New 1989 GMC Suburban project

[dblsprt68]

Well, you'll need to rest up and get better after your surgery. BTW, you've got a great rack :Wow1: I've got one that starts about where the rear doors start, then goes to the back. I have to get some expanded metal floor made for it, paint it; and mount mine. Oh, the best part, it was free! Take care. David

 

[hidesertwheelin]

Finally got to do some work on the suburban. I took the drivers side battery tray off my 90, but for some reason it the bolt mounting holes on the 89 are about 1/2" to wide to bolt the tray to. This tray has the charcoal canister mount welded onto it. I have another tray sitting around. Can I lower the charcoal canister using the factory mount?

 

[hidesertwheelin]

Just picked up a Tuffy deluxe stereo security center console off craigslist. The only problem is that is is tan, and the interior of my Suburban is porno red. Nothing a little paint won't fix.

 

[hidesertwheelin]

Well hello everyone. It's been a long time. I had to have surgery in the summer of '13, and my doctor told my fat butt to lose some weight, so I've been pretty involved in martial arts for the last year and almost a half, so I've neglected my burb. On the plus side, I lost 85lbs! I've got my roof rack mounted, and most of the parts off my old burb, so hopefully I'll be able to get this one built up pretty soon. Hopefully you will be seeing me post a lot more updates soon.

 

[hidesertwheelin]

Parts finally starting to accumulate for the build. (shocks and steering arm at still attached to my old suburban). Getting ready to start tearing it apart after Christmas.

 

[utherjorge]

Subscribed. I look forward to seeing what you do!

 

[rayra]

Black on the outside, plush red interior. I hereby dub it 'Ein MunsterWagen.' ak Munster Moibile

 

[hidesertwheelin]

Ok guys, I need some input on my next purchase. Should I go with a Dana 60 front axle for just stick with my 10-bolt? I currently have a 30-spline 10-bolt w/ 4:88's and a open diff. I also have extra shafts and access to a complete replacement axle (less matching gears). As soon as I swap the axles over and install the lift, I am going to be running 37" tires (because I have them) and then go with a 35" ish size. This will be a expedition vehicle, not a hard core off-roader. The money I would spend on a 60 axle and regearing it, could go towards a lot of other projects. Opinions?

 

[underdrive]

Ok guys, I need some input on my next purchase. Should I go with a Dana 60 front axle for just stick with my 10-bolt? I currently have a 30-spline 10-bolt w/ 4:88's and a open diff. I also have extra shafts and access to a complete replacement axle (less matching gears). As soon as I swap the axles over and install the lift, I am going to be running 37" tires (because I have them) and then go with a 35" ish size. This will be a expedition vehicle, not a hard core off-roader. The money I would spend on a 60 axle and regearing it, could go towards a lot of other projects. Opinions?

Do you already have the D60, or do you need to source one first? IMHO if you plan on keeping the truck for a while it may be a wise decision to spend some money now and not have to ever worry about axle failures in the future. With the D60 you also get larger brakes, which is always a plus - factory halfton brakes with 37s is gonna be slow to stop.

Also, remember larger tires and low gears are an excellent axle shaft breaker combo. So if you were keeping the tires closer to factory then the 10-bolt should work alright, but with the biggies IMHO you're setting yourself up for trouble down the road. Having spare parts is excellent, but what if the carnage happens when you do not have them (or the tools needed to swap them) on board? Our "expo" truck has 1-ton axles and still runs 235 tires, may not be the best for ground clearance but it's a size widely available everywhere at any give time and more importantly does not stress the axle shafts when truck is loaded (or is working hard to help recover a fellow traveler), thus minimizing the chance of something going kaboom while we're in the middle of nowhere.

Here's a thought, didn't the 3/4-tons have a D44HD front axle? In Ford applications the 44HD got the same brakes as the 50 and 60 so that takes care of stopping the truck once the big tires are on, and they also seem to hold up well to responsible driving even with larger tires. It's been a while since we've messed with a non-customized GM product, does the same situation apply for them as well? If yes then you could run the 3/4-ton axle instead of the D60, it's bound to be cheaper and easier to locate and will thus give you both an upgrade in strength and braking ability and a break in your budget to use towards other projects. A happy medium of sorts...

