Building a flexible suburban

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Chops B. Nerdcore

New member
To make a long story short, my wife and i finally decided on a truck for us to buy. A 4x4 diesel powered square body (73-91) suburban as a family fun/weekend warrior rig that i planning on buying in a few weeks. Ive preety much got my heart set on a set of 40s under a 11" lift (10" suspension & 1" body) but id like it to flex when i take it off road. Now i understand that any a$$hole can buy a 10" and add the 1" but like i said i want it to be flexible. Can anyone help me out?

so far ive been thinking about......
the front.......
- the b-52 diy4x kit with a long shackle
- a set of ?" lifted 52" long rear springs (i know that the stock 52s give 4"s of lift but can i get more if i used a lifted set of springs?)..... or should i just go with a set of 8" lifted front springs?
- a set of ford f250 front shock towers with extended travel shocks
- a sway bar correction/disconnect kit
- a pair of ez inch blocks
- trimmed fenders
the rear......
- the heavy duty weld on spring hangers
- a set of 5" lifted 64" long rear springs
- a flipped shackle kit
- shock inboarding kit with extended travel shocks
- ive heard of guys getting a rear sway bar and making a custom disconnect kit but i havent really checked it out yet

Or maybe i should just go to off road design and get the 10" lift from them?..... I almost forgot that the plan is to make a dual purpose rig. Something that i can drive to work and around town.
 
C

Chops B. Nerdcore

New member
toymaster said:
Think I smell a troll. So, you plan on driving round the world too?
Click to expand...

Maybe u shouldn't think so much bro..... and now that u mention it I have planning on adding a function that let's me drive on water.

I got my answer over on pirate 4x4. Instead of 10"cognito of life im gonna go with 8"s and trim the fenders...... I figured I was wrong about the set up, that's why I asked.
 
T

toymaster

Explorer
^^^^^^ If you had the balls to post that on Pirate I am sure you got your answer. Massive lift and blocks on the front end, omfg.

Over here saying your buying an 'Icon' for a round-the-world trip makes for a better thread. Since your doin' it 80's style... 6 inch spings and 3" body lift did me good for years, yes I'm that old. Back in the day 'flex' referred to unwanted frame movement we did everything we could to stop it from happening.
 
C

Chops B. Nerdcore

New member
toymaster said:
^^^^^^ If you had the balls to post that on Pirate I am sure you got your answer. Massive lift and blocks on the front end, omfg.

Over here saying your buying an 'Icon' for a round-the-world trip makes for a better thread. Since your doin' it 80's style... 6 inch spings and 3" body lift did me good for years, yes I'm that old. Back in the day 'flex' referred to unwanted frame movement we did everything we could to stop it from happening.
Click to expand...

This ********** auto correct...... I wasn't talking about a cognito or icon lift lits pr any blocks for that matter. I just wanted to see if running a gm set of lifted 52" long rear springs up front and a set of lifted 64" long with the proper hangers and shackles and such would create a ************ flexy suspension.

They talked to down to a 7-8" lift and a set of 38s......

And im not too fond of the gutless 6.2l either. Maybe a small blockand 383
 
bftank

bftank

Explorer
go to coloradok5.com lots of stuff over there like this.


do the b52 kit with 56" springs ford shock mounts and long shocks

63" rear springs and shackle flip

should net about 4" of lift

1" aluminum body lift to give tires a little more room to stuff, make it easier to pull trans etc.

cut your fenders copiously, and stuff 40's in there.

one ton axles 5.13 gears lockers front and rear

stock sway bar will not work with crossover steering which you will need to get the mad flex yo.

this will work with the diesel but it will be slow going everywhere. turbo kit will help.

a 6.0l lq9 would be an awesome gas engine replacement or the 8.1l like larry has.

8" and 10" lift is way too much for a flexy crawler. if pirate told you 8" or 10" they were yanking your chain.

be prepared for lots of body damage.
 
R

RockyMtnFamily

Explorer
Chops B. Nerdcore said:
Maybe u shouldn't think so much bro..... and now that u mention it I have planning on adding a function that let's me drive on water.

I got my answer over on pirate 4x4. Instead of 10"cognito of life im gonna go with 8"s and trim the fenders...... I figured I was wrong about the set up, that's why I asked.
Click to expand...

Please post the link to the thread on Pirate. I am interested in what they have to say about this.
 
K

kfgk14

Adventurer
"tall/lifted" isn't conducive to off-road, off-camber stuff (unless you aren't looking for hardcore crawling, if you just want the look then that's cool). You should try Pirate4x4 for more extreme rock crawling, they have a Chevy section that can do wonders for all your square body suspension needs.

DO NOT put blocks under there. They're bad enough for the mall crawlers' vehicles, you will have big issues in difficult places with blocks under your burb if you go that route. Cut your fenders out in a big way, lift maybe 4" with a shackle flip and front coilovers/4 link (or just lift springs if you can't afford coils). Do high steer/crossover steering, get good shocks under it, and you should be good to go. You may find hydro boost/full hydro is the only practical way to point those massive meats though.

Be prepared for a ridiculous fuel bill driving daily with this thing. 37's can be found in road-friendly patterns, but nothing in the 40" size is practical on road (that I can think of).

On body lifts, I'd advise against it but that's me. I wouldn't want one off-road, but plenty of people do just fine with them.

That 6.2 is a gutless motor, a small-block with a lot more power is easy to set up, find any wrecked TBI/Vortec 5.7, 5.3, 6.0, 8.1, 383, etc. and drop it in. Or swap in a 12v cummins if you want diesel. Or, a 6.5 turbo diesel would do just fine for you as well, if you wanted to stay GM.

Again, if you don't need the real heavy duty flex, lift height may not matter. But you can get a long way on a weekend drive, your suspension failing out there could make for a bad time.
Good luck with the build.
 
bftank

bftank

Explorer
checked out your crossover swaybar link.

for your application it will not work, this is why.

your crossover steering will be in between the two sway bar arms that connect to the ubolt plates. when disconnected it will allow a little more flex, however it will still get in the way of your steering in a highly articulated scenario. especially if you keep your center of gravity low like has been suggested.

edit: this is with the stock sway bar. as you mentioned there might be a way to use a different style of sway bar or a rear sway bar. don't mean to come across negatively. just helping you think through this
 
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C

Chops B. Nerdcore

New member
bftank said:
checked out your crossover swaybar link.

for your application it will not work, this is why.

your crossover steering will be in between the two sway bar arms that connect to the ubolt plates. when disconnected it will allow a little more flex, however it will still get in the way of your steering in a highly articulated scenario. especially if you keep your center of gravity low like has been suggested.

edit: this is with the stock sway bar. as you mentioned there might be a way to use a different style of sway bar or a rear sway bar. don't mean to come across negatively. just helping you think through this
Click to expand...

Ok..... so I should use curries anti rock bar
 
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