91 GMC Suburban build

[ThundahBeagle]

I’ve been slacking on the updates. We’ve got a running and driving truck now. Matt and his crew tell me tests are going well and the 6.6 L8T runs like a boss. The first picture is of the Suburban in its natural habitat…….a gas station. 😄 Fortunately the drip underneath in the picture isn’t from the Suburban.

One of the big challenges when retrofitting a newer engine into an older truck is how to control the gears when everything is done by a switch on the shifter stalk in the newer trucks. RPM Extreme helped solve that with their tap shift mod. Now we can cycle through the gears with a push of a switch, lock the truck in 1st gear if descending a hill or manually drop it down a gear or two if going up a steep grade. RPM Extreme said they think we are the first 6.6 L8T transplant into an older truck they know of that has maintained this function.

The electric tailgate window has always been a problem on Suburbans and K5 Blazers. The goofy cable driven factory system was scrapped and a Nu-Relics gear driven actuator has been installed. This should properly fix a long standing problem on these trucks.

As you can see the ORD custom springs flex well. I briefly toyed with the idea of a BFG 39X13.50 tire, but without really cutting into the truck, the 37X12.50 was as far as we could go even with the relief cut for the front bumper. I’m happy with how it turned out.

Headliner and carpet are in. Seats are the holdup for the moment. Things should be wrapping up shortly for spring and summer roadtrips followed by Overland Expo East in October.

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F v k k yeah!

 

[TallNorton]

You are going to cost me mad money on this one so I don't have an inferiority complex with my toy truck parked next to you at camp.

 

[trbon8r]

You are going to cost me mad money on this one so I don't have an inferiority complex with my toy truck parked next to you at camp.

With more years in the rear view mirror than in the front windshield, now is the time. How many more years of decent health left to even do this stuff?

 

[ThundahBeagle]

With more years in the rear view mirror than in the front windshield, now is the time. How many more years of decent health left to even do this stuff?

I think about this all the time. I dont have great means or great automotive building skill - just basic maintenance - but I will do what I can to get 55 year old me, and my 10 year old Beagle pup up to the mountains as many times as possible between now and the big one

 

[ThundahBeagle]

The shop just sent me some pictures today. The truck is making progress. No longer a diesel and it appears to have lost some weight.

The truck is being built by Matt and his crew at Carolina Truck Shop in Spartanburg, SC. Matt may check in here from time to time as his schedule permits.View attachment 742666View attachment 742667

Love that old C/K parked next to yours. And I even like the color

 

[ThundahBeagle]

A truck like this deserves GMT 900 or K2 style tow mirrors!

 

[trbon8r]

Just a few more pictures of the 6.6.

In American that’s 403 cubic inches.

 

[Ouiwee]

Well, at least you had the fortitude to skip the front ORD coilover kit. I couldn't pass it by...

 

[trbon8r]

Well, at least you had the fortitude to skip the front ORD coilover kit. I couldn't pass it by...

The ORD coilover kit is nice for sure. I thought about it, but for anywhere something the size of a Suburban will venture, I thought the ORD custom leaf springs would do the job with less complexity or potential installation headaches with the 6.6 engine.

With 6” of lift and the front fender trimmed to flush with the ORD bumper, the truck will stuff a 37” tire about as far as it will go without kissing the front fender. That’s with the axle relocated 1” forward.

 

[BBslider001]

Did you do any of the work yourself or just farm it out??? Watching someone spend money vs. watching someone do the work themselves is what forums are all about.

 

[trbon8r]

Did you do any of the work yourself or just farm it out??? Watching someone spend money vs. watching someone do the work themselves is what forums are all about.

I have neither the time nor the space to do what this truck needed.

I go to work and get paid to do what I do best, then I pay some people to do what they do best.

But thanks for showing up and pinching one off on the living room floor. We are all better off for your contribution.

 

[TallNorton]

Did you do any of the work yourself or just farm it out??? Watching someone spend money vs. watching someone do the work themselves is what forums are all about.

When you live in suburbia with no room to do the work, and that suburbia is in the DC metro area with its ensuing 1.5 hour commutes each way, it makes it kinda difficult to do very much of anything yourself.

 

[trbon8r]

When you live in suburbia with no room to do the work, and that suburbia is in the DC metro area with its ensuing 1.5 hour commutes each way, it makes it kinda difficult to do very much of anything yourself.

Pretty much.

I’m sure my wife and my neighbors would totally be cool with a Suburban body sitting on my front lawn for a few years while I did this Johnny Cash style one piece at a time.

I wonder if my critic gets this upset when someone buys a new Raptor, TRX, or Power Wagon off the lot complete with lockers and upgraded tires as a starting point? That’s really what we are doing here, except the “new” is being done at a family run shop instead of a factory in Detroit.

I did a quick perusal of his posts. For someone that claims forums are all about what someone builds themselves, in all the years he’s been here there isn’t one build thread or one single picture displaying his mad skills. All I saw was a lot of snark and commenting on other people‘s rigs.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

When you live in suburbia with no room to do the work, and that suburbia is in the DC metro area with its ensuing 1.5 hour commutes each way, it makes it kinda difficult to do very much of anything yourself.

True. And true of many places. I've got a 1.5 hr commute each way and let me tell you, I cherish my weekends. Just last night - yes, it was dark when I was done - my neighbor and I finished installing the brass bushing, steering column, sector gear, drive pulley and mowing deck on my 23 year old 917 version Craftsman GT3000 Garden Tractor.

The lawn is getting out of hand and the neighbors were asking questions about this garden tractor up on ramps in my driveway for the 2 weeks it took ti get the parts and for the rain to subside.

This, after removing the bar and doing some rudimentary cleanup of the old Stihl 024 chainsaw and slicing off a few rounds off the log deck. And THAT after the ground dried out after the flood warnings passed.

All to say, I have a long- a s s drive all week, and sometimes the weekends are not what I need them to be to get work done. If there is something I can do, I do it. Theres a LOT I can not do, and I farm it out when I get the $ together

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Did you do any of the work yourself or just farm it out??? Watching someone spend money vs. watching someone do the work themselves is what forums are all about.

Sure. I enjoy threads like two from @Andrew_S Where he does all the work himself.

I dont begrudge a guy with the means to have the right folks do the right job, either. Still a lot to see and find out