 

[hidesertwheelin]

Do you already have the D60, or do you need to source one first? IMHO if you plan on keeping the truck for a while it may be a wise decision to spend some money now and not have to ever worry about axle failures in the future. With the D60 you also get larger brakes, which is always a plus - factory halfton brakes with 37s is gonna be slow to stop.

Also, remember larger tires and low gears are an excellent axle shaft breaker combo. So if you were keeping the tires closer to factory then the 10-bolt should work alright, but with the biggies IMHO you're setting yourself up for trouble down the road. Having spare parts is excellent, but what if the carnage happens when you do not have them (or the tools needed to swap them) on board? Our "expo" truck has 1-ton axles and still runs 235 tires, may not be the best for ground clearance but it's a size widely available everywhere at any give time and more importantly does not stress the axle shafts when truck is loaded (or is working hard to help recover a fellow traveler), thus minimizing the chance of something going kaboom while we're in the middle of nowhere.

Here's a thought, didn't the 3/4-tons have a D44HD front axle? In Ford applications the 44HD got the same brakes as the 50 and 60 so that takes care of stopping the truck once the big tires are on, and they also seem to hold up well to responsible driving even with larger tires. It's been a while since we've messed with a non-customized GM product, does the same situation apply for them as well? If yes then you could run the 3/4-ton axle instead of the D60, it's bound to be cheaper and easier to locate and will thus give you both an upgrade in strength and braking ability and a break in your budget to use towards other projects. A happy medium of sorts...

I would have to buy the Dana 60, which in my neck of the woods averages $1200 for a SRW front axle. Then I would have to buy gears and might as well get a rebuild kit when I have it torn apart. I'll also have to get a different carrier if I can't find a 4:56 axle. As far as having the parts to fix it the 10-bolt, I would always have an extra pair of shafts with me and the hub socket. I won't be able to deal with a broken ring gear (a higher possibility with 4:88's since the lower gear you go, the smaller the ring gear), pinion, carrier, or housing failures obviously. As far as using a 3/4 ton axle, I already do. 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton GM's used the same axle up front, except the 3/4 got 8 lugs and bigger brakes.

 

[underdrive]

Goodness, and I thought $900 for a Ford D60 was a bit on the high side... But yeah, point taken, whole lot of expense that may or may not actually be needed. Well it's not like you don't have an axle right now, and with all the spares I don't see the D60 being a high priority - run what you got for as long as you can, and in the meant time keep an eye out for a good D60 deal. A dually D60 should also work, just need to swap the hubs to SRW.

 

[hidesertwheelin]

I finally did something with my suburban, built a sleeping platform/storage area. We used 3/4" plywood for the sleeping platform, 1/2" plywood for the drawers, 2x8's ripped down for the frame. Still need to decide if I am going to use stereo carpet or just paint it, or finish it some other way. I do plan on using carpet in the drawers at least.

We started off with by making a raised platform to the drawers would clear the tailgate.

Then we added the frame for the drawers and storage areas.

Next we added some bracing to it

We used casters instead of drawer slides. It works pretty well for being cheap as all hell.

Here it is completely build.

A third battery is going to be mounted in the wheel well, and then the false floor will mount the inverter and blue sea fuse block.

Needed to add a few inches to my feet didn't hang off the end. So we came up with this. A small panel that flips out and extends the sleeping area.

Complete with all the storage cubbies open.

Some under platform storage also.

 

[hidesertwheelin]

Got the front bumper mounted tonight. Had to do a little surgery with the angle grinder, sawzall, and dremel, but it fits awesome. Next I have to mount my Warn M12000 winch and get a couple of lights for the front. I also need to figure out some recovery attachment points for the front bumper. I have a set of H1 bolt on recovery shackles I can bolt to it. Anyone has any recommendations for some small LED off road lights that are cheap?


Here are a few pics of the bumper. I'll try and take some more in the daylight tomorrow.





And here is a picture from the internet of the H1 Shackles I own.

 

[holl]

where did the front bumper come from?

 

[hidesertwheelin]

where did the front bumper come from?

Not sure. I bought it used locally. He didn't know where it came from either.