Black Betty - CRolandLJ's 1987 Suburban V10 Build

[CRolandLJ]

I was on the hunt for a GMT800 or maybe a GMT400 suburban when I stumbled upon a square body deal that was hard to pass up....and that's how I came to own Black Betty.

She's a 1987 Suburban V10 (previously known as k10)

Specs:
350 TBI (runs great) with about 138,000 miles
700r4
NP208
6" rough country lift with leaves and shocks done by some PO at some point. It rides OK but i'd rather have a stock-ish height, maybe plus 2"
It's got super loud headers and a flowmaster muffler. Definitely not my taste but I can deal with it for now. It's not deafening while cruising, just annoying.

295/70 r17 Nitto tires on their last leg
17" chrome wheels I'd like to get back to an original steel wheel of some sort
super clean interior minus the front seats, which are worn, and a halfway decent aftermarket stereo and alarm (with keyless entry) i'm entertaining options on how to remove.

Things I've done so far:
Change the oil and check all other fluids
Troubleshoot electrical/charging gremlins only to find out that the simplest solution was it: the alternator wire to charge the battery had a corroded connector. Stripped it back and re terminated it.
Discovered a sticky rear brake. Not enough to keep you from going normal speeds but enough to heat up on a drive across town: solution TBD

Things to do soon:
Get the interior back to stock with a new original (or orignal style) center console and recovered or replaced seats.
Relocate the radio back to the stock hole instead of the oversized center console
figure out why the passenger side rear door won't open anymore. It opened when i first got it but decided to stay locked. I suspect the keyless entry/alarm is acting up
clean up the exterior, including the flaking clear coat on the hood and a couple surface rust spots.
Scour the internet for cheap stock parts like a grill, console, maybe seats, maybe suspension

I'd love to hear the rest of the forum's experience in the square body world and particularly any pointers for a direction to head on suspension. My ultimate goal for this rig is to keep it pretty tame and be able to get my money back or make a few dollars when I move on. Basically a project to enjoy while I'm fixing a few things that need fixing. Based on watching ebay, craiglist, etc. i've got a few thousand dollars worth of cushion on the value of the burb, and with a few cosmetic details ironed out she'll clean enough to bring in buyers quickly.

 

[shrineboy]

That is a good looking burb especially if the driver side is in the same condition as the passenger side. As far as suspension goes, off road design can take care anything you need.

 

[pigsammy]

You're gonna break that little boy's heart if you sell it! ( you may regret it, too).
I'm just starting a very similar project with not quite as nice a rig. Enjoy!

 

[Ari3sgr3gg0]

Rewiring the old factory alternator wire makes a big difference on the classis vehicles. Also very easy to make a mount to have two batteries on the driver's side. The extra battery is great for winching or idling in winter when the defrost, lights and stereo are on. Those older alts don't put too much out at idle. As for suspension I'd look out for another Burb that's being parted out and is the lift height you want

 

[CRolandLJ]

Rewiring the old factory alternator wire makes a big difference on the classis vehicles. Also very easy to make a mount to have two batteries on the driver's side. The extra battery is great for winching or idling in winter when the defrost, lights and stereo are on. Those older alts don't put too much out at idle. As for suspension I'd look out for another Burb that's being parted out and is the lift height you want

It looks to me like it has a replacement alternator of some sort. Since I reconnected the charging wire to the battery it's been fine and it actually runs better at idle now that it has a full blown electrical system at it's disposal and not just a discharged battery.

As far as suspension i'm hoping to get down a couple inches or back to stock without spending as much as someone like ORD asks for a full setup. If I was planning on keeping it long term then it seems like the way to go. For now I'm just scouring the internet for used bits and pieces.

Does anyone have any suggestions on interior re-upholstery kits or covers? I'd like to get the front seat back to an OEM style cover and I can't seem to find a straightforward product online complete with pictures.

 

[CRolandLJ]

Got to digging around my burb for the first time in a week or so last night. Turns out I just have a 4" RC lift... found the part number (https://www.trailswestonline.com/rough-country-8002-7392-front-leaf-spring-p-6208.html) off the spring and looked it up. I'm relieved it's only 4" because that means no steering correction was done to accommodate so i can take it back down if need be with just new suspension.

Additionally I have begun the uninstall/cleanup of the center console mounted radio the PO left me. I'm going to modify the center console to allow the transfer case to shift to 4-low and the middle seat to fold down (something the PO didn't think of) and move back to a regular single-din dash mounted radio.

I'd welcome any suggestions of good cheap single din head units with bluetooh, auxiliary, etc.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Does anyone have any suggestions on interior re-upholstery kits or covers? I'd like to get the front seat back to an OEM style cover and I can't seem to find a straightforward product online complete with pictures.

Have you looked at LMC Truck?

http://www.lmctruck.com/features/csb/csb.htm

 

[CRolandLJ]

Have you looked at LMC Truck?

http://www.lmctruck.com/features/csb/csb.htm

Yeah LMC truck seems to have all the seat covers but it's not super clear what you're actually buying. I guess I could just buy what seems to be the right product and return it if it's not...

Does anyone know if the seat covers in blazers and suburbans for the same year were the same? That's what LMC seems to be indicating.

 

[CRolandLJ]

Making slow progress on Black Betty and enjoying her driving around town. It's so convenient to have such a big vehicle - I love this thing. Really my only qualm with keeping it long term is the cross-country road trip feasibility is something I'm going to eventually want - and one of the reasons I was shopping for later model suburbans to begin with. Other than that this thing ticks all the boxes as an extra vehicle and tinkering off road platform.

I have slowly acquired an entire stock exhaust system but haven't had it installed yet. I'm going to pay someone to do it (manifolds and all) because I don't want to fool with the possibility of broken off manifold bolts, etc. In the mean time I figured out the hack-job wiring behind where someone had cut in and then cut out a single-din radio so I found a vintage looking radio on amazon and wired it up and it works great - and best yet was super cheap. I also swapped out the 90's era billet grille for a stock one I found for sale locally - a much better look in my opinion. Pics of both of those projects are attached below.

Still on the hunt for a good set of original wheels and some tires - probably rally wheels as they're most common but I'd love a set of stock steel wheels/hubcaps if I could find them locally. Preferably 33/10/5/15 tires - but they're hard to find on the used market. I'm waiting on wheels (or a wheel/tire combo deal) before I search too hard for tires for obvious reasons.

I'm just going to deal with the rough riding rough country lift for now. I think a higher profile tire will help take the edge off. I may consider new springs at some point but I like the height and considering I'm not planning on keeping it long term that probably isn't the smartest place to spend money.

All in all, i've probably got $1000 worth of room in the value of the burb before I need to slow down on spending. I'll figure out the wheels and tires first and then do what the budget allows. Seat re-cover, clear coat cleanup, suspension changes, etc. are all potential options but probably not all of them.