Blobs' 2014 Tahoe SSV Build & History

[JoeBlobs]

Hey yall! Long time lurker. Picked up my 2014 SSV a little over a year ago. Its my second Tahoe, the first being a 2005 LT. I loved that truck so much, I knew I wanted another. I always loved the look of the GMT900 Tahoe's and decided to pull the trigger on one. I was originally looking for an LT or LTZ, but I found this SSV with less than 120k miles and ended up picking it up for $7300. Having worked as an upfitter and building emergency vehicles for about 5 years, I wasn't too afraid of any electrical and/or wiring issues I might come across.

So here it is:

And the day I picked it up:

Having built quite a lot of emergency vehicles, it didn't take me long to find and powerup the lights that were left in the vehicle.

 

[JoeBlobs]

History

I wanted to document the work I did, but also the history of 'Ol Chuck the Truck here on the forums.

Based off of the research I found, the truck was Unit K330 of the APD. A K-9 Unit for the Amtrak Police Department. This Unit appears to have operated in Trenton, New Jersey at the Trenton Transit Center, a part of the Northeast Corridor Line, although it seems to have a PA inspection sticker. It also appears to have been in service verifiably as recent as 2019, but I believe it stuck around for a couple years past that. It was purchased in Englewood, Colorado at John Elway Chevrolet. I suspect the vehicle was upfitted there as well, but I have yet to determine that.

For those who aren't familiar with Amtrak:
"The Amtrak Police Department (APD) is a federal railroad police department of Amtrak (also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corporation), the government-owned passenger train system in the United States." -Wiki.

Below is a photo of the EXACT Truck in service in Trenton, NJ. It is a miracle a photo of this truck exists, it took me a long time to find it.

How I came to find the info:

So I didn't actually find out its history until months after owning it. I knew it was obviously law enforcement (it had a Havis console, UHF and VHF antennas, and Reds and Blues, ect.). The Carfax report had a bunch of maintenance reports from NJ and PA, so I figured it was local to me, I just didn't know much more than that. Until one day, in just the right lighting at night my girlfriend spotted the ghosting in the paint of my truck at and noticed it said Amtrak. I later noticed on the rear cargo window a silhouette of a dog’s head and the letters “K-9”. So it was a K9 unit, cool! On the roof I noticed remnants of some old vinyl spelling “APD 330”. I knew this to be the unit number which was very helpful. As for the photo, I actually just found this today. With the help of AI as well as Geo-location info from the file, I was able to determine the EXACT location this photo was taken.

Here are some other resources and media I found in my search:

10-75.net
publicservicecehicles.com
1:43 First Response Replicas 2013 Chevy Tahoe Amtrak Police K-9 Diecast SUV Mode
Minecraft Amtrak Police Chevy Tahoe Tutorial

 

[JoeBlobs]

Mods:
Setina Push Bumper
Fog Light Install
Parking Light Mod
LED Spot Light Replacment
Pioneer Headunit
Kicker Space Saver Sub & Amp
Civilian Center Console (Yukon)
Thunderer Trac Grip M/T LT285/70R17 w/ Spacers
OEM Roof Rack Install
Remote Start
DIC Switch Install


Maintainance:
Front Wheel Hubs
A/C Compressor Pully
Oil Pressure Sensor
Spark Plugs & Wires
Upstream 02 Sensors
Driver Side Motor Mount


To Do:
AFM/DOD Delete
Tune
Trans Fluid & Filter
Front &Rear Diff Fluid
Transfer Case Fluid
Z71 Roof Rack/Basket
Z71 Rear Springs
Leveling Kit
Push Bar Takedown/Scene Lighting
Overhead Switch Panel & Wiring
Front Light Bar
Trans Cooler Bypass STL010
Cooler Thermostat

 

[JoeBlobs]

Got my roof rack installed today. There weren't any existing holes or rivnuts so I had to drill and install them myself. Went smooth though.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Very cool that you found the history, along with the exact pic of your SSV--Also that you're from Jersey and it was in service in Jersey.

 

[89Suburban]

Great intro. I am in SE PA.

 

[PG01]

Yeah, and im in NY, whats da problem….??

 

[JoeBlobs]

Very cool that you found the history, along with the exact pic of your SSV--Also that you're from Jersey and it was in service in Jersey.

I know right! I may have to head over there and recreate the photo.

Great intro. I am in SE PA.

Thanks pal! My lady is in Bucks county.

Yeah, and im in NY, whats da problem….??

Ayyy get ova heaaaaaa!

