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Colly Part Dos - The Silver umm.. Bullet (UPDATE 13-NOV-2014, pg 20)

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82K views 399 replies 56 participants last post by  hmmbagodden  
#1 · (Edited)
A few years back I was pretty active on the cFans forum and at the time viewed 355nation as the red-headed step child. Well, in enters life and all that business while the whole time I drove my '06 Colly, Black Betty, with impunity. If I pointed it down the highway, it went. If I pointed up snowy slopes, it went. If I pointed it towards a light pole, it attempted to demolish it with impunity (yea, that wasn't so smart). I had been good to thet truck, it had been good to me.

Fast forward to New Years. What a great weekend in the Alaskan interior. Sleds (snow machines for Lower 48ers), massive bonfire, fireworks that started shooting sideways (turns out mortars melt snow pack... who would have figured!), and food. GOOD food. At some point reality set in, and I had to head home, so I head back to my trusty steed, ~10miles away in the parking area for the cabin. It was a cold ride, about -30deg F out. BUT that's what men do, defy common sense & all brave the elements!

I unlock the doors, go to start, & nada. My beloved Black Betty, with only 39k miles on it -- how could it be?! Damn, what to do? Long story short (it's documented on here), I ended up spending another night in the Alaskan interior and rented a 150k BTU heater & tarp (15' x 40' is the perfect size!) and waited for my beloved Colly to start. I felt a lot like my license plates say. UIDIOT. But while waiting for my truck to thaw, we watched 2 other trucks decide not to start... so I didn't feel as bad.

After driving home, I fought my Colly for another 1.5-2 months until the issue was finally fixed (replaced 3 coil packs). I had been to the dealer multiple times and was getting fed up with a poorly performing truck. I troubleshot for days, for weeks! I became reacquainted with cFans, and to my surprise, the emergence of 355nation over cFans! With my new troubleshooting knowledge, Black Betty got all new fluids around, throttle body cleaning, seafoaming, etc... and it still ran rough.

This is when I started thinking about ordering a new truck. I've got new property to build a cabin on and there's a fireroad out there that's passable only in the summer; I will need to be trucking in all my own materials and well, the toys for the Alaskan wilderness are starting to accumulate. Sleds, ATVs, UTVs, you name it -- they're all on the wishlist. I had planned on upgrading my Colly with air bags to help with the squat, electric trailer brake controller, etc.. I was going to be towing at the 4000lb limit. However, with the consistent engine problems I was now wondering if I should get a new vehicle & treat it right from the beginning; I bought my Colly used and while it looked like it was treated well prior to me getting it, who could really know? If I got a new truck, I could pull the 5-6klb material loads to the cabin allowing for fewer trips.

So on one fateful morning in the first week of February, I walk into the dealer, ready to buy a truck. I'm a picky SOB, and I know what I want... ANOTHER COLORADO! Except this time with the V8 and the heated seats (noone likes cold buns). They tried to get me to buy a Silverado off the lot, but I resisted. I wanted a V8 Colly. But they didn't have any! No problem, I can order one. But you're pay more for a V8 Colly than a similar Colorado and you can tow even more. I don't care, I want a Colorado! Why? I can park it in my garage. It's easier to drive than a wider full-size on fire roads. I have parts on my existing Colly that I can transfer over. And they have V8s now, duh.

I walked out later with a paper and a little number on it -- the order number! 2012 2LT 4x4 with V8 & 4.10s. 5500GVW front, heated seats, locking tailgate (why do dealers not order these -- it's less than $25!). I can't wait!

A few weeks passed, and on March 2nd, 2012 I became the proud father of the Silver Bullet. On March 8th, it left Shreveport and started it's journey to Alaska. I'm glad that it's getting the chance to see the Lower 48 (albeit through the slots of a railcar); it's been through Little Rock, St. Louis, Des Moines, Cheyenne, Nampa, & currently sitting in Vancouver, OR. Perhaps one of you have been able to say hello -- I'm sure it wished to be on the road with the other Colorados it's seen.

The Silver Bullet is supposed to be in Seattle/Tacoma tomorrow -- from there it'll get to go on it's first cruise; hopefully it gets pampered and has great accomodations. The cruise length is about 4 days with the next departures the 23rd, 28th, or 30th, so hopefully owner & truck will get to meet within the next 1-2 weeks!

