'97 Chevy Tahoe (2dr/2wd) mild custom

[likaroc13]

Well, I took it in to a local hot rod shop today for some minor paint correction. Trying to remove some fine scratches/swirls before having some old school pinstriping done. I'll probably take it for pinstriping after the first of the new year, because I have too many other holiday plans between now & then.

I also pulled the factory mirrors today, & it went fairly smoothly. It's a bit of a challenge getting to a couple of those nuts & making sure you don't drop them. However, it's much easier than having to remove the entire door panel like I had to do on my old '93 C-1500.

[likaroc13]

Talked to dad last week, & the sport mirrors are painted. I'll be picking them up while I'm home for the holidays. When I get back to SC, I'll throw them on & snap some pics. I also have to chase down the culprit of some annoying chirping/squealing noises under the hood. Here's a link I started related to the issue:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=607963

Merry Christmas!

[likaroc13]

Still haven't got my chirping issue sorted out, but I should have a couple new parts by Monday. If that don't work, I gotta dig deeper. It's a bit frustrating to say the least. I picked up my mirrors but still haven't gotten them installed. Hopefully I can get to that this weekend.

Another frustrating thing is I thought I had 100% original paint aside from the accessories & driver's door that the PO had worked on. A few months ago after washing it, I noticed a hint of red metallic when the sun hit the driver's front fender. Well, last week I further confirmed after seeing another spot. It wouldn't make much sense if the original fender had metallic red underneath, considering the factory paint code is the standard black (8555). Aside from that, the clear is getting really thin above the top body line towards the rear. So, now I'm looking at my options for repainting this fender. It sucks when you start throwing money at things you weren't expecting to. Here's a look at the fender:

[likaroc13]

Well, good news is the chirping noise completely disappeared. I also got around to installing the Street Scene mirrors. I still want to repaint that driver's side front fender. Then I'll see about having some pinstriping done. I had planned to already to be further along at this point, but oh well.

Was out doing some sightseeing this past weekend & drove the Hoe. I decided to snap a few new pics while we were out. We visited a couple of historical cemeteries here in Charleston, & it proved to be a pretty cool backdrop. My wife takes the Hoe to work on occasion, & one of the guys there refers to it as "the hearse."

[likaroc13]

Started cleaning up the Vette rally wheels this weekend. I took them Friday to have the old tires removed. The PO thought the front wheels might be warped, but I had a feeling it was just the worn tires. I had them checked while at the tire shop, & they checked out okay. I brought them home & began cleaning the old brake dust, grime, & surface rust from the back of the wheels. Turns out the rear wheels are 15x8, not 15x10's like I had been told. Not a big deal though. I'm just priming & painting the rear with Rustoleum rattle can, but I plan to have the fronts painted with a nice automotive enamel. Not sure what color yet, but I plan to wait until the pinstriping is done before making the final decision. Then I'll also get new tires for them. I'm thinking 235/70/15 for the 6" front wheels & 275/60/15 for the 8" rears. Planning on either BFG Radial T/A's or Cooper Cobra Radial GT's.

Pics below are before cleaning, after, & painted

[dragginmetal]

They cleaned up pretty good. You have 2 sets of rims now, and looking to get some Vintecs. Don't have to worry about flats that way I guess. lol

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by dragginmetal

They cleaned up pretty good. You have 2 sets of rims now, and looking to get some Vintecs. Don't have to worry about flats that way I guess. lol

The BOSS wheels & associated tires will be for sale as soon as I get new tires for the rally wheels. The funds will be applied towards the purchase of the new wheels. Not exactly sure when that purchase will happen yet. In the end I'll have 2 sets of wheels to run, each which will give a totally different vibe to the overall look.

[likaroc13]

Went to Charlotte for the AutoFair last weekend. Here's a little sneek peek into the future:

[likaroc13]

No pics, but yesterday I pulled the grille & bumper filler. This evening I took it to the body shop. Hopefully I'll have it back Thursday with a fresh black driver's side front fender. Then I'm planning to do some detailing on the rest of the paint. Once that's done, I'll be hitting up the pinstriper. Glad to finally get this ball rolling!

