Matt's Denali Build

[OneTwo]

Hey guys,

I'm a long-time member of other forums, but am fairly new over here. I recently picked up a 2007 Yukon Denali that's a bit neglected, so this thread will document it's return to former glory and all the modifications I have planned.

Before we get on to the Denali, here's my other vehicles, just so you can get an idea where this is headed and so that you aren't tremendously bored by a stock Denali:

My 2000 Suburban 2500, getting replaced by the Denali soon. 212,000 miles and still going strong, it will be missed!





My other daily driver, 1999 Lexus GS400, a kinda-sorta VIP-style car.







1995 BMW 540i 6-speed. Been in the family since new!





And a crowd favorite, the "Convertiburb"! A bagged POS 1977 Suburban with the roof cut off.







So, the Denali. It's a black/black 2007 with 118,000 miles. It's a bit rough cosmetically, but got a thumbs up from my mechanic and was a great deal, so I pulled the trigger.

Clearcoat peeling on the hood and roof. The rest of the paint is in rough shape, but should come back with some serious buffing.





First time I saw it. Looks like it hasn't been washed in a year.



But the inside was in good shape, except for the "broken" rear arm rests, which turned out to be a loose bolt.





First thing I did was pull the hood and take it a body shop across the street from my work.



Then I applied the $8.00 vinyl to the worn climate control buttons...



...which looked great until illuminated. This will bug me beyond reason, so I'll be ordering a new climate control unit.



I also fixed the broken 12v outlet/cig lighter covers. Then I ordered and installed an SLP resonator delete kit. It looks great and sounds better, but isn't loud enough for my taste, so a new muffler is on the list of things to do.



My buddy and I just finished doing paint correction last night, so I'll take finished pictures with the hood on when the weather gets nice later this week.

I have a McGaughys/Belltech/DJM lowering kit from Tony in the cargo area waiting for install. Will probably end up being a 3"/4" all said and done. I have a few maintenance items planned, then wheels, stereo, and respray the roof.

Thanks for looking, stay tuned for updates!

 

[Fosscore]

Welcome. Sweet driveway full of rides. Denali should fit right in. That bagged Suburban will get some knickers in a knot around these parts rather quickly. Those square bodies get lots of love. My parents had at least 3 of those growing up. Love them. Still looking for pictures of those old girls.

 

[OneTwo]

Welcome. Sweet driveway full of rides. Denali should fit right in.

Thank you, sir!

That bagged Suburban will get some knickers in a knot around these parts rather quickly. Those square bodies get lots of love. My parents had at least 3 of those growing up. Love them. Still looking for pictures of those old girls.

I also have much love for square bodies, my parents had a couple as well. And yeah, it's certainly not for everyone, but most people tend to relax when they find out that it was hours away from heading to the crusher before I bought it. It's a completely rusted-out, dime-a-dozen Suburban that nobody in their right mind would ever restore.

I think most reasonable car guys would agree that they'd rather see a beyond-saving old Suburban become a weird, hacked-up hot rod rather than scrapper fodder. But, of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion!

 

[OHSIXX]

Welcome ..looking forward to the progress. The Lexus is my fav' out of your stable. It should turn out really sweet with the plans you have for it....

 

[NathanJax]

When you get the new climate control, just replace the buttons. Others who have attempted to swap the entire unit have said they had to be reprogrammed from the dealer... I'm not 100% sure, but it's pretty easy to just swap buttons.

 

[93blkongreenpro]

The convertiburb Is sweet!

And with the climate control, you should habe sharpied around the worn areas before applying the overlay to minimize the bleed through.

Other than that, Im in to see the rehab!

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

 

[OneTwo]

Welcome ..looking forward to the progress. The Lexus is my fav' out of your stable. It should turn out really sweet with the plans you have for it....

Thanks man! I want to go with a set of Dub Cheddas in 24":

I'm curious to see what the finish looks like in real life, because in the picture above, they look black, but in others, they look gold:

So the plan (for now) is to lower it, black out most of the chrome, and paint the emblems to match whatever color the face of the wheels ends up being. Inside it will get a fairly mild stereo install, then it will either be pretty much "done", or I'm going to start saving for a cam or supercharger.

Knowing my car ADD, I'll probably pick up another project after the Denali is looking good and forget all about the supercharger idea.

When you get the new climate control, just replace the buttons. Others who have attempted to swap the entire unit have said they had to be reprogrammed from the dealer... I'm not 100% sure, but it's pretty easy to just swap buttons.

Thanks for the heads up! I assume there's no harm in plugging it in just to see if it works before I disassemble both units?

The convertiburb Is sweet!

And with the climate control, you should habe sharpied around the worn areas before applying the overlay to minimize the bleed through.

Other than that, Im in to see the rehab!

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

Thanks dude! It's a ton of fun in the summertime, but is otherwise completely useless here in Pacific Northwest where it rains for 9-months straight...

Hmmm, maybe I'll order another set of vinyl buttons and give that a try before I spend $130+ on a new climate control module. I actually did the opposite of what I should have, apparently. The buttons weren't totally worn through the symbols, so I used a razor blade to scrape off around the symbols so that the backlighting through the symbols would be even. I didn't think about light bleeding through the black vinyl.

 

[Fosscore]

The DUB wheels come out more of a bronze tint, especially when the light hits them. Not completely black. Lots of DUB Ballers on here and have seen them in person as well. Maybe someone else will chime in with them. @Red Rocket (26s) and @NeverSatisfied (24s) both have Ballers on their rides and can give you some first hand thoughts.

 

[OneTwo]

The DUB wheels come out more of a bronze tint, especially when the light hits them. Not completely black. Lots of DUB Ballers on here and have seen them in person as well. Maybe someone else will chime in with them. @Red Rocket (26s) and @NeverSatisfied (24s) both have Ballers on their rides and can give you some first hand thoughts.

Right on. I'm not totally opposed to the bronze look, I think it could add some cool contrast to an otherwise all-black color scheme.

Ballers are my second choice. They remind me a lot of the Vossen CV3s on my GS. I have not yet seen the Cheddas on anything but the NNNBS (is that seriously how we're referring to 15+ trucks?) Tahoe posted above, so I'd like to do something a bit different. That, and the twisted spokes + concave look totally does it for me.

 

[OneTwo]

Took some post-paint correction but pre-actual wash photos. Planning on washing it tonight after I grease the slip yokes and taking some more photos.





It came out pretty good except for a few spots. Going to try wet sanding this, but I think the damage is done...



Hood looks much better with fresh paint!



Anyone else have a sagging front bumper? Can I just heat it up and bend it back into shape?



Debadged the hatch. I also found a tow hitch cover on eBay that's already painted black and ordered it to replace the missing one.



Finally, hardwired an ****** smart cord for my Passport 8500.