BAD AIM 2003 Z71 Suburban

[Lykos]

Hi all.

I just picked up a white 2003 Z71 Burb and have decided it's going to replace both my XJ and my 96 Suburban for camping and daily driver duties.

The name BAD AIM comes from my license plate. Not only do I think these white Z71s look like Imperial stormtroopers but I'm also a bit of a firearms training nut. I uber this beast on the weekends and my fares get a kick out of the license plate.



At the moment it's bone stock with a freshly rebuilt and warrantied transmission, 5.3, LS interior and 3.73 gears with rear G80. I never knew how flaky my 96's g80 is until I drove a truck with a properly functioning locker!


The plan is pretty simple. Get a little rust removed from the rear drivers quarter panel, replace the drivers leather seat covers, install just enough lift that I can fit some 33's under it, throw some stuff in the back and go drive the dang thing!

I'm looking for advice on the lift at the moment. If someone asked me what the sweet spot is on an XJ I'd say 3" with 31s. You can do that without needing to change too much and with a skilled driver and a locker it will get you %99 of the places you need to go.
So what's the sweet spot on a Z71? I'm reading that with a few turns on the torsion bars that a 285 70 17 will fit easily. And, with keys and a spacer a 295 will fit. How high do you go before you have to start seriously changing suspension parts?
Anyone have any experience, off road, with these combinations?
I'm on the east coast so I'm all about fire roads and occasionally, if I can't avoid it, mud. No rock crawling for me.

I'll post pics soon and will update this thread as I get things done. Thanks!

 

[03tahoe]

Welcome to the GMT800 group (aka Suburban mafia)! From the sounds if it you've got stock 17" Z71 rims and would like to keep them. With that I would say go for the 285/70R17. They will fit great, work fine with the 3.73 gears, and are widely available. Check out other folks build threads on GMT800 trucks/SUV on this forum for some ideas. I've also got a build thread on my 2003 Tahoe at: http://northwestoverland.com/forums/topic/2003-tahoe/

 

[XJLI]

285/70s fit on my Z71 1500 Silverado without cranking the tbars, just lots of trimming of the plastic wheel well liners.. which coming from a XJ you should be plenty comfortable with! I did end up cranking them two turns for the look and they barely rub now, only reversing at full steering lock.

 

[Lykos]

Thanks! That builds looks great!

Yeah, I like the snowflake wheels but wouldn't mind a set of black wheels to add to the stormtrooper look of the Bumble. That's a can of worms I can wait to open though.

(My tags say BAD AIM. Only Star Wars geeks will get it. LoL)

 

[Lykos]

Is that on stock rims?

Yes, XJ owners know their Sawzall well. They also know how to change sensors in the mud and overheat on the morning commute. #xjlife


I'll never get rid on my old Jeep though. It's been a good rig.

 

[XJLI]

I have some american racing aftermarket wheel with a little less backspacing than stock.

 

[Martinjmpr]

285/70/17 (32.7" nominal diameter) will probably fit stock. Nice thing about the GMT-800 is that it is super easy/cheap to lift. You can put a very good lift on it for under $400 and do all the work in your driveway** and most of that cost, about $320 of it, is high quality shocks. I used Bilstein 5100's at ~ $80/ea. The rest of the lift parts are stupid cheap. Keys should be around $35, spacers maybe $40 - $50. If you want to opt for new springs in the back that's another $60 or so. I'd go for extended sway bar links, too, that adds another $10 to each corner.
.
They're great rigs, all things considered. The space can't be beat (see my tag line!) Sounds like you've rebuilt the one major component that is known to be weak (the 4L60 transmission) so you should be good to go for a long time. Welcome to the Mafia!
.

** I say 'do it in your driveway' - unless your keys are rusted in place like mine were. I ended up taking mine to a shop where they charged me about $150 to use a power hammer to knock the old keys loose and install the new ones.

 

[rayra]

yeah, welcome aboard. See the first two links in my sig for lots of relevant info on GMT800 mods and repairs. And the index of sorts of the rest of our 'Suburban Mafia'

/I'm just using Yokohama A/T-S 265/70-17 (stock size) tires on my '02 Z72 k1500, with aftermarket keys and 2" spacers in the rear, gets me a bit over 14" under the frame and is serving me well for my sedate 'off road' driving style.

You might consider some tires more suited to mud & snow, in your region. My GeoLanders work well enough, but I rarely hit anything like the 'gumbo' of the South or Mid-Atlantic States. For when you can't avoid it.