 

[JoeBlobs]

Finally got around to installing the DIC switch and was able to see my engine hours and other info for the first time.
Engine hours were around 7500 @ 150k miles which I'm pretty happy about. I was also able to monitor my transmission temps and get a baseline.

Got up to 192° on my drive home from work. 100° day and we'll call my 40 minute NJ rush hour commute "spirited driving" for sure. So a decent test just driving around.
Sooner or later I'll be doing a fluid flush, filter replacement, and cooler bypass mod thingy with the STL010 kit. It will be nice to see the difference it make.

 

[JoeBlobs]

Did a bit of bench wiring today. I've, slowly but surely, been pieceing the wiring back together since replacing the Havis console with the civvy one. As well as getting a plan laid out for the updated wiring, lighting, and switch panel setup. I'll be using a lot of stuff I have laying around from past builds. Thankfully I've hoarded quite a bit of emergency vehicle stuff. Here are some things I've been up to:


Got a sweet deal on a bug deflector. Why repaint the hood because of rock chips when you can just cover them up?!

Here is some of the wiring I've been redoing. First photo is before I cleaned it up.
I quite liked the power setup they had originally so I'll be reusing it (this stuff ain't cheap!). That Charge Guard is an awesome feature, though. Basically it keeps those fuse blocks powered up for either; A) a set amount of time after the vehicle has been turned off, or B) until it detects battery voltage hit 11.0v. They would have used it to keep sirens and radios powered up after the vehicle was turned off. Both of which I'd like to add down the road.

As you can also see, I cut up the console a bit to drop the spaghetti board in the civilian console. Not sure how I'm going to secure it just yet, but I'm going to make sure to leave a good sized service loop on the wiring so I can pull it out to work on it. A much needed QOL feature.

Some other bench work I was doing today:

Rewired the light bar I had so I can controll the left and right Amber lights individually so I can tie them into the headlight flasher. Replaced all the cheap Chinese wiring and resealed it up as well.

Also worked on the switch panel I'll be using. I was going to buy a new one that would have looked a little nicer, but this was free so I'm not going to do that.
It also had an illuminated panel for the switch indicators but it was really old and used incadecant bulbs. Used some existing hardware and LED strips I had laying around to make 'er gooder. Found some new stickers to stick in there too that'll be on the way soon.

Thats it for now. Waiting for some decent weather so I can get to the driveline fluids and leveling kit.

Random note, any of yall watch Vice Grip Garage? Probably my favorite YouTube channel.

 

[89Suburban]

Did a bit of bench wiring today. I've, slowly but surely, been pieceing the wiring back together since replacing the Havis console with the civvy one. As well as getting a plan laid out for the updated wiring, lighting, and switch panel setup. I'll be using a lot of stuff I have laying around from past builds. Thankfully I've hoarded quite a bit of emergency vehicle stuff. Here are some things I've been up to:


Got a sweet deal on a bug deflector. Why repaint the hood because of rock chips when you can just cover them up?!

View attachment 463945

Here is some of the wiring I've been redoing. First photo is before I cleaned it up.
I quite liked the power setup they had originally so I'll be reusing it (this stuff ain't cheap!). That Charge Guard is an awesome feature, though. Basically it keeps those fuse blocks powered up for either; A) a set amount of time after the vehicle has been turned off, or B) until it detects battery voltage hit 11.0v. They would have used it to keep sirens and radios powered up after the vehicle was turned off. Both of which I'd like to add down the road.

As you can also see, I cut up the console a bit to drop the spaghetti board in the civilian console. Not sure how I'm going to secure it just yet, but I'm going to make sure to leave a good sized service loop on the wiring so I can pull it out to work on it. A much needed QOL feature.

View attachment 463947View attachment 463949View attachment 463948

Some other bench work I was doing today:

Rewired the light bar I had so I can controll the left and right Amber lights individually so I can tie them into the headlight flasher. Replaced all the cheap Chinese wiring and resealed it up as well.

View attachment 463952
View attachment 463953

Also worked on the switch panel I'll be using. I was going to buy a new one that would have looked a little nicer, but this was free so I'm not going to do that.
It also had an illuminated panel for the switch indicators but it was really old and used incadecant bulbs. Used some existing hardware and LED strips I had laying around to make 'er gooder. Found some new stickers to stick in there too that'll be on the way soon.

View attachment 463954View attachment 463955

Thats it for now. Waiting for some decent weather so I can get to the driveline fluids and leveling kit.

Random note, any of yall watch Vice Grip Garage? Probably my favorite YouTube channel.

We got another electrical tinkering wizard inhere now, nice!

 

[OBSandaNNBS]

Great thread, how the heck did you find that photo?

