"THE GOLDEN DRAGON" 2005 DC v8 4wd trd off road

Hi everyone this is my first post on this site I decided I lurked enough and will show off my own build to everyone. It's not much at the moment, but im still striving to keep upgrading.

Background info:

So, this was actually my first vehicle. My sister got it from my dad for her 16th birthday. He had bought it from a doctor who sold it because the transmission had gone out. My dad fixed it up, and she used it for about 3.5 years before I got it as my first truck.

I love my sister, but dang—she did not take care of this truck . It's been in Florida its entire life, so there's barely even any surface rust (I know, I got really lucky in that department). I had it for about a year before I ended up doing any modifications to it. It's sitting at about 198k miles. I always wanted to, but I never had the motivation—until I was on the way back from a 4th of July party and my front left tire blew on the interstate.

Luckily, there was no damage to the truck other than the tire. But I took that as the motivation I needed to finally start my build officially.

Before:







After:








Modifications/maintenance:

While it was pulled apart, I installed 2½-inch leveling struts from Rough Country to help fix the nose dive and make room for the new tires. I also added the matching rear Rough Country shocks. I know they’re not the best, but once they wear out, I plan to upgrade to Bilsteins front and rear. I was just trying to get it drivable as quickly as possible.

I also put in Philtop 2–4 inch lift upper control arms. Inside, there's an aftermarket radio with Bluetooth calling, plus Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

About four years ago, my dad had a Jasper transmission installed. I recently had a new master brake cylinder put in, and the timing belt was done at 152k. Last year, I replaced all the ball joints, inner and outer tie rod ends, and installed new O2 sensors. Just added a new battery and did a fresh oil change. I also put in new LED headlights and fog lights—both still under warranty.

To help protect the front end (since we have a lot of close calls with deer on our road), I added a brush guard. The roof paint is starting to fade, and there are a few dents in the bed, but overall, it’s a solid, truck.

I plan to keep upgrading it slowly as I get time off work and after helping out around the house. One of the next things I want to do is lift the front another inch and a half. I'm just not satisfied with how it looks right now—even with the current lift, it still has a bit of a nose dive and doesn’t sit completely level.

I know that once I go higher, I’ll probably have to reroute the brake lines to keep everything working properly, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. I’m also planning on upgrading the exhaust system—most likely going with a dual outlet setup or a straight pipe coming right from the resonator.

Eventually, I want to have the roof and body repainted and get the dents in the bed pulled out, but I’ll probably save that part for last.

I think that will be it for this post I'll continue updating yall about the build as I progress with it