1999 Texas Tahoe Project

[95BerettaBase]

A little overview about this. I've always loved the 88-00 trucks as long as I can remember. My mother, father, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and myself have owned quite a few of the trucks over the years and I really don't think their value can be beat. They have sufficient power, look great, are comfortable, and the parts for them are cheap. My goal for this truck is to have a good looking vehicle that I can take on trips, but also use as a daily driver. Plans are:

2/3 drop
LED taillights & new headlight/parking lights
New wheels/tires
Debadge
New black paint
Magnaflow exhaust

Its a Texas truck so there is no rust anywhere, thank god. The exterior of the truck looks good from 10 feet away, but as you get closer you see the imperfections. Whoever painted this taped off the windows and sprayed paint everywhere else. The original pewter paint wasn't even scuffed before being painted over. There are a few dents, but its a 13 year old truck. The interior is a bit dirty, but I have high hopes for it. The front seats may be getting reupholstered whereas the back seat just needs a good cleaning. The audio in it right now is too loud. The P/O installed 4 12" subwoofers, 2 MTX Audio amps, JVD headunit and a capacitor. I just want to go with the stock headunit and decent speakers.

I ordered 2" DJM drop spindles today as well as a new impact strip for the front bumper from LMC meaning the project is started. Its going to be a slow process.

I have a few questions right off the bat. Will the stock headunit with the CD Player incorporated into it from a '99-02 fit into my '99? I mean are the plugs in the back the same?

I can't find 4" drop shackles anywhere for this. I also can't find 1" drop springs for the front. Can anyone help me out?

Here are the photos I have for now.

[95BerettaBase]

DJM Spindles came in yesterday as well as the front impact strip from LMC and the Belltech drop springs.

[Koots]

I too love the 88-00 (GMT-400) trucks. Especially a nice clean black Tahoe, such as yours

[BerettaLove32]

Should be a fun little project. That is a whole lotta subwoofer in that trunk lol.

[95BerettaBase]

I too love the 88-00 (GMT-400) trucks. Especially a nice clean black Tahoe, such as yours

They were some of the best built trucks that GM ever produced IMO. Trust me, mine isn't as clean as you think. The paint is terrible up close and the interior is filthy lol. The pictures make it look 10x better than it is.

[spacecadetz26]

are you talking about this cd player?




this style is the only kind that will work factory



I like these trucks also... my 95 Hoe is the most comfortable vehicle I've owned in a long time.

[95BerettaBase]

The 2nd photo is the style I was talking about. I bought one just like it off of eBay yesterday.

[Koots]

You can find those in a lot of GM trucks and suvs. I bought one from a 98 Jimmy to replace the one in my 02' Silverado.

[95BerettaBase]

Yea, the one I bought off eBay is a Bose unit out of a Jimmy.

[spacecadetz26]

the bose one may or may not work. i think the speakers are different as they either have an amp or little amps on each speaker to power them. I also dont know if you can install the jimmy unit as the tahoe one uses slider brackets to install and the jimmy bolts in.

[woody90gtz]

Gotta love a black FSC. Going to dechrome it when you do paint? muhahhaha

[Koots]

the bose one may or may not work. i think the speakers are different as they either have an amp or little amps on each speaker to power them. I also dont know if you can install the jimmy unit as the tahoe one uses slider brackets to install and the jimmy bolts in.

You can swap the mounting stuff from unit-to-unit. I did that with the one I got, it was a piss-off to find that out, but it wasn't a whole lot of work.

[95BerettaBase]

Gotta love a black FSC. Going to dechrome it when you do paint? muhahhaha

The bumpers are staying on, but the side molding and the wheel well trim is coming off. The roof rack is coming off and the front windows will be tinted out so it should have a decent amount of black on it. Plus I'm looking into a set of the new Camaro 20's for it painted dark gray metallic.

[95BerettaBase]

Well part one of the Denali/Tahoe Limited interior started today. I bought an Escalade cluster off of eBay for $70 shipped and installed it today. Also bought the chrome door handles for $8.95 each for the interior.



A photo of the old cluster. The needles were faded and the gas gauge shook like crazy.


After I removed the trim bezel around the cluster.


Be sure to take a photo of these four gauges before you remove it in order to install the needles in the correct position when you're done.


This tool works great for removing the needles without risk of breaking them.


This has to be unplugged before the face of the cluster can be completely removed.


Here is what it looks like when seperated.


This is the odometer roll. The two gold colored screws are all that have to be removed and the odometer roll can be changed over to reflect your current mileage.


Here it is finished with the correct mileage.


Progress has been very slow so far since I'm always working and my garage is full. All I've gotten done is removed the chrome trim on the wheel wells.

[95BerettaBase]

Belltech drop shocks are on the way!!!! Just ordered them this morning. All I need to get now are new balljoints and we can get started installing everything. I'm pumped as hell.