It'll be tough saying goodbye to Black Betty, but she's served me well. I'll be taking a few days to transfer a few parts over from Black Betty to The Silver Bullet before I put Black Betty up for sale; she's run very well over the past month, so I'm confident I won't be selling anyone a lemon.

I'm sure one, or two, or all of you will give me one of those it's no good without pictures emoticons, so I'll do my best & upload the life & times of Black Betty and my new adventures with The Silver Bullet. I've been excited about the new truck and I've been buying parts left & right for the new ride... so let the Build thread begin!**

I'm guessing my truck will miss the first sailing, so I'm betting on an April 1st delivery. Oh crap, what a horrible day to pick! Oh well, I'll take it anyday! Now, if the dealer rolls around a Tacoma on that day, I'm going to have to put the hurt on someone...
 
#7 ·
Re: Colly Part 2 - The Silver Bullet

Here are some Black Betty shots I had on ImageShack already, I haven't been on there for a LONG time:

My last mudding trip prior to moving up to Alaska. I still have a spot of red clay inside the driver's side vent from this trip.
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Added this the week before the 5000mi drive to Alaska. Added an aux trans cooler the day before I left (yea... procrastination)
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Snow shoot!
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More this evening.
 
#8 ·
Re: Colly Part 2 - The Silver Bullet

:thumbup:
 
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#9 ·
Re: Colly Part 2 - The Silver Bullet

And a couple more of Black Betty.

Summertime Adventures:
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New Years Fireworks - Pre-realization truck doesn't start:
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And heating the truck up, trying to get it to start. FYI, a 150k BTU heater will start melting the plastic bumper in less than a minute 18" away at ~-20 F. I took this picture right after the truck finally started -- we had the tarp all the way over the hood (it was down) and it was sealed off using the doors to hold the tarp so that the air had to exhaust out past the gas tank. I have kept that tarp in case this happens again!
Image
 
#10 ·
Re: Colly Part 2 - The Silver Bullet

Yea, yea, not a 'real' picture, but I don't have anything else (other than stacked boxes of waiting parts...). The truck finally made it to the Port of Tacoma, leaving only the boat line on a container ship to Anchorage.

Image
 
#11 ·
Today is a Big Day

It's 7.25am here and my truck should have arrived at the Port of Anchorage! There were two ships it could have been on, one with a 01:30 arrival, the second with a 07:00 arrival.

Now, who wants to place bets as to when it actually gets to the dealer? I think I'm going to be driving by the lot everyday to look for it...!

Looking forward to taking delivery -- a pictures will be a plenty, so you no-picture flamers only have a few more days to flame this post! I'll be fully-documented my build (& de-build) with potential for a couple How Tos.

I'll be taking removing the skid plates, torsion bar, 2" shackle lift, & front differential drop from Black Betty. Then comes detailing the ol' Colly, getting it all spiffed up to sell. Once I transfer license plates, it's selling time... so if anyone is interested in a Colly in Alaska, let me know!

The Silver Bullet build is awaiting the following (i.e. parts sitting in garage already):

Suspension
  • Sky-Jacker AAL for the Rear, Swapping Rancho Shocks from Existing Colly
  • Mild Torsion Bar Crank for the Front (1-1.5")
  • Front Differential Drop, Swapping from Existing Colly
Engine
  • Quick-Drain Oil Valve
  • Red-Top Optima, transferring from existing Colly (just bought new 2months ago).
  • Battery Blanket
  • Oil Pan Heater
  • 3-Way Plug for Block Heater, Battery Blanket, & Oil Pan Heater
Towing-Related
  • Air-Lift Air Bag Assist (Note: I'm using to control bed height while towing only) w/ 2" Spacers & On-Board Controller
  • Tekonsha P3 Trailer Brake Controller
  • Auxiliary Transmission Cooler (B&M)
  • Remote Transmission Filter
Interior
  • Weathertech Mats
  • Polk DBs, Front & Rear
Exterior
  • Thule Roof Rack, transferring over from existing Colly.
  • Rhino Hardline bedliner (over the rail). Only AK Line-X dealer went out of business last fall.
  • Bakflip CS Tonneau & Light-Duty Removable Ladder Rack
  • Wade Channel Vents
Lighting
  • Dual High/Low Beam
  • Select-able Fog w/ Dual High/Low Beam
  • Switch from Headlight to Marker DRLs
And in the very near future (i.e. planned):
  • PTB from SuperMod
  • Switchback Sequentials from SuperMod
  • DDM HIDs for Lows/Fogs, Debating Highs
Other than the PTB, I'm waiting to toy around with the V8 before I start modifying it further. But then again, I have to take delivery first! :th_crazy:
 
#12 ·
Teasers...

