so this is my first thread, Ive been on here for a while, but didn't think about posting my build as i did it. I got the truck at the beginning of the year, stock...that changed very fast!

 

this is what it looked like the night i brought it home

 

first thing to change was the camper shell

 

And just a brief summary of how I got the truck. I'm 17, and this is my first truck. superbowl sunday I had to work an opening shift at the grocery store i work at and me not having a vehicle my dad drove me to work and couldnt sleep after taking me. so he got on the internet and started looking (we had been looking for a truck for me for almost 5 months) and he found this. as soon as i got off work we drove and bought it. the guy i bought it from had all the original paperwork...and all the service records...so this was well taken care of..so i shelled out the cash for it and the adventure began!

 

so the first thing was a radio, the stock one didnt work...so i managed to find a plate for an aftermarket stereo, the only one within 50 miles of my house. heres what it looks like now.

 

so i have pretty much built the truck to how i want it, i put a pro comp lift (pics to come) and got some 31X10.50 bfg all terrains on it now...but now i want to do some engine upgrades. does anyone have any ideas on what i can do to get a little more power out of it??

 

This looks like a real nice truck,as for power options I cant suggest anything to ya...someone here will chime in though, or look at some of these guys build ups it is crazy.

 

That looks super clean. If you're willing to spend some money, check out http://www.lceperformance.com/ for engine upgrades.

I think I'd be tempted to wait on engine upgrades and spend my money on gears.

 

never thought about that..thanks!

 

so i saved my money and got a 3 inch pro comp lift...i didnt want anything too big...i really want to keep this truck clean so i figured i shouldnt jack it up too high lol. (and it wasnt as expensive!! )

 

so heres the truck now

 

sorry it didnt work... the truck looks completely different now!

 

Are those 33" BFGs? They look like they belong underneath your rig!

I think you and your Dad chose right with this truck, they're perfect for new drivers: you get to learn how to operate a manual transmission early, they're easy to work on, dependable, and you'll never, ever get a speeding ticket in one.

 

no, sadly haha. they are 31s i wanted 33s but with these i dont have to worry about rubbing as much, and i couldnt afford to re gear it at that point...and i need to be able to make it up into the hills to the fire station that i have classes at haha. but i agree, they look like they belong under my truck!

 

so i finally got around to installing an on board air kit...it comes in really handy!!

 

now i have got the truck pretty much set up...i want to get a cb for it next...any recommendations?

 

This is what I am running right now:


Its a Uniden 40-chanel radio with a hookup for a P.A. system. So far its a good little radio and Amazon has it for $55

I also used to run a Cobra 40-channel with a weather band. Was also a good radio. In my opinion I would stick with a Cobra or a Uniden, they both make good radios.



You can get them from a simple radio up to a really fancy model. Its really your choice and Amazon is a great place to look all of them. Just make sure to get one with a knob to control RF gain. This helps to protect your radio against others who have an illegally modified high output radio.

As far as a cable to run in between the radio and antenna DO NOT BE CHEAP ON THIS. You will get what you pay for. Most places have these cheap black skinny cables. Yes they work but I would spend the extra to get a high grade cable. I run a K40 brand cable, its extra thick and weatherproof.

Now for an antenna I prefer a Firestik. Its a nice solid (not very flexible) antenna that is top loaded. That means the winding is at the top of the antenna to try and get it above the tallest part of the truck. They make a bottom leaded antenna (usually looks a canister mounted around the bottom) but they typically need to be mounted on top of a vehicle for best performance. I have also had one of these that was a whip style and it was a good antenna but the chrome on it rusted in less than a year so I went back a Firestik which won't rust.

They last thing I am going to ramble about is tuning the cb/antenna setup for maximum potential. You can either have a cb that is non adjustable and an adjustable antenna in which you adjust the tip on the antenna (changes the radio wavelength) to match up with the radio. However this requires a SWR tuner to do this. This is what I have right now. The other option is to get a higher end radio that has a built in SWR adjustment and it requires no special tuners. Its fairly simple to do. If you ever get into that I can help if you need it.

Hopefully I didn't overwhelm you with all this. Me and my friends have been running cb's for about 10 years so we got pretty good at it lol. Hope this helped.

 

Dood, I'm needing a shift knob insert exactly like THAT^^ ONE. Lost mine somewhere yeaarrrs ago.
Just sayin..
Hey..like that CB too. Good looking rig you got there bud.

 

What did you do with the camper top??

Truck looks great btw! Would look awesome with some wider rims and 33x12.50s.

 

Put it back on... Pix coming soon!
Thanks bud. Yea.. Bigger rims, tires and a lift coming down the road.