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$200 Hauler Project Update: Oh What A Difference Some LMC Truck Billet, Grille, and Lower Valance Make!

Tech Stories

August 8, 2012
 
New grille, new valance, and some Mother's Back to Black for the upper bumper trim piece and we've got a whole new frontend.
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When we first started the $200 Hauler Project, we knew right away that the mildly bashed grille and completely tweaked rear bumper were going to have to go. We also knew that LMC Truck was the place for parts. Nobody has a better selection of stock replacement and custom parts for your Big Three truck, van, or SUV, so we knew they would have just what we needed. This week, we’re going to show you the whole new front end look we got after visiting LMCTruck.com where we found all we needed and more. Since we were going for the black and grey look on the $200 Hauler, we decided to change up a few things, and went for a grille with much less chrome, a new Black Billet Chevy Bowtie, and new lower valance to get rid of the ugly stock tow hooks and lights. We also shined up some original plastic parts with Mother’s Back to Black trim restorer.

The difference in the overall truck was pretty dramatic, and sets the stage for lighting and other upgrades that are coming next.

If you are looking for parts for your truck, van, or SUV,  LMC Truck has got bumpers, mirrors, grilles, body parts, trim pieces, and much much more. You name it, they’ve got it, and the quality and prices are right. Check them out at LMCTruck.com

The "before" version doesn't look "bad", but it surely can be better. The passenger side of the grille is bashed thanks to some immovable object, and all the chrome just isn't doing it for us. Thanks to LMC, we can fix it.

Here's what we're installing on the front of the Hauler. New grille, billet Bowtie, and lower valance.

(Click Thumbnail Photos To Enlarge)

 

Removing the grille requires removal of the upper shroud as well, but thanks to GM’s cool little clips that only takes a few seconds. Use a screw driver to pop up the center pin and they are ready to remove.

 

 

                                         Once you’ve popped all the pins, the clips pull right out.

 

It’s so simple your 5-year old could do it! I will say however that we have, on occasion, had trouble with these little clips. The good news is that LMC Truck has all of them so you can order up a set with your new grille and replace the old ones.

 

 

All you need is a phillips screwdriver to turn these clips.

     

 

There are four that require the screwdriver. One at each corner.

 

 

There is also one 10mm bolt right next to the hood latch.

                                                                                 

 

These little clips are at each end of the grille. They come out just by pulling on the grille shell at each end. Once the 10mm bolt, four phillips clips, and each of these are popped you should be holding a grille in your hand.

 

 

Old Vs. New. LMC has multiple choices of factory and custom grilles. We went with one of the factory offerings. We dig the charcoal and chrome vs. all chrome shell.

(Click Thumbnail Photos To Enlarge)

 

 

The new grille from LMC Truck comes with the appropriate clips already installed so we had to pull the old ones from our core support.

 

 

Long needle nose pliers make this job take seconds.

Before snapping the new grill into place, we installed our black billet Bowtie. One thing to note on it’s installation is the fact that it can be installed with the grille in the truck. There is plenty of room, and installation shouldn’t take you more than 10 minutes.

 

 

Slam the new grille in by reversing disassembly and Voila! New LMC grille with billet bowtie is installed! Honestly it took way longer to write this than it does to install it. Super simple and what a difference!

BEFORE AFTER

 

Now that the grille was done, we wanted to get rid of the awful factory tow hooks and driving lights. In order to give us a clean slate we decided that a new valance from LMC Truck would be the ticket. We ordered ours with new clips, which turned out to be really good since their was 12 years worth of crap making ours brittle and hard to remove. First we had to remove the stock tow hooks which had three bolts each. The lights only had clips. We’ll be replacing them with stuff from ANZO Performance Lighting anyway.

With 15 clips, it would seem like a daunting job, but the valance was so easy with a panel popper and screwdriver that we can’t even insult you with directions. Lay on the ground, look up at your valance, and it will practically remove itself. The new valance installed in 5 minutes, and looks great. You really can’t afford NOT to replace this kind of stuff on your truck.

 

We can’t show you the after shot without mentioning Mother’s Back to Black. This stuff rocks and takes minutes to use. Check out the photos above vs. shot of the upper bumper trim piece here and in the large photo below. At $4.99 on sale at O’Reilly’s we couldn’t beat it and neither can you. Oh, and they didn’t give us this stuff, we bought it. Totally BangShift approved.

 

Thanks to LMC Truck's new grille, Bowtie, and valance, along with some Mother's Back to Black for the upper bumper trim piece, we've got a whole new frontend! Now all we need is a BangShift.com license plate frame. Hmmmmm

For all your truck, van, and SUV project needs, visit LMCTruck.com!

Stay tuned for more updates on the $200 Hauler, including new spark plug wires from MSD Performance, spark plugs from E3, and cold air kit from Spectre Performance, which we just put on this week. We also have some custom suspension, shocks from Ridetech, tires and wheels, new Floor Liners from Husky, a TCI Torque Converter and Shift Boss controller, along with exhaust, towing accessories, lubricants from Lucas Oil, and more!