06 Tahoe body lbz chassis

TheBac

Why do I keep doing this?
Staff member
Apr 19, 2008
15,692
1,971
113
Mid Michigan
you would only need that body lift if you stayed with the tahoe frame...since you are using the truck frame those elevations are already built in..
Oh yeah....he's using the HD frame. Disregard what I said.
 

DAVe3283

Heavy & Slow
Sep 3, 2009
3,733
305
83
Boise, ID, USA
If you're up to the frame mods, brake lines, parking brake, adding the additional body mounts, etc. then using the truck frame is a good way to go. It'll be bulletproof for towing/payload that way vs. the 1500 Tahoe.

If you want to be lazy, get the wife a 2500 Suburban. That's basically a bolt-in. My brother and I built my Duraburb with a 2500 Suburban and it was cake. 2 weeks start to finish over Christmas / New Years. You lift the body off, remove the original engine/trans/TC, swap motor mounts on the frame to the diesel ones, move the trans crossmember back ~1", new rear driveshaft, use stock truck front driveshaft, 2" body lift (Suburban frames don't have it built in like the trucks), and some fuel plumbing. Electrical is documented various places, just swap some wires around and use the Suburban fuse block (so the rear AC and all that still works).

For your Tahoe plan, it is much the same, but with more frame work. Electrical will be the same, and just put the whole front clip off the truck onto the Tahoe body (fenders, core support, hood, etc.).

For the ABS and other modules, it is not as hard as it sounds on the GMT800 platform. Every module has the VIN stored, but only 2 modules use it for anti-theft. The BCM VIN is considered the "master" VIN.

  1. The high-end touch screen radio compares its VIN to the BCM, and won't work if it doesn't match. Just do a theft relearn with a Tech2 and you're good to go.
  2. The XM radio receiver does the same comparison, but no way to reset it. Easiest is to keep the XM and BCM as a matched set, or you can send the XM box off to get opened up and reset, but it isn't super easy to do.
For the ABS, you want to use the ABS module that matches your axle setup. There are 2 main versions, the 1500 version (what the Tahoe has) which is 4-wheel ABS, and the 2500HD version (what the donor truck has) which is 3-wheel ABS. On the 3-wheel version, the rear axle only has one brake line going to it, and it has no speed sensors. The ABS gets the speed information from the ECU, which reads the driveshaft speed. The 4-wheel ABS module is superior (and has the potential to have Stabilitrak traction control), but it is a lot of wiring to switch to that style. You'd have to add tone rings and sensors for the rear wheels, and add a ton of wiring. I would be inclined to stick with the 2500HD (3-wheel) ABS setup on your swap. The VIN in the ABS doesn't have to match anything, so I wouldn't mess with the programming at all.

Overall, what I like to do on modules is to leave the BCM VIN matched to the Tahoe, then update the VIN in the ECU to match the BCM/chassis as well, but that isn't necessary. The ECU uses a seed/key setup for security that can be learned even with a VIN mismatch. But it is often simpler for smog checks if the ECU VIN matches what is on the door card, and you are almost certainly going to want a tune anyway.

Good luck on your project, a Durahoe sounds like a fun thing!
 

dylon333

Member
Dec 24, 2017
173
1
18
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So I kinda changed my plans a little, and decided to go with a single cab long bed frame, and just move axle forward and cut rear frame section off. Bought this gas truck at an insurance auction it'll be here tmr some time. Been looking for another Tahoe body, after looking into hers more the rockers are starting to rust out, so trying to find a decent 2wd or something to use the body from, and that way I don't have to down her only dd. Slowly but surely I'll keep gathering parts and hopefully come summer I'll be ready to get started.


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dylon333

Member
Dec 24, 2017
173
1
18
Tried, she don't want a suburban. Says its too long. Too hard to park some places


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