Well, took the burb down to get aligned after the lift and I think the front is bent. before I bought the lift I took it in because the front passenger tire was closer to the rear of the fender then the driver side by an inch and a half. I was told that the springs were shot and that was probably why. It goes to the frame shop May 18 to see how bad. I might get to swap everything over to the 91 if it is. other then that the ride with the lift is great. not to stiff.
CK5
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Alaska Build
- Thread starter CoJeeper
- Start date
Well got the results of having the frame checked and it is indeed bent. will cost 850 to try and get it sorted out. told them to hold off so I can asses if that is the road to go. One Option is to transfer all the new suspension over to the 91 and rebuild the 4l80e tranny. guess the good news is I have a lot of good parts to choose from.
How badly bent?
I imagine all of these frames are bent somewhat at this point.
Martin
I imagine all of these frames are bent somewhat at this point.
Martin
The front axel is dog legged a bit. Right front tire is 2 inches closer to the fire wall then the left. it drives straight but when turning right it wants to dive into the corner, left is smother. Alignment shop said the could not get things lined up the way it should. I will take some pics when I get it home
Any pictures yet?
Been busy at work.
hope this shows what I am talking about. the passenger side is about 1.5 inches back towards the fire wall. the shop found a bend in the frame back towards the rear passenger door. the estimated about $800 to get it close to being straight. I am in the middle of rebuilding a 64 Riviera and need to find a 425 nail head block (anyone have one sitting around) so I said to hold off. thought at this time is to create a plate and relocate the spring indexing hole forward an inch on the axel to bring in more inline. should be able to align it at that point. If not either spend the $800-$1k on the frame, or spend the weekend swapping all the front end work over to the 91 and rebuild the 4l80e to get it back on the road. Basicaly swap everything from the 90 to the 91.
hope you can make out the pics.
anyone have any options on this
hope this shows what I am talking about. the passenger side is about 1.5 inches back towards the fire wall. the shop found a bend in the frame back towards the rear passenger door. the estimated about $800 to get it close to being straight. I am in the middle of rebuilding a 64 Riviera and need to find a 425 nail head block (anyone have one sitting around) so I said to hold off. thought at this time is to create a plate and relocate the spring indexing hole forward an inch on the axel to bring in more inline. should be able to align it at that point. If not either spend the $800-$1k on the frame, or spend the weekend swapping all the front end work over to the 91 and rebuild the 4l80e to get it back on the road. Basicaly swap everything from the 90 to the 91.
hope you can make out the pics.
anyone have any options on this
The neighbor has an old Buick rotting away in his tress with a 425 in it. Crazy shame.
Martin
Martin
late to the party here but I will say this,
You want:
Reliability, your **** needs to be solid don't even think about leaving the pavement up here unless your rig is squared away. Keep it simple and as close to stock as possible so if it does break you can get parts locally.
Fuel Economy, the 6.2/6.5 would have been a better choice then the TBI 350 but you will be ok most guys run gassers they just have to carry more fuel.
Ample storage ( fuel,parts,food,water)
Communication ( SAT phone is the best , but a spot GPS locator is a good second choice)
Recovery gear High lift jack and a good winch with lots of straps and a winch line extension at minimum .
Tires, you are gonna need 35" tire to "be safe" but really 37-40" would be better .
Lockers, YES at least in the rear.
Suspension, Spend money and get the best you afford you want something that will ride well our trails can have long sections of rutted out 2 tracks where you can actually run 20-35 mph if your setup.
Seats, Comfy and supportive I wouldn't go to crazy with 5-point harness and the like you wont need that .
WATER PROOF EVERYTHING
And finally call one of us AK guys we will take you out . All of the AK-CK5 guys know each other and wheel together .........well except PLYR2k he just drinks beer and talks about finishing his Burb
You want:
Reliability, your **** needs to be solid don't even think about leaving the pavement up here unless your rig is squared away. Keep it simple and as close to stock as possible so if it does break you can get parts locally.
Fuel Economy, the 6.2/6.5 would have been a better choice then the TBI 350 but you will be ok most guys run gassers they just have to carry more fuel.
Ample storage ( fuel,parts,food,water)
Communication ( SAT phone is the best , but a spot GPS locator is a good second choice)
Recovery gear High lift jack and a good winch with lots of straps and a winch line extension at minimum .
Tires, you are gonna need 35" tire to "be safe" but really 37-40" would be better .
Lockers, YES at least in the rear.
Suspension, Spend money and get the best you afford you want something that will ride well our trails can have long sections of rutted out 2 tracks where you can actually run 20-35 mph if your setup.
Seats, Comfy and supportive I wouldn't go to crazy with 5-point harness and the like you wont need that .
