Chevrolet Debuts 2000 Silverado with Composite Bed

Chevrolet brought its new composite bed Silverado to the SEMA show. The innovative, new 6.5-ft. fleetside box will be available as an option on the Silverado beginning in the autumn of 2000. Chevrolet will be the first manufacturer to offer a composite box on full-size pickup trucks.

The box's fenders and outer tailgate panel are made of reinforced reaction injection molded (RRIM) materials, chiefly polyurea with mica filler. The one-piece inner panel and the inside of the tailgate are formed by a structural reaction injection molding (SRIM) process and consist of a 50/50 mix of urethane and glass fiber. The interior of the box and tailgate are painted with a dark gray "spatter paint" that provides a tough, pebbly surface as well as protection from ultraviolet rays.

The use of composite materials reduces the total weight of the truck by approximately 50 lbs., which improves fuel economy and payload carrying capability. The tailgate alone is 15 lbs. lighter than a current steel tailgate.

The outer panels not only withstand denting, but also are twice as damage resistant as composite panels used on cars such as the Chevrolet Corvette and Camaro. If a fender is damaged, it can be removed in less than 10 minutes, repaired in a matter of hours -- rather than days -- and re-installed with a minimum of downtime. Most scratches on the inside of the box or tailgate can be polished out with a common commercial silicone cleanser.

Obsession Racing Displays its Monsters and More...

The SEMA Show featured plenty of the big tired monster trucks, including the Obsession Racing Ford Super Duty Monster Truck (top left).

The Ford F250 Super Duty (below left) is accented with a custom tear down the side (by L & G Enterprises) revealing the paint scheme of the Monster Truck. Stull Bellit grill, Reaper Racing front bumpers and spear bed mounted tire, four off-road lights, chrome Go-Rhino

nerf bars and tail light covers, Better Built tool box, Line-X bed liner and hitch, mounted Ramsey Pro 9000 rear winch.

To clear the massive 39 inch Mickey Thompson baja tires on a two wheel drive took over nine inches of lift. The first three inches were accomplished with a Superlift body lift; the next six inches came with custom coils, I-beam drop down brackets and radius arms.

The 5.4 Trition has been equipped with a K&N airfilter, TTS performance exhaust, Superchips computer chip, Cool Flex water hoses and Optima Batteries, with a Schoche wire and terminals.