Is this too tacky?

We built a couple tall sawhorses to lift off my brother's cap. He could pick it up with a jack in the bed,slide the horses under the cap and drive the truck out from under it. I don't care for the stripe and dislike vinyl on trucks in general. Find an old school truck lettering guy and let him go to town with hand pin striping. We all had it done to our trucks back when they were new and they looked sharp. Bonus points for a cheesy song lyric painted over the rear window and a cartoon character behind the front wheel or on the B pillar. I went with "Much too young too feel this damn old" and Chilly Willy.

A set of 454SS wheels would go a long way to brighten things up. They were also avaliable in gray on regular trucks and utilitys, still 15" so you can re-use your tires. If you're planning a cross country road trip on dirt, don't lower it. Wait till you get home. A 2/3 drop is plenty. I like the big flaps, helps prevent stone chips. Maybe get a second stock air dam and see if they can be stacked? I like the stripe.

Gearheadotaku wrote: A set of 454SS wheels would go a long way to brighten things up. They were also avaliable in gray on regular trucks and utilitys, still 15" so you can re-use your tires.

That should be a given, they always look good. I like keeping the flaps too. I can't help with the drop, we jacked the backs up with 3/4 ton leafs to tow.

G_Body_Man wrote: 3/4 drop, All-Fit lip kit, black painted stock wheels, and some side stripes. I know it's a rough photochop, but what do you guys think?

You fail as a car guy and a human.

Also, why come nobody makes drop spindles for 4x4s? New trucks are absurdly tall, a 4" drop would make them actually useful if you don't have ready access to a forklift or jib crane for putting things in the bed.

chiodos wrote:

BrokenYugo wrote: I wouldn't drop it, the whole upside of a truck as a people carrier is it has suspension travel to soak up bumps. Not a fan of the stripe either.

Since when is a single cab presumable bench seat truck considered a people carrier?

You could probably fit 15-20 people in the bed depending on how you stack them and how squeamish you are about "playing Tetris in God Mode" if you know what I mean.

In reply to Knurled:

I recall a certain kid with "afluenza" in texas who did the same thing drunk as hell and a few of those tetris blocks flew down the road. Camper shell probably helps keep the tetris blocks inside though. Still a very questionable idea

I dig it. But I also dig Farm Truck.

I dig it but I think everything is better low. I'd probably lose the front lip though.

Do what you like, as long as it isn't unsafe, and screw everyone else.

I've thought about things, and I've decided to be sensible for once. I'll paint the wheels, and get a set of matching dog dishes instead of mismatched plastichrome GM caps, and that's it. No sense in doing anything that might not make me 100% happy. Otherwise, I'm just doing routine maintenance on the truck. I'm putting in my order for front end rebuild parts (pitman and idler arms) on Sunday, as well as new ceramic pads (more kind on the rotors than the metallic pads on right now), and a new 180 degree thermostat for good measure. The cost of all this? $63 Canadian ($48.50 US) shipped to my door from Rock Auto.

In my experience ceramic pads eat rotors faster than the pads. Ive had terrible luck with ceramics and they dont even grip as well as anything else. Youll probably be fine in a truck not looking for ultimate stopping power.

I freaking love rock auto, a crisp $100 gets you a couple parts from autoparts store, rock auto? Get a whole dang box replacing everything you need and a sweet magnet! My fridge is covered in rockauto magnets

If you want to do two colors I would go with the older Chevy style of a large strip between lower body line and mid fender. I think that stripe is just too small and distracting right now, needs to tie into the shape of the truck better. I could be biased though, my first truck was an '82 C10 that had silver over maroon.

Random example:

I would just do some wheels. Can't beat the dog dishes. Can't go wrong with as much ground clearance as possible for your trip also.

What I was getting at for the trip and the drop, what roads are you looking to take? I would keep as much ride height as possible in you are going off the pavement.

In reply to Brian:

Just highway. No real off-roading here.

CL the topper, let them remove it. Ebay billet grille and mirror trim. Two tone lower door/ bed if pitted up. Charcoal be good there. Matching color subtle wide or pin stripe. Le Mans style hood stripes. Totally missed the wheel discussion. Factory or aftermarket aluminum wheels for summer, steelies w/ winter tires if that applies w/ where yur at. Save the rest for mechanical or interior upgrades. Auxiliary lighting maybe.

G_Body_Man wrote: In reply to Brian: Just highway. No real off-roading here.

My question is: Which way? East to West, or West To East?

I really wish I could do such a trip, but...time and money. Dammit.

When you start, you better make an adventure blog!

In reply to ScottRA21:

Both.

are you planning on driving the truck for upcoming winters?

I have to echo the sentiment that you delay doing the suspension drop until you return home. Roads here in the east are frost heaved and potholed beyond belief and the lose of suspension travel will make for an uncomfortable drive. Plus you are likely to encounter road construction somewhere along the way.

Enjoy the trip... It's a great way to see the country... I last did it about 30 years ago so I'm jealous...

G_Body_Man wrote: No sense in doing anything that might not make me 100% happy.

You are smarter than you know.