Pete's (Now Nate's) 2003 Denali Budget Build thread

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

adventurenali92

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2015
Posts
7,373
Reaction score
8,584
Location
Big Bear Lake, ca
thanks Chase. i'm really happy with it. That blue dances all over the color spectrum in the sun.
I see your build is about to hit Page 100. and big plans?
Oh I got a lot I’m workin I’m right. Steering wheel is a mess so I gotta redo the whole. Thing. And buttons don’t light up at night so I took the ones from my factory steering wheel and sent them off to get fixed and upgraded to LED. So that’s gotta get swapped too. Still gotta get my NNBS esky shifter redone too. Lots going. Lol
 
OP
OP
Sevenevez

Sevenevez

Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2012
Posts
1,202
Reaction score
3,321
Location
Arizona
Oh I got a lot I’m workin I’m right. Steering wheel is a mess so I gotta redo the whole. Thing. And buttons don’t light up at night so I took the ones from my factory steering wheel and sent them off to get fixed and upgraded to LED. So that’s gotta get swapped too. Still gotta get my NNBS esky shifter redone too. Lots going. Lol

Get on it man! haha. The NNBS shifter is hella easy. Easy install. Easy tape n spray with SEM. done deal.
I have the same issue with my steering wheel. On my old one, at night all my lights on the buttons worked except for one. On my new wheel, none of the lights work, except for one! i have no idea how to tackle that. I assume it involves soldering wires though

that blue really pops in the vid when you make the turn


it turned out super well for doing that in your garage.
too much crap floating in the air here to do that.

thanks Jay. She looks great in the sun. It's not a perfect paintjob but its perfect for me.
 
OP
OP
Sevenevez

Sevenevez

Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2012
Posts
1,202
Reaction score
3,321
Location
Arizona
Got off work yesterday with a couple denali tasks in my head.

d395.jpg

But first things first.

Time for a bath!

d396.jpg

First wash since the paintjob. Used laquer thinner and alcohol to remove a bunch of spray that got on the windows too.

Take a look at those OEM tail lights. :) They will never look like that again

d397.jpg
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Sevenevez

Sevenevez

Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2012
Posts
1,202
Reaction score
3,321
Location
Arizona
Customize the ugly OEM Tails

I mean there is only so much you can do to polish a turd. But like i said, i havent found any aftermarket tails that i like and i have searched everywhere. All i can do is make these look uglier in a worst case scenario. So let's see what we can do.

Cleaned em up, scuffed em and laid out an idea with tape and an exacto and some measuring.

d398.jpg

one consistent coat of black. only one so in the sun we can still see the reflectors slightly

d399.jpg

pull the tape

d400.jpg

Pulled out the honeycomb stencil and used a small spread just to add a little more personality to them.

and. 3 coats of clear.

d401.jpg

Not bad.
Better for sure.
but now that Third Brake Light on top sticks out like a sore thumb!. ugh :doublepuke:

d402.jpg

This is just with the truck running. No brakes but blinker on

d403.jpg

facial

d404.jpg

Wheels and windows had overspray on them.
Got everything nice and clean

d405.jpg

Woke up with that 3rd brake light greeting my eyeballs. Figured i would bang that out real quick.

Used pinstripe tape and made a nice clean narrow shape down the center line of the LED's

d406.jpg

Blacked out the rest

d407.jpg

Peeled the tape then 2 coats of clear

d408.jpg

ahhh. much better. simple and clean

d409.jpg
 
Last edited:

kwOH

Banned
Joined
Jun 19, 2016
Posts
2,958
Reaction score
3,514
#LUVBEER lol, looks sweet man, I like the creativity on the lights, don’t want to bring the positive vibes down, but I woulda used some vht candy red on the amber part of the tails so that way it would match the red turn signals on the mirrors, not that it looks bad, just tough on the ocd, still one of the baddest ass looking trucks around either way.
 
OP
OP
Sevenevez

Sevenevez

Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2012
Posts
1,202
Reaction score
3,321
Location
Arizona
#LUVBEER lol, looks sweet man, I like the creativity on the lights, don’t want to bring the positive vibes down, but I woulda used some vht candy red on the amber part of the tails so that way it would match the red turn signals on the mirrors, not that it looks bad, just tough on the ocd, still one of the baddest ass looking trucks around either way.

ha, i hear ya. i dont mind the amber since i have a lil amber up front. but i get it, they are still the same OEM tails we see everyday all over the place. At least now they are dark and dont stick out so bright anymore.

I wish Anzo made a tail as cool as their head lights. Too bad these are for 2007+ cuz they are pretty nice

311232_8.jpg
 

kwOH

Banned
Joined
Jun 19, 2016
Posts
2,958
Reaction score
3,514
ha, i hear ya. i dont mind the amber since i have a lil amber up front. but i get it, they are still the same OEM tails we see everyday all over the place. At least now they are dark and dont stick out so bright anymore.

I wish Anzo made a tail as cool as their head lights. Too bad these are for 2007+ cuz they are pretty nice

311232_8.jpg
I definitely like what you did with them, looks 100 times better than just stock and more custom too, aftermarkets are ok, but you also see a lot of them also, guarantee you’ll never see another pair like that lol
 

Forum statistics

Threads
132,006
Posts
1,860,763
Members
96,411
Latest member
Tracbud
Top