Suburban vs Suburban, which rig to choose? PICS ADDED

warwgn

Explorer
The old skool iron of the TBI just had that kick in the pants I wanted, but that was ME. I am sure 7.4 guys would tell me I am crazy. That's fine, as long as you know what you like and what you need.

So if you check my build thread I think that the Gen V engine was junk, I got mine out of a 92 burb. Granted I took the TBI off and used a carb so that may be part of it. It did great on gas milage on the highway but when I towed with it it felt way underpowered. I ditched it and went with a Mark IV engine and bored and stroked it, just wanted to be sure it did not feel weak.

Anyway I agree with going old school Iron even more old school than BBslider, I have heard from several people that they were disapointed with the 7.4 in OEM garb and had do do parts replacement and tuning to get it back up to the seat of the pants power it should have.

As many have already said go with a 3/4 ton you will not regret it.
 

brushogger

Explorer
My 1991 5.7 TBI had 300k miles on it when I sold it last year and was still reliable. Good power too but I had the 5spd mannie. My 99 vortec had almost 200k miles on it and I had to have the intake gaskets done 3 times over that time period. That was with yearly coolant flushes


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

oldestof11

Observer
For not too much more money, you can get a 01-03 3/4t 8.1L and have the best of all worlds. :) Cheaper than the 1500 counter parts, many with not too many miles, better trans (4L85E), and decent mileage for a big block.
 

Erik N

Adventurer
I am an old man... I don't want to be bothered with changing out axles or manifolds, within reason. I figure that it is worth my time to buy a decent beater to drive through the waves, rather than to buy an "ultimate" rig and then need to baby it down the coast.

I will be driving the truck thru the occasional hidden sand jump (usually about 20-40 round trip) and low tide saltwater rut rivers.

Looking for maximum capability for lowest cost.

That being said, I want a IFS suburban with at least 265's for flotation in sand. 285's would be better.

I run 255/85/16's pizza cutters on my other rig. Different terrain in the mountains.

Gonna check out another 454 this weekend...
 
Last edited:

Erik N

Adventurer
OK I bought a 1996 2500 with a Vortec 454. 147K miles on the clock. White over grey leather. 4 bucket seats. Will get pix up soon...
 

Erik N

Adventurer
The Burb I bought has 4 bucket seats... not exactly the best solution for stowing fishing rods or sleeping in the back.

BUT, Mother Luck came through, and I found a 60% folding seat apparatus off a local truck for $30... Grey leather to match the rest perfectly. Pulled the extra bucket seat and installed the 60 folder.

So, now I have 3 bucket seats and a flush-folding 60 seat. Excellent!

Pics to follow... she'll be a great fishmobile!

PS the double sweet bonus was that the guy I bought it from wanted the Blue Beach Xploder as part of the trade! Win/Win transaction!
 
Last edited:

redthies

Renaissance Redneck
:suning::violent-smiley-031: please enjoy the lady being whipped instead of the "this thread is useless without pics" smiley that Chilli is dying for!
 

Erik N

Adventurer
Your wish is my command... PICS!
Now I own TWO Suburbans! The Cali '88 I already had. She lives to prowl the mountains for trout and steelhead, and the Texas '96 lives to chase sharks on the remote beach. It's heavy weight on sloppy soft sand coupled with the 454 and mud tires is like mixing cookie dough with a gasoline-powered mixer!
 

Attachments

  • DSCN0186.JPG
    DSCN0186.JPG
    242.2 KB · Views: 20
  • DSCN0187.JPG
    DSCN0187.JPG
    240.3 KB · Views: 18
  • DSCN0194.JPG
    DSCN0194.JPG
    229.2 KB · Views: 19
  • P1020674.JPG
    P1020674.JPG
    71.4 KB · Views: 16
  • DSCN0193.JPG
    DSCN0193.JPG
    235.7 KB · Views: 23
  • IMG_4068.JPG
    IMG_4068.JPG
    446.8 KB · Views: 17
Last edited:

Erik N

Adventurer
I sold the Goodyear Duratracs that came on the truck... just too much tire for what I need. There are a couple posts in the Duratrac thread about that.

Bought a set of Falken ATS's. As they wear, they look better for sand travel.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,539
Messages
2,875,662
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles

Members online

Top