First look...
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Mileage after driving her home (~15500miles lower than any vehicle I have driven!)
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More to come, started by swapping batteries yesterday.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Re: Colly Part 2 - The Silver Bullet

After it's first night's rest, all tucked in the garage:
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Alaska's first meet since 2007... (hey, I don't have enough 355 fans up here...)
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Decided to swap the batteries -- that Red Top is only a couple months old. '12 Engine Bay:
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'06 Engine Bay (Awaiting Cleaning):
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If you couldn't tell that we had a lot of snow this year (that hung around), my work was delayed another day by yep.... more snow.
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Boxes of parts waiting for me to get some time off...
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'06 on Jackstands, Removing Skid Plates & 1/2" Diff Drop (To be Transferred to '12):
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Waiting on Finding the Right Plastic Spacer Block -- I really like the new strap to hold in the battery. Battery all wrapped up in a xxxx watt battery blanket. This will be tied into a triple tap along with the engine block heater & oil pan heater (epoxy applied).
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Returning the '06 to Stock Height (Removing 2" Shackles & Rancho 5190s are only a year old -- will use the shocks (with AAL) on '12):
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I got the dealer sealant package (underbody, paint, leather, & carpet) earlier that day, so I just had to take a few more of this sexy beast...
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Vent Visors are a Necessity IMO -- I always have the window cracked to about 5 below, then I'll shut the windows:
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It's break-up season, so I got some Weathertechs early & put them in:
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Minor Improvements for Now -- I need to get some more time off work before I can really get at it. My next steps will be putting the oil-pan heater pad on the oil pan as it'll be a heck of a lot easier to do while it's clean.

After that I have to get to cleaning up & detailing the '06 to get it ready to sell. I'll be honest, I've had that truck for 5 years, I'm having separation anxiety already (here she is, back to stock height...)

Image







​
 
#15 ·
Re: Colly Part 2 - The Silver Bullet

The work continues, I had a free evening so I pulled the drop-in bedliner from the '12 Colly and placed it in the old one, which had a rubber bed mat previously. Here's the old Colly's bed prior, some wear BUT no rust (phew); I actually found one of the bed's ribs was dented in, it's amazing what the mats hide:
Image


After finishing the swap -- '06 Colly has a plastic bedliner & I reinstalled the Undercover tonneau (Bakflip sitting in the garage for the '12). Lesson learned, MARK exactly where the plates were installed when you take the mounts off. I had taken them off and had figured I would use the 'dirt shadows' to put them back--that was a GREAT idea until I decided to rinse & wash the bed...
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Took THE Silver Shit (still haven't chosen the nickname...) to get a spray-in yesterday; the only Line-X dealer in Alaska closed shop ~4-5 months ago from what I can tell, so I went with the Rhino Hardline. Top quality job by the guys at Total Truck Accessories:
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In anticipation of installing the Bakflip, I drilled 2x 1" holes closer to the bed corners for the drain hoses so the bedliner would cover the exposed metal edges; I was rushing and didn't bother to double-check where I was drilling to let the water drain into... right into a boxed frame member of the bed. LUCKILY it's open on both sides so no water will pool up. I was debating about drilling holes further up on the sides of the bed but opted for better drainage on the bed floor.
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Well that's it for now, it looks like my first day off since late-February will be next week (last minute travel for training delayed it... argh) and I'm ready to do more wrenching. Placed an order for DDM HIDs today for Lows & Fogs and picked up a pair of PIAA Ultrawhites/ultrabrights (whatever they're called) for the highs -- I still want to be able to flash my highs.
 
#17 ·
Black Betty Wax

I clay-barred & waxed the body (paint) only. Since I'm waiting on DMV to swap plates, I'm still a few weeks out from selling Black Betty, at which time I'll give her a nice wash, clay bar on a few areas, and some additional wax on 'high-wear' areas. Here's the results:

Image
 
#18 ·
Bakflip Tonneau

I wanted another tonneau cover... but not a hard top because while it's nice to stand on from time to time, I got more annoyed having to take it off when I had tall items in the bed. In my search, I found the Bakflip CS (Contractor Series); it's a Bakflip HD with a 'light-duty' ladder rack. I'm going to be putting my roof rack back on the truck, and my intention is to use the ladder rack to help stabilize longer canoes & kayaks. Well, enough talk and a bit more pictures:

