Mad Max Topless Tahoe

[Chad N]

How our Mad Max Topless Tahoe was born...

Long story short, we had some plans, covid hit, so we decided to make a lemon into lemonade.

 

Below is the story of what my son and did to convert an old tahoe and scrap metal into a one of a kind off road toy for the family.

 

 

Pre Covid We bought this tahoe that was in a rollover accident for $300 for the donor parts for the 46 ford sitting next to it here

 

I couldn't open the doors to move it around so out came the sawzall. It fired right up and now we could drive it into the shop to part out.

But now it was almost too much fun to drive it around our 5 acre wooded lot.

 

I sold the bumper and what was good off the front clip.

 

 

I planned on parking it back outside until my 18 year old son and I were ready to build his 46 Ford. So I thru an old GMC 4400 hood over the engine to keep the rain out.

 

But.... then Covid!

 

 

Well we didn't feel great about building the ford with being at home, and the hood looked pretty cool, so plans changed. We decided to make a lemon into lemonade. 

I loved the mad max movies, so why not take the time we had and the scrap metal I had collected and build a post apocalyptic mad max off-road dune car? We have a house near the Silver Lake Sand Dunes in Michigan. 

The basic rule was to use only scrap we had on hand. We first built a tubing bend out of a plow hydraulic cylinder.  Even the aluminum skull emblem was cast at home with our backyard foundry and scrap aluminum and the mold was 3d printed.

We bend up a roll cage. The only thing bought was some tubing, radiator fans, all new stainless brake lines and brakes and Some ebay led lighting.

The Grill was made from a international combine thrasher cage.

 

 

 

 

All paint was ground off and forced rusted using acid based vinegar peroxide and salt. 

 

 

We added a scoop made from the fuel tank of a farmall tractor.

 

The hood is hydraulic assist front tilting. 

 

 

 

[Chad N]

Some More Photos 

 

 

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[Donstar]

Fun project! Great look!  It takes a lot of work to make something look like it didn't take a lot of work!  I'm a fan of "Vegas Rat Rods" and they would be the first custom shop I'd choose if I won the lottery!!

[garagerog]

Sweet! All that needs now is a water cannon, 200 gallon tank and pump and you're ready to sweep the streets of the riff-raff rioters and looters!  My first impulse was to suggest a .50 cal with a very long belt, but my kinder and gentler side broke through .