CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
phsycle,
Yeah, Raptor bumper gives me signifficantly higher approach angle than the Avi bumper even if I remove the lower wind dam and trim it.
2000 Suburban K1500 budget low lift with 37"s
- Thread starter CrazyDrei
- Start date
phsycle,
Yeah, Raptor bumper gives me signifficantly higher approach angle than the Avi bumper even if I remove the lower wind dam and trim it.
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
Front end is finally done!
Still can't believe it all came together.
This makes me smile.
Looks like a Suburban from this side.
Little bit of sunshine to show off the New England rust.
Pretty good fit and finish so far. Next step will be to add the Avi cladding.
This is the gap between the bumper and grill that will need to be filled in with trimmed Avi cladding.
Another angle of the gap. It's much smaller than it was with the old grill.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
Still can't believe it all came together.
This makes me smile.
Looks like a Suburban from this side.
Little bit of sunshine to show off the New England rust.
Pretty good fit and finish so far. Next step will be to add the Avi cladding.
This is the gap between the bumper and grill that will need to be filled in with trimmed Avi cladding.
Another angle of the gap. It's much smaller than it was with the old grill.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
Last edited:
02TahoeMD
Explorer
Dude. Wow, that looks pretty darn good. Your Raptor bumper looks almost like it came with that front clip, maybe just trim back the ends a bit and the lines will all match up. Any plans to paint the conversion to match the body or leave as is?
I admire your creativity. I don't think an Avy would ever have crossed my mind as a donor body. ?
I admire your creativity. I don't think an Avy would ever have crossed my mind as a donor body. ?
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
02TahoeMD,
Thank you, I think the Raptor bumper looks really good too, need to trim and adjust a little bit when I have the time but I think I can make it look near factory clean eventually.
When I put the Avi doors on, I will look like a zebra, cool for a day or two but not my cup of tea. I will eventually get it all one color, not sure if it will be a vinyl wrap or $100 rustolium paint roller job, might get to it in the spring.
I never considered an Avi as a donor truck either, but after 6 months of searching for a Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon, I could not find one in my color for under $1,000 that was not completely rusted out. This Avi is not perfect but I could not resist the price.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
NevadaLover
Forking Icehole
Be careful using the avi cladding, when it's really cold out that cladding is kinda fragile especially being as old as it is, branches can do a lot of damage to that stuff.Front end is finally done!
Still can't believe it all came together.
This makes me smile.
Looks like a Suburban from this side.
Little bit of sunshine to show off the New England rust.
Pretty good fit and finish so far. Next step will be to add the Avi cladding.
This is the gap between the bumper and grill that will need to be filled in with trimmed Avi cladding.
Another angle of the gap. It's much smaller than it was with the old grill.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
NevadaLover,
I definitely did not think of that, grrr. Very good point. I am still going to swap the doors out with Avi cladded doors, but will keep my doors in the garage in case I need to revert.
Thank you for the advice.
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
Breaking in the front end road trip.
Drove down to DC area and explored Great Falls of the Potomac river with the kids. We started on Maryland side.
Kids really liked the bridges to Olmstead Island falls overllook.
Panoramic view of the falls from Maryland side.
Couple tourist helicopters flew overhead as well as a few Blackhawks.
Of course the Blackhawks were the highlight of the falls for the boys!
On the way to Virginia side of the falls we stopped by Gravelly Point park, which was the closest I wanted to come to DC.
Kids spent nearly an hour watching the constant flow of airplanes taking off.
Planes are about 300ft overhead on take off and a little closer on landing approach.
Just a short drive from the airport was the Virginia side of the Great Falls of Potomac River.
On far right side of hte picture there is someone in a gray sweatshirt. That is the Maryland side overlook where we just were earlier.
Water flow is low which reveals the falls. It is difficult to believe that every few years water rises up to the overlook where I am standing completely hiding the falls under over 100 feet of water.
Next sop was to visit historic Whites Ferry.
It was much more enjoyable to take the ferry across the river than fighting DC area traffic.
Wheel house. This is also where the motor and pulley system is housed that moves the ferry back and forth along the two steel cables that stretch from bank to bank.
Sub on the ferry.
Other than the color mis-match the front end looks really good on the Sub.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
Drove down to DC area and explored Great Falls of the Potomac river with the kids. We started on Maryland side.
Kids really liked the bridges to Olmstead Island falls overllook.
Panoramic view of the falls from Maryland side.
