1996 Chevy Tahoe Rebuild

Hank

Old Mossy Horns
Not sure if anyone has kept up with this or not, but early 2014 I acquired a 1996 Chevy Tahoe 4WD. Memorial Day of 2014 I snatched the engine out of it and tore it down. I sent everything to the machine shop so they could do what they do, and a good friend of mine (Earl, 72 Years Young) and I rebuilt the engine. I installed the engine a few weeks ago and have been driving it to make sure it would be road worthy for my son, who will be 16 years of age on August 8th.

We are just hoping to build him a nice 1996 Tahoe that he will be proud to drive. The plan is/was to rebuild the engine, paint the truck, lift it 2 inches, add a Billet Grill, and later when my cash money recovers, add some nice Aluminum Black Wheels and some Oversize Tires. If he would like, I will add some "Sporty Tail Lights" also. Whatever we need to do to make it a head turner for a 16 year old, I just want him to be proud of his ride. My first car was a 1966 Hot Rodded Chevy II, and I was proud of it. That is what turned me into a Car/Truck guy, and it seems as if he is turning into a Car/Truck Kid also.

I probably should have taken some pictures before I cleaned it up and rebuilt the engine, but it is not like you would visually be able to tell anything different about the engine bay. We are hoping to start on the body work next week, it does not need a lot of body work, mainly just sanding it down and getting it ready for paint. I talked to my paint and body guy this evening and I am going to start removing bumpers, moldings, window trim, ect. from the truck, so all my P&B guy has to do is sand, tape, and paint.

This Tahoe had a drivers interior door handle that was starting to break, so I went ahead and installed new door handles and door handle bezels on the front doors, that helped the interior appearance a lot, so I will end up doing the rear interior door handles and bezels a little later. I am going to post some pictures that I just took, not that it makes any difference, but the new/rebuilt engine has already been installed. These pics, obviously, are before my Paint and Body guy has had his time with this Tahoe. Look for more pictures in the future.

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7mm-08

Twelve Pointer
Plenty of room in the back, and when you get the mud tires on he will be able to find plenty of hiding places.


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Firefly

Old Mossy Horns
Nice vehicle I'm sure your Son will be proud to drive it...It sure beats the old 1960 Ford convertable I drove during high school..
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
My first ride was a rusted out 1974 Chevy Luv, your young'un is lucky to have a Pa that cares about what his kid is seen in...obviously mine didn't :D
 

bigten

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
You won't have to worry about him riding much, unless he has a good paying job.. those 12-15mpg vehicles get expensive to just ride.. :)
 

JoeR

Eight Pointer
Very cool. I started my daughter working on cars when she was 13. Her 1st car was a 2001 Passat with a smoked 1.8 turbo. It needed lots of repairs over the years, and she did the vast majority of them. Now she is 26 years old and can do most stuff on her own. I have a lift in my shop, so she's always coming here to do her oil changes and tire rotations. Last time she was here it was a window regulator and a trans cooler in her husbands car. He's an IT geek with no car experience, so it's amusing to watch him help her. It's cool that he tries.

Glad to see you working on cars with your kid. He'll never forget it.

Joe
 

Hank

Old Mossy Horns
My first ride was a rusted out 1974 Chevy Luv, your young'un is lucky to have a Pa that cares about what his kid is seen in...obviously mine didn't :D

I had one fella that is a friend of mine say, "I'd let his :donk pay for the paint job and stuff", and I understand teaching them responsibility and what not, and I hope keeping this Tahoe up and clean will teach him that. My response to that friend was that Nathan has never gave his mother, nor I any trouble @ all. There are tons of kids out there that are smoking dope, drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, or chewing tobacco at his age. I have never heard him say one single swear word. He is a Godly young man that stays active in the Church. He has never been caught in a lie. He stays on the A/B Honor Roll @ School, he does his homework without us having to tell him to. We give him and his sister a chore list every day/week and the chores are always done when we get home from work. He keeps his grades up while playing Golf for his High School. He loves hunting and fishing and that helps to keep him out of trouble, and now he will be able to take himself to and from his fishing or hunting spot @ my wife's Grandfathers. He is a son that I am so proud of, and I think he deserves something to be proud of.

Let me make sure that you know that I was in no way trying to take your comment in a negative light, I just used it as a platform to tell y'all how proud I am of my son, and I thing he has earned this Tahoe.

