Project "Great Basin G"

Over the past year I have been enjoying my 2003 G500. It has taken me on many adventures to the High Uintas, Moab, San Rafael Swell, and Yellowstone to name a few. It has preformed flawlessly both on and offroad over the past year and I have put just over 20K miles on it. The loan issue being the A/C quit working last fall and needed to be repaired. Because of the body on frame construction, solid axles, 3 select-able lockers and full coil suspension the G-500 is an excellent off-road vehicle. As with most vehicles, there is always room for improvement.


In stock form near Arches NP

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Planned improvements and modifications:

-VTS Sliders and remove running boards
-Hutchison 0492 Beadlock Wheels
-BFG Rugged Terrain 235/85R/16
-Baja Roof Rack
-HiJack lift and carrier
-CVT awning and mounting system
-CVT Roof Top Tent
-Baja Rear Ladder
-VTS lockable spare tire cover
-VTS rear hitch
-I also plan to paint the bumpers, grill, and flares matte black while addressing a few rust spots under the flares
-Orange turn signals to give it a retro look


I have already started with some of the modifications and I will post up more picks as the work progresses. All the mods should be done in the next day or two as long as my garage stays warm.

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After tearing the G all apart, I had to scratch all the fake chrome off the grill with a razor so the paint will adhere and not bubble up. This took about 3 hours to prep the grill.
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I got these bad boys the other day from Tony at Motorsports Tire and Wheel in Portland, OR.

These are the Hutchison 0492 wheels. They are very similar to the military spec wheels. I ordered these back in March. They were back ordered 6 months but they were well worth the wait.

I chose to go with the BFG Rugged Terrain 235/85R/16's because these tires suit my style of driving. I had this exact tire on my 2005 Duramax and they performed fantastic.

I was going to go with a 30mm lift but I think I like it the way it is for now.


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After removing and prepping all the parts I used Eastwood's 2K Rat Rod Black to paint the bumpers, grill and flares. Eastwood's 2K spray paint is the only ceramic 2 stage paint on the market that comes in a rattle can. It went on with ease and looks fantastic. Just be certain to use a respirator because this is nasty stuff. While I had the flares off I repaired a few rust spots under the flares with Eastwood's silver Rust Encapsulator. It was a pretty good color match.

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I got the VTS sliders installed.

I installed the Baja rear ladder

I installed the Baja roof rack

I installed the Hutchison wheels and tires.

I installed all on the painted bumpers and flares.

I installed the CVT roof top tent.

I installed the lockable wheel cover.

I installed the VTS rear hitch.

I installed the awning and HiLift and awning mounts

I still need to install the awning, HiLift and orange turn lamps

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I made it out for an adventure with the kids this weekend. It seemed to do pretty well. We definitely found mud, but the kids had a good time.


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I had a few driving impressions I noticed from my weekend expedition. I put about 300 miles on it over the weekend. First I averaged about 14.9mpg which is excellent considering the rig was loaded down with gear and I had a large roof top tent. I also noticed the rig was more top heavy because of the RTT. The RTT caused more wind noise as well. I noticed that my stopping power was influenced by the heavy beadlocks. The vehicle does not feel unsafe, but it does take longer to stop the vehicle. As far as everything else, it drives like normal. It still has adequate acceleration and it is fun to drive.
 
Nice build.

Looking forward to see everything you do to/with it.


Thank you, I have had a great time over the last two weekends getting out with the kids. The wife is too knocked up to get out. This up coming week I think we will do a camp out in Southern Utah, weather permitting.


Hopefully we see you out on the trail.
 

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