Trick Transformation | Revamping an Older Chevy With a 7-Inch Lift and New Shoes

Buying a new truck might sound tempting, but there are alternatives that can get you more for less. Sure, we’d all like a brand-new pickup, but once you blow your wad on a high-priced truck, you usually have nothing left to make it look cool. Who wants to drive a truck that looks like the rest? Besides, it sucks to dump a bunch of coin into a truck that will ultimately depreciate.

Throughout the years, we’ve learned that sometimes it’s wiser to snag something older than to buy new. Recently, we were in need of a daily driver and trucks are always handy for hauling tools and parts. We had a budget of less than $10K and knew that not only could we purchase a truck for that much, but we’d have plenty left over to restyle it, as well. If you’re savvy with a set of tools, you can easily improve on a stock truck.
Our search was on for a 1999-2006 Chevy Silverado, and it took some time to shuffle through the many bogus or expired online ads. One thing that can drive the price up or down is the mileage racked up on an older truck. After finding a few good candidates, we made some calls and met up with quite a few sellers. Of course, they always up-sell what they have, and you should make sure you get a solid vehicle.

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The Lift Kit

Here is the 7-inch lift kit we got from Summit (P/N EXP-K1078BMX). The main components are lift spindles, coil springs, cross members, compression bars, lift blocks with U-bolts, add-a-leaf, MX-6 monotube adjustable shocks and all necessary hardware.

We discovered this ’03 2WD Chevy Silverado 1500 (NBS Chevy) for $3K that had around 150K miles on the engine and a rebuilt transmission with only 1K miles on it. The truck was well used and the paint was plenty scratched. We weren’t worried, though, because the truck was easily wrapped in custom metallic red to make it stand out. We spent another few hundred bones on things like exterior lighting and fender flares.
But what’s a custom truck without some sort of height-altering suspension? Though the truck had a mild lift kit, we wanted to mob the streets with a more serious lift. We decided on a Pro Comp 7-inch lift and discovered that Summit Racing Equipment offered competitive pricing. Though Summit has a reputation for having a large stock of performance parts, the company also has plenty of other products like exterior styling, mobile electronics, tools and pretty much anything else you need to revamp any truck.

Tearing Down the Front

We started by lifting the truck and resting it on a set of jack stands before taking off the wheels. We removed the front brake calipers and hung them on the frame by a set of cable ties.

Since the truck had a new look and was getting a taller stance, new wheels and tires were a must. After searching for off-road-style wheels, we took note of some new offerings from Black Rhino Wheels. We wanted to go oversized and picked up a set of 20×10-inch Selkirk wheels. To keep traction on the pavement and dirt, we chose a set of Falken Wildpeak A/T3W in 285/55R20 (33×11.5-inch). These are great all-season tires that are also good for rugged terrain and severe snow conditions, which is especially useful for anyone who lives in higher elevations with frequent surprise snowfalls. We were impressed by the tread design; they are very aggressive for an all-terrain tire. Once they were attached to the truck, we could vouch that traction was great on multiple surfaces and road noise on the highway wasn’t distracting.

Once we had collected all of the parts, we were ready to tackle the lift. To keep costs down, we took the job into our own hands. We did the lift in the luxury of our own driveway using simple hand tools, a drill, jack and stands. Afterwards, our beater truck shone like a bright, new penny.

The Torx head bolt holding the rotor was removed, and then the rotor was pulled off and set aside.

We removed the front sway bar end links to free up
the suspension.

First, the front shocks were removed by unbolting the top nuts and the lower bolts. Then the shocks dropped out from under the control arms.

The lower ball joints were loosened but not removed. The tie rods were disconnected from the spindles.

While the spindles were still in place, the wheel hubs were removed and the ABS sensors were released and unplugged.

The upper and lower ball joint nuts were undone so that the spindles could be removed.

The coil springs were removed by pulling the lower control arms down. You can use a crowbar to keep them out of the way when the springs pop out. To increase safety further, use a coil compressor.

Part of how this kit delivers the 7-inch lift is by dropping the lower control arms down. They were removed to make way for the new cross members.

The bump stops were the last parts that needed to be removed from the front.

Getting High

The wheel hubs were attached to the lift spindles with OE bolts.

The front and rear cross members were installed on the frame using the OE bolts for the lower control arms.

The cross member braces were put in place with two bolts up front and a nut placed on the threaded part of the back end.

The new bump stops were attached to the new rear cross members.

The lower control arms were attached to the new cross members and these brackets for the compression struts were installed with the hardware for the rear mounts.

The factory bushings were added to the new coil springs before they were put in place. We used a hydraulic jack to move the lower arm up to keep the spring secure. If the truck’s height is off by 3⁄8-½-inch, you can use the included coil spacer.

To lock it all in, the new spindles were attached to the upper and lower ball joints with the factory nuts. The ABS sensor wires can be plugged in and secured to the upper control arms.

If you try to hook up the sway bar, it won’t work unless you unbolt it and flip it upside down. Then, you can attach it with the new end links and hardware.

The tie rods were connected with the factory castle nuts, and cotter pins were used to keep them from loosening.

The brake rotors and calipers were easily reinstalled. The front brake lines can be attached to the upper control arms using cable ties.

The new MX-6 shocks were bolted in place, and the stiffness was adjusted by turning the knobs on the body.

The bushings were lubricated before being placed in the ends of the compression struts. Then the sleeves were tapped into the holes with a mallet.

The compression struts were secured on the front mounts with the angled ends up front so that we could determine where the rear mounts needed to be installed. Then a hole was made on each side to bolt the rear mounts on this cross member.

Once the holes were drilled, these nut plates were slid in the holes for the rear mount bolts to grab onto.

The struts were bolted to the rear brackets.

Bumping up the Rear

Though the truck was on stands, we placed another set under the rearend and removed the shocks.

The rearend was unbolted from the leaf springs before the springs were removed. The kit requires that you break the leaf packs apart and add a leaf to the pack before reinstalling them.

Blocks were placed between the leaf springs and the rearend. The new U-bolts were put in place, and a new set of nuts was used to tighten them down.

These brackets were used to drop the factory bump stops down. A drop bracket is also included for the rear brake lines; it will prevent the lines from being overextended.

The rear MX-6 shocks were bolted on the rear. The ride firmness can be adjusted now, too.

The Final Say

Before the truck was placed back on the ground, we bolted up our Selkirk Black Rhino wheels with Falken Wildpeak A/T3W tires. The 20×10 no-lip concave black wheels definitely complemented the new look of this truck. The 22-inch Falken tires were surprisingly great for driving in various road conditions. The Wildpeak AT3Ws make some noise at highway speeds versus factory tires, but they are quieter than others we’ve experienced. We really liked the aggressive tread design. The tires worked well for this truck, which is driven daily and sees occasional off-road use.

The truck really looks completely different standing tall. Because we purchased a used truck, we were able to create a daily driver that has some serious style. Buying used and working a transformation like this is worth considering as an alternative to buying new.