Boxes await...
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When installing -- test-fit everything first and figure out where it needs to be shimmed. Our bed rails slope to the outside of the bed and Bakflip request that you use a hard plastic shim to keep the Bakflip rails from sloping too far over; I wasn't very happy with that test it (the shim really needs to be angled) and after some pondering, I decided to go out & buy 1/4" & 3/8" foam weather-stripping to seal the rails (the rubber on the outside wouldn't seal against the spray-in bedliner as well). Oh yea, mark with pencil where to put the weather-stripping... another part of that test-fitting strategy.
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Finished Product - Assembly wasn't too bad. The ladder rack is suprisingly sturdy for being supported by the bed rails; however, my first few loads will be with part of it secured to my roof rack.
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And Closed. There is A LOT of flexibility in moving parts around, shimming etc.. I'll probably let the rails 'settle' under load & re-shim to get the best seal possible. My only concern is how all this rubber will perform in -20 to -35 deg F...
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With the cover open, the middle 'rest' can be positioned so that it sits against the upper rubber on the sliding window... perfect!
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I'll have to get a better picture, but here's how I routed the drain lines (if you go back to a previous post in this thread, I drilled additional holes in the bed prior to the bedliner being sprayed to accommodate the full drain hose diameter). You can barely see the lines at the inner corners of the bed:
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I'll let you know how it works. Since I get to garage this baby still and half the winter the precipitation is frozen, I'm not too concerned about leaks... but we'll see regardless.

:th_woot:
 
#19 ·
Supermod Arrives to the Rescue

Courtesy of Supermodulation (& the USPS), I found some goodies at my door last week...

PTB FTW! Now I just need everything else done before a re-tune!

New vs. Old (Left vs. Right) - Hard to see all that he's milled down, but there was some work put into this.
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Installed!
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The verdict? Since I only have ~ 100mi on the engine, I haven't really butt dyno-ed it but once or twice. However, after driving the 3.5L for so many years, everything is an improvement... once I finish installing some more engine goodies in the coming year and I get a true tune, I'm sure I'll be really thankful for this addition.


And the SSSLD4s... great! I don't have video, so pretend this is a video...
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Supermod did a great job; his work is top notch -- I look forward to ordering more products from him in the future. I haven't converted my DRL to the markers yet, but I'll be working on that hopefully this weekend. Regardless, the SSSLD4s look great in a 'traditional' low-beam DRL truck.
 
#20 · (Edited)
P3 Trailer Brake Controller Installation

And last, P3 brake controller installation. Wasn't that bad, just the wires underneath are a pain to work with since you pretty much have to lay on your back (will probably be submitting a How-To for my installation). Here's the finished product:

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And the cable-routing I chose:
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Alright, well a few more items scratched off my list... I have a few more things I'm working on right now. To be updated...
 
#22 ·
Re: Colly Part 2 - The Silver Bullet

Dorgie said:
awesome thread but i cant see more then half the pics:(
Click to expand...
Hmm, are they just taking too long to load or are you getting the dreaded red 'X'? All my pictures are hosted on imageshack and I may need to upgrade my membership with them if I'm exceeding bandwidth.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Mil-Spec Terminal Upgrade

After having to resurrect my '06 this past winter I learned just how absolutely shit the stock terminals are for connecting jumper cables. I knew that I wanted upgraded terminals, but how to do it?

I decided on the Mil-Spec terminals because of their relative ease & I found a decent price (including shipping) for a set. There are other threads on adding Mil-Spec terminals but they don't take into account the side-exit terminals that came stock on my '12 and the harness cables aren't long enough to easily do the existing Mil-Spec style mod (see this thread: How to Replace Stock Terminals with Milspec Heavy Duty Terminals).

So I decided to attempt to retrofit the stock terminals to accept the Mil-Spec terminals by doing the following. First off, to make things easier I did this over the engine bay BUT threw down a heavy felt pad over the battery & then a sheet to catch any debris. Then...

Drill a hole large enough for the Mil-Spec terminal bolt (7/16" I believe I used):
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Cut off the accessory bolt:
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Do a little bendage action:
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Do some cutting & melting to modify the Mil-Spec terminal covers. I didn't take my time to get my propane torch temperature just right so there is some burnage.
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And some minor assemblage:
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And finally some installationage:
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Please note that I showed you the positive terminal modification, the negative didn't come out as pretty, particularly the way I cut the Mil-Spec terminal cover. Unfortunately the terminal covers don't sit as 'squarely' & 'neatly' as I wish, so I'll probably throw a zip tie to keep it seated squarely once I'm doing with my electrical mods. I will also do hit up the terminals with some solder to better improve the connection since I won't be replacing the battery cables in the near future.
 
