CLEETUS V: '01 Sibberado

[zeitgeist57]

I know this is Columbus RACING, but as a long-time member this forum is more to me about local car-guys that turn their own wrenches as much as it is about racing (especially in the wintertime) . With that, as a suburban, white-collar dad cheap pickup trucks have been a part of my "family" since buying my first house with my wife 16 years ago. They represent control in a world where control is taken from you; I have freedom to travel cheaply, ruggedly, move things for myself rather than outsourcing the service, and helping others when they cannot help themselves. As an added side bonus, a pickup truck provides a cheap platform for maintenance-light transportation, as well as a large canvas to get creative. As I've done with previous Cleetii, I'm not afraid to paint an old tee-ruck as opposed to a classic Porsche or '69 Camaro.

 

http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95428

 

Cleetus IV was an amazing truck, carrying myself and my two kids on many local and regional trips; stores, mulch/material runs, and campouts around Central/Southern Ohio. I rebuilt the powertrain myself, and only put 23k miles on it before I was presented with a more modern platform to work with. I admit; having A/C in the summertime and ABS/airbags for the family and I in bad weather is appealing, and I was presented with an offer I couldn't turn down. Sold Cleetus IV to Randy (Otis Nice), and I couldn't imagine a better person to own it. Many happy Ford-powered miles, my friend!

 

 

Details: Former Shelley Company fleet truck out of Findlay, OH...it's a 2001 Silverado 1500 that's as base as it comes: 4.3L V6, 4L60E Automatic, 2WD, red with plastic blah, and it's fair share of body damage from the ladder rack in the bed and general abuse. But, it's still a regular cab LONG BED which I use as often as I can.

 

The Bad:

- Dents on both sides, paint is faded and abused from construction site work.

- The GMT800 is a platform where GM cut some corners. The body(rocker, frame) rust is a little ridiculous, and if I don't seal the frame there's going to be problems. Hoping to keep it straight enough for long-term use. YouTube videos tell me I will have problems ahead, but nothing that a few thousand other guys haven't dealt with already.

- Needs work! Body? Transmission is making a rattle. Brakes are bad, tires are bad, I'm still making notes. It was put away a few years back at a house on Indian Lake and needs refreshed.

 

The Good:

- Modern! Working A/C, stereo system, large 4-wheel disc brakes, etc...Coming from a 1982 truck, it's like a Cadillac. My bar is set pretty low from a creature-comfort standpoint.

- "Performance", and I quote that with a grain of salt. Again, the V6 is only 200hp but it's torquey and the truck surprisingly only weighs around 3200 lbs. It has no problem with highway speeds and fuel economy surprises me after '70s/80s powertrains.

- 76k miles! She wasn't as abused as you'd think...just neglected from sitting. That's a challenge I'm willing to take.

- Still RC/LB which I like (4-door trucks are dumb, you wimpy housing-development cucks) and has a trailer hitch which I've already used.

- Robust and inexpensive aftermarket.

 

Plans:

- Wheels/tires/stance - Hert @ Hoonigan has a great list that I apply to pretty much every vehicle I own: Put good wheels on it, lower it, and make it loud. I'll pass on the latter, but I've got a great source for rolling stock that I'm awaiting wifey-approval on. Also, looking at doing a 2/4 drop to get a much better stance.

- Rust repair. The back bumper is hilarious; will get a rollpan for that. The rockers are already clapped out; will do some frame surface rust removal and treat with Corroseal. Try to make this thing last as long if not longer than my time with Cleetus IV.

- Make the interior comfy. If I'm able to wear a suit without sweating through a shirt (eww) during the summer, I'd put more highway miles on her than my other cars. Music would be nice, as I had a broken AM radio in my '82 Ford.

- Have fun, of course! I'd like to do some dent repairs, paint rejeuvenation. I've never done a rollpan; looking forward to what that looks like when I'm done.

 

Again, if it seems dumb to do a Project Thread for a V6 truck, this is more my way to keep tabs on it since I don't get deep into FB/Social media. <3

[Rustlestiltskin]

Automatic you say? :burn:

[zeitgeist57]

For the price I paid, Pauly...I wasn't going to be picky. Would've liked a stick but a modern 4-speed auto is fine #meh

[RyM3rC]

3200 lbs? damn must have been one of the rare lightweight factory titanium ones.

 

last chebby 1500 stripper I had was 4400

[Rustlestiltskin]

For the price I paid, Pauly...I wasn't going to be picky. Would've liked a stick but a modern 4-speed auto is fine #meh

Good deal either way. Can’t see much rust besides the rockers. Should be a perfect hauler. Gl Clay.

