"What's old is new again" is a phrase that you've heard more than a few times before. In the case of custom truck styling, this passage couldn't be closer to the truth. We see constant reincarnations of many different styling cues in custom truck builds every day. Many of which happened for the first time in this very magazine.
If you had to argue this point by using an example, then the '99-'06 GM series trucks would definitely get your point across. They continue to be restyled by truck enthusiasts every day, thanks to the many different front end configurations that were available for the GMT800 body style of truck. Of course, this is nothing new to the GM crowd. It seems that as far back as GM trucks go in model years most of the front sheetmetal is interchangeable to give an owner an updated look—even if you're mostly just interchanging components from different years and brands.
One of our favorite trends for the '99-'06 GMC Sierra is to swap out the stock GMC hood and convert over to a '01-'02 Silverado HD hood. To complete the look, many of the early Sierra owners of that body style update the '99-'02 bumper to the '03-'06 model. These mods can bring new life to an old and tired-looking truck, allowing one to fall back in love with their daily driver. Follow along as we show you how to transform a Sierra with the help of a stack of replacement parts from our friends at LMC Truck and a few basic skills.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion 02 Frontend
Un updated look was provided by LMC Truck with a plethora of new parts, and a Grillcraft mesh grille for the finishing touch.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Silverado Hd Hood
Before: Our '02 GMC Sierra was in need of a facelift, so we set out to improve its looks by updating the front end with LMC Truck parts mostly for '03-'06 GMCs with the added modification of adding in an '01-'02 Silverado HD hood.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Stock Chrome Grille Removal
The transformation begins by removing the bolt and clips that hold the stock chrome grille.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Headlight Removal
Our cloudy headlights and park lights are the next items to be removed.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Front Bumper Removal
Next, we unbolted the front bumper from the frame and removed the outer brackets as well.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Radiator Support
As soon as the front end was disassembled, we cleaned the area and sprayed a coat of Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator paint over the entire radiator support. The matte finish made it look brand new and provides the perfect backdrop to our soon-to-be-installed parts.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Hood Marking
We removed the GMC hood and brought it over to our worktable, where we used a flexible material such as this tie strap to mark the body lines of the GMC hood.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Hood Template
Next we used tape and some heavy paper to mark out a template that we'll use to transfer onto the Silverado hood. Notice that we marked on the template where the body lines meet as well. This is very important when aligning up the template to the Silverado hood.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Body Line Comparison
Using the same tie strap that we made our marks on, we compared the body line marks on the GMC hood with the body lines of the Silverado hood.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Hood Pattern
Then using the template that we made from the leading edge of the GMC hood, we transferred the pattern onto the Silverado hood.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Hood Cutting
Now the fun began as we used a cutoff tool to remove the corners of the Silverado hood.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Hood Patch
Flipping the hood over we could see that we needed to make a patch to ensure the integrity on the leading edge of the hood.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Paper Pattern
First, we made a paper pattern that filled the gap and doubled up the hood edge.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Hood Patch
Next we cut the pattern out of 18-gauge steel on this throatless sheer from Eastwood and trimmed until we had a perfect fit.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Welding
Then, we welded it into place using our Miller electric model 211 welder.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Hood
To help maintain a clean and consistent leading edge of the hood, we used a metal coat hanger (really!), as they are made from steel and are a perfect size for sheetmetal work.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Hood Grinding
After the rod was welded in place, we began to grind the leading edge into shape before heading back to install it on the truck.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Evercoat Metal Glaze
The sheetmetal was no longer perfectly flat after the welding process, so the noticeably high spots were tapped down with a body hammer before a small wipe of Evercoat's metal glaze was spread over the corners.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Evercoat Metal Glaze
Once cured, the areas were block-sanded down to our liking.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Eastwood Self Etching Primer
After we were satisfied with our bodywork, a coat of Eastwood's self-etching primer was applied over the work area to prevent any sealant issues. We later followed up with a coat of black to make the hood uniform while we were waiting for the next step.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Grill Centerbar Removal
Moving onto the grille insert, we chose to use a mesh-style insert from Grillcraft. Step one for installing this insert is to cut out the factory cross bars of our new replacement work truck grille with the use of a body saw.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Centerbar Removal
After removing the center bars, we were sure to file down any leftover slag from the cut, leaving the opening clean.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Grillcraft Mesh Insert
We dropped the Grillcraft insert into place and checked the fitment of the insert before flipping the grille over to secure it to the grille shell.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Grill Insert Mounting Hole
We marked the holes in the tabs and removed the insert, then drilled holes in the shell with our trusty uni-bit.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion J Clip
Next, place the J-clips that are provided in the insert kit. We finished it off by placing the insert back into the space, and used the provided screws to hold the insert to the grille shell.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Factory Frame Hold Mount Removal
To install the new front bumper, we needed to cut off the factory frame hold mount that held the old bumper in place.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion New Bracket Mounting Holes
Next, using the new brackets from LMC truck, we marked and drilled where the holes needed to be in the frame so that the later-style brackets could be bolted onto the framerails.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion New Bumnper Brackets
Now the new brackets were bolted into place. We left things loose, and later ended up going back and shimming the bracket upward and oblonging the holes to push the bumper outward to get a clean fit. An 1/8-inch difference here makes a world of difference at the edges of the bumper valance.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Bumper Mounting
With both of the bumper mounts set in place, we were able to move on to mounting the chrome bumper to the bumper mounts.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Headlight Install
The headlights that we chose to run with on this project are black Denali style from LMC truck that make the truck look new and fresh. To install them they are set in place with the factory-style slide bars.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Grill Assembly Install
With both the headlights and the park lamps set in place, we were able to install the grille assembly that uses the factory-style clips and bolt to hold it on. Speaking of which, we were smart enough to order all the hardware kits that were available with their parts. It makes the installation a whole lot easier.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion Lower Bumper Assembly Install
The lower foglamps from LMC were bolted to the chrome bumper prior to mounting the lower section or paintable portion of the bumper assembly. This section is held in place by many factory-style fasteners supplied in the kit from LMC truck.
| 2002 Gmc Sierra Frontend Conversion
At this point, the Sierra front end is back in one piece. But there is still a long way to go before we're calling it done. Stay tuned!