 

[JoeBlobs]

We got another electrical tinkering wizard inhere now, nice!

Far from a wizard but I finagle

Great thread, how the heck did you find that photo?

Thanks! A lot of luck man. I've been searching since I got the truck and ended up finding it on Flickr. Someone who is into emergency vehicles just snapped it with their phone and uploaded there. Eventually I typed the right keywords into Google and it showed up. I found a lot of media and websites that had photos of Amtrak units, so I guess it kept me hopeful. I'm very happy to have found the back story for this truck. My next step is to find the Officers (and doggos) that were assigned this unit.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Did a bit of bench wiring today. I've, slowly but surely, been pieceing the wiring back together since replacing the Havis console with the civvy one. As well as getting a plan laid out for the updated wiring, lighting, and switch panel setup. I'll be using a lot of stuff I have laying around from past builds. Thankfully I've hoarded quite a bit of emergency vehicle stuff. Here are some things I've been up to:


Got a sweet deal on a bug deflector. Why repaint the hood because of rock chips when you can just cover them up?!

View attachment 463945

Here is some of the wiring I've been redoing. First photo is before I cleaned it up.
I quite liked the power setup they had originally so I'll be reusing it (this stuff ain't cheap!). That Charge Guard is an awesome feature, though. Basically it keeps those fuse blocks powered up for either; A) a set amount of time after the vehicle has been turned off, or B) until it detects battery voltage hit 11.0v. They would have used it to keep sirens and radios powered up after the vehicle was turned off. Both of which I'd like to add down the road.

As you can also see, I cut up the console a bit to drop the spaghetti board in the civilian console. Not sure how I'm going to secure it just yet, but I'm going to make sure to leave a good sized service loop on the wiring so I can pull it out to work on it. A much needed QOL feature.

View attachment 463947View attachment 463949View attachment 463948

Some other bench work I was doing today:

Rewired the light bar I had so I can controll the left and right Amber lights individually so I can tie them into the headlight flasher. Replaced all the cheap Chinese wiring and resealed it up as well.

View attachment 463952
View attachment 463953

Also worked on the switch panel I'll be using. I was going to buy a new one that would have looked a little nicer, but this was free so I'm not going to do that.
It also had an illuminated panel for the switch indicators but it was really old and used incadecant bulbs. Used some existing hardware and LED strips I had laying around to make 'er gooder. Found some new stickers to stick in there too that'll be on the way soon.

View attachment 463954View attachment 463955

Thats it for now. Waiting for some decent weather so I can get to the driveline fluids and leveling kit.

Random note, any of yall watch Vice Grip Garage? Probably my favorite YouTube channel.

Derek is da man!!

 

[JoeBlobs]

Well I was hoping the vibration I suddenly felt in the wheel on the highway was due to losing a wheel weight. Unfortunately, it was not. I've used wheel spacers for years and I've never had this happen. Guess I'll have to add new wheels to the list.

 

[PG01]

Well I was hoping the vibration I suddenly felt in the wheel on the highway was due to losing a wheel weight. Unfortunately, it was not. I've used wheel spacers for years and I've never had this happen. Guess I'll have to add new wheels to the list.

View attachment 464129

Mmmm….. not good, not good

 

[tuckerrnr1]

Hoely Sheeeitt. I'm glad you caught that early. Well, you still have 50% of the fasteners.

 

[Sparksalot]

Well I was hoping the vibration I suddenly felt in the wheel on the highway was due to losing a wheel weight. Unfortunately, it was not. I've used wheel spacers for years and I've never had this happen. Guess I'll have to add new wheels to the list.

View attachment 464129

 

[mikez71]

Do the wheel spacers have that recessed ring through all the lugs like the hub face? And did you run steelies on your other wheel spacers?

Could the lugnuts have just bottomed out leaving the wheel undertorqued? idk why, but the lugnuts on my steelies get chewed up on the taper, which doesn't happen on the alloy wheels..

 

[JoeBlobs]

Do the wheel spacers have that recessed ring through all the lugs like the hub face? And did you run steelies on your other wheel spacers?

Could the lugnuts have just bottomed out leaving the wheel undertorqued? idk why, but the lugnuts on my steelies get chewed up on the taper, which doesn't happen on the alloy wheels..

You know, I'm pretty sure they don't have a raised section like you described, thats something I didn't consider. But the brake rotor is flat behind the wheel isn't it?
I wonder if they make anything for that like they do hub centric rings. I've never ran spacers with steelies admittedly, but with factory alloys plenty of times.

I don't think they bottomed out on anything. The wheel was definitely secure and lugs tight. You might be on to something with the raised sections though.