2003 Express Build

mykdee · 05-19-2017, 10:06 PM

So me & the wife picked up a 2003 Chevy Express passenger van last Saturday. Has the 6.0 with 84k miles, it is in excellent shape, other than the paint! It has the infamous Chevy peeling white paint. Luckily I work for a body shop as a PDR tech.
My goal is to build a van that I can use for work/camping & hunting. I will post pics tomorrow.
I already had wheels & tires installed the same day we bought it. I also installed sound deadener throughout the van, next will be reflectix.
Looking forward to this build!

mykdee · 05-20-2017, 12:05 PM

Here is a pic of when we bought her. We did not pay that price, we paid $4200 OTD.

Here are some before & after of the headlights.

Started doing some of the paint work Wednesday.

mykdee · 05-20-2017, 12:49 PM

WhitH · 05-20-2017, 02:09 PM

And you're off! Looks like the exact set of tires and wheels I'm running. A trip to Americas Tire I'd guess?

What are your plans for paint?

mykdee · 05-21-2017, 09:04 PM

I got a lot of work completed this weekend. I got the sound deadener & reflectix installed. Also started on my platform/drawer setup. The platform will be 7ft x 4ft, and will have a full extension 5ft & 4ft drawer on custom skate bearing sliders. Here are some pics of the what I have got done so far..

mykdee · 05-21-2017, 09:17 PM

86Scotty · 05-21-2017, 09:21 PM

Nice work! You're moving fast.

mykdee · 05-21-2017, 09:53 PM

Here is the start of my platform. I have made a few before and they usually turn out pretty good.

Here are some pics of a previous platform/drawer build I did.

Rockman · 05-22-2017, 05:11 AM

Great start and good looking drawers. Which slides and bearings are those?

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mykdee · 05-22-2017, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rockman

Great start and good looking drawers. Which slides and bearings are those?

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They are built from sealed skateboard bearings & 1"x1" steel square tubing. Very sturdy setup when completed. Each bearing is rated at 300lb capacity and at all times each drawer will be in contact with at least 12 bearings, so the weight capacity should be quite high!
Entire cost for both slides will be about $52 with tax (tubing, bearings & bolts). WAY cheaper than buying a 4ft & 5ft full length ball bearing sliders, I priced them out and they were going to be about $400+ for both! They will be just as strong, if not stronger.