The 2 Doors are now Tweeners . . .

[IRQVET]

So many years back when I started looking for a 68-72 Blazer and inadvertely stumbled across a clean 98 2 Door, I had that thought that one day this thing would be a classic. Granted the 2 door was only 8 years old at the time, so in no way was it wasn't a classic by any means; but I remember watching the susequent trucks (enter manufacturers name here) after Y2K were getting lighter, and thinner, and built with cheaper materials; I knew that 98/99 was going to be the last of the "Heavy Chevy's." I guess I've always considered a HC as any truck I can lean against without the fear of denting or dimpling the sheet metal.

Fastforward a decade or so and I've watched the values stay relatively flat. But lately I've seen alot of hot rod places starting to add these into their inventory. I've even seen a few sell and command some pretty crazy prices. Now I'm not in the market of selling mine, I still like driving it and its been a great truck. But about 10 years ago I lifted it, put new wheels and tires on it, new exhaust, etc.

But now my Tahoe mannly sits. I know the 2 doors are in this weird "in-between" phase where they are not exactly classics, but they are definately trending in that direction; hense the term tweeners.

I'm a little older now, I'm in a much better place (financially) than I was when I fist bought it (about 12 years ago). I start it up every week or so and I take it out every now and again, but I'm just not driving it as much anymore but I'm definately not selling it.

So now I'm getting the itch to build it (again), and take the elevation into the opposite direction and making it into a street rod.

Anyone else in this boat or considering something simular?

 

[gat0r]

this just showed in my 'recent media' box

some inspiration, so to speak

 

[03catburban]

Customer got a clean 98 at the shop I need snap a pic of if I remember


Around here 4x4 can be found but the 2wd version is very hard to find

 

[IRQVET]

Dang Jay, that is a nice one!

 

[willinnashville]

Here's my old one from a few years back. It was flawless and clean inside, and bagged with an air ride setup. I sold it in 2015. My project cars always have to pull daily driver duty, and this one became a pain to live with. The two big problems I had with it were 1.) side glass that leaked and nobody around here would touch it since replacements weren't available in case it broke and 2.) a talk with my insurance guy illuminated the fact that if this were totalled, I could expect about $1500 for it. Someone offered me a good price for it, so I let it go

Pics!

 

[PsychoPimpKiller]

I've been thinking about doing something to mine too. It's a 1997 2 door Tahoe that i bought in 2005 and haven't done much to, except for normal maintenance, a custom center console and some 20 inch wheels. It was rust free but has now has some rocker panel rotting going on.
I don't drive it much because of the fuel economy but i love and don't want to part with it.
It's the longest that I have ever owned a single vehicle.

 

[Squirrelsmith]

Here's my old one from a few years back. It was flawless and clean inside, and bagged with an air ride setup. I sold it in 2015. My project cars always have to pull daily driver duty, and this one became a pain to live with. The two big problems I had with it were 1.) side glass that leaked and nobody around here would touch it since replacements weren't available in case it broke and 2.) a talk with my insurance guy illuminated the fact that if this were totalled, I could expect about $1500 for it. Someone offered me a good price for it, so I let it go

Pics!

Gotta have it as a collectors car with collectors insurance. All u had to do was buy a shit box for $500, insure it and park it. Tell hagarty that its your daily and they would have insured your 2 door for 20k on the cheap.

 

[IRQVET]

What were the specs on this one, I like the way it sits. Rim size and drop height?

 

[David Staines]

I think the 2drs are falling into the same category as the SWB trucks. Chevy really seems to have cornered this market with the trucks for pretty much all of the generations. I'd love to have a 2wd and 4wd Tahoe/Blazer from each generation between 67-99. I'd also love to have a SWB from each generation... and every generation since.

 

[YukonGTmaster]

Just putting the '97 Yukon GT away for the winter. A wash and a chamois. I will let it air dry for a couple days and put the cover on it in the garage. If gas keeps going down, I can park my Ford Electric in the Spring, and get the Yukon back on the road! Lol

 

[wtbtahoe]

Here's my DD for the last ten years. Found it with only 10k og miles on it when I bought it from the og owner. Put a Whipple on it for some extra oomph from the fairly anemic Vortec. These trucks are definitely on the move, probably getting pulled up as much from the interest in the early Blazers as from the Tahoes, but they're on the move. I've seen some pretty strong #'s on BAT and other places for some of the really clean, low mileage examples.

 

[tom3]

That supercharger would probably hurt the value some - but that is a really nice vehicle. Probably starting to draw a lot of attention too. Can get a little annoying at the gas pump sometimes. And a really clean machine throughout!

