fordmas
Partially sentient meat based robot
Well y'all, I did it. I jumped back in to the square body family. Picking up this beautiful stock 1987 V20 Suburban tomorrow in OK and driving her back to Austin. Nice clean slate, SM465, and 65,000 original miles. Really looking forward to this project 
This thing is going to be a general purpose rig. I've got a small farm so I need something I can carry crap around it or pull a small trailer as needed. This will also be our family adventure truck for camping and the like. And I want to be able to do some trails and offroading, but nothing super crazy.
Suspension
4 or 6 inch lift. Not 100% brand but TC seems to be the favorite these days. Lots of reading point to them being the nicest ride outside of customer spring packs. Since I'll be doing plenty of highway miles, that seems like a good bet. Also looking at ORDs Xtreme rear shackles, zero rates to move the axles a bit. I don't need anything wild, just want a good ride and enough flex to get around.
Tires
Haven't decided anything on wheels but for tires I'm thinking 35s or 37s, depending on where I land with the suspension. I'd prefer to not cut the body this time around. Looking for a good multi purpose tire. I don't mind a little road noise to get a tire that will do well in some mud and trails. Looking at Maxxis, MTs, and BFGs at the moment.
Driveline
1 tons are always on the mind but I don't know if I will really need them. I won't be going larger than 37s and no crazy rock crawling. I will have some added weight from bumpers, gears, and bodies but I'm still thinking on this one. Plus I'm thinking about air lockers and at that point I might as well go with 1 tons. I'm not sure if this has an NP208 or 241 but would probably change that out for a 205 at some point. Also like to convert the rear to disc brakes. I would like the truck to be as tough as financially possible...hate to break something while camping with the family.
Body
I like the low profile of the stock bumpers but I'm thinking I will swap them out. Something not too large and in the way...just enough space to mount a winch and some lights and protect the front. On the rear, I want to do a swing out tire carrier and maybe have a spot for a gas can or two. I'm on the fence about a roof rack. I think they are really hit or miss on these old suburban. Some just look like luke warm dog shit. I did see a thread on here a little while ago about a guy who made his own and it turned out quite well. Might need one, might not. I guess it depends on the kind of trip I want to take and if I want to sleep in the back or out in a tent and where I want to pack the gear. Plan on one of those flexible hood mount solar setups to keep batteries up and not have to worry about any extended radio or camping fridge or camping light usage. Thinking LED light replacements and put in some trail lights and general work/campsite lighting as well.
Engine
Not sure on this one. I've never had a 350 before. Last suburban was the 6.2. Maybe just a better intake. Maybe more.
Interior
Swap the front bench for buckets and build a center console. Clean up the dash a bit, sound dampening everything, add a radio and speakers, ham radio setup somewhere out of the way, run some LED lighting inside for night time campsite usage. Thinking about a slide out cargo carrier but weighing this vs having the option of a removable sleeping area in the back. Might fab up something where I can drop in a bed platform over the cargo slider. Still need to use this for carrying things around.
Thats all my sleep deprived brain can come up with right now. And plans always change
This thing is going to be a general purpose rig. I've got a small farm so I need something I can carry crap around it or pull a small trailer as needed. This will also be our family adventure truck for camping and the like. And I want to be able to do some trails and offroading, but nothing super crazy.
Suspension
4 or 6 inch lift. Not 100% brand but TC seems to be the favorite these days. Lots of reading point to them being the nicest ride outside of customer spring packs. Since I'll be doing plenty of highway miles, that seems like a good bet. Also looking at ORDs Xtreme rear shackles, zero rates to move the axles a bit. I don't need anything wild, just want a good ride and enough flex to get around.
Tires
Haven't decided anything on wheels but for tires I'm thinking 35s or 37s, depending on where I land with the suspension. I'd prefer to not cut the body this time around. Looking for a good multi purpose tire. I don't mind a little road noise to get a tire that will do well in some mud and trails. Looking at Maxxis, MTs, and BFGs at the moment.
Driveline
1 tons are always on the mind but I don't know if I will really need them. I won't be going larger than 37s and no crazy rock crawling. I will have some added weight from bumpers, gears, and bodies but I'm still thinking on this one. Plus I'm thinking about air lockers and at that point I might as well go with 1 tons. I'm not sure if this has an NP208 or 241 but would probably change that out for a 205 at some point. Also like to convert the rear to disc brakes. I would like the truck to be as tough as financially possible...hate to break something while camping with the family.
Body
I like the low profile of the stock bumpers but I'm thinking I will swap them out. Something not too large and in the way...just enough space to mount a winch and some lights and protect the front. On the rear, I want to do a swing out tire carrier and maybe have a spot for a gas can or two. I'm on the fence about a roof rack. I think they are really hit or miss on these old suburban. Some just look like luke warm dog shit. I did see a thread on here a little while ago about a guy who made his own and it turned out quite well. Might need one, might not. I guess it depends on the kind of trip I want to take and if I want to sleep in the back or out in a tent and where I want to pack the gear. Plan on one of those flexible hood mount solar setups to keep batteries up and not have to worry about any extended radio or camping fridge or camping light usage. Thinking LED light replacements and put in some trail lights and general work/campsite lighting as well.
Engine
Not sure on this one. I've never had a 350 before. Last suburban was the 6.2. Maybe just a better intake. Maybe more.
Interior
Swap the front bench for buckets and build a center console. Clean up the dash a bit, sound dampening everything, add a radio and speakers, ham radio setup somewhere out of the way, run some LED lighting inside for night time campsite usage. Thinking about a slide out cargo carrier but weighing this vs having the option of a removable sleeping area in the back. Might fab up something where I can drop in a bed platform over the cargo slider. Still need to use this for carrying things around.
Thats all my sleep deprived brain can come up with right now. And plans always change
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