#24 ·
Re: Colly Part 2 - The Silver Bullet

Missed this post.
Nice to see the new truck's home. I'd love a V8 and you've posted a nice history of the truck.

(Tree's are just starting to leaf out here....your pics from the 1st look like they could have been taken here. Our yard glaciers were slow to retreat this year)
 
#25 ·
Re: Colly Part 2 - The Silver Bullet

SpindlyJim said:
Missed this post.
Nice to see the new truck's home. I'd love a V8 and you've posted a nice history of the truck.

(Tree's are just starting to leaf out here....your pics from the 1st look like they could have been taken here. Our yard glaciers were slow to retreat this year)
Click to expand...
Yard glaciers -- that's a good term, I'm going to have to incorporate that into my vocabulary. We got some 130+ inches of snow this past winter -- about double our average -- but we had a very quick break-up (actually, an abnormally quick one). I can finally report that the last of the snow in our yard melted a couple days ago and the trees started leafing out this past weekend... summer time!
 
#26 ·
Skyjacker AAL & Air Lift Bag Installation

Keeping this thread up to date is a lot harder than I thought.

Ohk, installed the Skyjacker AAL over a week ago, here's a pic of that install (the TBs were not cranked when I took this picture). The rear was lifted from ~37.25" fender height to ~40" with the AAL.

Image


Additionally, since I was working with the AAL, I went ahead & installed the Air Lift bags (just not plumbed in). I used a 2" spacer kit and instead of installing on the bottom, I installed on the top & modified the interior of the spacers to make room for the 90 degree polyflow fitting coming out of the top of the bag.

Image


Here's what else I've done (will get pictures up):
  • Torsion Bar Crank (~1.5")
  • Front Differential Drop (0.5")
  • Air Lift Load Controller II Compressor Mount
  • Volant CAI
  • Dual High/Low Mod
  • Convert Low Beam to Marker DRL
  • High/Low/Fog Mod Retaining the Factory Fog Switch

By the end of the week, I wish to have the following done because I'll be making a drive up to my property north of Anchorage (first attempt for the year):
  • Air-Lift Lines Plumbed to Compressor (prevent getting any water in lines)
  • Skid Plate Reinstall (don't want to screw anything up)

On top of all of this, I have the following lined-up:

Air Lift
  • Control Switch/Pressure Gauge Mount (on top of dash tucked in RH corner)
  • Low Pressure Solenoid Under Dash (Access in Footwell)
  • Finish Plumbing All Lines to Compressor & 'Fire It up!'

Transmission (waiting to ~500 miles):
  • Corvette & OD Super Servos (waiting in garage)
  • Sonnax Boost Valve (last piece ordered, currently shipping here)
  • Remote Transmission Filter (tentative idea where to mount)
  • B&M Transmission Cooler (waiting in garage)
  • Transmission Temperature Gauge Install on Dash

HID Install
  • 55W 5000K Low-Beams
  • 55W 5000K Fog Lights
  • Relays for Each, Yadda Yadda
  • PIAA Halogen Bulbs for High Beams

Help Fund Supermod's Retirement Order (what I'm thinking for now)
  • Truck Bed Under the Rail Lighting
  • Dome Light
  • Footwells
  • Underhood Light
  • Tonneau 'Loading so Illuminate Behind the Truck' Lights

:th_woot::th_woot::th_woot::th_woot::th_woot::th_woot::th_woot::th_woot::th_woot::th_woot:
 
#28 ·
Re: Colly Part 2 - The Silver Bullet

Supermodulation said:
New truck looks great and I like all the CLEAN mods your doing. Very professional!:salute:
Click to expand...

Thanks Supermod, I'll take that as a pretty big complement coming from you.

Since I intend on keeping this truck for a while, I want to take my time installing everything clean; it's frustrating at times (I spend ~ 25min yesterday evening crawling underneath the truck trying to figure the best route for the Air Lift lines to the engine bay) because it's always easier to slap it up there. BUT if I can get it installed correctly with all lines run out of the way, hopefully that'll equate to less troubleshooting of broken mods in the future.
 
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