CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Brand New Suburban (in 1988)

Haha!!! The chief is going to flip when he finds out he can fish for sharks from The safety of his K5.... He never was a fan of boats. Sorry for the inside jokes, it will all make sense soon enough. Welcome to the site!!!!

The chief sounds like a cool dude, I checked out his profile, sweet lookin k5.
 
The stock tires on that Silverado will not get you very far off road. Sure, they look nice on the street, but they will turn to crap in the mud and offer no floatation in the beach sand. Probably why you've gotten stuck with it. Some decent treads on some smaller wheels would do that truck some good.

Maybe not as good as the burb though. More ground clearance being the biggest factor. Besides that, it's an older truck. Tree scratches and a bit more "go pedal" because you're less concerned with the end result will take that truck further as well.
__________________

Ya Brian, they have since been replaced by some bigger bfg at's, which are not awesome offroad, but a heckuva lot better than those racing slicks. Those are only a small part of why I have been stuck, the main thing is that I forget to disable the dang stabilitrack/traction control when I get offroad :dunno: . Never been stuck on the beach thankfully, but I am somewhat prepared in case it were to happen. On that rack, I rigged as part of the platform, two 6 foot 2x6's that detach with large wing nuts. If I need (this is only good for the beach, dont think it will do well in mud) I can place them under the wheels to get the truck outta the deep sand.

I am excited to have the burb for the above reasons AND the fact that I can keep most of my gear locked up inside while traveling. It always sucks when I'm on the road to have to leave some things in the back of the truck unattended while I run inside walmart.
 
It's got the 350 TBI.

Another one on the "to do" list is the headliner. I did some searching and it looks like a few of you got pretty creative and did an excellent job. I'll be looking for the easiest but also the most cost efficient route.

Look for ccarleys build on here, he did a nice job with his headliner in his burb. He got the fabric from a fabric store i think....

Thats a pretty sweet fishing set up you got there, btw.
 
Installed 4" BDS springs all the way around, new shocks, new steering arm, new brakelines. All went smooth except the brakelines never made it in and I was in a time crunch so I ran over to 4wheelparts in San Antonio to pick some up. Some pics below.

20110812180940.jpg


20110812180956.jpg


20110812181005.jpg


20110812191327.jpg


20110813100607.jpg


20110813100624.jpg


20110814173623.jpg


20110814173648.jpg


20110814173710.jpg


20110814173438.jpg



Before new springs:
20110627204938.jpg
 
Last edited:
My thoughts exactly.


I have a question for y'all, which direction to you mount you front shocks? Shock rod up? or Down?

I just mounted mine up. I thought that I hear if they are monotube they can be mounted upside down, but if twin tube to be mounted rod up only. I thought heath said that but i cant recall.
 
love the look after the lift:thumb:. Definately a nice burb:D
 
I installed the shock rod up on the front and down in the rear, wasn't sure if it really mattered but thought i'd see what y'all do.
 
Unless the shock is designed to be ran upside down.Most aren't .You will lose dampening.
 
Unless the shock is designed to be ran upside down.Most aren't .You will lose dampening.

just so we're clear, the rear is to be shock rod up as well?

Never done this before
Depends on the shock.

If it needs to be run rod up, use the boot to keep debris out of the shaft seal.

If the shock can be run rod down, leave the boots off and the shock will outlive the rod up shock since nothing will get in the seals.
 
Either I missed it or it wasn't mentioned...how much did this thing set you back if you don't mind me asking?

Nice one by the way.
 
1500

4 new springs w/ new u bolts
4 stainless fox shocks
T-case drop (not needed, I got talked into it, waste of money)
Sway bar disconnect kit (questioning whether this is nessecary either)
New Steering arm
Stainless brakelines


I thought it was kinda pricey but I plan on having this rig for a long time and eventually want heavy axles or regear, so I can run a larger tire. I dont want to go any higher with lift, i'll trim if need be. The stock springs were worn out, mushy, and I will be hauling a heavy load over some extremely rough terrain going down the beach, so new springs were a must in my eyes. I couldve saved about $200 if i would not have bought the tcase drop or the swaybar disconnect. All in all, I am really happy with the lift and the ride quality. O and I got all for of those stainless shocks for $150 total, thought that was a pretty good deal, may be wrong or misinformed. I was also told that if anything happens to those BDS springs, they will replace them, no questions asked. Though, I have never met anyone who has dealt with BDS before, so I hope that is the case.
 
Most shocks need the rod up. If you flip them, it will develop an air pocket and give basically 0 damping for a short range right at ride height. If you need to run them rod down, do some research to make sure you have the kind of shocks that work that way.

You can also pull the lower shock bolt later and press them in and out to check functionality.
 
Finished the rack last week, would not have been able to do it if not for the help of a friend and his machine shop to fabricate mounts.

imagejpeg36k.jpg



imagejpeg25k.jpg



I'll try and take some better pics of the mounts later
 
1500

4 new springs w/ new u bolts
4 stainless fox shocks
T-case drop (not needed, I got talked into it, waste of money)
Sway bar disconnect kit (questioning whether this is nessecary either)
New Steering arm
Stainless brakelines


I thought it was kinda pricey but I plan on having this rig for a long time and eventually want heavy axles or regear, so I can run a larger tire. I dont want to go any higher with lift, i'll trim if need be. The stock springs were worn out, mushy, and I will be hauling a heavy load over some extremely rough terrain going down the beach, so new springs were a must in my eyes. I couldve saved about $200 if i would not have bought the tcase drop or the swaybar disconnect. All in all, I am really happy with the lift and the ride quality. O and I got all for of those stainless shocks for $150 total, thought that was a pretty good deal, may be wrong or misinformed. I was also told that if anything happens to those BDS springs, they will replace them, no questions asked. Though, I have never met anyone who has dealt with BDS before, so I hope that is the case.

I meant how much for the rig. Just picked up my 88 for $2k. Just wondering if I did good.
 
Top Bottom