You won't have to worry about him riding much, unless he has a good paying job.. those 12-15mpg vehicles get expensive to just ride.. :)

You ain't kidding, I drove it this whole week after filling the tank up the last week before I went racing. It was on fumes when I stopped by the Gas Station today and it took just shy of 26 Gallons with the trip odometer reading just a tick over 300 miles, which ended up being just a tick over 12 MPG. I think it was $49.00 to fill it up while on empty, so yea, it will basically cost him $2.00 to drive to and from School each day, doesn't sound like much, but for a 16 year old kid, it will add up quicker than they think.
 
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Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I was proud of the fact I bought and paid for my first and all the rest of my vehicles from the age of 15.
Your son sounds like a great kid, he certainly will appreciate the truck and the gesture from his parents.
 

Hank

Old Mossy Horns
As you should have been Eric, but one thing I have found out is that it has become a little more difficult in this day and age for a kid under that age of 16 to get a job. We live close to a few golf courses, one that he could easily walk to, and he has been trying to get a job there for some time now, washing golf carts and what-not, but without a license, that is not going to happen. Plus we needed him to stay home this summer to watch his younger sister as well as my niece. Not making excuses for him, but the days of working in the fields seem to have left us, at least where we live. That cheap labor from south of the border seems to keep the young kids from working for farmers now.

I started working for my neighbor doing data entry stuff on the computer @ the age of 14, it was pretty simple stuff. I have been working since then, never going more than a couple of days without a job. I worked for Food Lion when I was 15 also, my mother (she did not work) would take me to work each day and pick me up. Once I got my license I continued to work there for a year or so, then I went to work @ Merchants Tire @ the age of 17, changing tires and oil, and cleaning up the shop, and all the duties that was included with that. Now we have our own shop, been open for 13-14 years or so. I do not dislike the life I live now, but it sure would be nice to be able to relive the carefree days of being a teenager again. I know there would be some changes I would have made along the way had I knew then what I know now though.
 

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Look up a company called Black Bear Performance. They specialize in ECM tunes and can help you a bit on the mpg issue. My truck was running 10-12 mpg before I bought a computer and tune from them. Now i get 14-15 all the time and on the highway I can get 18-19 mpg. Ill also add that is with running 33" tires.

Seems like I had to pay toughly $250 for the tune. It paid for itself in 6200 miles if gas was $2/gallon. I got it when gas was $4 gallon.
 

Firefly

Old Mossy Horns
Naw, a kid can't get a job on the farm anymore that work has been taken over by bus loads of Mexicans. I grew up working on a tobacco farm and many of the kids I went to school with I worked together with some of them all summer in tobacco..I also have bought and paid for every vehicle I have owned, no-one has ever given me anything in this life but trouble but I learned to appreciate what I do have I learned how to work for myself and wanted to do so. The people that raised me didn't have much to give, we had the very basics that is needed in life and we survived on that for a very long time..I did service station work for many years also, along with roofing, septic tank work and about anything I could find to do to make a dollar. It paid off in the long run, my Wife and I are debt free and have been for years. We have a comfortable income for retirement and we are very blessed in this life thank the Lord...
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I started with a yard route at the age of 12, went to working at the Piggly Wiggly at age 14 stripping floors at 4am and rewaxing them. My parents were too happy to let me get a truck, before I got my learners permit.
That truck let me work at the state park and as a carpenter's helper at 16, when I left home and moved out on my own.
Kids nowadays for the most part don't have to do alot of manual labor as a part time job, but it sure wouldn't hurt if they did.
 

Hank

Old Mossy Horns
Look up a company called Black Bear Performance. They specialize in ECM tunes and can help you a bit on the mpg issue. My truck was running 10-12 mpg before I bought a computer and tune from them. Now i get 14-15 all the time and on the highway I can get 18-19 mpg. Ill also add that is with running 33" tires.

Seems like I had to pay toughly $250 for the tune. It paid for itself in 6200 miles if gas was $2/gallon. I got it when gas was $4 gallon.

This interest me a lot, I will for sure look into this. Mind if I ask what kind of truck you had/have and how long was the turn around? I assume you have to send in your current ECM to keep the correct VIN for Emmisions Inspections. How long have you been running their ECM, ever have any problems with it?

I had an 88 Chevy 1/2 Ton and built and engine for it. I upgraded to Vortec heads and a different camshaft than stock. I had a chip burnt for it for the cam upgrade and it never ran worth a crap, I even slotted my TPS Sensor to try and help the idle, but it was never right. Ended up selling the truck to my brother-in-law and he could not get it right either, so he ended up swapping the fuel injection set up for a Carburator, which is going backwards if you as me.
 

bigten

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Hank, I can't recall the company, but I'm sure with a little digging, it (or another) could be found. But.. I had a customer years ago that just was never happy with the way his Camara ran. He found and ordered an upgrade prom which I found to function perfect for his application. Engine temp was lowered from well over 200 to about 190ish, mileage increased by 6 to 8 mpg, performance increased and Trans shift points were better suited for him. All I had to do was set base timing with oe prom, shut down and swap out the chips. Retain original for future use if needed...
 

