1998 2 Door LT Resto

Toomanyhobbies · Sep 18, 2017

Hello All,

We are a chevy truck family. My wife drives a 2015 Suburban that we ordered custom. I drive our 2004 Tahoe that we ordered custom. It has 190,000 on it and runs great although its starting to rust, which is a different topic. Before that, I had a '97 green and gray 2 door LT that I never should have gotten rid of but that's life.

I just picked up a rust free 1998 2 door LT with 190K miles that I plan to restore into a semi-daily driver. Plan is a repaint including underside, interior replacement and total mechanical refresh. I want it to be pretty stock in appearance, but if it was raised an inch when I am done that's fine. I am looking for an upgraded ride and breaking but it will be driven on the road and I am going for a smooth ride on road. Some details of my plans and questions that I looking for help with are as follow:

-Drivetrain - It seems I can get a new long block for the same cost as rebuild. Any reason I would rebuild it instead? I plan to go with a larger throttle body, the spider injector system, and maybe some shorty headers with Flow Masters. I will do the customary K & N and chip it too I suppose. Nothing too nuts. Stage 1 trans rebuild and a rebuild of the transfer case. Probably rebuild the rear and replace driveshaft as well.

-Underneath - I would like to go with a rear disk conversion, and a 4 link rear suspension with coil-overs all around. New brake lines too.

-Inside - I am thinking pretty stock. Will get new carpet and headliner and maybe some seats out of an extended cab Silverado. Anyone has experience with leather seat covers that are a good product?

-Wheels - I will likely go with 18's that are take offs from a new chevy. I did this on my 2004 and they are great.

That's about it. Please critique my ideas and let me know what you think. I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks

05Single · Sep 18, 2017

In for pics and progress. Never seen a 2 door tahoe I didn't like, love those things .

Nash · Sep 19, 2017

It looks like you and I are going down the same path of redoing a 2 Dr Tahoe,except mine is a 99 2 wheel drive. I have owned mine for 7yr now and never drove it a lot but, have decide to move forward and redo it. Your plan looks good to me.

My cousin was going to rebuilt the engine in his 96 Tahoe and decided to go the new route with one from Jeg's. He is very pleased he went that route,plus it has 36k warranty from GM.

Toomanyhobbies · Sep 19, 2017

Thanks very much. I will not have the truck for probably at least a week, but I will post pics as-is and every step of the way.

Nash how far down the line are you on this project? I think we are going to see more and more people on this path soon. At 20 years young, they are classics now.

BigDaddy13440 · Sep 19, 2017

Drivetrain - building it yourself will be much more rewarding (if you have the time and/or the mechanical inclination). And you can go as wild as you want. Don't bother with a chip. I'd probably go with a TB from a 454, and if you're doing headers, DEFINITELY go long tubes, with an EGR delete and rear O2 delete - there is quite a bit more power to be had than with shortys. Blackbear can hook you up with the headers, AND more specifically, a custom tune, including reprogramming the shift points and torque management of your transmission. And since you'll be flowing more air down the throat of the beast, I'd suggest upgrading your fuel delivery (injector sizes and fuel pump) - Blackbear would also know what would work best for that.

Underneath - simply swap in a rear end from a 00-06 GM, all you'll need to do is cut and reweld the spring perches, going from leaf springs to coils (4-link not really necessary). I'd probably add rear air-bags, to help stiffen the ride a bit - or, you could go with custom wound coils. For the front, ask about Atomic's coil-over conversion kit (he's a member on here). Dial in the ride height on the adjustable coil-overs, get an alignment, and you're done.

Interior - I always liked the older gen interiors. Good choice on keeping it stock (or close to it). Me, I've always upgraded the tunes. I cut out the rear inner quarter panels on my '96 Tahoe, and fiberglassed enclosures into each side, enough to fit a 15" Celestion in each. You don't have to go that route tho, you can always make or find an enclosure for under the rear seats, and stuff a pair of 10's in there. I'd also made an amp rack for between the seats, and had a custom center console housing two 10" subs. As mild or wild as you want.