 

[Lykos]

285/70/17 (32.7" nominal diameter) will probably fit stock. Nice thing about the GMT-800 is that it is super easy/cheap to lift. You can put a very good lift on it for under $400 and do all the work in your driveway** and most of that cost, about $320 of it, is high quality shocks. I used Bilstein 5100's at ~ $80/ea. The rest of the lift parts are stupid cheap. Keys should be around $35, spacers maybe $40 - $50. If you want to opt for new springs in the back that's another $60 or so. I'd go for extended sway bar links, too, that adds another $10 to each corner.
.
They're great rigs, all things considered. The space can't be beat (see my tag line!) Sounds like you've rebuilt the one major component that is known to be weak (the 4L60 transmission) so you should be good to go for a long time. Welcome to the Mafia!
.

** I say 'do it in your driveway' - unless your keys are rusted in place like mine were. I ended up taking mine to a shop where they charged me about $150 to use a power hammer to knock the old keys loose and install the new ones.

You echo what I've learned in my research on the lift. Though a lot of that was written by mall crawlers hence me asking again here on Expo. I know you guys actually get your trucks dirty.
Having a warranty on the tranny does give me peace of mind. The rust is driving me nuts but better in Virginia that's just life with a GMT 800.

 

[Lykos]

yeah, welcome aboard. See the first two links in my sig for lots of relevant info on GMT800 mods and repairs. And the index of sorts of the rest of our 'Suburban Mafia'

/I'm just using Yokohama A/T-S 265/70-17 (stock size) tires on my '02 Z72 k1500, with aftermarket keys and 2" spacers in the rear, gets me a bit over 14" under the frame and is serving me well for my sedate 'off road' driving style.

You might consider some tires more suited to mud & snow, in your region. My GeoLanders work well enough, but I rarely hit anything like the 'gumbo' of the South or Mid-Atlantic States. For when you can't avoid it.

Dude I've read your build threads over and over. I love your rig! A lot of my inspiration comes from your truck!
Respect...

 

[rayra]

hah, thanks. Avoid my mistakes. Spend more money than I do, I'm a cheap bastard. I've got too many hobbies to do any of them properly. And a lot of my custom stuff is a work in progress / experimental in nature. It's never 'finished', I just abandon it and move on to something else.
So many things I need to re-visit on my Sub. I've got 'project' stuff stacked around my ears in my garage. MkII Awnings; a fabric roof rack cover / trampoline idea / proof of concept; Sleeping platform upgrades and ceiling HD monitor for dash DVD player expansion; HAM radio and more antenna gear; rooftop deck mounting of a folding solar panel kit; and an aluminum plate / second skin project for that huge exposed gas tank we all have. And I still haven't properly finished off my transmission cooler upgrade install (it's working awesome, though)

 

[tbisaacs]

285/70r17 will fit a z71 stock!

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[Lykos]

285/70r17 will fit a z71 stock!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Any lift on that?

 

[tbisaacs]

Stock ride height + Bilstein 5100s.

 

[Lykos]

I now have a timeline and list of priorities for BAD AIM. I've bought my tickets for Floydfest in July. That means I need the habitat portion of this build habitable by then. I also will need tires for state inspection by the end of July as well. I've decided on BFG KO2s 285 70r17 C rated with a key and spacer lift.
Hopefully. Uber tips will continue to be good.

The typical gmt800 instrument cluster issues started about a month ago. Today I got my new IC from www.fixmygauges.Com and I'm very pleased! They send you the new dash with a return label and you send them your old dash for core. No driving around without gauges waiting on yours to be fixed!


I also picked up a couple of good deals on coolers last week. One is a Yeti 45 I got from a friend for $70 and the other an Indel tb51 12v fridge for less than $375 shipped to the door from a fellow Expo member!



I also grabbed this Coleman two burner propane stove off Craigslist for $20.



I've got a liquor bottle (Bullit Rye) full of cash tips that is my awning fund. I'm hoping to score an ARB 2500. If you see any really good deals please let me know. I will also pick up a rear lift gate awning. I want and need this rig to be as versatile as possible. In the woods you can spread out abd make what you have work. At festivals you're given a spot and that's that.


I'm still fixing little bugs and have yet to have the rust and bumper repaired. I have a new Ebay bumper sitting in the garage. The PO trashed the original. They're cheap enough but I'm no body man so the burb, bumper and it's rust go to the body shop next month.

Hopefully by the next post I'll have a second battery installed and will be able to post pics of the process.

Thanks for reading my chilly April evening ramblings.

Chad