 

[TollKeeper]

Want rare... find one of those 2 doors with the 6.5 Turbo Diesel... And even more rare.. The 6.5 Naturally Aspirated diesel. I miss the NA 2 door diesel I had. I loved how easy it was to work on!

 

[IRQVET]

Here's my DD for the last ten years. Found it with only 10k og miles on it when I bought it from the og owner. Put a Whipple on it for some extra oomph from the fairly anemic Vortec. These trucks are definitely on the move, probably getting pulled up as much from the interest in the early Blazers as from the Tahoes, but they're on the move. I've seen some pretty strong #'s on BAT and other places for some of the really clean, low mileage examples.
View attachment 387384

So funny story about how I aquired mine, yours is a gem, mine was simular when I found it. Here’s the story:

I hunted Craigslist for years looking for a 96-99 2 door Tahoe. Then in 2006, I found my 1998 for sale for $5,000 with 60K miles. I stumbled across the ad minutes after it was posted. My Tahoe was booking in the $20-30K range (estimate) so this seemed like a stupid good deal.

I figured the ad was a scam, a salvage title, or something simular. But I made the call anyway. Owner seemed very intoxicated when I called him, and I started asking him all sorts of questions, again, I was very skeptical.

Turns out he was a rich dude (understatement) and his wife strained her back trying to lift a toddler into the back of the 2 door. So she got upset, didn’t consult her husband, and went to the Chevy dealer and bought a new 4 door and drove it home. The husband had my Tahoe custom ordered in 1998, so it was $51K new and had every available option for the 1998 year. When you run the VIN number through the GM database, it comes up 1 of 1 like it ever made.

He was pissed.

So he got drunk and posted it for sale. He obviously didn’t need the money, cause when I got there he told me in his slurred speech, “You want it?! Get it out of my sight.” As he looked over his shoulder toward his wife and said “F*cking Bit$h."

Hard to believe that was almost 20 years ago. Its been a great rig! That's why when I cracked the engine block back in 2017, I popped for a new GM crate motor. Cause I’ve never had much money tied up in this rig. I love it.

 

[BacDoc]

So funny story about how I aquired mine, yours is a gem, mine was simular when I found it. Here’s the story:

I hunted Craigslist for years looking for a 96-99 2 door Tahoe. Then in 2006, I found my 1998 for sale for $5,000 with 60K miles. I stumbled across the ad minutes after it was posted. My Tahoe was booking in the $20-30K range (estimate) so this seemed like a stupid good deal.

I figured the ad was a scam, a salvage title, or something simular. But I made the call anyway. Owner seemed very intoxicated when I called him, and I started asking him all sorts of questions, again, I was very skeptical.

Turns out he was a rich dude (understatement) and his wife strained her back trying to lift a toddler into the back of the 2 door. So she got upset, didn’t consult her husband, and went to the Chevy dealer and bought a new 4 door and drove it home. The husband had my Tahoe custom ordered in 1998, so it was $51K new and had every available option for the 1998 year. When you run the VIN number through the GM database, it comes up 1 of 1 like it ever made.

He was pissed.

So he got drunk and posted it for sale. He obviously didn’t need the money, cause when I got there he told me in his slurred speech, “You want it?! Get it out of my sight.” As he looked over his shoulder toward his wife and said “F*cking Bit$h."

Hard to believe that was almost 20 years ago. Its been a great rig! That's why when I cracked the engine block back in 2017, I popped for a new GM crate motor. Cause I’ve never had much money tied up in this rig. I love it.

View attachment 388185

Resurrecting this thread because this is such a cool truck and I want to know what you did with this beauty?

Does this have rear cargo doors or hatch and tailgate?

 

[IRQVET]

Resurrecting this thread because this is such a cool truck and I want to know what you did with this beauty?

Does this have rear cargo doors or hatch and tailgate?

Barn doors.

Daily drove it for 15 years.

Parked it for the last 5 years and its gets driven once a month towing trailers (150 miles round trip).

Currently, I'm tackling all the deferred maintenance. Thinking I might daily drive it again (as new truck prices are crazy). Been tackling a full front suspension rebuild and new braking system. Next I'll move onto the rear axle and change out the diff seals and fluid, and paint the rear axle. It spent most of its life in California, so there is no serious rust, just surface rust.

 

[BacDoc]

That’s a beauty!

Keep posting pics of your progress, those 2 doors are classic and you have a sweet one.