02_Tahoes budget build

[02_Tahoe]

I figured I should make one of these things.

Got this truck for $1500 in march of 2016. It's a 2002 Tahoe, 5.3 flex fuel, LS. When I got it, it had some upgraded wheels and tires but it looked funny because they were stuffed up in there. They were 16x8s with 285/75r16s.

The very first thing I did to it was replace the door speakers and factory subwoofer because they were blown. I don't have any pics of that because at that point I wasn't a member of this site. I actually found this site when I was looking up how to replace the sub, this all cost me $120. Next thing I did was the lift wheels and tires and after all said and done it was $2k. Wheels $700 for all 4, tires were $800 for all 4, lift kit was $140 off eBay and installation price with alignment was $350. I got the wheels and tires off of customoffset.com. So now I'm $3,620 into this truck not including things I needed to get it on the road.

After this I decided to take off those ugly fender flares. Definitely don't use your fingers to take off the adhesive, you'll mess up your thumbs and it will take you all day to get it done. Buy this https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00V..._SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=eraser+wheel&psc=1
It's definitely worth it

 

[02_Tahoe]

Now there was a long 4 month period where I wasn't doing anything. But when I finally did something again, I bought 2 12" MTX terminator subwoofers off Amazon for $220 and installed them myself. The amp and wiring kit came with it as a package. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01B...bwoofer+12&dpPl=1&dpID=51JPj2PGwYL&ref=plSrch. Of course the price drops after I buy it, lol.

With a total of $3,840.
Actually I did forget to include that I had to replace my brake lines which cost $900 and is why I had no money for mods, so now in for $4,740.
So I had the sound system down and it looked good, only thing missing was a nice sounding exhaust, so to Amazon I went.
Got a flowmaster super 10 for $75 off Amazon but I had a gift card for 100 so it was free. Took it to a local shop had them weld it in place of the old one and they quoted me $165, great price. Come to find out I had a single in dual out stock muffler so they ended up having to use more pipe and make bends to new pipe so had a new quote of $245.
Total $4,985
Then went on to color matching, picked up some door handles which happened to already be the same blue as mine out of a local junk yard.

Then wanted a blue bumper cap so I decided to do it myself, which is about a $30 dollar project but I won't include that on the price.
Link to color matching write up I made http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/color-matching-updated.92253/

Then finished up taking off factory molding

 

[02_Tahoe]

Then wanted to try painting my mirrors to see what it would be like, and I did the whole mirror not just the cap and I'm glad to say it looks great

This was another budget friendly mod.
Next I decided I needed to learn how to fix my paint, so to YouTube and the forums I went. Got meguiars ultimate compound, and this stuff works great. Here's a before and after of my hood

Next I got an in person tune from @BlackBearPerf, this is number one on my list of best bang for your buck mods, it will feel like you have a totally different truck. I got the 87-89 tune and it's amazing how much a tune changes the truck.
After all said and done I've spent less than 6k in mods and if you take out the brake lines is less than 5k but if everything is included it's pushing 7k. For all I've done to this truck I think spending less than 7k is great. Here's my truck as it sits

Next 2 things on my list are, a front end rebuild with new UCAs, tie rods, sway arm bushings, and new lower ball joint because I have a squeaky and stiff front end. Also plan on getting 4.56 gears to compensate for the bigger tires.

 

[Rocket Man]

Nice work so far. Glad to see you made a build thread too!

 

[02_Tahoe]

Nice work so far. Glad to see you made a build thread too!

I see everyone else is and I think I've finally done enough to make it worth it. And I don't plan on stopping

 

[kwOH]

Great work! Keep it up! Some nice new clear headlights would really set it off imo.


Sent from iPhone 7 plus using Tapatalk Pro

 

[05Single]

Nice, how my paint looked too. In for progress !

 

[05Single]

Skipped price of lift and amp tho

 

[02_Tahoe]

Skipped price of lift and amp tho

The amp came with the subs as a bundle, a wiring kit also came with it so all of it together was $220. I'll mention that, and I'll break down the cost of the lift, wheels and tires

 

[05Single]

The amp came with the subs as a bundle, a wiring kit also came with it so all of it together was $220. I'll mention that, and I'll break down the cost of the lift, wheels and tires

Oh dang , helluva deal. Those terminators knock good too.
Edit: i didn't click the link lol

 

[02_Tahoe]

Oh dang , helluva deal. Those terminators knock good too.
Edit: i didn't click the link lol

I added the link when I edited it

 

[Rocket Man]

I'm glad it's just you pricing your mods and not me. I don't wanna know how much I've spent!