Couple tourist helicopters flew overhead as well as a few Blackhawks.
Of course the Blackhawks were the highlight of the falls for the boys!
On the way to Virginia side of the falls we stopped by Gravelly Point park, which was the closest I wanted to come to DC.
Kids spent nearly an hour watching the constant flow of airplanes taking off.
Planes are about 300ft overhead on take off and a little closer on landing approach.
Just a short drive from the airport was the Virginia side of the Great Falls of Potomac River.
On far right side of hte picture there is someone in a gray sweatshirt. That is the Maryland side overlook where we just were earlier.
Water flow is low which reveals the falls. It is difficult to believe that every few years water rises up to the overlook where I am standing completely hiding the falls under over 100 feet of water.
Next sop was to visit historic Whites Ferry.
It was much more enjoyable to take the ferry across the river than fighting DC area traffic.
Wheel house. This is also where the motor and pulley system is housed that moves the ferry back and forth along the two steel cables that stretch from bank to bank.
Sub on the ferry.
Other than the color mis-match the front end looks really good on the Sub.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
chilliwak,
Thank you, It looks and functions great. I am still getting used to the new hood. It has different angles than my old hood and I seem to be driving 6-8" to the right of where I want to be. Hopefully I'll get back on track soon!
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
Skyline Drive, Virginia.
Anytime I am remotely close to Shenandoah I make it a point to stop by and drive Skyline Drive with my kids. Sometimes its a section sometimes it's the entire 105 miles, but every time it's a magical adventure. This time we only drove 85 miles.
One of many pullouts where we are above the clouds. And the front end looks fantastic.
One of the boys exploring a stone wall.
Think the kids are beginning to find an appreciation for all of our trips.
One minute you are in the clouds, the next there is some visibility.
Made it to the highest point on Skyline drive in a place called Skyland. Funny to think that 3,680 ft is high compared to what I'm used to on the west coast.
Always make it a point to enjoy a section of the Appalachian Trail.
Lonely tree on the side of another overlook.
Enjoying watching the clouds from Bacon Hollow Overlook.
It's magical to be above the clouds and watch them come and go.
Clouds change every couple minutes.
This view does not get old, but sadly we had more places to go and people to see.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
Anytime I am remotely close to Shenandoah I make it a point to stop by and drive Skyline Drive with my kids. Sometimes its a section sometimes it's the entire 105 miles, but every time it's a magical adventure. This time we only drove 85 miles.
One of many pullouts where we are above the clouds. And the front end looks fantastic.
One of the boys exploring a stone wall.
Think the kids are beginning to find an appreciation for all of our trips.
One minute you are in the clouds, the next there is some visibility.
Made it to the highest point on Skyline drive in a place called Skyland. Funny to think that 3,680 ft is high compared to what I'm used to on the west coast.
Always make it a point to enjoy a section of the Appalachian Trail.
Lonely tree on the side of another overlook.
Enjoying watching the clouds from Bacon Hollow Overlook.
It's magical to be above the clouds and watch them come and go.
Clouds change every couple minutes.
This view does not get old, but sadly we had more places to go and people to see.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
nitro_rat,
You are going to put non cladded Avi/silverado fenders on your Excursion? Or do you have a GM truck too? BTW, $90 for two fenders and a hood for your Excursion is a great price. I have mixed luck with FB market place and craigslist up here in New England.
nitro_rat
Lunchbox Lockers
LOL, no. Just saying that deals are out there if you keep your ear to the ground. The sheetmetal that I found was Excursion stuff. It's harder to find Eddie Bauer fender cladding than you would think. It is available new but about $300/side (pre-painted though). Probably no more difficult than finding a non-clad Avalanche.
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
nitro_rat,
Gotcha, yeah, you got quite a deal and your truck looks awesome. The only reason I went with cladded is because the entire truck was $200 and I will pull over $1,000 of parts from it before the spring. I'm always looking for deals if I'm not out adventuring.
nitro_rat
Lunchbox Lockers
Thanks!
I'm also a deal hunter. I'm trying to get the Ex back in shape as cheaply as possible. I'm basically staying stock for now and I'll only be doing "mods" if they prove to be necessary. I'm impressed with how far you're able to push the GM 1/2 ton IFS, I've scattered several of those front diffs with stock size tires! I'm looking for a Super Duty Dana 60 to ditch the Ex's Dana 50, just waiting for the right deal to come along!