Brad88
Junior Member
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2019
- Posts
- 6
- Reaction score
- 5
- Location
- Phoenix
- First Name
- Brad
- Truck Year
- 1988
- Truck Model
- Suburban
- Engine Size
- 350
Hello all, I am a brand new member here. This is my first post. I have been on a few other forums throughout the years (such as thirdgen for Camaros/Firebirds and Ford Truck Enthusiasts) but never on a Chevy truck forum. I may be joining multiple to get the most attention/knowledge dropped on my plan, and any recommendations from those that have gone through it.
I acquired this 1988 Suburban last Monday so I have had it for 6 days. I barely paid anything for it, absolutely zero and I mean zero rust underneath it. Bought it from somebody who has owned it since 1990. The body has one large dent in the passenger front door, and then some small dents here or there but nothing catastrophic. The interior is pretty much toast, but it's all there it appears. I believe it to have some sort of rare conversion package on it, like what Ford did with the centurion package in the 80's/90's. But I'm probably going to post about that in another thread.
I don't actually know much about this platform, other than I've wanted one since I was a teenager. I am very familiar with gen 1 small block Chevy's as I have worked on both mine and my buddy's 3rd gen Camaros, dropped t-5's on them multiple times, and all kinds of stuff. The engine is a 350 TBI. It runs like crap. The PO had a crate engine from Chevy swapped in 9 years ago. No idea on the current mileage. He had a compression test done on the engine a little while back when he had a tune up done and the numbers are about 160 average, so I'm not worried about the condition. Granted I'm currently not planning on keeping the drivetrain, but I do plan on working on it from time to time until I'm ready for the swap. So I will start looking into the issue(s) with the way it runs maybe in the next few weeks. Also subject matter for another post.
I have spent the last few days searching the internet for forums on cummins swaps and haven't found too many square body suburbans swaps, but I assume it's a very similar swap to the trucks, and that's been done quite a bit. And I may have to jump onto a Cummins or Dodge forum for some info but we will see.
My ultimate goal is to do at least 15 MPG, diesel, enough power that if I were towing a light-medium load uphill I can be able to maintain 65 ish MPH and not be super high on EGT's, ZF5 manual from a Ford (unless they put them in something else, but I'm not aware of it), functional good air conditioning (currently has air and has the front/ rear all plumbed and there), probably around 35" tires, power everything, custom or dash swap, obviously reliable, and probably an axle upgrade as well, but not sure what yet. This kind of project is definitely out of my league, as I've never attempted anything close to this, but I have wrenched for many years on cars as a hobby/necessity, and would say my skillset is above average (not gloating, just trying to ballpark my knowledge as to help those who are trying to help me). I have zero welding skills, minimal body work experience, but have done some painting. So I'm probably looking at as much aftermarket help as I can. I figured with so many people doing Cummins swaps out there, there's probably an aftermarket motor mount kit and if there is any type of front end configuration that needs to be swapped. I would prefer to not have to cut the frame and anything else up and get involved in that, and hoping it isn't necessary to fit the 5.9 in there.
Anyways, just looking for guidance and suggestions/recommendations on where to get started. Wouldn't be opposed to other swap ideas either, if enough knowledge can be obtained. Maybe after I get this swap under my belt, I can pioneer one, but I'm not quite ready for that. I have a buddy who put a 7.3 in his 96 bronco and can't believe how much of a different vehicle it has become. It gets almost 20 MPG, probably twice the power, and twice as fast. I'm not looking necessarily to build a drag truck, so I'm not looking for the 1000+ hp club to egg me on. Probably somewhere around 500 HP at the top end, which is pretty high in my opinion. Again, open to suggestions so fire away.
I acquired this 1988 Suburban last Monday so I have had it for 6 days. I barely paid anything for it, absolutely zero and I mean zero rust underneath it. Bought it from somebody who has owned it since 1990. The body has one large dent in the passenger front door, and then some small dents here or there but nothing catastrophic. The interior is pretty much toast, but it's all there it appears. I believe it to have some sort of rare conversion package on it, like what Ford did with the centurion package in the 80's/90's. But I'm probably going to post about that in another thread.
I don't actually know much about this platform, other than I've wanted one since I was a teenager. I am very familiar with gen 1 small block Chevy's as I have worked on both mine and my buddy's 3rd gen Camaros, dropped t-5's on them multiple times, and all kinds of stuff. The engine is a 350 TBI. It runs like crap. The PO had a crate engine from Chevy swapped in 9 years ago. No idea on the current mileage. He had a compression test done on the engine a little while back when he had a tune up done and the numbers are about 160 average, so I'm not worried about the condition. Granted I'm currently not planning on keeping the drivetrain, but I do plan on working on it from time to time until I'm ready for the swap. So I will start looking into the issue(s) with the way it runs maybe in the next few weeks. Also subject matter for another post.
I have spent the last few days searching the internet for forums on cummins swaps and haven't found too many square body suburbans swaps, but I assume it's a very similar swap to the trucks, and that's been done quite a bit. And I may have to jump onto a Cummins or Dodge forum for some info but we will see.
My ultimate goal is to do at least 15 MPG, diesel, enough power that if I were towing a light-medium load uphill I can be able to maintain 65 ish MPH and not be super high on EGT's, ZF5 manual from a Ford (unless they put them in something else, but I'm not aware of it), functional good air conditioning (currently has air and has the front/ rear all plumbed and there), probably around 35" tires, power everything, custom or dash swap, obviously reliable, and probably an axle upgrade as well, but not sure what yet. This kind of project is definitely out of my league, as I've never attempted anything close to this, but I have wrenched for many years on cars as a hobby/necessity, and would say my skillset is above average (not gloating, just trying to ballpark my knowledge as to help those who are trying to help me). I have zero welding skills, minimal body work experience, but have done some painting. So I'm probably looking at as much aftermarket help as I can. I figured with so many people doing Cummins swaps out there, there's probably an aftermarket motor mount kit and if there is any type of front end configuration that needs to be swapped. I would prefer to not have to cut the frame and anything else up and get involved in that, and hoping it isn't necessary to fit the 5.9 in there.
Anyways, just looking for guidance and suggestions/recommendations on where to get started. Wouldn't be opposed to other swap ideas either, if enough knowledge can be obtained. Maybe after I get this swap under my belt, I can pioneer one, but I'm not quite ready for that. I have a buddy who put a 7.3 in his 96 bronco and can't believe how much of a different vehicle it has become. It gets almost 20 MPG, probably twice the power, and twice as fast. I'm not looking necessarily to build a drag truck, so I'm not looking for the 1000+ hp club to egg me on. Probably somewhere around 500 HP at the top end, which is pretty high in my opinion. Again, open to suggestions so fire away.
