AWD 99 2 Door Tahoe Build

[62barsoom]

Yowza! That sound deadner job looks great! I didn't think about it till after I put the carpet and seats back in mine.

 

[Jnunez74]

Yowza! That sound deadner job looks great! I didn't think about it till after I put the carpet and seats back in mine.

Thank you much, it definitely was an undertaking but debatably the best thing I’ve done to the truck for under $200

 

[Jnunez74]

Got most of the body on today, have some hiccups as per usual. I think it looks wonderful, definitely need to tweak some panels and do some fine tuning but I’m thrilled with the outcome thus far.

Did some lil pulls on the way to the body shop and boy is it fun. Roasts the tires through first if you let it, which is always a plus. Haven’t gotten any real tangible data on it so I’d be lying if I estimated anything but it accelerates about the same as a new Denali with the 6.2 but it feels like it has more ass behind it. Hopefully I’ll be able to make some hits with the my brothers draggy in the near future.

Definitely not getting to carpet this weekend, my painter is fighting previous repairs on the tailgate so truck won’t be sealed for awhile yet.

Got new regulators and motors, going to get lock actuators as well while I’m in there.

Also made some discoveries regarding the front suspension. Since the spindles are taller, we tried to cheat just shorten the control arms to compensate and while that works, when combined with the not stiff enough torsion bar, it creates some wild reactions from the suspension when bumps are hit.
Long story short, we are going to relocate the control arm mounts to match the spacing on a 03 2500. When this will be done is uncertain, probably early next year if I had to guess. I would be more concerned if it was getting pulled out of alignment but so far it is holding and still driving as straight as an arrow.

 

[Jnunez74]

Been awhile since an update, as of now nothing new has happened yet. Hopefully will have my tailgate back from painter and I can start on interior. Have a bit of an amendment to the front end that needs to be handled. As of now, the front suspension is functional and has 500+ miles on it, but due to the extreme angles caused by the larger spindle, the truck cannot be lowered at all… to remedy this, I’m going to remove the OE UCA mounting locations and reweld UCA mounts from an 05 2500 so those uppers can be utilized. This will require raising the mounting locations about an inch upward. The hope here is to get the arms to be parallel instead of nearly parallel. At the same time we are going to pull the rear diff and relocate spring perches to the underside of the axle. Currently also trying to decide what torsion bars to go with. To my understanding the 05 2500 bars should fit so going to give those a shot as well, can definitely feel the extra weight up front. If yall have any ideas pertaining to the above feel free to chip in

 

[Jnunez74]

Small progress is better than no progress right? Or at least that’s what we tell ourselves when a project carries on for a year longer than expected… the small progress was the reinstallation of my back glass and tailgate. I think she is lookin fresh from the back myself. Have to trim the frame down a hair to fit the roll pan but that will be coming soon. For now enjoy the view! How do y’all feel ab the appliqué being color matched?

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[Sean Buick 76]

Amazing build!

 

[caw_86]

Frame modification were necessary though. In the rear, an inch and a half was added between the leaf spring mounts and the frame. This was necessary bc the frame narrows on the 2 doors in the rear, so the perches are angled on the 10 bolt that was in it, but not on the 14 bolt we put in.

what type 14 bolt did you put in? care to elaborate on the modification, looking at the frame specs the only ones I could find that didnt taper in where the 3500s with >10000 gvw which have straight frame past the cab. I little confused on if this was necessary. Im assuming the circled in red area is the spacer.

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[Jnunez74]

what type 14 bolt did you put in? care to elaborate on the modification, looking at the frame specs the only ones I could find that didnt taper in where the 3500s with >10000 gvw which have straight frame past the cab. I little confused on if this was necessary. Im assuming the circled in red area is the spacer.

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Yes 3 pieces of 1/2” plate. It’s out of an 05 2500. The frame on mine narrows (I believe to accommodate the fuel tank and make the 30 a snug fit). When I played the diffs next to each other I noticed the perches on the 14 bolt were perpendicular while the stock 10 bolts were angled in towards the rear. I opted to drill out rivets and move mounting point out until the leaf springs lined up. Because of the difference in shock mounting and overall size, I had to go with 3 inch lift shocks despite an2 inch drop shackle. In retrospect it would be more suitable for a lifted application but at gave me track width, 8 lugs, and disc brakes.

 

[Jnunez74]

Little update, finally got another door, order it though jegs and it came packaged properly for once. Painted said he should be able to get it done in a week or two then I should be able to seal her up. Dropping roof rack off to be powder coated next week which will be last item before headliner and interior goes back together. Also decided not to go with a roll pan… cut my frame and got it mocked up and I don’t like the way the 2 tone falls out with it. Decided to buy a new bumper, it’s an OE style without trim provisions. So now going to have to reweld some frame ends on but that should be too tough.

In other news, the front end is ready for surgery… trying to schedule a weekend to pull it all apart and get it mocked up before I call a professional to come weld on it. Looks like it is going to be a matter of shifting the UCA up 2 inches and over an inch on center. While doing this I’m also going to try to pull the front diff so I can pull it apart and try to stop a pesky lil leak. Pending a marketplace purchase I’m also going to swap oil pans while I’m in there. Going to try to get an 8qt rather than the stock 5. Not having windage issues but the Amazon pan I initially bought refused to work with any of the dipsticks I have tried. This leads to it weeping out of the stem and frankly I’m tired of fighting it.