Alright folks, let's try this again with some updates. I figured Amazon pictures would work as a host for my pics, but I guess not - oh well, continuing this thread with Photobucket!:
This is what I started with: the vehicle was just a pretty stock manual XE model. It had some pretty bad rust spots on the rockers that needed to be re-worked. Thought about buying just some slip-on rockers, but decided that it would be good to have a little experience with patch panels. As you can tell, the rust wasn't HORRIBLE, but it definitely needed to be repaired. Once everything was welded up, I used some paintable caulk to seal the gaps between the rocker and the fender.
And same thing on the driver's side (featuring some fiberglass filler):
I had to sand the hood down to metal (practically everywhere), as the rock chips had started light rusting:
I bought some new rims for it. Just some standard Chevy six-lug rims, wrapped with 33's. These were the tires that came with the rims. Super worn out, so I decided to get some new rubbers. I went with a 32x11.5 tire, in hopes that it would fit under the fenders a bit better. I love how tiny the stock wheels look compared to the 33's. Ha!
And the new tires (featuring my ominous shadow):
Next up was the painting process. Yes, I painted this in my driveway. Definitely a 'redneck' way of painting, but I think it turned out pretty well! Used a House of Kolor primer/sealer, and painted the inner door jams and inner doors first:
Once the "interior paint" was done, I put the doors back on, and put everything relatively back together so that I could focus on exterior paint. Again, primed/sealed the body with the HoK and used TCP Global Ginger Metallic for the single-stage enamel. I highly recommend that paint. This is the second time I've used their paint, and have had absolutely no complaints about them (though I often am found complaining about the guns or some dust - or in this case, a wasp - that found it's way into the paint):
Once the paint was on, it was time to focus on sound. Replaced the stock 5x7 speakers with CT sounds speakers. The head unit was replaced with a Pioneer MVH-S310BT Bluetooth stereo (so that I could jam out to some AC/DC and Dynazty on Spotify, of course). I did a professional wire kit (none of this through-the-fender-and-doorjam bs) and slapped my old Sony sub paired with a Volfenhag amp. It's an old setup, and isn't the loudest or proudest, but I still love that combo. I don't have many pictures of the sound system, sorry.
After that, it was time to move on to coating the frame with POR15 paint. I should have taken pictures of myself on this one, because it was a sight to behold. Let me tell you something: that POR15 will take a layer of skin off if you try to peel it off too soon. Which is very problematic when you get it on your whole body (including face). Highly recommend that stuff, but highly recommend not getting any on you or anything you don't wish to be permanently black.
Once all that was done, I moved on to getting the wheels/tires. sandblasted and powdercoated (charcoal grey) the rims. That was a miserable experience. I highly recommend taking items in to be sandblasted. I had sand in crevices on my body that I didn't even know I had. And once those were on, the fun began of mounting the bumpers. The rear bumper was no problem. The front bumper, though, was a challenge. The 3" bumper relocation brackets that were sold in the kit had to be fairly heavily modified in order to fit. Oh well - that's part of the fun, right? I also fabricated a new rear license plate holder, as the old one wouldn't fit with the bumper and lift kit.
And one of the final steps I had was the shift boot. As you all are probably well-aware, the stock boots don't work well with a lift kit. So to remedy this, I bent the 4x4 shifter, but left the manual shifter as is. I originally thought I could use a larger sewn boot (3rd picture) and tuck under the carpet. However, that looked a bit ridiculous, so I went a different route: cut a diamond plate sheet and bent it to match the curvature of the well. I then sewed the shift boot from faux gator skin, used a screw-in grommet on the top (as a finisher), and bought some new knobs. Behold, the shift boot shenanigans:
And last but not least: the graphics. I owe a huge debt to my dad who helped me with some of the cutting/designing of the graphics. The back part (where it is flat at the top) needs to be re-designed and re-cut, but overall it turned out pretty nice. We are also going to be doing a hood graphic here in the next few weeks:
Some other mentions that may not be pictured: I highly recommend fluid film as a rust-preventative in the rockers and fender areas. It doesn't take but 5 minutes to pop off the scuff guards and spray some FF down into the rockers. Pretty easy. I also ordered stainless M6-1.0 16mm flanged bolts on Amazon for pretty cheap. I found it very beneficial to spray just a tiny bit of Fluid Film on the stainless bolts to ensure nothing is getting rusted/stuck. I broke about 50,000 of the old bolts off, simply due to rust, age, and over torque from previous work. Next on the to-do list for this vehicle: headers/exhaust, roof basket rack, and steering components (I have new inner/outer tie rods, centerlink, and some other goodies coming in the mail in the next few days).
And that's about it, folks. I have about 300 hours of cutting, welding, sewing, cursing, pleading, and some good ol' quality dad/son time into this since March. I hope you all enjoyed! Let me know if there are any questions or if I can help with anything.