Wheels - ALWAYS looks sharp seeing newer wheels on an older body style. 18's will give you the "second glance" look from most truck guys, while 20's and 22's would get them to stare at first sight. 24's (and up) would most likely have them stepping on their tongues, drooling....

1999hoe · Sep 20, 2017

Definately need pics... have a 96 im going to be restoring using her for a temp daily but shes a northeast girl she needs some tlc in the body departmwnt rockers are gone and noticed a hole in the frame that im gonna repair interior needs work new carpet headliner i replaced front seats for a bench

1999hoe · Sep 20, 2017

Ide love to find a nice 2 door with a good frame and body but needed a engine or tranny and swap mine in ...save alot of time and some money also

Nash · Sep 20, 2017

I have been fixing all the problems that came with it. It came out of South Carolina so no rust. I have fixed leaks from the heater/air intake and leak at back hatch. New headlights, Led taillights, replace broken door handle inside and outside.. Now that the leak is fixed, new carpet is being ordered. I am going to do the double din touch screen radio also. The front windshield will be replaced along with new bumpers and grille. I have a set of 18" 304 Boss wheels that I was going to put on my 92 Silverado ,but it looks like I am going to go with 20" on it since I am doing a big brake kit on it. I bought the 92 Silverado truck new. I have a 05 LQ4(20K) and T56 with 14 bolt rear sitting in the garage to go in it. I plan on a lower gear for the Tahoe rear(3:73) and plan to look into the disc brake rear you speak of. I am looking at some front consoles also like the escalade has. I am just going with a stock engine,(I would do the 6.0 LS swap if I wanted a built engine) but will probably do the 411 ecm and have the transmission rebuilt also (corvette servo and the other upgrades). If mine was a 4wh dr I would use the LTZ wheels.. the Tahoe is just going to be a daily driver. I decided to do this when I sold my 02 Sierra 5.7L turbo truck.

1999hoe I know of a 96( can't remember the exact year)Tahoe 2dr that was for sale for $1400 around Roanoke,Va.

1999hoe · Sep 20, 2017

Any chance you can get me some more info on it ?

Nash · Sep 20, 2017

https://roanoke.craigslist.org/cto/d/1999-chevy-tahoe-2-door/6275249260.html

Toomanyhobbies · Sep 21, 2017

Big Daddy,

Thanks for the input. I do not have the time, know how, correct tools nor shop space to rebuild the motor myself. Maybe some day, maybe in retirement.

I am really intrigued at the idea of using a next gen rear setup in the truck. Do you know of any online resources where this project has been documented?

I will look up Atomic as well.

Also, maybe a dumb question, but if you one were to put long tubes on a truck, aren't they going to be the lowest point on underneath (and therefore the first thing to make contact with the ground off road? As I said, I am not building a mud beast, but I would at least like the option to drive it where I want to like a "normal" truck.

As far as power, anything in the neighborhood of 300 hp would be fine with me, which I feel like can be achieved pretty easily without doing all that much. Correct me if I am wrong.

I will probably just get the nicest speakers that fit in the stock holes. I like sound too but have never been one to make extra holes or take up extra space with woofers and such. Just not my style.

I will post a bunch of as-is pics when I get the truck, hopefully next week.

Thanks again

Toomanyhobbies · Sep 21, 2017

BigDaddy,

Thinking about the rear swap more. Being in the northeast I am trying to avoid doing any cutting to the frame and it seems like their are bolt on kits which is what made it attractive. Are there other special fab parts required such as driveshaft, are the axles the same length, stuff like that?

Thanks

BigDaddy13440 · Sep 21, 2017

Toomanyhobbies said:
BigDaddy,

Thinking about the rear swap more. Being in the northeast I am trying to avoid doing any cutting to the frame and it seems like their are bolt on kits which is what made it attractive. Are there other special fab parts required such as driveshaft, are the axles the same length, stuff like that?

Thanks

I'm also in the Northeast, Central NY to be exact.

I agree with you that the bolt-on kits are probably simpler, but at a substantial cost difference.

