The Impossible Mod?

[soulsea]

You may want to investigate the amount of extra hardware under/in front of the bumper area. There could be additional Trans coolers, battery cooling hardware, fans, any number of hybrid unique stuff that is located on Hybrid only parts/supports in that area.

Yeah I thought of that, but I think I'm okay on that aspect ... here's a bad pic of the front end without the bumper cover that was taken during my retrofit:

Maybe someone can confirm this but all the nnbs trucks I've seen have the same configuration.

I also checked the part numbers for both hybrid and non-hybrid Tahoe fenders and hey share the same part.

So the hood, pending a few more side to side measurements and attachment point locations with a non-hybrid hoe, seems to be a straight forward.

On the bumper front, my bumper assy attaches at the top upper corners at the fender, and with several screws on the front of the engine bay. I can't remember if I have any other attachment locations such as the impact bar ... but I don't think so. How is it on the regular Hoes?

 

[05Yukon23]

I find this whole swap idea very interesting. I love the look of your hybrid but find this endeavor to be intriguing. I'm just a NBS guy so I'm not much help in the measuring and details department but I applaud you for your diligence and doing your homework on this! One thing I'm thinking though. You put a lot of thought into whether or not you wanted the step bars and went with them to help with these line problems, right? How will changing this affect your opinion on them? It's going to change the whole dynamic of your hyhoe. Just a thought.

 

[soulsea]

Hi Jonathan ... thanks for the kind words.

Well, if the I manage to do the front end swap then the next and last major mod would be to deal with the sides. If I can remove the fender/qp hybrid specific moldings without it showing on the paint below then I will do so and swap to the standard esky/denali boards to complete the look. If I can't remove the moldings then I will leave her as is because these are the only boards that work with these moldings.

But that's a bridge that needs not be crossed atm ...

 

[Ben]

You mean you dont like driving with an aluminum flag pole on the side of your truck?

 

[felixgun]

You mean you dont like driving with an aluminum flag pole on the side of your truck?

Lol a little harsh huh ben? If anyone pulls those tubular steps off, it's Serge. Every other vehicle I've seen with em looks like shit but it ties into Serge's vehicle nicely.

 

[InTruckDesign]

I for one think that the Hybrid front end makes your truck look more refined. have you looked into ditching the side steps and condiser the Street Scene side skirts? I think it would help blend the valence with the rest of the truck...wish I had a black tahoe cause I would definetly consider driving down and doing the swap.

 

[soulsea]

I for one think that the Hybrid front end makes your truck look more refined. have you looked into ditching the side steps and condiser the Street Scene side skirts? I think it would help blend the valence with the rest of the truck...wish I had a black tahoe cause I would definetly consider driving down and doing the swap.

I've looked into the SS side skirts but they don't line up with the wheel arch moldings I have on. And yeah, it would have been amazing if your truck was black and could do a swap that would have made us both happy and cost nothing.

-----------------------------

Now for some news ...

I have to say that I've gotten really lucky and the body and parts folks at the dealership really like me and hook me up with all sorts of stuff. For example today I picked up a rear bowtie and little access cover that they painted for me and charged me nothing for the painting or the installs.

Not only that, but the parts manager and the body shop manager actually walked with me to the sales floor and got the sales manager to pull up an LTZ for me to see once and for all if this 'impossible mod' might actually be possible. It was awesome actually, at one point there was three managers, four sales guys, two secretaries, and a new car customer huddled around these two trucks pointing at stuff and trying to figure it out. Incredible!!!

Anyhoot, the final verdict is YES it is possible, and although expensive, it's not that complicated.

All of the attachment points are the same on the hood, on that front I will need a regular Tahoe hood, hood liner, and pneumatic/extending lift rod thingie cause the Hybrid hood is lighter aluminum. The body and parts guys said they could get me all that with the new hood painted and installed for $600.

