My 97 Tahoe build - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

61_FL_Apache · 02-15-2014, 09:03 PM

Hello. This is my official thread of my 97 Tahoe build.

I have spent the last few years working on my 61, now its time to focus on my other ride.

Here is a pic of it today..

I have had this since 2006 and its mostly been a daily driver..

61_FL_Apache · 02-15-2014, 09:06 PM

One of my recent project was to replace the fuel injection spider.. With the help of a 40 minute youtube video, I jumped right in..

Here is a before shot.

After.

What a difference in power going to a true multi-port injection over the central port fuel injection.

61_FL_Apache · 02-15-2014, 09:09 PM

The next thing I did was replacing the lights the lit up the AC control panel and guage cluster.

Before.

After. I also replaced the push button switch led's with blue ones.

Superbrightleds.com is where I got the bulbs.. What a nice upgrade that was.

61_FL_Apache · 02-15-2014, 09:10 PM

Next on the list is a 3/2" drop.. Im planning on buying some 3" drop springs for the front and 2" drop shackles for the rear..

Stay tuned!!

61_FL_Apache · 03-05-2014, 07:02 PM

Look what the man in the brown truck brought me today..

New springs!!

Some before shots..
Front

Rear

I hope to start on this Saturday..

61_FL_Apache · 03-05-2014, 08:02 PM

The new springs are actually for a 2" drop.. I may just go 1" in the rear. The shackles I have coming can to 1" or 2" drop.. I will drop the front first and then go from there.

61_FL_Apache · 03-08-2014, 12:00 PM

Here are the shackles that came in yesterday.

61_FL_Apache · 03-08-2014, 12:04 PM

Today I started the front spring replacement.

Here are some shots during.

Spring out.

Old and new.

Spring in.

After.

Stay tuned. The rear is next.

61_FL_Apache · 03-08-2014, 12:05 PM

These springs gave me a perfect 2" drop.

61_FL_Apache · 03-08-2014, 01:16 PM

Well, the rear didn't take too long..

Before

Old and New

After

After rear measurement

After front and rear are complete.

Im real happy how this turned out.

chevyboy73 · 03-08-2014, 01:28 PM

looks pretty nice down low

Zane M · 03-09-2014, 01:37 PM

Looks great with that stance.

61_FL_Apache · 03-10-2014, 07:44 AM

Thanks guys

61_FL_Apache · 03-13-2014, 05:53 PM

I pulled the running boards off today.. I was not sure if I would like it, but I think I do.. After the 2/2 drop, having the boards there did make it look lower.. I think I like the cleaner look with out them.

Before.

After.

61_FL_Apache · 03-16-2014, 03:09 PM

Today was replacing sway bar bushings and end link bushings.

Before

New parts from Prothane

One thing you may notice, the sleeve and bolts were much longer than the original.. Problem was, these were for a 4X4 Tahoe.. I ended up reusing the old bolts with the new bushings, but that didn't look right either.. I cut down the sleeves down to 1 1/8" and used bolts to match.. That took it to the right level after dropping the front 2"

After

Next shocks and all steering parts.

61_FL_Apache · 04-05-2014, 06:53 PM

Just a fun picture I took today.. Its not as low as it looks.. The ground is a little lower there where I parked it today.

DroppedAsAChild · 04-12-2014, 04:07 AM

I have similar plans for mine.

muthstryker · 04-13-2014, 08:38 PM

Looks good! how tall are your tires? Was thinking about running a similar drop on mine for awhile. I can't tell from the picture with the tape measure they look to be around 28 inches?

61_FL_Apache · 04-13-2014, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muthstryker

Looks good! how tall are your tires? Was thinking about running a similar drop on mine for awhile. I can't tell from the picture with the tape measure they look to be around 28 inches?

Thank you!!

My current tires are 255/70/15 (29.1"), but I was planning on changing them to a 255/70/15 (28"). Was going for a low fat look.

muthstryker · 04-14-2014, 02:37 AM

Awesome thank you! Keep it up!

61_FL_Apache · 05-08-2014, 09:03 PM

I went to my local tire shop for an alignment and the guy there said my upper ball joint were too worn to align the front end.. I replaced the pitman arm because that was worn.. The ball joints looks ok to me, but they are the experts..

So, I bought new ball joints from ebay this week and they should be here tomorrow.. I hope to get them on over the weekend.. I have to find a press for the lowers..

Stay tuned....

61_FL_Apache · 05-17-2014, 07:23 AM

...and here we are doing ball joints this weekend.

I have the upper ones done so far and here are a few pics of that.

Now I need to track down a lower ball joint press.. I hope to get those done today.

61_FL_Apache · 05-18-2014, 06:35 PM

Lower ball joint going in..

Alignment shop next!

Low Elco · 05-20-2014, 12:53 PM

I like it!

61_FL_Apache · 05-20-2014, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Low Elco

I like it!