My '01 Suburban needed a new rear end, I got one at the local yard for a measly $70. They pulled it for me, and had it waiting for me for another $25. How can you beat that?

If you know anyone that can do ANY fab work, they should be able to torch off the coils spring perches and shock mounts, and weld on new leaf spring perches at the correct pinion angle. I had a shop do this for me when I needed a heavier axle in my old '90 Suburban, it cost me 2 hours of shop time, so $150 made it mighty attractive. I swapped in a one-ton rear end out of a Chevy van, with a 4" wider track width - they got new spring perches, and welded them on at the correct distances from center. I got home, bolted it in, ran new hard lines for the brakes, and got a half-ton-to-one-ton conversion u-joint from a local supplier.

In my case, I did all the measurements beforehand, by means of a tape measure and picking parts guys' brains. You have the benefit now of having Google...

It can be done.

dmhscorpio · Sep 25, 2017

Toomanyhobbies said:
Hello All,

We are a chevy truck family. My wife drives a 2015 Suburban that we ordered custom. I drive our 2004 Tahoe that we ordered custom. It has 190,000 on it and runs great although its starting to rust, which is a different topic. Before that, I had a '97 green and gray 2 door LT that I never should have gotten rid of but that's life.

I just picked up a rust free 1998 2 door LT with 190K miles that I plan to restore into a semi-daily driver. Plan is a repaint including underside, interior replacement and total mechanical refresh. I want it to be pretty stock in appearance, but if it was raised an inch when I am done that's fine. I am looking for an upgraded ride and breaking but it will be driven on the road and I am going for a smooth ride on road. Some details of my plans and questions that I looking for help with are as follow:

-Drivetrain - It seems I can get a new long block for the same cost as rebuild. Any reason I would rebuild it instead? I plan to go with a larger throttle body, the spider injector system, and maybe some shorty headers with Flow Masters. I will do the customary K & N and chip it too I suppose. Nothing too nuts. Stage 1 trans rebuild and a rebuild of the transfer case. Probably rebuild the rear and replace driveshaft as well.

-Underneath - I would like to go with a rear disk conversion, and a 4 link rear suspension with coil-overs all around. New brake lines too.

-Inside - I am thinking pretty stock. Will get new carpet and headliner and maybe some seats out of an extended cab Silverado. Anyone has experience with leather seat covers that are a good product?

-Wheels - I will likely go with 18's that are take offs from a new chevy. I did this on my 2004 and they are great.

That's about it. Please critique my ideas and let me know what you think. I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks

I have a pair of 1999 Tahoe 4x4 2 doors. one is black like yours!
On one, it installed a new crate HT383E 383 stroker from GM. http://www.chevrolet.com/performance/crate-engines/small-block-ht-383e
I am very pleased with the extra power and torque. Once the tuner got done playing with it it was an amazing difference.
After market wheels, LED lights, Billet grille, and the Escalade console helped in the looks department! I have owned over 100 vehicles and this is one of two that people stop me in the street and ask if it is for sale.

nathanhanover · Sep 25, 2017

Toomanyhobbies said:
Hello All,

We are a chevy truck family. My wife drives a 2015 Suburban that we ordered custom. I drive our 2004 Tahoe that we ordered custom. It has 190,000 on it and runs great although its starting to rust, which is a different topic. Before that, I had a '97 green and gray 2 door LT that I never should have gotten rid of but that's life.

I just picked up a rust free 1998 2 door LT with 190K miles that I plan to restore into a semi-daily driver. Plan is a repaint including underside, interior replacement and total mechanical refresh. I want it to be pretty stock in appearance, but if it was raised an inch when I am done that's fine. I am looking for an upgraded ride and breaking but it will be driven on the road and I am going for a smooth ride on road. Some details of my plans and questions that I looking for help with are as follow:

-Drivetrain - It seems I can get a new long block for the same cost as rebuild. Any reason I would rebuild it instead? I plan to go with a larger throttle body, the spider injector system, and maybe some shorty headers with Flow Masters. I will do the customary K & N and chip it too I suppose. Nothing too nuts. Stage 1 trans rebuild and a rebuild of the transfer case. Probably rebuild the rear and replace driveshaft as well.