Considering the primered hood cost alone is supposed to be $600+ I'm thinking it's a good deal. Especially because this isn't a part that I can buy off of ebay and have delivered at my house cause there's no way for me to get it to the body shop.

The bumper/grille assy is a 5 minute straight swap so no issues there ... the parts guy is even throwing in the new light switch dash assy (with fogs) for the $600. A complete painted bumper assy including valance, LTZ grilles, and fogs runs about $1000 shipped.

Money aside, even if I decide to pass on this mod, I'm actually very happy that I managed to sort it out.

And today was soooo cool!!!

 

[felixgun]

Damn Serge you have a ****** dealership sent down from Heaven it sounds like! The dealerships where I live SUCK. They over charge and are ******* stupid and are NOT HELPFUL by any means. You sir, lucked out. So the question is, are you going to do this impossible mod or not now that you know it will work?

 

[07Burb]

 

[Timmy]

good news< Serge!

 

[mariashark]

I understand what you're saying Josh, and I haven't made a decision either way yet ... there are days that I love the different front end and other times I see the truck from the side and the front looks wrong to me.

I just want to know if I can make the decision if I wanted to.

I don't have an answer to your question but I will give my feedback. I personally think the Hybrid front end looks a lot better as well and that switching it would be a mistake. That said to fix your issue I think what I would do is look for an extension to the side skirts most likely to bring them down. It would most likely have to be a custom job but for the amount of coin you are considering for swapping the whole front end it most likely wouldn't be a big deal. I think the lower valance adds kind of an aggressive look to the front personally so that is the route I would be looking to go.

 

[THE YETI]

See Serge, wearing a mini skirt and showing a little thigh goes a LONG way!

 

[edgaranah1]

See Serge, wearing a mini skirt and showing a little thigh goes a LONG way!

Lol


Sent from my iPhone 4g using Tapatalk

 

[tito teeds]

Does anyone know if the swap/conversion is as simple for the yukon and yukon hybrid fronts?

thanks

 

[soulsea]

Does anyone know if the swap/conversion is as simple for the yukon and yukon hybrid fronts?

thanks

Yes, there's no reason why it should be more complicated ... you're essencially swapping the base yukon hybrid parts for those of the yukon denali hybrid.

 

[tito teeds]

thanks.

good to hear.

 

[Jaynu]

Serge, I know this thread is a little old and hope you still look at it. I just got an 08 tahoe two days ago and was reading about your desire to do the front end conversion. I was also looking into this and am not sure if this thread had discouraged me or not yet!! I do like the way your truck looks with the chrome grill. Can you tell me how difficult it was to put a none hybrid grill on your truck. Getting ready to buy a new grill because the one on the truck is cracked, want to make sure I get the right one. Feel free to email me direct if it is easier. [email protected]

Thanks
Jason

 

[soulsea]

Hi jason,

Actually those are Grillcraft stainless steel mesh grilles made specifically for Tahoe Hybrids.
It's impossible to install the regular LTZ grilles on a Hybrid.

Is that what you meant?

Welcome aboard.

---------- Post added at 04:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:48 PM ----------

It's Grillcraft PN CHE-1512-SW fro the two upper grilles and PN CHE-1513-SW for the two little bumper inserts.

 

[Jaynu]

Yes that is what I thought you did. So those are inserts and do not include the frame?

Also I was reading in your previous post about the difference in the hood, were you saying that the length is different or the shape? You indicated it would hang over an inch or two, I can not imagine that the hoods are different lengths when there is no change in the fenders or cal panel. I am just now researching so I apologize if I have overlooked any info already given in this post.

 

[soulsea]

Both the length and the shape of the hybrid hoe hood is different from that of the regular hoes.

The creases in the middle are at different locations and the front of the hood above the radiator sticks out farther on the hybrid to line up with the front bumper cover which protrudes farther. If you park them side to side you will spot the difference immediately.

That's why the bumper can't be changed without the hood.

The good news is that the attachment points are the same so the parts are interchangeable.