WATER PROOF EVERYTHING
And finally call one of us AK guys we will take you out . All of the AK-CK5 guys know each other and wheel together .........well except PLYR2k he just drinks beer and talks about finishing his Burb
think I am going to drop the cash and get the frame taken care of after I get the engine for the Riv. Not sure what problems I would run into I moved the perch.
switching everything over to the other is not looking like something I want to tackle right now. plus I would have to rebuild the 4l80e tans.
switching everything over to the other is not looking like something I want to tackle right now. plus I would have to rebuild the 4l80e tans.
Hello all, I am back, work and life got crazy and I could not spend as much time on anything but work for the last few months.
Things got so crazy in fact that I decided to retire and play around with building cars/trucks. J
Updates:
Burb2 (90 2500 suburban) – got the frame straightened and the wife seems to love it. The ride is a little stiff with the lift but all in all it is a beast, at least that is what the wife has renamed it. Still need to do a complete update to the interior as the low bucket captains seats are shot. Anyone have any suggestions? Need 4 as I want to replace the 2nd row captain seats as well.
Burb1 (91 2500 suburban) - picked up the 92 4l80e transmission but have not installed it yet. When I went to pick it up it was sitting in the back of a 71 C20 so I loaded that up and took it home too. Transmission was to heavy so I just bought the truck it was sitting in. J
The Alaska trip might happen next summer. Plans have changed a little as the wife now wants to pull the new travel trailer we purchased. This is a Jayco White Hawk 25bhs rated at 7500lbs.
Wife was thinking on a newer suburban (2012-2014) to take but that means she doesn’t get the jeep she wants. Thinking now is to do an 8.1L swap in front of the 4L80e and new interior along with a rebuild on the suspension and steering.
I see that Larry is the go to guy on these swaps and will be contacting him on what all I will need to do the swap successfully. Not looking for anything crazy, just a good reliable setup to get down the road with the trailer. I am currently reviewing the 8.1L swap thread to educate myself on what this is going to take and estimated cost.
I welcome any other suggestions on direction. Main request from the wife is that it is comfortable for her and the kids as we are planning on the trip taking 6 weeks.
Things got so crazy in fact that I decided to retire and play around with building cars/trucks. J
Updates:
Burb2 (90 2500 suburban) – got the frame straightened and the wife seems to love it. The ride is a little stiff with the lift but all in all it is a beast, at least that is what the wife has renamed it. Still need to do a complete update to the interior as the low bucket captains seats are shot. Anyone have any suggestions? Need 4 as I want to replace the 2nd row captain seats as well.
Burb1 (91 2500 suburban) - picked up the 92 4l80e transmission but have not installed it yet. When I went to pick it up it was sitting in the back of a 71 C20 so I loaded that up and took it home too. Transmission was to heavy so I just bought the truck it was sitting in. J
The Alaska trip might happen next summer. Plans have changed a little as the wife now wants to pull the new travel trailer we purchased. This is a Jayco White Hawk 25bhs rated at 7500lbs.
Wife was thinking on a newer suburban (2012-2014) to take but that means she doesn’t get the jeep she wants. Thinking now is to do an 8.1L swap in front of the 4L80e and new interior along with a rebuild on the suspension and steering.
I see that Larry is the go to guy on these swaps and will be contacting him on what all I will need to do the swap successfully. Not looking for anything crazy, just a good reliable setup to get down the road with the trailer. I am currently reviewing the 8.1L swap thread to educate myself on what this is going to take and estimated cost.
I welcome any other suggestions on direction. Main request from the wife is that it is comfortable for her and the kids as we are planning on the trip taking 6 weeks.
Cool. Nice to see some progress, eh? Or is adding another vehicle to the fleet a form of negative progress?
If I could pick the perfect (gasser) Burb to start with It would be a 96-2000 vortec 454 2500 , with a ford dana 60 . Radial 37-40" tires . detroit rear/selectable front , hydro assist steering. With 4.88 or 5.13 gearing
The 454 would be good for power and would make for an easier 8.1 swap later on
can't say adding another is a form of negative progress as I also grabbed a 93 1500 that had a burnt up tranny. Tranny has been rebuilt and just needs some minor linkage adjustments and then it will be on Craig's list. interior is good. needs a new hood, grille and rear passenger side door glass. other then that it is a good truck.Cool. Nice to see some progress, eh? Or is adding another vehicle to the fleet a form of negative progress?
I thought of doing a 454 as well but thought if I was going to do that just drop in the 8.1. not really looking at finding another one to build out. I already have 4 other vehicles that I am working on.
48 willy's
51 Chevy 3100
64 Buick Rivera
71 C20
not to mention the 90, 91 and 93 burbs and the two daily drivers...... think I need to find a 12 step program... wife is an enabler