 

[02_Tahoe]

I'm glad it's just you pricing your mods and not me. I don't wanna know how much I've spent!

I think you spent more on the whipple than I have on my whole truck. But I'd love to have a setup like yours. I found out that I can take a used LSA blower off of a newer z06 or zl1 and get adapters from the square ports to cathedral ports and it'll be about $800 in parts. I'm really considering this as I have the money to do it, just want to learn more about it first

 

[Rocket Man]

I think you spent more on the whipple than I have on my whole truck. But I'd love to have a setup like yours. I found out that I can take a used LSA blower off of a newer z06 or zl1 and get adapters from the square ports to cathedral ports and it'll be about $800 in parts. I'm really considering this as I have the money to do it, just want to learn more about it first

Yeah I considered that route but there was too much conflicting info or unanswered questions. And no way was is it even close to $800. $800 will get you the bare blower without the intercooler. You'll spend $600 on relocation adapters for the engine components that have to be moved like the alternator and power steering. Theres more to those than you think at first. There's alot of parts to a blower install and they all add up fast. It is way cheaper though, maybe $2000- $3000 including tune, injectors, fuel pump, X wire adapter, intercooler, brackets, belts, hoses, etc. And then don't forget all the other maintenance stuff you want to do while the intake is off like knock sensors, valley cover gasket, oil pressure sending unit... Lol.

 

[02_Tahoe]

Yeah I considered that route but there was too much conflicting info or unanswered questions. And no way was is it even close to $800. $800 will get you the bare blower without the intercooler. You'll spend $600 on relocation adapters for the engine components that have to be moved like the alternator and power steering. Theres more to those than you think at first. There's alot of parts to a blower install and they all add up fast. It is way cheaper though, maybe $2000- $3000 including tune, injectors, fuel pump, X wire adapter, intercooler, brackets, belts, hoses, etc. And then don't forget all the other maintenance stuff you want to do while the intake is off like knock sensors, valley cover gasket, oil pressure sending unit... Lol.

Yeah I kinda just saw all that lol, someone had a thread on ls1tech. NextGen performance sells a kit and then you add parts that you need for your specific engine and my total was around $2500. I thought it was just the blower, adapters, injectors, and new belt and I was finished. But still $2500-3000 is much better

 

[BlackBearPerf]

Then wanted to try painting my mirrors to see what it would be like, and I did the whole mirror not just the cap and I'm glad to say it looks great
View attachment 81729
View attachment 81730
This was another budget friendly mod.
Next I decided I needed to learn how to fix my paint, so to YouTube and the forums I went. Got meguiars ultimate compound, and this stuff works great. Here's a before and after of my hood
View attachment 81731
View attachment 81732
Next I got an in person tune from @BlackBearPerf, this is number one on my list of best bang for your buck mods, it will feel like you have a totally different truck. I got the 87-89 tune and it's amazing how much a tune changes the truck.
After all said and done I've spent less than 6k in mods and if you take out the brake lines is less than 5k but if everything is included it's pushing 7k. For all I've done to this truck I think spending less than 7k is great. Here's my truck as it sits
View attachment 81733
Next 2 things on my list are, a front end rebuild with new UCAs, tie rods, sway arm bushings, and new lower ball joint because I have a squeaky and stiff front end. Also plan on getting 4.56 gears to compensate for the bigger tires.

We are happy you are enjoying the tune!

 

[MadDogDelpho]

Glad to see you decided to make a thread too! Love your truck man!

 

[02_Tahoe]

Glad to see you decided to make a thread too! Love your truck man!

Thanks

 

[02_Tahoe]

Got my front 2 windows tinted this past weekend. Just 20% to match the back. Only cost $70

Still wanting to do the front end rebuild but I'm thinking of leaving out the lower control arms. The ball joint angle is not bad at all and the whole thing looks to be in good shape. The one thing I absolutely need to do is the upper control arm because the ball joint looks to be in much much worse condition and the bushings and cam bolts are shot. What do you guys think, yes or no to lower control arms. If I leave them out I'll have more money left over that will go to bilstein 5100s. Let me know what you would do