Take off the cladding and extra baggage
 

Buying a '03 Sierra SLT today that has all the fender flares, running boards, side window louvers and bug shield hanging off of it. Won't be able to get that stuff removed fast enough. Poor thing looks like a Tijuana cruiser on Cinco de Mayo. Just hope the paint underneath hasn't suffered.

Pretty sure the louvers are stuck in there with double face tape and the boards, flares and shield with screws and bolts.

Anybody know of any gotchas I should look out for? Weird, but the rear part of the running boards and the rear fender flares look like one piece. Can that be so? Factory or after-market stuff?

Crappy pic, sorry, pulled it off Craig's List ad.

Also - does this thing look lowered to anybody? Or is it the extra baggage making it look that way? If lowered, how would I correct that?

http://i901.photobucket.com/albums/a.../rightside.jpg

The running board looks factory to me. As for removing it, just unscrew everything that's got screws and holds it in place. It will probably uncover the fenders more and make the truck look taller.

I wouldn't worry about ride height until you get the runners off. The truck doesn't look bad, but it isn't my taste (and apparently isn't yours either).

If you got it for a good deal, then do the work. If you didn't pay much, I'd say give it a good wash, wax, maybe new tires and resell to a state that's in the rust belt. You'll actually make money off of it. Then go buy a truck that's already the way you like it.