K/5 Tahoe build thread

[DeadheadNM]

Very nice work - I envy your skills. Looks great!

[Paul72]

Thanks!

"Skills" may be a stretch - I'm figuring this out as I go! It's a good 10 footer...

Still wanting to make the road trip up there some time!

Stay healthy

[Ptjsk]

Man....you are doing one hell of a job! Much more than I would have ever attempted, but glad you're saving another one!

Pat

[Paul72]

Not a pic update...

But - I have the Tahoe in the garage ready to tear apart this winter. The biggest challenge for me will be to label every wire so I can route it correctly in the Blazer. Second challenge - getting the frame shortened correctly! If I screw that up, the whole project is scrapped...

Stay tuned!

[DeadheadNM]

Good luck

[72ironmike]

Paul, Looks like it is gonna be a nice one ! All you guys that do this are inspiring. Mike.

[MJN]

Looking good Paul! I'd figured you would have moved to a boat project since you're playing with boat motors at work these days If you need a hand don't hesitate to let me know, its not that far of a drive.

[Paul72]

Thanks guys!

I was able to spend a little time in the garage Saturday - got some of the 'easy stuff' removed...

[Paul72]

How quickly 6 months went by! I'm embarrassed to say that the project has not moved much. Hoping to have the Yukon torn down and the frame shortened by the fall so I can complete the tub swap over the winter.

I'll get more pics posted as it goes...

[Paul72]

Today was a bittersweet day...

The good: the events of the day have expedited my project schedule. Instead of driving my Blazer another summer, I will be starting to remove the tub, preparing it for installation on the Tahoe frame...

The bad: Today the Blazer died. After chasing my tail with a cheap fuel pump, overpressurizing the fuel system, swapping carbs, installing a regulator, then installing the correct fuel pump, I killed the engine. I haven't done a compression check yet, but I think a couple valves paid the price with too much fuel going into the cylinders...

The ugly: Time management. between working 2 jobs and the weekend activities of summer, I wasn't planning on a lot of project time in the garage until it got colder again. Oh well, anything I get done between now and then will be a bonus, right?

Stay tuned!

[MJN]

Hey Paul- thats a bummer to hear about the Blazer but like you said it will help expedite things a bit more. I can more than relate to the outside events that cause project delays- my Napco is only 13 years in process of being rebuilt- its always something.

[Paul72]

Progress!!

Finally got the tub removed! Went much smoother than I was anticipating. Now I need to get the Tahoe off of it's frame so I can bring the tub over to its new home.

Not gonna lie - was a little sad driving it out of the garage, knowing it was the last time firing it up for a while...

[DeadheadNM]

Turned a big corner, congrats. Good winter project tee'd up there.

[zammer]

This is going to be awesome on a new chassis! Subscribed

[Paul72]

Thanks Zammer! I'm figuring this out as I go, but I am confident I will make it to the end (I have an 8 year old that loves Blazer rides!)

More progress taking the Tahoe apart last weekend. Major steps were getting the headliner out and getting the dash closer to removal. Continuing to label the wiring harness connections for future reference.

I may have evicted a momma mouse and a couple of her kids in the process...

[DeadheadNM]

How’s the steering wheel in the Tahoe? Any bracketry for the roof rack as part of the inner skin? Wondering how the roof rails were bolted into place.

[Paul72]

The steering wheel is in excellent condition.

There is no sign of the roof rack mounting from the inside. I can cut one out today and reveal the mystery My guess is the threaded boss is welded to both the inner and outer skin, but we will see...

[Paul72]

Looks like the threaded boss is attached only to the outer skin. the hex shape makes me think it may come apart? Either way, it's attached pretty solid.

[Blue GMC]

Looking good love it when guys go off the normal path. Look forward to watching the progress

[Paul72]

A little more progress last weekend - got the vehicle harness pulled out up to the dash. Now the fun part - getting the dash out and pulling wire thru the firewall so I can get the tub removed...

First pic is the rats nest.

Second pic is a little more organized.

[DeadheadNM]

Paul sorry I missed your replies. Thanks for posting those! Looks like riv nuts were used for the rack with no underlying braces. Far out. If that's a leather wrapped steer wheel I might make use of that in the burb. AC controller have intact mount tabs?

[Paul72]

Hey Pete - steering wheel is yours. I'll put it with the other parts to bring up to you.

The A/C controller tabs are broken on one side - sorry!

[1rippen6]

I'm not sure of your plans but if you only want the engine and tranny to work right then the majority of the wiring under the dash isn't need. Below is a link to LT1SWAP.COM youtube channel, there is 3 very good video's on how to modify the harness to run the ls engine and tranny.

https://www.youtube.com/c/LT1SWAPCOM

[Paul72]

Thanks Dwayne!

Looks like very good info there - will have to take some notes!

Step 1 will be to get it running, but I may get creative later and add some 'enhancements' with the extra I/O's.

[MJN]

Originally Posted by Paul72

Looks like the threaded boss is attached only to the outer skin. the hex shape makes me think it may come apart? Either way, it's attached pretty solid.

Those hex shaped nuts look like the kremnuts we use on our vehicle mainframes- those won't unscrew or come apart as they're crimped and the hex is just there to keep it from spinning when the threaded mandrel is fed into the nut during installation.