A Masterpiece of Custom Design

Though only 27 years of age, Mike MacKellar has built an impressive résumé as not only a truck builder but also a businessman. As the owner of a financial services company, MacKellar is well aware of how much things cost, and it seems that he spared little expense when he set about building this 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe. He also knew just how he wanted his latest project to be.

There was no doubt in MacKellar’s mind that he wanted his Tahoe to be in the weeds, so he wanted to adorn it with air bags, but there were a few things that he didn’t want. In an effort to avoid the camber problem sometimes seen when a Tahoe is bagged, MacKellar—along with Brian Romanych at Sport Trucks by Dean in Moorpark, California—used A-arms from a 2001 Chevy Silverado and modified them to fit. By doing this, they eliminated the torsion-bar suspension on the Tahoe. The pair installed Belltech 3-inch dropped spindles and Firestone air bags to the new arms to get the front end low enough for MacKellar, and they did it without any camber problems. MacKellar also wanted the Tahoe to be safe, so he added a set of Baer Eradi-Speed 14-inch rotors as well as a set of KYB gas shocks.

Getting the air to the bags quickly is easy with the help of Parker valves (two up and two down) that are mounted on 4 inches of hard line directly off the bags. With the front end done, the Tahoe was taken to the crew at Fab-Tech Custom Fabrication & Welding in Chatsworth, California. It was there that the firewall and other engine compartment pieces were modified so that the 23-inch wheels could be tucked in nicely. The floor was cut from the middle of the vehicle to the back for easy access to the frame and the rear suspension. The crew then cut out all crossmembers, including the tranny crossmember. Why? Because they hung below the framerails, and MacKellar wanted to lay said frame, not the crossmembers! From there, a two-link-style ladder bar setup was fabricated that would control the rearend. The Firestone air bags are controlled by eight Parker valves (four up and four down for extra speed), making a total of 16 valves. Getting the proper pressure to the multiple valves is a quartet of Thompson air compressors contained in one tank. One, you ask? Actually, they used three air tanks that have been pie-cut and welded together to make one 10-gallon tank.

All of this effort was to get the wheels tucked up there nice and tight. The wheels in question are custom-made 23-inch Oasis B1s that have been shod with 30-series Pirelli Scorpion Zero tires.

Custom Bodywork and Stunning Paint

As much work as MacKellar did on the frame and the suspension, he equaled it on the body. Again he enlisted the help of Romanych to shave the roof rack and the third brake light before Jerry Kranzler at Jerk Designs in Thousand Oaks, California, removed the door handles and wipers. Not finished yet, the crew at Fab-Tech removed the stock side mirrors and taillights as well as the gas door. The front clip was swapped for a Chevy HD unit, while a Sir Michael’s roll pan was added to the back. Rear taillights from a 2001 Navigator were added, as were side mirrors from a S600 Mercedes-Benz. A gas door was relocated to the inside of the rear cargo door.

When the dust had settled, Kranzler covered the Tahoe with PPG red and graphics that are gold harlequin mixed with blue pearl, with some gold and white pearl mixed in as well. The tribal graphics that adorn the hood and sides of the Tahoe are also the work of Kranzler, and they are truly works of art.

A Multimedia System Like No Other

Not to be left out, the interior also has its own splashes of color. The seats are Chevy units, but the rear units come from a ’02 Suburban. All of them feature Katzkin red suede and gray leather seat covers, and the stitchwork itself was done by the able crew at Stitchcraft in Huntington Beach, California. A Nu Image instruments face and the Billet Specialties steering wheel are there for MacKellar to guide the Tahoe, but it may be the multimedia system that drives it. Sights and sounds abound in the Tahoe, as it is festooned with monitors, sub-woofers, and amps that are nestled into custom-made enclosures.

The system begins with a Sony head unit, and the signals are then radically enhanced with the Precision Power 600-watt, four-channel amps along with a 40-channel digital EQ. The sound is better than that of most home systems. Those powerful signals are then sent to a trio of PPI dual, two-ohm, 12-inch subs and three PPI 6.5-inch, two-way components. Added to that are four 7-inch monitors to go along with the single 10-inch monitors powered by a DVD player and a PlayStation 2. This Tahoe has all that is needed to keep the passengers busy. All of this was installed using Directed Electronics wiring, fuses, and other miscellaneous hardware. As is most of the interior, the killer enclosures are the work of Stitchcraft.

Engine and Exhaust Mods for Performance

Though MacKellar says that some form of forced induction may be in the future for the 5.7-liter V-8, for the time being it has been enhanced with an AEM Brute Force intake (with one-of-a-kind Pi-Thon fittings) and an AEM air cleaner. With the intake increased, the MagnaFlow exhaust system makes sure that the out is as fast as the in. A pair of Optima batteries (one red top and one yellow top) makes sure that there is plenty of power to charge the air suspension as well as the stereo system. Fab-Tech performed the engine and exhaust work.

A Three-Year Build, Worth Every Penny

All told, the Tahoe took MacKellar nearly three years to complete, but all it takes is one look to see that this money pro spent his own money wisely. When he and his wife, Tabitha, drive it, they may feel like a million bucks, but the looks that their killer Tahoe gets are priceless.