-Underneath - I would like to go with a rear disk conversion, and a 4 link rear suspension with coil-overs all around. New brake lines too.

-Inside - I am thinking pretty stock. Will get new carpet and headliner and maybe some seats out of an extended cab Silverado. Anyone has experience with leather seat covers that are a good product?

-Wheels - I will likely go with 18's that are take offs from a new chevy. I did this on my 2004 and they are great.

That's about it. Please critique my ideas and let me know what you think. I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks

I have found lots of after market stuff on these model & year is a waste of money and timef!!! This is what I found to be about the best mods. On 4 2 drs and about 100k later over 30 yrs. USE a juck yard Hydroboost out of a 2004 Avalanche or silverado for the brakes... you wont need rear discs. You will need some consideral mechanical and brakes skills. Or find someone to do the swap right. its about a $300.00 swap with hoses etc. if you can do it yourself. The complete interior I did on my 1994. Pro truck seats in Penn Joe is the owner. This is a good place to start, but get your finances in order. (my OEM color interior swap cost about 5 k including shipping to Hawaii) Don't be cheap do it right and you'll be happy with it when your driving along. Other int parts at the junk yard crawl and Interior Paint works on some parts from Napa or O'rielly's. Why do you want to waste money painting the underside. Under coat it and be done with it unless you have more money than brains. Headers are a waste of time, Port your manifolds and exhaust ports mildly, put on a new oem hi-flow Catylitic converter from Jegs. the good stainless one not the cheapest one they have. Stick with the OEM rear portion of the exhaust. Trust me I have pissed away 14 k on different exhaust mods and the stock stuff upgraded and modded works best keeps your headaches to a min and easy to replace. (((NO k&N tune))) Tune it with a Jet programmer see the vid on yutube. Did this on both my 1996 and 1999, they run like ***** apes. You won't need a new spider for an oem engine. unless your looking to squeeze one or two more MPG. its a waste of money. Just make sure the oem is in good working order. No for-link suspension. Just remove your front tortion bars and lube all he touching parts with brake grease. remove and inspect the cross bar for cracks. Put back together. Just put on new OEM rear springs & shackles with poly bushings everywhere, front suspension rear springs, trans and engine mounts. Put in Coil over Shocks in the rear, Max control monotube in the front. it will drive like its on rails. Did this to my 2 full size blazers. and my 2 tahoes. you can cut in traffic like a bastard, and you won't need a rear sway bar. You want to put Good year Assurance tires on it there are 3 models all are good. I put the tripple tread on my 1996 2wd and Goodyear wrangler with kevlar on my 4x4. And keep the pressure at max rating for best road handling and Gas mileage. If your some where that has winter, a spare winter tire set for bad weather, or lower pressure by 25lbs on oem and drive at least 5-10 m p h slower in bad weather. Or snow and keep a set of tire cables or chains in the back! Always use your head.

Use Royal purple oils everwhere. I have tried them all over 30 yrs its the best. On your intake OEM valve cover to intake tube. remove and cap the upper put in a breather filter from O-rielly with the tight wire mesh it squeezes in perfect fit first try every try. You will have to clean it every 3 months but your intake will stay clean and run cooler. K&N air filter in the oem box will fine, just keep it and your o2 sensor clean every month. Both my 1999 and 1996 have over 200k miles i put in MSD ignition a spacer, and i am telling you there is no substitute On my work truck 2dr blazer when the head liner went i just cleaned it down to the card board very carefully. touched up the dimples with bondo. And sprayed it with Break through matching tan paint from PPG house paint. its a 15 min dry NO tack paint for all materials. Metal wood etc. The truck stays cooler in summer. speaking of summer. Replace every single part on your AC including the Condenser in the front radiator. You will have 57 degree AC on max power.

