Chevelle598BB Build - 2002 GMC Envoy

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Year Make Model: 2002 GMC Envoy

Drivetrain Specs: 4X4 4.2 4L60E 3.73s

Suspension Modifications: MarkMC 2.5 lift, Bilstein HDs up front, 88 springs, bilstein 5100s in the rear

Exterior Modifications: 255/80/17 Mastercraft CXT, debadged and door trim removed, Curt roof rack, 2 inch body lift, jeep jk smittybilt xrc bumper, diy skid plates

Engine Modifications: Trans tuned with HP Tuners, C6 Vette electric fan, Jones 5x9x30 straight through stainless muffler

Interior Modifications: Aftermarket radio with Bluetooth.

Recovery Equipment: A big strap!, Hi-lift, Hi-lift recovery kit with a lot of chain

Electrical Modifications: Optima battery

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Well my Envoy became new to me in Feb of 2014. I bought it from a friend of mine for next to nothing and I knew all of the history of it since I have done all the maintenance to it for several years. It was not the cleanest vehicle in the world but was always taken very good care of mechanically. I picked it up and started a list of maintenance items that were due to be serviced and parts that needed to be replaced. And it began. Here is a picture of the truck the day I purchased it.

The first thing that needed to be done was to replace the trim above the rear glass. It was broken into many pieces and was leaking a small amount of water when it rained. I went down to the local boneyard and searched for the trim piece in decent shape. Well all of the Envoy's had been taken in the yard. I found one on a Trailblazer (same paint color as my Envoy but Envoy trim is black) but all of the mounting points were broken on the trim. Also I wasn't sure if the Trailblazer and Envoy had the same trim piece. Well I asked the junkyard guy how much he wanted and he just gave it to me since the mounts were broken and I wasn't sure if it would fit. Well I got it home and realized that it was wider than the Envoy trim. I cut the trim piece to size using the original as a template. Then I used a plastic epoxy to adhere the brass nuts back into the trim piece. After 12 hours of curing I bolted it back on and it is working great.

Next I decided to pull the door trim and emblems off due to the door trim pulling from the door. I just used the ole fishing line trick and rubbed the excess mounting tape off with my finger (ouch). I tried goo gone, lacquer thinner and wax and grease remover but none of them would remove the tape. Some of them just made it melt and made it harder to get off. After I got everything removed I broke out the variable speed buffer and used 3M Perfect it II to buff out the paint since it felt like sandpaper. Most of the scratches on the paint were removed and there were some paint transfer marks from the previous owner on the bumper that almost all came out. Then I waxed and sealed the paint with Mother's products. I also painted the center caps of the wheels with some silver spray paint I had laying around that ended up matching the wheels pretty well. God I hate these wheels. Turned out pretty good for a 12 year old vehicle that has spent all of its life outside. I also spent quite some time taking the interior out and shampooing the carpet and seats because inside was pretty nasty. Inside turned out ok too.

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Since I hated the factory wheels so much I decided to paint them black with Plastidip. I had a few cans laying around so off I went. While I was at it I also painted the red GMC grill emblem with black Plastidip also. Turned out ok. I still don't like the wheels and I'm not sure if I like the wheels being black.

After spraying the wheels I thought that it was lacking in looks. I have always been a fan of fender flares on off road vehicles but I no one produces them for Envoys and they would probably be too much money anyways. So I broke out the Plastidip again and painted flares over the tires and also the rocker panels. I was happy with the outcome and it makes the black wheels look much better.

The next item for the Envoy was a 2.5 inch lift from MarkMC and a set of his 1.5 wheel spacers. While I installed the lift, I replaced the ball joints and other consumable suspension parts. I also repacked one of the CV joints where the clamp on the boot had pulled off. I replaced the pinch clamp with a good old hose clamp. Hopefully it will hold for a bit. When I installed the lift I checked the condition of the factory struts and shocks. They were still in functioning order but they were a bit soft still up front and the rears were a bit short after the lift was installed. So the hunt for struts and shocks began.

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So far I absolutely love the Envoy. One of the best and fun vehicles I have ever owned. That being said there was one thing that had been driving me crazy. No auxiliary input into the factory stereo. Well I had a few different options for an aux input but one was expensive (plug and play input) or replace the factory stereo with an aftermarket which would also be expensive. I also don't care for the look of aftermarket stereos. They just look out of place in some vehicles. So I tore out the factory stereo from the dash and figured out which was the right and left intputs coming from the CD player. I then wired in a 5 wire 3.5mm input jack that I installed into the center console. Now I can plug in my phone through the aux port, hit CD on the radio and my music starts playing. All with the factory radio. I can also make hands free phone calls other than answering the phone.

