I guess I should do a build thread. I wound up here due to Spur's epic '91 Cummins Burb build showing up on Google. That was my original plan, but economic realities got in the way. Can't say my real goal is a true "Expo" vehicle, but I would have to say this site has me thinking. Anyway, she's a '91 Burb 2500. Came with a 350 TBI and 4L80e. As you can see, the 350's been pulled (which revealed a reman 4L80e, which is a plus given the 180k on the clock). A 6.5 TD out of a '92 K2500 pickup is waiting in the shop and has been for about 6 weeks. Truth be told, I'm not entirely sure it's gonna run. It turned over with a half-discharged single battery, shows no obvious signs of catastrophic failure and was supposedly rebuilt 30k ago...and I paid $400 for it. Here is how the Beast - which is what my wife and 10 year-old son named it - sits today.
The shop is owned by a friend/former employee. Way back in 2005, I was the service manager at a Dodge dealership and Trent was one of my techs. His place is called Outlaw Diesel in Stillwater, OK. Truth be told, like most service manager/advisors, I always understood the basic principals of service and repair, but had virtually no experience turning wrenches myself. My only actual experience working on cars was as a installer/salesman at a car stereo shop in the early 90's, and maybe changing oil a few times. Anyway, I'm paying Trent for his time and he's letting me use his shop to do as much as I can by myself. Truth be told, I wasn't quite sure what to do when he handed me a pair of pliers to drain the radiator, but dove in and got most of the top side taken out, unhooked and unplugged. He finished up underneath disconnecting the tranny and motor mounts. Since then, I've dropped the tank and taken out the steering gear box (mostly) solo.
Along the way, I bought a '82 K5 Blazer with a 6.2, 6" lift and 35" BFG KM2's. The original thought was to swap over those three things.
It was advertised as having new KM2's. Asking price was $2500 for the K5 and an extra rebuildable 6.2. Checked it out at night and the engine had some serious starting, blow-by and leaking issues. The KM2's though? New was an understatement. As in nipples were still there on the main treads. I figured it would be hard to go wrong around $1700. Seller balked until I told him I had no use for the extra boat anchor. So I drove home my new tires (err, rig, I mean). Only problem with the tires was that they were for 15" wheels and of course my 8-lug Burb has 16's. And 15's with the right backspacing are pretty rare. Wound up with some Pro Comps that should work. I hope, but we'll see.
Found a set of 32x12.50's to fit the K5 and made the switch. Soon enough, I traded off the K5 for a Winchester 1887 lever action 12 gauge made in 1892. It has apparently appraised for $1800. I figure I have $900-1,000 in it.
So that's pretty much it up to date. Well, except Trent's part-time employee told me this morning he has a buddy who wants to buy the 350 and that he might want to buy the Winchester.
Up next is a shackle flip in the rear and new springs in the front and - finally - installing the KM2's and Pro Comps. Decided to go with 4" and the rear flip instead of taking the rear blocks off the K5. We're trying to figure out exactly what has to be done with wiring harnesses and PCM/ECM and/or TCM's. The Burb has a PCM. The '92 apparently had a TCM only, as the engine is (largely) mechanical. New gearbox, subbing hydroboost for the vacuum brake booster and a new torque converter install have to happen before we get the control module stuff figured out, so there is some time.
Also have front buckets and second-row seating from a '97 Tahoe ready to go in. There is fab work to be done there, and honestly we've barely looked at it. Any suggestions are welcome. Only thing I know for sure is the front bucket frames sit way too high on the outsides and will have to be cut down.
That's it for now, and I'd like to thank expeditionportal.com for all the Burb inspiration!
The shop is owned by a friend/former employee. Way back in 2005, I was the service manager at a Dodge dealership and Trent was one of my techs. His place is called Outlaw Diesel in Stillwater, OK. Truth be told, like most service manager/advisors, I always understood the basic principals of service and repair, but had virtually no experience turning wrenches myself. My only actual experience working on cars was as a installer/salesman at a car stereo shop in the early 90's, and maybe changing oil a few times. Anyway, I'm paying Trent for his time and he's letting me use his shop to do as much as I can by myself. Truth be told, I wasn't quite sure what to do when he handed me a pair of pliers to drain the radiator, but dove in and got most of the top side taken out, unhooked and unplugged. He finished up underneath disconnecting the tranny and motor mounts. Since then, I've dropped the tank and taken out the steering gear box (mostly) solo.
Along the way, I bought a '82 K5 Blazer with a 6.2, 6" lift and 35" BFG KM2's. The original thought was to swap over those three things.
It was advertised as having new KM2's. Asking price was $2500 for the K5 and an extra rebuildable 6.2. Checked it out at night and the engine had some serious starting, blow-by and leaking issues. The KM2's though? New was an understatement. As in nipples were still there on the main treads. I figured it would be hard to go wrong around $1700. Seller balked until I told him I had no use for the extra boat anchor. So I drove home my new tires (err, rig, I mean). Only problem with the tires was that they were for 15" wheels and of course my 8-lug Burb has 16's. And 15's with the right backspacing are pretty rare. Wound up with some Pro Comps that should work. I hope, but we'll see.
Found a set of 32x12.50's to fit the K5 and made the switch. Soon enough, I traded off the K5 for a Winchester 1887 lever action 12 gauge made in 1892. It has apparently appraised for $1800. I figure I have $900-1,000 in it.
So that's pretty much it up to date. Well, except Trent's part-time employee told me this morning he has a buddy who wants to buy the 350 and that he might want to buy the Winchester.
Up next is a shackle flip in the rear and new springs in the front and - finally - installing the KM2's and Pro Comps. Decided to go with 4" and the rear flip instead of taking the rear blocks off the K5. We're trying to figure out exactly what has to be done with wiring harnesses and PCM/ECM and/or TCM's. The Burb has a PCM. The '92 apparently had a TCM only, as the engine is (largely) mechanical. New gearbox, subbing hydroboost for the vacuum brake booster and a new torque converter install have to happen before we get the control module stuff figured out, so there is some time.
Also have front buckets and second-row seating from a '97 Tahoe ready to go in. There is fab work to be done there, and honestly we've barely looked at it. Any suggestions are welcome. Only thing I know for sure is the front bucket frames sit way too high on the outsides and will have to be cut down.
That's it for now, and I'd like to thank expeditionportal.com for all the Burb inspiration!