[caseyctsv]

I will be looking for something similar to this soon. A beater pickup is a great tool to have around..,

 

Cannot wait to see progress.

[CRed05]

Cool!

 

https://jalopnik.com/pickup-trucks-should-only-seat-three-people-1824158717

You want a second row? No. Second rows are for cars and SUVs.

 

The purpose of a truck is to carry shit in the bed. You know a good way to make the bed smaller? Adding a second row for more humans, who should think about finding a car better-suited for human travel, not a truck, which is suited for getting shit done.

[spankis]

Looks like a good find and I totally support the regular cab long bed choice. I'm fighting with what to do with the accelerating rust on my Dodge (bottom edge of door and rear fenders) Corroseal? POR-15?

 

Please update with your rust treatments as I'll be tackling my own once weather dries out some.

[Richard Cranium]

Awesome man. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it. I liked the last Cleetus, but I get that some creature comforts are a nice perk.

[Cordell]

For the price I paid, Pauly...I wasn't going to be picky. Would've liked a stick but a modern 4-speed auto is fine #meh

 

Finding a manual would've been a needle in a haystack. I sure haven't seen more then 2-3, and by the end of that body style they weren't even an option anymore.

 

Nice beater Clay, there are many times I miss my beater S10s. So much good comes from having a truck like this.

[Geeto67]

Since the trans is making noise anyway...might as well stick swap it. Jussayin....

 

seriously though, pickapart has to have at least one stick gm truck you can rob the trans, pedal assembly, and computer from, just bring me on a $50 all you can carry day and I'll throw that trans over my shoulder.

 

Can't wait to borrow this to haul broken motorcycles. :thumbup:

[excell]

I'm tickled at the idea that in 20-30 years you'll finally have moved into a "modern" truck.

 

What ever happened to orange Cleetus? I think it was II or III.

[cdk 4219]

Since the trans is making noise anyway...might as well stick swap it. Jussayin....

 

seriously though, pickapart has to have at least one stick gm truck you can rob the trans, pedal assembly, and computer from, just bring me on a $50 all you can carry day and I'll throw that trans over my shoulder.

 

Can't wait to borrow this to haul broken motorcycles. :thumbup:

 

As with most things, you are missing most of the details, engine trans harness for the v6 manual, flywheel, slave cylinder, interior dash harness, driveshaft, shifter, steering column, to name a few. I thought you said you were smart, apparently not realistically intelligent.

 

Much nicer truck than any of the previous, rockers and an corners rot from the inside out, once younvisually see rust on the outside they’re usually gone. The trans noise could maybe be a cracked flexplate.

[2 Sweet]

Very nice! Regular cab long bed owners unite!

 

The rust on mine is significantly worse than yours. I definitely need to tackle that sooner rather than later

[Geeto67]

As with most things, you are missing most of the details, engine trans harness for the v6 manual, flywheel, slave cylinder, interior dash harness, driveshaft, shifter, steering column, to name a few. I thought you said you were smart, apparently not realistically intelligent.

 

1) all parts that can be sourced off the donor truck. Most of that stuff will still be attached to either the trans or pedal assembly if you pull it out of a donor in the yard.

 

2) don't need the dash and engine harnesses, just the ECM and someone to program it. you can jumper the auto trans wiring to prevent a CEL from not being used

 

3) driveshafts for chevy trucks are usually the same length as long as you have the same configuration (long bed single cab).

 

4) column is a nice to have not a need to have. just pull the shifter rod out of the column. If you really want to delete the column shifter it is a plastic housing if you need it to look "factory" - you don't have to replace the entire column to do it. How many trans swaps have you done? because this seems like basic knowledge and it seems strange that you wouldn't know it.

[Rally Pat]

Time for a donor LS work truck and a Sloppy Mechanics Stage 2 turbo kit.

[-Alex-]

This will be a fun one to watch. It made me realize how long I've been on here when I clicked on the thread for Cletus IV and remembered you making the original post.

 

My '03 Silverado has been my main daily since September I believe and I absolutely love it. New enough to have "modern" conveniences, old enough to still "feel" like you're driving it, if that makes sense.

[zeitgeist57]

3200 lbs? damn must have been one of the rare lightweight factory titanium ones.