Now I am currently waiting for my shocks to arrive. Dam FedEx. I ordered Bilstein HDs for the front and Bilstein 5100 (255/70) valving for the rear. Hopefully they will be here soon so I can be cruising for the weekend.

While I got some free time on my hands I am researching on what size and style of tire I want to use. I am thinking of sticking with an all terrain in a 265/70/17 such as a General Grabber At2 or Cooper ATP. There are a few good deals though on BFG KM1s in 255/75/17 off of Rubicon's locally to me. The Envoy is my daily driver but we do go camping quite a bit and do quite a bit of light trails in Colorado a few times a year. Would be kind of nice to have a mud terrain if I need it but I probably would never hit anything where I would go out of the bounds of what a Grabber could do.

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Well the FedEx driver was late as usual which meant it was a long night for me too! Got the bilsteins 8n front and rear now so it should handle prpperly now.

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I finally put a set of tires on the Envoy. I got a set of pull off (1000) miles BFG mud terrains from a 2014 rubicon for 400 bucks for all 5. I went to the shop and mounted the tires. They didn't need too much weight to balance which was nice. I was going to check the alignment again since i had it on the rack but i ran out of time. I had to do a some trimming not only on the rocker but also the front bumper. Looks so much better. Im ready to hit some trails.
Just an update on the bilstien shocks since i have put about 5000 miles on them. They ride great, work good off road and seem very balanced. The rear valving seem to be right for the truck with stock springs and a lift.

Im going to fab a roof rack and front and rear bumpers if I have time this winter. Im going to start collecting some recovery equipment also. I have a few other cars to finish first.

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I finally put a set of tires on the Envoy. I got a set of pull off (1000) miles BFG mud terrains from a 2014 rubicon for 400 bucks for all 5. I went to the shop and mounted the tires. They didn't need too much weight to balance which was nice. I was going to check the alignment again since i had it on the rack but i ran out of time. I had to do a some trimming not only on the rocker but also the front bumper. Looks so much better. Im ready to hit some trails.
Just an update on the bilstien shocks since i have put about 5000 miles on them. They ride great, work good off road and seem very balanced. The rear valving seem to be right for the truck with stock springs and a lift.

Im going to fab a roof rack and front and rear bumpers if I have time this winter. Im going to start collecting some recovery equipment also. I have a few other cars to finish first.

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Here are some pics after todays short adventure.

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It's been awhile since the last update. I have removed all the Plasti Dip from the outside of the envoy and the wheels. I've added 88 Springs upfront and completely remove the front bumper. Hopefully I'll get some time soon to build a fabricated front bumper and rear bumper for it. I've added C6 Corvette electric fan and tuned the transmission for better drivability. I'm now looking to get a different set of wheels and stepping up to a 285/70/17 tire on the Envoy.

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Well some more changes have been made. I put a set of Mastercraft CXT 255/80r17s on the envoy as well as a 2 inch body lift. I have about 500 miles on the new tires. Man I had no idea how loud my old mud terrains were. It drives and sounds like a new truck now. I have a JK fabricated front bumper that should be here tomorrow. I'm going to do some mock up and see if it will work. I think it will. Rear bumper next.

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Here are a few pics of the new tires and body lift.

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Started the install of a jk bumper today.

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Bumper install is complete. Pretty easy to fab up some brackets. Now any jk bumper will fit.

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Started building an oil skid and radiator skid today. All made out of 3/16 steel. The radiator skid bolts to my jk bumper and then bolts to the oil skid plate.

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I added a new muffler to the Envoy as well as a flashy new tip. The stock muffler rusted out and needed to be replaced. I used a stainless steel muffler from Jones exhaust. It is from their max flow line and is 5x9x30 inches. It is a straight through design and not too loud. It is just a little louder than the stock muffler with no resonator and has no drone at any rpm. It was cheaper than a factory replacement muffler also. When I installed the muffler I rotated the tailpipe up towards the body. I had to cut the rear bumper to fit around the tip. I did this due to my tailpipe dragging the last time I when wheeling and it looking crappy after the 2 inch body lift.

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Well it’s a sad day... The Envoy is gone. I had to get rid of it due to needing a truck to tow and haul stuff around. The new ride is a 2013 F250 Platinum. Big change. If anyone has any questions about my Envoy I would be happy to answer them. Just shoot me a PM and I will gladly help out.