HAMMER FAB · BUILD SERIAL

HF-99-01

1999 · Full custom build

IN PROGRESS

99 Tahoe

1999

IN-HOUSE — BERTRAM, TX

ONGOING

§ 01

THE BRIEF

We started with a clean 1999 Tahoe body and stripped it to a shell. The goal: a wide-body, two-door OBS that looks factory from ten feet away and like nothing else up close. Flared front fenders, widened rear quarters, and a barn door tailgate all flow around a 2019 Camaro drivetrain swap. Chassis, mounts, cooling, and exhaust are all engineered in-house — exhaust is planned next.

§ 02 — Note from the shop

"Old-school silhouette, new-school heartbeat. Every panel shaped by hand."

§ 03 — Build journal

The updates.

A living log of every meaningful moment on this build — new photos, short notes, and the milestones worth marking.

8 UPDATES · 4 MILESTONES

Milestones

AUG 12, 2026— Back in the mix
JUL 13, 2026— Wide-body mockup on roller wheels
JUL 8, 2026— Metal fabrication in progress
JUN 30, 2026— Final render locked

UPDATE 01 / 08LATEST

Aug 12, 2026

FABRICATION MILESTONE

Back in the mix

After a few months on hiatus, the Tahoe is back in the fab shop. Next up: inner fenders and engine bay detailing, custom stainless exhaust, dash modifications, and the first round of preliminary interior work. The custom SP2 wheels also showed up — and they look amazing under the flares.

J001

Back on the floor in Bertram — full profile on the custom SP2 wheels.

Custom SP2 forged wheel — deep-dish concave face with custom machining.

Rear three-quarter with the SP2s tucked under the widened quarters.

Driver side — stance dialed in now that the real wheels are on.

Barn door tailgate and rear flare detail.

Front end mocked up ahead of inner fender and engine bay work.

UPDATE 02 / 08

Jul 13, 2026

MOCKUP MILESTONE

Wide-body mockup on roller wheels

Full body mockup outside for the first time — flared fronts, widened rears, and hand-shaped bumpers all hung on the shell. The wheels you see are just roller wheels used to move the truck around; final rolling stock will be a set of custom SP2 forged wheels with deep-dish concave profile, custom machining, and anodized blue hardware.

Front three-quarter mockup in the shop under the Hammer Fab banner.

J008

Driver-side profile — stance and flare proportions dialed in on rollers.

Driver-side outside the shop — roller wheels only, final wheels TBD.

Passenger rear three-quarter showing widened quarters and rear flare.

Straight rear — barn door tailgate, bumper, and quarter flares.

Passenger side three-quarter — full wide-body proportions on roller wheels.

J013

Target rolling stock: custom SP2 forged wheels with deep-dish concave profile, custom machining, and anodized blue hardware.

UPDATE 03 / 08

Jul 8, 2026

METALWORK MILESTONE

Metal fabrication in progress

Hand-shaped aluminum firewall and inner-fender panels, custom chassis crossmember, and quarter panel stitch-welds. Every piece cut, formed, and fit in-house.

Body mocked on the chassis with LT1 in place — laser alignment for panel gaps.

Hand-formed aluminum firewall panel with recessed pockets, off the English wheel.

Sculpted contour worked into an aluminum panel — shaped by hand, no filler.

Firewall panel test-fit with clecos before final weld.

Custom chassis crossmember and suspension mount fabricated in-house.

Sweep templates laid out on a raw panel — #100 and #84 sweeps marked before forming.

Quarter panel stitch welds — tacked, cooled, and blended in stages to keep the metal flat.

UPDATE 04 / 08

Jun 30, 2026

DESIGN MILESTONE

Final render locked

Wide-body proportions approved. Gunmetal over satin black with machined bronze wheels. The render is now the target for every panel on the floor.

J021

Approved final direction — studio side profile.

UPDATE 05 / 08

May 12, 2026

METALWORK

Rear quarters widened

Both rear quarters cut, stretched, and welded back together. No filler — just hammer and dolly work to get the shape right.

UPDATE 06 / 08

Mar 20, 2026

DRIVELINE

Camaro drivetrain fitted

LT1 and 8-speed dropped in for the first time. Transmission tunnel and shifter location finalized before we pull it back out for paint.

Engine bay: as-built LT1 install (left) next to the smoothed-firewall rendering target (right).

UPDATE 07 / 08

Jan 8, 2026

CHASSIS

Frame boxed and modified

Frame rails boxed, crossmembers relocated, and suspension pickup points set for the finished wheelbase and stance.

Camaro suspension and boxed rails in the Tahoe chassis.

UPDATE 08 / 08

Nov 14, 2025

TEARDOWN

Body on the rack

Clean 1999 Tahoe stripped to a bare shell. Every bracket, clip, and trim piece catalogued before the metalwork begins.

§ 04 — Process

Chapter by chapter.

Every build is documented as it moves through the shop. Here's how this one came together.

C024

ALL-METAL WIDE-BODY

01CHAPTER

Body & stance

Factory sheetmetal was used as the starting point, not the finish. We widened the track, shaped the flares, and set the ride height to let the wheels sit exactly where they belong.

C025

CAMARO LT1 / 8-SPEED

02CHAPTER

Drivetrain swap

2019 Camaro LT1 and 8-speed automatic. Motor mounts, transmission crossmember, and driveshaft fabricated around the modern package. Exhaust system is planned for the next phase.

C026

MODIFIED AFTERMARKET CHASSIS, 2019 CAMARO SUSPENSION

03CHAPTER

Chassis & suspension

Modified aftermarket chassis with 2019 Camaro suspension geometry. The truck rides lower and tighter than stock while keeping full travel and modern road manners.

C027

CUSTOM ALUMINUM DASH, CARPLAY, TOUCH SCREENS

04CHAPTER

Interior details

Built in-house by Hammer Fab: re-formed stock captain's chairs, a custom aluminum dash, a one-off center console, Apple CarPlay, and touch screens where they matter. Functional, not flashy.

§ 05 — Gallery

Frame by frame.

12 FRAMES · SHOT IN-HOUSE

§ 06 — Next steps

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