost done with one side

Halfway there

Just needs a little plastic filler then sand and paint.

One of my friends going to finish up with the plastic filler, then spray them for me.

 

[fr34kout]

Alright so here's all the pics I been waiting to post. Going to a car show today, so I should have some good pictures either later tonight or possibly tomorrow.

So once again I cleaned up and sprayed inside the fender wells black to make nice. Pounded out all the old studs and replaced with new OEM studs since I was putting on new lug nuts.

Here's a shot of the RL fender well with the new rotor on and 2/6 studs (stupid fender roller wouldn't fit)

Removed all the calipers and shaved the faces . Thought I took a picture of that but I guess not. Took it to a local shop to get it sprayed red with ceramic paint.

Honestly, it came out ok but I was expecting a little more attention to detail. It was sprayed on a sheet instead of being hung, I don't think they cleaned it before spraying, some small spots didn't get good coverage. Lot's of small stuff, just a little disappointed for the price I paid and the work I've seen from that shop.

Got the front calipers on and put on the Denali stickers

Got the truck back on the ground shortly after that. Funny story though, after bleeding the brakes the pedal was real spongy. Knew something was wrong, but I had to go work. Luckily 2 of my good friends decided to stay at my house and figure out the problem. About 3 hrs later after flushing the brakes several more times, my friend calls me and tells me that the front calipers bleeder screws were on the bottom instead of the top. Stupid mistake, took a while for anybody to realize. During the process we thought it could be something more serious. Thankfully they got everything sorted out that night right before I got off work.

So I got up early this morning for a wash, power wash engine bay, dry, polish, and wax. Already did the interior a few days ago.

 

[WhiteTB]

that looks sick. Great job

 

[tokahao]

Fricken awesome. You gonna have time to burn in your brakes before tonight?

 

[fr34kout]

Thanks man, and nah I didn't really do the regular brake procedure, just drove it normal. I was able to get all the black off the firepath within the first 2 miles or so on thursday night. The line wasn't as clean as I was hoping, but it's whatever. The show today was pretty disappointing. Got poured on for about an hour, and the sounds guys were WAY off to the side not even part of the show pretty much. Did 1 run and left to go to a Stance Nation meet up closer to my house for the last few hours. Decided to snap some pictures after the fact, didn't get any from either show.

And a pic with my friends Honda that we just finished putting together at 2 am this morning lol

 

[fr34kout]

Entered Slammed Society on Sunday and found a video where someone did a short walk around of my truck lol. Starts around 3:10

[video=youtube;EQdxibrFHTY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQdxibrFHTY[/video]