'91 GMC "Bourbon" Build

[Zimnij Volk]

For those of you who saw or were part of the thread where I was inquiring about older Suburbans, I found one! Being as I'm a college student and work near-full time, I really won't have much time to work on it for a while, so it'll be yet another slow build on the forums.

So, it's been to my mechanic's place for a bit and Neal and I have looked it over. The axles were what they said, 12 bolts in the front and 14 in rear. However the gears are high. 2.73's? The T-case is actually a 208, not a 205 like I was told. (A friend of mine's dad has one that needs rebuilding though and might let me have it.) And the tires needed to be replaced ASAP. Here's just a little work here and there I've done in the past month or so.

First thing was first, the tires were tearing themselves apart so I had to get some new ones. Saw some on Craigslist and the guys over at South Pacific Tire helped me mount and balance them:

The front was tearing and bulging and cause a large amount of vibration.

The front didn't have all that much left on them either.

Up on the jacks.

Scored these tires off of Craigslist for $280. One had a hole, but was fixed nice and easy. They'll do until I get some BFG A/Ts. :elkgrin:

I don't think they look half-bad either.

Recently I went out on a logging trail. Just a few pics. Nothing extraordinary. Sorry, they were from the phone.

And as she sits right now.

So far I've gotten all the fluids tapped, new oil, and put a new radiator cap on. (The other one was leaking, but it looks at though they put some gunk in to stop the problem rather than spend the $3 for a new cap... [Rest of the hoses were fine, no sign of leaking.]) Hope I didn't take too many pics, I like pics... :sombrero:

~Volk

 

[ccarley]

Looks like a nice solid foundation! I see barn doors too; I wish I had them on mine!

I too enjoy the photos, keep them coming. What are your future plans? Taking the running boards off/ leaving them on? Lockers or limited slips? Lift, no lift? I'll be the first to say I like the stock height... seems decent enough for most traveling. Mine, with the 4" lift and 35" tires, is a bit on the tall side for me.

More pictures!
Clay

 

[bldeagle10]

i agree, more pics! in my mind you dont have enough
nice burban. i to wish mine had barn doors but i may be parting mine out and looking for another in the next year or so, so i may end up with what i want
future plans?

 

[Zimnij Volk]

I definitely love the barn doors on my Suburban. Always have on Suburbans.

Well, I'm in the process of hopefully getting a roof rack put on it. I can't seem to find anything that's priced reasonable and I'm not made of money, so I'm thinking of doing some modifications to a lumber rack off of a pickup... I also recently got the tire holder and ladder from a Chevy Van we're fitting to the back doors to clear some room inside. I'm a guy who loves the running boards, but going over that tree... I soon found out it cuts a lot of clearance... I'm tempted to put a little 2" lift on it and have some 33's. It still needs to be a family rig afterall.

 

[roostercruiser]

purdy

 

[Stoney126]

think your front axle is 10 bolt. Is the rear a full floater? is your trans the 4l80e? Nice looking burb btw

 

[chilliwak]

That is a nice looking `Burb´you have there Volk. Take your time and do the little things that dont cost too much money. Drain the radiator fluid, if have not already done so. That seal gunk they put in rads are a mess. From your pics it looks like the truck is a very capable machine. Also, remember there is nothing called too many pics.:wings:

 

[kish53a]

Cool! my almost twin!!
33X12.5 is about the biggest you can run without a lift but you will have rubbing issues in the front when the springs compress. (edit..while turning)

I just installed a 2 in lift on mine this weekend, so it you want to know what it looks like...

(and yes, my rear is sagging...my shocks are too short)

As far as getting in and out, it's not that much worse than stock height with 33s. Granted, I'm 6'2, but my wife on the other hand...:sombrero:

For roof racks,
Craigslist Craigslist Craigslist or Crazedlist if you run something other than IE. Scouring the local



Either way, cool sub!

