swbtahoe
Newbie
I’ve had more of these GMT 400 trucks than I can count. I thought when I got rid of my last one in 2019, that it would be the last one. I picked up this Tahoe in 2020 and wasn’t sure if I was gonna do anything with it, figured I’d probably just flip it. Last year my employee started complaining about it being in their way in the warehouse, so I swapped the motor and made the mistake of taking it out to the desert to test it out. Didn’t take long before I decided I’ll probably keep this one for a long tine.
Throughout this year, I’ve just been working out the little kinks that come with trying to refresh a 1996 truck with a couple hundred thousand miles on it. Now that it’s cooling off, I’m gonna dive in and try to knock out a bunch of projects on it before spring.
It was a vehicle so it was never cut or beat up too bad. I got it for $500 with a rod knock, the guy kept putting synthetic oil in it with some pretty bad leaks.
What I’ve done so far:
JEGs crate motor
Shocks
CV Axles
Ball joints
Tie rods
Steering arms
My next immediate projects are leather buckets for the front and a double din stereo.
I replaced the steering box with a parts store reman and that lasted about 15 minutes, so I’m gonna need to order a redhead steering box too.
Even though it shifts fine, and the four-wheel-drive works, I’m still planning to rebuild the transmission and transfer case before I get too crazy with it. Eventually I’ll throw a lift, some clearance, bumpers, and a winch on it. I do a lot of night driving off-road, so I’d like to upgrade the charging system so my light bars aren’t stressing the electrical system. Possibly will add a fuel cell if I can find a good location for one.
Throughout this year, I’ve just been working out the little kinks that come with trying to refresh a 1996 truck with a couple hundred thousand miles on it. Now that it’s cooling off, I’m gonna dive in and try to knock out a bunch of projects on it before spring.
It was a vehicle so it was never cut or beat up too bad. I got it for $500 with a rod knock, the guy kept putting synthetic oil in it with some pretty bad leaks.
What I’ve done so far:
JEGs crate motor
Shocks
CV Axles
Ball joints
Tie rods
Steering arms
My next immediate projects are leather buckets for the front and a double din stereo.
I replaced the steering box with a parts store reman and that lasted about 15 minutes, so I’m gonna need to order a redhead steering box too.
Even though it shifts fine, and the four-wheel-drive works, I’m still planning to rebuild the transmission and transfer case before I get too crazy with it. Eventually I’ll throw a lift, some clearance, bumpers, and a winch on it. I do a lot of night driving off-road, so I’d like to upgrade the charging system so my light bars aren’t stressing the electrical system. Possibly will add a fuel cell if I can find a good location for one.