 

last chebby 1500 stripper I had was 4400

 

I just Googled it and it said 4000-4600lbs...I swear the Mettler Toledo scale at COSI said "3240" when it was on it. I need to haul some trash so I'll see what SWACO weighs me in on when I'm down there.

[Geeto67]

I just Googled it and it said 4000-4600lbs...I swear the Mettler Toledo scale at COSI said "3240" when it was on it. I need to haul some trash so I'll see what SWACO weighs me in on when I'm down there.

 

maybe the rust ate the rest.

 

https://www.performancetrucks.net/forums/drag-racing-139/post-your-weight-395245/

[zeitgeist57]

Thanks for all the comments, guys! I know beater trucks mean a lot to CR folk.

 

Corroseal? POR-15? Please update with your rust treatments as I'll be tackling my own once weather dries out some.

 

I got a gallon of Corroseal and let a CC&C guy use some of it for his Miata rocker rust. He was raving about it. I pulled off the rusty wiper arms (baby steps) and treated them with a scour, overnight coat of Corroseal, and sprayed with a matte black...they look like new.

 

Can't wait to borrow this to haul broken motorcycles. :thumbup:

 

Yeeeaaaahhh...you're going to have to rent UHaul for that one. I'm still in the helpful hauling business, not in the "friends can use my truck" business.

 

What ever happened to orange Cleetus? I think it was II or III.

 

I was an ex-ODOT yellow one...II was a primer gray '86 C10 Heavy Half...III was the nicer blue/white '82 C20 Diesel...IV was RED though everyone did legit say it was orange, I swear I painted it "Ford 9N" red from TSC. Here's Cleetus I:

 

http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=301&pictureid=2057

 

I replaced a flexplate in Cleetus III, not fucking surprising if it's that $35 part, as apparently GM sought to make flexplates for their tee-ruks out of cereal-box cardboard. Will dig into that. I've driven it 444miles roundtrip to Kokomo, IN, and have put almost 3,000 total miles since buying it in January and the noise hasn't gotten any worse, while sometimes going away altogether. It does seem to disappear above 2000-2500RPM??? Maybe just loose TC-to-flexplate bolts?

[excell]

I was an ex-ODOT yellow one...

 

Here's Cleetus I:

 

http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=301&pictureid=2057

 

That's the one. Am I that god damn old?

 

I replaced a flexplate in Cleetus III, not fucking surprising if it's that $35 part, as apparently GM sought to make flexplates for their tee-ruks out of cereal-box cardboard. Will dig into that. I've driven it 444miles roundtrip to Kokomo, IN, and have put almost 3,000 total miles since buying it in January and the noise hasn't gotten any worse, while sometimes going away altogether. It does seem to disappear above 2000-2500RPM??? Maybe just loose TC-to-flexplate bolts?

 

Does it vibrate at vehicle speed or just engine speed?

[zeitgeist57]

Engine speed. Specifically 1500-ish RPMs, but it does sound like a rattle around there when in park.

 

Oh....it's also got a partial-throttle misfire. I saw a video where that could also be causing the "rattle" which smooths out under stronger throttle.

[cdk 4219]

1) all parts that can be sourced off the donor truck. Most of that stuff will still be attached to either the trans or pedal assembly if you pull it out of a donor in the yard.

 

2) don't need the dash and engine harnesses, just the ECM and someone to program it. you can jumper the auto trans wiring to prevent a CEL from not being used

 

3) driveshafts for chevy trucks are usually the same length as long as you have the same configuration (long bed single cab).

 

4) column is a nice to have not a need to have. just pull the shifter rod out of the column. If you really want to delete the column shifter it is a plastic housing if you need it to look "factory" - you don't have to replace the entire column to do it. How many trans swaps have you done? because this seems like basic knowledge and it seems strange that you wouldn't know it.

 

Again you are an idiot. I have forgotten more car related things than you have read. You seem to be misinformed about many things, good to know you are smarter than the rest of us.

How many fuel injection swaps have you done? Just like your other worldly posts you only have small parts of the puzzle.

Edited April 3, 2018 by cdk 4219

[cdk 4219]

Engine speed. Specifically 1500-ish RPMs, but it does sound like a rattle around there when in park.

 

Oh....it's also got a partial-throttle misfire. I saw a video where that could also be causing the "rattle" which smooths out under stronger throttle.

 

Lots of those have weaker flexplates or possibly loose converter bolts, misfire would certainly exacerbate the noise. They do make slip on rockers and cab corners. These are pretty good trucks and pretty reliable.

[cdk 4219]

Could be the catalytic converter as well.