[likaroc13]

Fender has been painted, so that issue is taken care of. Hopefully taking it in Thursday to get the A/C going again. It had a leaky compressor when I bought it. I did a recharge last year with some dye added, but it didn't last long. It's leaking around the case, where the front & rear halves join. From what I've read, this is a common place for them to leak. My wife said she won't drive it anymore this Spring/Summer without the air working! I wasn't expecting to have to do A/C work on this thing when I bought it. I assumed it worked fine & wasn't told it didn't. I didn't even think to ask since it was winter when I bought it. Oh well, I guess it has served pretty good over it's lifetime.

[likaroc13]

Been working on some other little things. I had posted a thread asking about smooth wiper cowls:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=624790

Since the consensus is that most fit like crap, I decided to "spiffy" up my stock one. I also wanted to try and eliminate some of the debris (leaves, etc.) from falling through the cowl. This is one reason I was interested in the smooth cowl. Since I'm working with my stock one though, I decided to try adding some mesh screen to the under side. Here's a look at the cowl in stock form:

Top:



Bottom:




I also repaired a crack on the driver's side of the wiper cowl. I used JB Weld for plastic. I didn't think to take a before pic, but here's a glimpse of the bottom after I fixed it:



And this is what I used to repair the crack:

[likaroc13]

Here's a look underneath the cowl after adding the mesh screen, which I bought at Lowe's. Since anything used to attach it would've likely been messy, I just opted to hot glue it into place. I tried to measure, cut, & glue as sanitary as possible, even though nobody will see it.

Bottom driver's side:



Bottom center:



Bottom passenger side:



Fiberglass mesh screen used under the cowl:

[likaroc13]

I'm still working on repainting the top side of the cowl panel. I'll post pics once it's done. Good news is I have a working A/C again! Since I forgot to take pics of the parts before installation, I'll just list what I used:

Delphi A/C compressor: Part # CS0120
Delphi Accumulator: Part #AD10080
ACDelco Orifice Tube: Part # 15-5612

I got the compressor from RockAuto, while the accumulator and orifice tube were purchased via Amazon.

[Cashed]

Good looking Tahoe. I had the rattling center console cupholder issue, too. I ended up putting felt around the little tab that is supposed to hold it shut. 5 years later, it is still holding strong even while the cup holder gets occasional use.

Good wheel choice, too.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by Cashed

Good looking Tahoe. I had the rattling center console cupholder issue, too. I ended up putting felt around the little tab that is supposed to hold it shut. 5 years later, it is still holding strong even while the cup holder gets occasional use.

Good wheel choice, too.

Thanks. My console wasn't actually rattling but just wouldn't stay shut completely. I'm sure it would've begun to rattle at some point though if I hadn't fixed it.

Wheel choice wasn't mine, but I'm rolling with it for now. If going with the BOSS 338's, I would've chosen the gray spokes like you have. I plan on going old school for a while if I can ever round up a couple 15x7 rallys (like I have) for the front. Trying to sell the 15x6's I currently have.

We had an almost $1500 setback due to the cat needing emergency care. Needless to say, some of my plans have been temporarily put on the back burner.

[Cashed]

Bummer. Hope your cat gets better.

The rally wheels will look cool. There was a 2wd 2 door in my area for sale with rally wheels a few months ago. It looked pretty cool.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by Cashed

Bummer. Hope your cat gets better.

The rally wheels will look cool. There was a 2wd 2 door in my area for sale with rally wheels a few months ago. It looked pretty cool.

Thanks. He's doing good. Had a pretty significant bladder blockage that kept him from urinating.

I think the rallys will look good too. At least I don't have to guess, since I already have pics of it with them when the PO bought it. Just have to decide what color I want to paint them. I'll be using the bullet style center caps I bought, as well as the thin, ribbed stainless trim rings that used to be on my '66 C-10.