Thanks

02-15-2014, 09:03 PM	#1
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	My 97 Tahoe build Hello. This is my official thread of my 97 Tahoe build. I have spent the last few years working on my 61, now its time to focus on my other ride. Here is a pic of it today.. I have had this since 2006 and its mostly been a daily driver.. __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)

02-15-2014, 09:06 PM	#2
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	Re: My 97 Tahoe build One of my recent project was to replace the fuel injection spider.. With the help of a 40 minute youtube video, I jumped right in.. Here is a before shot. After. What a difference in power going to a true multi-port injection over the central port fuel injection. __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)

02-15-2014, 09:09 PM	#3
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	Re: My 97 Tahoe build The next thing I did was replacing the lights the lit up the AC control panel and guage cluster. Before. After. I also replaced the push button switch led's with blue ones. Superbrightleds.com is where I got the bulbs.. What a nice upgrade that was. __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)

02-15-2014, 09:10 PM	#4
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	Re: My 97 Tahoe build Next on the list is a 3/2" drop.. Im planning on buying some 3" drop springs for the front and 2" drop shackles for the rear.. Stay tuned!! __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)

03-05-2014, 07:02 PM	#5
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	Re: My 97 Tahoe build Look what the man in the brown truck brought me today.. New springs!! Some before shots.. Front Rear I hope to start on this Saturday.. __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)

03-05-2014, 08:02 PM	#6
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	Re: My 97 Tahoe build The new springs are actually for a 2" drop.. I may just go 1" in the rear. The shackles I have coming can to 1" or 2" drop.. I will drop the front first and then go from there. __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)

03-08-2014, 12:00 PM	#7
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	Re: My 97 Tahoe build Here are the shackles that came in yesterday. __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)

03-08-2014, 12:04 PM	#8
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	Re: My 97 Tahoe build Today I started the front spring replacement. Here are some shots during. Spring out. Old and new. Spring in. After. Stay tuned. The rear is next. __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)

03-08-2014, 12:05 PM	#9
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	Re: My 97 Tahoe build These springs gave me a perfect 2" drop. __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)

03-08-2014, 01:16 PM	#10
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	Re: My 97 Tahoe build Well, the rear didn't take too long.. Before Old and New After After rear measurement After front and rear are complete. Im real happy how this turned out. __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)

03-08-2014, 01:28 PM	#11
chevyboy73 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Sun Prairie, WI Posts: 131	Re: My 97 Tahoe build looks pretty nice down low __________________ 2011 Silverado ECSB LT 2000 Silverado RCSB 2WD super bad habit of not owning a vehicle for a long time

03-09-2014, 01:37 PM	#12
Zane M Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: SLC, UT Posts: 706	Re: My 97 Tahoe build Looks great with that stance.

03-10-2014, 07:44 AM	#13
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	Re: My 97 Tahoe build Thanks guys __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)

03-13-2014, 05:53 PM	#14
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	Re: My 97 Tahoe build I pulled the running boards off today.. I was not sure if I would like it, but I think I do.. After the 2/2 drop, having the boards there did make it look lower.. I think I like the cleaner look with out them. Before. After. __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)

03-16-2014, 03:09 PM	#15
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	Re: My 97 Tahoe build Today was replacing sway bar bushings and end link bushings. Before New parts from Prothane One thing you may notice, the sleeve and bolts were much longer than the original.. Problem was, these were for a 4X4 Tahoe.. I ended up reusing the old bolts with the new bushings, but that didn't look right either.. I cut down the sleeves down to 1 1/8" and used bolts to match.. That took it to the right level after dropping the front 2" After Next shocks and all steering parts. __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)



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04-05-2014, 06:53 PM	#16
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	Re: My 97 Tahoe build Just a fun picture I took today.. Its not as low as it looks.. The ground is a little lower there where I parked it today. __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)

04-12-2014, 04:07 AM	#17
DroppedAsAChild Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 130	Re: My 97 Tahoe build I have similar plans for mine. __________________ 1999 OBS Gmc Sierra ECSB Classic 1500 2wd-The Show truck (Black/Greystone metallic 2 tone) 1999 OBS GMC Yukon 4dr 2wd-Daily Driver/Toy (White) 1990 OBS GMC Sierra ST RCSS 2wd-100% Factory Original (Crimson Red/Metallic Silver 2 tone) 1997 OBS Chevrolet Silverado ECSB 2wd-Pops Daily/Tow Pig (White)

04-13-2014, 08:38 PM	#18
muthstryker Registered User Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Snohomish, Washington Posts: 1,187	Re: My 97 Tahoe build Looks good! how tall are your tires? Was thinking about running a similar drop on mine for awhile. I can't tell from the picture with the tape measure they look to be around 28 inches? __________________ Matt

04-14-2014, 02:37 AM	#20
muthstryker Registered User Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Snohomish, Washington Posts: 1,187	Re: My 97 Tahoe build Awesome thank you! Keep it up! __________________ Matt

05-08-2014, 09:03 PM	#21
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	Re: My 97 Tahoe build I went to my local tire shop for an alignment and the guy there said my upper ball joint were too worn to align the front end.. I replaced the pitman arm because that was worn.. The ball joints looks ok to me, but they are the experts.. So, I bought new ball joints from ebay this week and they should be here tomorrow.. I hope to get them on over the weekend.. I have to find a press for the lowers.. Stay tuned.... __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)

05-17-2014, 07:23 AM	#22
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	Re: My 97 Tahoe build ...and here we are doing ball joints this weekend. I have the upper ones done so far and here are a few pics of that. Now I need to track down a lower ball joint press.. I hope to get those done today. __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)

05-18-2014, 06:35 PM	#23
61_FL_Apache Who Me? Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Royal Palm Beach, FL Posts: 4,067	Re: My 97 Tahoe build Lower ball joint going in.. Alignment shop next! __________________ Steve 1997 Tahoe LT 4D 2WD (DD) 2001 Blazer 4D 2WD 1961 Apache 10 (sold) 1965 C10 Stepper (sold)

05-20-2014, 12:53 PM	#24
Low Elco Registered User Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Indep, MO Posts: 5,893	Re: My 97 Tahoe build I like it! __________________ Boppa's Old Yeller Truck Build, Old Yeller's New Heart! Project Buzz Bomb Flyin' Low!

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