1999 Tahoe mod noob, suggestions welcome

I've had my Tahoe for 7 years. Bought her with 78k miles and she just turned 103.

Anyway, I haven't done anything to her...and now that I picked up a new DD a year and a half ago she barely gets driven, maybe once a week.

So, here's some pics from about 3 years ago. I don't have any more recent because she's currently being loaned to a friend of mine whose car kicked the bucket.





In the 7 years I've had her I've only had to replace the fuel pump, water pump, tires at 90k, and the steering column. Had to have the column replaced because the shift cable was too tight and ended up snapping INSIDE the column...in the dead of winter in January...that was awesome.

I grew up on a farm and like all farm boys I have dreams of having toys that can go anywhere. Only most farm boys get to live that dream, I'm just now trying to realize mine.

I'd like to start compiling a list of things I want to do to her to make her a very light-off road/Michigan winter vehicle (in-laws just retired to Northern Michigan) and we would like to visit them during the holidays...and my 300C is an absolute no-go for snow...ever.

So the bad about my 'hoe:

Starting to get rust under the lip of the hood, under the rear doors, and I have a pretty wicked rust hole over the passenger side rear wheel well. Other than that, no other rust except for the usual surface rust on the frame. The driver side door handle is cracked as well, been really lazy on getting that repaired. Oh and I've got a pretty large scrape down the passenger side from some ******** with a key who thought it would be hilarious...it wasn't.

I'd like to get that taken care of before I start doing anything else, but I have kind of come up with a short list of things I'd like to do:

New wheels, possibly new tires. I'd like something perhaps a little wider with an offset so the tires stick out just a LITTLE, nothing too ridiculous. Maybe an inch or less?. I'd also like to be able to run comfortably in lake effect snow and possible in sandy areas during the summer in Michigan. Also bear in mind that I'll have to make a 5-6 hour road trip to get there...so I don't want to craft some huge offroad beast that does terrible at highway speeds.

Remove surface rust on the frame and paint it with...something.

New running boards, perhaps switch to a step-bar instead of the OEM board.

Gas gauge does this awesome super fast wiggle thing but stays pretty on point.

The passenger side dash has the groan and I have no A/C. Not sure if the motor is going bad or I need to charge it...maybe both. I don't ever run the A/C though so it's not that big of a deal.

I'm still not sure if I want to de-mold or not, but every Tahoe I've seen so far without it looks awesome.

New grill, headlights, tail lights.

Maybe a brush guard, mainly for aesthetics...still not sure about that one.

I've been tossing around the idea for suspension lifts vs body lifts and I guess I just need more info. I know the suspension lift is more money and more work than the body lift, but it's also better for some things...and she's going to need shocks soon anyway. But regardless, I would LOVE to get rid of that goofy forward slope. I want to feel like I'm driving a truck, not a mini-van.

So that's my fairly short list. Any suggestions you guys have on what I should use and where I should buy it from are very welcome. I'm 100% new to this stuff but I'm looking forward to having a lot of fun with it.

Oh, and my mechanical skills are fairly basic, so keep that in mind too. I have a lot of tools from my father passing, but doing something like a lift kit by myself would be WAY over my head.

Grille guards are good. Depending on lift you want i would get what suits you. If you live in the north i would probably just do suspension lift since rot is nasty and could cause problems. If your on the south body lifts are great. I run on on my 2dr. Go offroading no problems. Eas gonna add a suspension lift on but im sourcing a solid adle swap which is way better imo

While the snow isn't bad here in Dayton (usually), they salt the holy shit out of the roads. The rust that's on the truck now has only been there a maximum of 2 years, and the hole above the passenger rear wheel well is rotting pretty fast.

As far as adequate lift...I've never done one before, and I've never driven in hellish Michigan winter snow, so I'm not entirely sure what I'd need on that end. I've also never gotten stuck in snow down here, but naturally after I bought my first 4x4 it hasn't snowed more than a foot in one falling. I think a 2 or 4" would be fine, but most of the stuff I read people say to get a 6 and take it down 2 inches. I doubt I'll ever put mud tires on it, but you never know. I think trucks with 33's and a slight lift look awesome.

The guy here with the red 2dr tahoe that's I believe an 8" lift has a suburban that I think looks the perfect height. One of my main issues is the OEM ride height of the front end, but I don't feel comfortable with the tortion bar adjustment, hence why I'm considering the lift instead. I'm also 6'2" so if I keep a step on it I think it'll be fine for my wife and I (she's 6'0").

Body lift however sounds good in the wallet department, but I think I'd need to see one close up to really tell if I'd like it or not. I know you're supposed to get those rubber seals/deflectors to fill the gaps, but I don't want it to look weird. I also might end up with a boat someday, so I'd be using this baby to tow it.

I haven't been able to find anything about this really, but when you rattle can the frame, do you just wire brush it with the wheels off and spray? Is there a special kind of paint/sealant that I should use on it? The surface rust looks more like dirt and less like rust, so I'm pretty sure it would come right off with some brushing.

For sand and snow a wider tire aired down is best. Maybe 33x12.50? or a similar size in metric.

I wouldn't really go bigger than that. There is no need for 35+ for what you want to do.

A 2" body lift and a small torsion bar crank would fit 33s fine.

I think it would look pretty sweet with some fat tires on the stock wheels with a 2.5-3" lift.

I vote to leave the molding on it. And put a nice muffler on it so you can actually hear the engine.

I am a complete idiot when it comes to tires. It's possible to put a wider (I know you can go taller) tire on the factory 16" wheel?

Imo a 285 would be more then adequate.

Here's my rust spot...I cleaned it out yesterday but this is a before pic.



And here are my current tires.

Passenger front


Passenger rear


They're 265/75/R16, and I just realized yesterday that I've had nowhere near enough air in them...which is why I think the fronts are wearing really ******* the edges.

40psi max and each one had 20-25 psi in them. I put 36lbs in each one and she sits higher now.

The drivers side door handle is not horrible. It will take awhile.
Getting the rod out of it, and the new back in is the hard part. Just reaching back into the door to get it hooked up.
The lock will pop out of the old and back into the new.

The edge wear would most likely be and alignment problem. I would get it aligned and check for worn front end parts.

As one who lives in the lake effect region of Michigan (average nearly 100 inches a year) I can tell you the stock setup is more than adequate to navigate the winters here. And as far as tires, you are better off getting standard width or NARROWER. Especially since you will be driving to Northern Michigan on freeways, the wider tires will pull you around more in the snow/slush and give you a very uncomfortable driving experience. Narrower tires cut through the snow. I used to snow plow commercially for years and know this for a fact.

As for the ride height, you should just crank up the torsion bars. Its simple and effective. If you are just looking to do light off roading a lift kit will not really be necessary. Plus it will negatively affect your mpg's.

I hit some pretty big mudholes off road this summer with deep "hidden" ruts and plowed through no problem.

And get an alignment asap. I ruined both my front tires waiting too long.