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
This interest me a lot, I will for sure look into this. Mind if I ask what kind of truck you had/have and how long was the turn around? I assume you have to send in your current ECM to keep the correct VIN for Emmisions Inspections. How long have you been running their ECM, ever have any problems with it?

I had an 88 Chevy 1/2 Ton and built and engine for it. I upgraded to Vortec heads and a different camshaft than stock. I had a chip burnt for it for the cam upgrade and it never ran worth a crap, I even slotted my TPS Sensor to try and help the idle, but it was never right. Ended up selling the truck to my brother-in-law and he could not get it right either, so he ended up swapping the fuel injection set up for a Carburator, which is going backwards if you as me.

I have a 1997 z71 with a 5.7 Vortec. I actually still have my stock computer. I bought a core computer from them and they sent it programed for the truck. They can alter shift points, air/fuel ratio, timing, spark.....sensors :)...and lots of other stuff. They can take out some of the torque management and increase trans lines for firmer/positive shifting.
 

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Also, seafoam cleaning seems to be worth a shot. Read up on it. Ive cleaned mine with seafoam and it seemed to improve a bit. Its about time to throw some injector cleaner through it.

If you ever have to go into the top of the motor, id go ahead and install the upgraded fuel injection. The poppets on the stock systems will eventually mess up with ethanol.
 

Hank

Old Mossy Horns
When I rebuilt this engine I bought new "Spider" injectors for it, it doesn't need a cleaning since they are new. I bought a brand new 1997 C1500 when I graduated High School, I thought it got around 16 back then, though we did not have all the ethanol in the fuel and it was 2 Wheel Drive.
 

Hank

Old Mossy Horns
If everything works out like it is supposed to, Paul (my paint and body guy) will start working on the Tahoe Monday. My sons birthday is Monday, so we are going to take him out for a steak dinner @ Longhorn. I'm going to give the keys to my shop to Paul so he can start on the Tahoe, hopefully he will have the ball moving when I get back after dinner. If all goes as planned, Monday thru Thursday will be sanding days, Friday will be tape off day, and Saturday the paint magic will happen. Glad we have a plan now, let's just hope it works out like it is supposed to.

My son, if he passes his test, will get his license Wednesday. If he passes, he'll have to drive my wife's Explorer while she drives the truck I pull the race trailer with, but hopefully in 2 weeks the paint as well as the color sanding will be done and he can finally drive his own ride. I'm sure that will be a "Freedom" moment for him. Look for new sanding and primed pictures of the Tahoe in the future.
 

Hank

Old Mossy Horns
I had about 30 minutes before I left work for home this evening, so I decided to remove the front and rear bumpers as well as the grill and the steps. So, anyway, here are some pictures of the mentioned parts removed, just a few more parts to remove and we are ready to sand.

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Hank

Old Mossy Horns
Started to repair the small dings in the body and get some of the sanding done, these are just a few of the progress pictures.

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nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Hank I am sure that boy will be proud of it the way you have described him, as nice as it is going to be if he isn't you need to stick him on a moped for a couple of weeks. LOL That is going to be a ride anyone would be proud of.
 

seminolewind

Guest
gonna b a nice ride that I am sure he will enjoy and appreciate.... well done!
 

dc bigdaddy

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
What that thing needs now is a 6" lift in the front and a 2" lift in the back with some 35's stuck on it! :rolleyes: :cool: :p

nice ride Hank, I'm sure he will enjoy it.
 

Hank

Old Mossy Horns
Well after working on it all week long, tomorrow morning is going to be paint day. This morning was supposed to be, but my paint guy did not think it would take as long to tape it out as it took. He ended up going to the shop @ 5:00 this evening to finish taping it off and I just got a text from him about a half hour ago saying it was taped out and ready to be sprayed. I don't have any pictures of the final tape job, but I do have a few of the body work completed and primed. I do have some pics of how well he taped some of it out last night. I'll try to get there tomorrow morning before he starts to put some color to it and get some final tape pictures.

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Hank

Old Mossy Horns
One last pic, I stopped by to pick up something from work and Paul had stopped back by the shop to remove some of the tape so I could at the very least get inside the Tahoe to pull it outside in the morning. He said that you needed a razor blade to be able to get some of the tape off that did not have gaps in them. If you tried to remove the tape between the doors and what not, that the paint overlapped two body pieces, then you could pull some paint off, and we did not want that.

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