1997 GMC Yukon 4x4 Project

[BigDaddyTroy]

Hi all,

I just bought a beater... Lots of cosmetic, and interior problems. The engine seems great (already drove it 300 miles in one trip), and the price was right.

This is going to be my project car. I'm not a mechanic, and quite honestly, I don't know too much about brands, jargon, or anything like that...

I do know what I want it to look like, and how I want it to perform.

I live in Mexico (Puerto Vallarta), and it rains a LOT down here in the tropics.

My checklist (as it stands now):

- good balance between off-road and highway performance
- slightly raised (2-4")
- slightly oversized tires
- custom roof rack
- grill guard / winch
- Flow Master (or similar muffler)
- Cold air intake

Things I know very little about, but seem interesting:

- turbo??? (any thoughts on this)
- custom pcm tune???
- high lift cam???

Any pros out there that could set me straight on what I should be looking at?

Also, would it make sense to have the engine rebuilt (for peace of mind)?

Thanks!

Troy

 

[Ironman1979]

welcome to the site there is a plethora of information on this site.. as for the things you mentioned there are a few things i can give you my texas redneck advice on.. the 2 to 4 inch lift can be achieve easily and cheaply with a 2 inch block in the back springs and turning your torsion keys up 8 turns giving a 2 inch all the way around lift approximatley. tires with that kind of lift would be somewhere around a 33x10.50. a flomaster super 44 dual in dual out setup sounds really nice on these 5.7 engines.. high lift cam is a no go without headwork and retuning of the pcm.. there is a 0411 pcm you can get that is a upgrade that requires re pinning your harnes and programming as well. cold air intake sounds cool and slight difference in performance but not much.. grill guard and winch look for iron cross or tactical armor group for best bang for buck imho. hope that helps.

 

[Goldhawg]

Just drive it; don't worry about the engine until it goes. I'd do a once over on all maintenance items and then drive it.