Toomanyhobbies · Sep 25, 2017

Nathanhanover,

I am not doing any of the work myself. I have been in points in my life where I had the time and not the money but now I am vice versa so I am going to roll with it.

That's a lot of good information, and it results in some questions and comments as follow:

When you say "you won't need rear disks" I think you are saying that I will have adequate stopping power if I go this way? I am really inclined to go all-disk. I cannot find the brackets for the 6 lug but I did find brackets for 5 lug. So it seems unless someone knows where to get brackets I am stuck buying the expensive conversion kit. The hydro boost and master for a 4 wheel disk 1 ton are only like $150 combined so I don't see any reason to get boneyard parts.

For interior, I do not intend to change color. New front seats from a newer Chevy truck and new carpet, maybe a dash cover and headliner if needed and I am done.

Shorty headers are $200, I wouldn't come close to getting someone to port the manifolds let alone heads for that kind of money. I want to go dual so I am going to have to get some sort of custom system. Will look at new cats on Jegs thanks for the suggestion.

The spider injection is a little over $300, which makes more sense than putting an injection system with nearly 200K back onto a new motor, so I am going to do that.

Definitely will do the chip as well.

I am going 4 link. I never enjoyed the feeling of my old 2 door sliding across the road on a bumpy off-ramp (I would imagine the roads are pretty nice in Hawaii and nearly all of the off ramps in south Florida are concrete so this may be a phenomenon you are not familiar with).

As far as the coil over comment, I am definitely doing this all the way around as well, but I cannot find a coil over kit online, and I cannot find information on here or a parts list to do this job on this truck. Any suggestions?

I am going to get myself some truck tires with a real tread for look and function. More along the lines of a BF Goodrich A/T that I had on my '97 many years ago. I have never had a second set of tires for any car or truck I have owned. I don't have the space to store them, the time to deal with changing out tires, or the extra grand to tie up in wheels and tires so having two sets of tires is a no go for me.

I like royal purple and I like Amsoil too.

Headliner I am thinking the possibilities are endless, but it will be fabric on my truck.

I own the truck having it shipped should be here in about a week. Thanks for your input.

Toomanyhobbies · Sep 25, 2017

Actually maybe you are right on the rear. This is getting expensive and that's a good place to save a grand. I am going to start looking at a new rear leaf set. What's the easiest way to raise the truck about 1" front and rear?

Thanks

Rocket Man · Sep 25, 2017

subbed

Toomanyhobbies · Sep 27, 2017

Hi All,

I am starting to pick out and order parts. Assuming I can get center caps I like, I am leaning toward these wheels. I really don't understand wheel fitment. Can someone tell me if these will fit or if I need spacers?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-17-6-Lu...d=192296984475&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

Thanks

Toomanyhobbies · Oct 6, 2017

Well I got the truck finally a couple days ago. Here are some pictures. It looked a lot better after I got it washed but I forgot to take pictures afterward.

It's amazing what the sun can do to stuff. The indigo blue paint (what's left of it) has turned a medium blue in the Arizona desert. The good news is that the underneath of the truck pretty much looks like it just rolled off the assembly line.

I found a guy right next to the body shop I intend to use that I am hopeful is going to handle the mechanical side of things. He has a '96 silverado as his family truck for towing on the weekends and has a good knowledge of Chevy so I think it is going to work out well.

She broke down on me on the first voyage, and the mechanic thinks it's the fuel pump. Was also leaking oil like a sieve and he said someone took blue silicone to the bottom of the timing chain cover in a last ditch effort.

Next week will going over things completely. The engine is super clean as is the oil inside it. Despite 188K miles, I am thinking of keeping the original motor in it for now.

Seats are the color known as "neutral" and I think will be hard to match with new seats.

I am kind of obsessing over the seats because I really want to replace the front seats with modern GM truck seats. Looks like they will need to be mounted to the old tracks. If anyone knows of a good thread on here where this job has been done it would be a help. Also if anyone knows of a direct bolt in for the rear seats that would help too.

Will post more as we get into all of the stuff that doesn't work (which is a lot).

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