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CLEETUS V: '01 Sibberado


zeitgeist57

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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!

 

Gracias senor. Been loving driving this thing almost daily, especially with a few minor fixes. It starts SO easily now. :)

 

The Good:

- Modern! Working A/C, stereo system, large 4-wheel disc brakes, etc...

 

Overrated.

 

- "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.

 

Let's go. From a dig. Only to, like, 45-50 though. 3 speed and such.

 

- Rust repair. The back bumper is hilarious; will get a rollpan for that.

 

You REALLY hate rear bumpers on trucks, don't you. :lol:

 

Try to make this thing last as long if not longer than my time with Cleetus IV.

 

Lemme know when you want to sell V. ;)

 

Music would be nice, as I had a broken AM radio in my '82 Ford.

 

Meh. I just sing along with the exhaust notes.

 

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.

 

 

I liked the last Cleetus, but I get that some creature comforts are a nice perk.

 

Creature comfort trucks are dumb, you wimpy housing-development cucks.

 

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

 

:nono: Protect your door locks Clay. Learn from past McSteaks.

 

SIDEBAR: CDK/Geeto, take it to PMs please. Don't mess up Clay's build thread. I'd actually like to be able to read/follow this one. Thanks.

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Nice, interested in following the process. Maybe we can have a rust repair day, I've got a bit hiding behind the doors that I want to keep from getting worse.

Now I have to get used to hiding from a whole new truck when it pulls in my driveway!

 

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

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Bumper wasn't rusty, or just really rusty...what was amazing was how FAST it rusted out. Just within a couple of months it went from cancerous to gaping holes.

UGnarHPl.jpg

 

Kept an eye on rollpans through eBay and Amazon...ended up getting a Goodmark ProEFX 18ga-steel pan for $65 shipped on eBay. Comes with license plate light and plate hardware!

KhYc7oul.jpg

Just a test-fit for now. I've got shit in the back of Cleetus that needs scrapped :lol:

 

I mentioned in an earlier thread the SPEAKERS...I must be getting pretty old if 2-channels on a factory '01 GM headunit sounds great through Spotify and a Bluetooth FM modulator :)

yw2z0nAl.jpg

 

Also was looking at grille options, since I HATED the base-model argent/black grille with no brightwork. I've got some wheels/tires to put on that will require a little shine on the front.

I liked some of the factory chrome grilles off of Tahoes/Suburbans from the same era, but any junkyards wanted over $100 for good ones. The aftermarket has some chrome options from $80-$200, but shipping either from eBay, RockAuto, or Amazon would've been $30-50....and NONE of them had good reviews in terms of quality of construction (plastic tabs broken off, material is brittle) or the chrome doing well (peeling).

Plus, the Chevy Bowtie was corroded under the plastic, and that was a $15-30 fix. Again, just trying to keep it clean and custom...why not just spray it for $4? Nothing really to lose and it'll be OEM quality underneath.

F3OheMil.jpg

 

Taped off the center bar on the factory grille.

 

VLdvh7ml.jpg

 

Weather was beautiful today! Used a simple shiny-metallic spray paint, and helped the application by heating the can with a heat gun.

 

euTzz85l.jpg

 

I also used the heat gun to flash over each coat. The results turned out great for the cost, time, and effort involved! More pics to come...

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Still in storage...should be getting it out this week.

 

 

 

 

 

Now that Spring decided to get it's fucking act together.

 

Storage? But it was out when I was there and that was dead in the middle of winter. :wtf::lol:

 

Ready for warm cruisin' days. Linc would be great for that.

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Storage? But it was out when I was there and that was dead in the middle of winter. :wtf::lol:

 

Ready for warm cruisin' days. Linc would be great for that.

 

Yeah...I was late getting it INTO storage...it was sometime in Fecesember.

 

Anywho...another day, another $22/shipped part :)

 

aGHrNwql.jpg

 

AAAANND the big reveal of the grille painting with clear parking lights. Looks 10x better..and fall for less than $30!!! I’m loving this truck. :cool:

 

ZmWPyJxl.jpg

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While I am trying to keep the mods cheap, the rusty steelies and old tires needed to go. No chrome wheelcovers can help this thing!

 

T6TdXHil.jpg

 

Big THANKS to Tom who gave me a great deal on these 20” HRE 546’s and tires he had on his Denali. The old tires had a couple of separated treads, so highway speeds were not only dangerous but it felt like the entire truck was shaking apart. Now, it rides amazingly, grips well and stops surely. Very happy with the investment!

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Those wheels should be worth more then the truck. Don't get me wrong With like them, but they certainly deviate from the image of "Cleetus".

 

Agreed, Scott. Because the wheels are way off the rest of the “budget build”, I can only say that Cleetus V is more about inexpensive fixes, simple style mods, and keeping it clean. The wheels were definitely the most expensive part of the build

 

Here’s my rationale:

1) it was a rare opportunity to get an amazing wheel deal from a guy I know.

2) even new 255-75-16s would’ve been around $400 cheap...and that would’ve been on groce steelies.

3) I also got the truck cheap, so total package price (with HRE’s) still puts me cheaper than getting something off the street at used truck market rates.

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Looks good. Polish those headlights and fix the ride height and it will be amazing.

 

I spent 3 minutes on the headlights with a rag and polish. I will definitely give it more elbow grease when the weather gets better, or i’ll Spring $55 for another set on eBay.

 

Aside from maintenance and rust/paint repair, the 2/4 drop is the last thing on the list. :)

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Ha, what a plot twist with those HREs from Tom!

 

From my perspective, the truck needs a matching front set of black flares, and the center trim piece you painted silver, has to go. I'd paint it black, like the rest of the grill, and leave the Chevy badge the silver you did.

 

I'm not into lowering the trucks like you are, but it should look good.

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Good eye on the fender flare...I don’t know why the cheapie Silverados had only one pair of fender flares in the rear, but they are definitely going BYE-BYE (not adding fronts). It’s got some industrial-beefy mud flaps that are staying. I’m taking a heat gun to the emblems as well on the sides and tailgate.

 

I like the silver. For this era, the big front end styling touch Chevy used was that full-width bar splitting the grille and lights....if I painted it black I feel like something would be missing with the silver headlights/parking lights “floating” on the front fascia. My take of course...I respect your opinion.

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