[Hankster]

Clean looking Hoe, Can't wait to see it with the rallys!

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by Hankster

Clean looking Hoe, Can't wait to see it with the rallys!

Thank you. Just noticed you're from Pensacola. Out of college, my wife (then g/f) and I lived there for a little over 2.5 years (May '07- Jan. '10). I often miss it!

[Hankster]

Originally Posted by likaroc13

Thank you. Just noticed you're from Pensacola. Out of college, my wife (then g/f) and I lived there for a little over 2.5 years (May '07- Jan. '10). I often miss it!

I live about 45 minutes from pcola.. I just put that cause thats the general place everyone knows about around where I live. I actually live in jay.

[likaroc13]

Bout to get back on this thing. Found a set of staggered 20" Coys that I was seriously thinking about, but I wasn't able to check them out in person like I had hoped. Still keeping an eye out, but I'm leaning towards just running the Vette rallys for a while & selling the 18's. That'll free up some funds to address a few other things I've been wanting to get done.

Here's a link to some photoshop work I had done, although nothing is set in stone yet:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=633316

[likaroc13]

Also trying to decide about a slight grille change. Here's a couple other potential looks. First one is with the billet blacked out but keeping chrome ring, & the second has the chrome trim ring color matched while keeping billet unpainted:

[likaroc13]

Decided to go with the black billet & keep the chrome trim ring on the grille. I also scored a vintage GMC emblem on eBay, which will be mounted onto the billet. I sent it home to my dad, & he's having a local shop re-chrome it. After shearing two 5/64" hex bolt heads holding the billet grille into the shell, I eventually managed to get it removed. I ended up having to cut part of the mounting bars just to get it out. Now I have to fix it back as best as possible. I went ahead & got some quotes for powder coat last week. Gonna do the billet grille in satin black, & the front bumper will be done in a gloss black.

I also started trying to remove the chrome trim ring from the grille shell, in anticipation of having the shell repainted. That's a PITA! Been trying to Dremel the tabs holding it into place, while trying not to butcher anything. It's getting close, & I'll try to get some pics uploaded of the process. I'll also snap some pics of the billet grille fix as well.

A couple weeks ago I noticed the blower fan was making noise. It wasn't too noticeable on low, but increasing speeds resulted in more noise. I decided to dig into it last week. My motor has the cover over it, & that was a bit of a pain to deal with. There's also one bolt on the top right that's directly behind a support brace. Getting that out was a challenge as well. After finally getting to the internals, luckily it was only leaves in the cage on the motor. That's what I get for leaving the wiper cowl off for so long! While I was in there, I wiped things down, cleaned the cage, & lubed the shaft on the motor. Smooth as butter now!

A few weeks ago, my wife drove the Hoe to work. She mentioned that it didn't seem to be cooling properly (A/C). I just had a new compressor, accumulator, & orifice tube installed in May. I think it's just low refrigerant, as the compressor seems to keep cycling constantly. Gotta look for leaks though. Taking back to the shop Monday morning for diagnosis on that. I thought I was past the A/C woes!

[likaroc13]

Any input on this would also be greatly appreciated:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=639745

As mentioned in the link, I'd really rather run a 15" smoothie wheel than the rallys. I ran the 15x7 Caprice steelies on my old '93 with 5/8 drop, however I also had smaller tires than I want to run on the Tahoe. I think the factory steel spare for my Hoe is 4" backspace, & it's on a 235/75 tire. I installed it once when working on my BOSS wheels, & it seemed to fit okay up front, aside from being a bit taller (sidewall) than preferred.

[likaroc13]

As promised, here are some pics. These first ones are some I snapped while under the dash. After seeing some pics by Tx Firefighter of how dirty his most recent build was behind the dash, I thought I'd show how clean mine is. I'm thankful to have one that has been well cared for!