 

[Little Red]

I also recently got the tire holder and ladder from a Chevy Van we're fitting to the back doors to clear some room inside. I'm a guy who loves the running boards, but going over that tree... I soon found out it cuts a lot of clearance... I'm tempted to put a little 2" lift on it and have some 33's. It still needs to be a family rig afterall.

Looks like you got yourself a very nice Suburban!

I am interested to see how the ladder and tire holder works out as that is something I am interested in doing to my suburban as well.

I had running boards on my suburban too when I bought it but I decided to take them off and put on some small steps instead so my wife can still get in. Much better clearance now!

I run 33'' tires on my suburban right now without a lift and they fit fine, you just got to be a little careful at sharp turns on uneven terrain as they can rub just a little in this case.

 

[jp0863]

Doesn't seem anyone has corrected what you have yet. Nice looking rig by the way. A 1991 suburban v2500 will have the 4l80e, but an np241 transfer case. The np208/206 (some were 206's) was gone by 1988. The front axle is a gm 10 bolt, not a 12 bolt and you probably have 4.10 gears or 3.73's if it's a typo. If you lifted the rear and spun the driveshaft to figure out the ratio, you will end up with approximately half the ratio since more than likely you have a limited slip a well. If that's how you figured it, and you got roughly 2 and a half revolutions, your gear ratio is 4.10, but the best way to figure it is to pull the cover. Either way, i'm jealous, mine is sitting on the side of the house waiting for funding... still.

 

[PsychoBurb]

Agreed, if stock the front axle will be a 10bolt, rear is likely a semi-floater 14bolt. Not sure on the transmission or transfer case in that year model. Gears should be around 3.73's. I have an '85 model burb that I'm working on. Seems a pretty capable rig so far, but it has yet to see anything serious except mud. Had it up to the front and rear bumpers (4"lift) and it did ok. I am running 36" tires on mine, soon to swap to some 35's, and it needs some lower gears. I see a 4.10 or 4.56 swap coming in my future. The tall tires make it a pig on the road, but work well with the 2.6:1 reduction of my 208 x-fer case. I get some lower gears in mine and it should be a good creeper in low range.

Nice burb. I wish I could have found on in as good a shape as yours when I was shopping.

 

[mdnky]

He could have 2.73s. That was a factory special order ration from the 80s through '92 on all GM full-size trucks and SUVs. Very rare, but its out there. My fathers 88 C1500 has that ratio. A by-product of the late 70s gas crunch I believe. I've seen one 87 K1500 truck that had it front and rear as well (on the factory sticker) and a few K5 Blazers. Might try looking in the glovebox for the RPO codes. I know the 90 K5s with the GU2 code have a 2.73 ratio, so the 91 Suburbans should share the same RPO code.

GU2 = 2.73
GU4 = 3.08
GU6 = 3.42
GT4 = 3.73
G80 = gov lock posi

 

[Zimnij Volk]

Hey guys,

Sorry it took so long to get back to you on everything. I've got a few more pictures to put up. No real work except for what I was just given today to take care of. Top radiator hose blew so I've got a little work to do. It does actually have 2.73 gears, as strange as that is, but this Burb is unique in a lot of ways, so I guess I'm not all that surprised. Despite the radiator fluid everywhere I figured I should take some pictures under it so people can see what I'm running.

Just a view of the sight I got when I arrived at work...

Front

Back

T-Case

I'm really liking the look of the 2in lift there, Kish. I don't plan on running anything more than 33's. I'm still leaning on the maybe side for 35's... But I can't afford them right now.

Life's thrown me a curve ball as well. Looks at though I might have a change of scenery in the near future... about 3 thousand miles away in Florida. Sounds like a good possibility that the wifey and I and our daughter will be living down there with her grandparents for a bit. Raises a whole bunch of problems, but family is family... And her grandparents are getting on in years... Who knows where the project will be going now. All I see for certain is changing my auto hubs to manual so that I can get some better mileage and reliability. I don't plan on leaving the Suburban behind, so if anyone has any suggestions for this long journey, I'm all ears...

~Volk