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Diesel into a Burb? Or Burb onto a diesel?

J

jgcoastie

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Is it possible, in theory, to take a mid to late 90's Dodge Ram 2500 chassis (with 5.9L and 6-speed manual) and put a mid-80's Suburban body on it?

Thoughts/concerns/I'm an idiot?

Almost seems like it would be worth it to not have to deal with engine/trans/TC alignment and installation and what-not... Just modify some body mounts to fit the chassis... Or am I over-simplifying my theory and it's more work than it's worth?

What say you, gurus?
 
I think you misunderstand me...

Instead of putting a 5.9L into a mid-80's Suburban, I'm talking about (theoretically) putting a mid-80's Suburban body onto a LWB Ram 2500 chassis already equipped with a 5.9L...

Basically a body swap, take a 90's LWB 2500 Ram, pull the body off. Scrap it.

Take a 80's Suburban, take the body off, make a few adjustments, put it on the (now) body-less 2500 Ram. Scrap/sell the remains of the Burb.

ETA: Obviously, some upgrades could be made while the body is off the Ram chassis... Powdercoated frame, rebuilt 5.9L and 6-speed trans... Have the Burb body coated liberally with bedliner, inside and out (coyote tan seems like a good color)... You know, the fun things in life...

Am I being ridiculous? Or would such a thing actually be possible?
 
Anything is possible.

But it all depends on how much work you are willing to do to make it fit right and look good.
 
ahhh, my bad...:doah:


idk... Seems like you'd have to reengineer everything....


would be a cool project if you weren't in a hurry...:whistle:


edit: hell, if they can put Camaros on a K5 frame, you can do it!!
 
62 fat guy said:
idk... Seems like you'd have to reengineer everything....
Click to expand...

That's the part I'm somewhat worried about...

Looks like the wheelbases aren't too far off..

Ram LWB 2500: 134.7"

Suburban: 129.5"

OAL isn't too far off either...

Ram LWB 2500: 224.1"

Suburban: 219.1"

The rear end should be simple enough to get right... Center up the front axle and suspension mounts, then move the leaf spring mounts on the Burb body to the right places and reinforce... The front would be a little (sarcasm) more tricky to get right... I believe they used Dana 60 front axles...

Anyone want to fill me in on the particulars of putting a Dana 60/Dodge front end under a Suburban?
 
I put a 4bt into a square body suburban. I think it would be much easier to put the driveline into the burb. Then trying to pick up that monster bodies, line up all your mounts, Tear out the interior, and all the little stuff stuff like wiring and what not. You also have to tear off the dodge as well. Keep the body whole and just take front end off to switch it.
 
It's kinda a toss up as to which is better/easier. Both require a fair amount of heavy lifting and fabrication to make things fit. Keeping the GM chassis and swapping the drivetrain is probably the easier of the two options. But you're left with the stock frame that can have issues after a while from dealing with the cummins engine. Using the dodge chassis gives you the benefits of a stronger frame and one that will ride better too. Plus its made to handle the cummins engine. Course then you have to make custom body mounts and splice things like steering, brakes, etc between the two brands. The engine swap is a lot of work and money to do, I thought long and hard about doing but the cost would've been too much for my current budget. The body swap wont be cheap either by any means. Really it comes down too how much time, money, and skill you have to do it. How good a fabricator are you? How many tools and what size shop do you have? Projects like this suck asss when done outside.
Its a very doable project but not a small one.

Good Luck :waytogo:.
 
Thanks, I'm above average for fabbing and welding... Shop is a double-bay workshop, fully equipped.

You make all good points... Something for me to think about. Thanks.
 
jgcoastie said:
Thanks, I'm above average for fabbing and welding... Shop is a double-bay workshop, fully equipped.

You make all good points... Something for me to think about. Thanks.
Click to expand...

In that case I would go for a body swap.
It's not that bad, and if you plan things right, it can be better than an engine transplant, especially for the frame strength.
I think the front won't need any work as far as axle location but the rear will need to be moved forward and I would suggest you move the spring hangers not shorten the frame in between the springs.
 
imiceman44 said:
In that case I would go for a body swap.
It's not that bad, and if you plan things right, it can be better than an engine transplant, especially for the frame strength.
I think the front won't need any work as far as axle location but the rear will need to be moved forward and I would suggest you move the spring hangers not shorten the frame in between the springs.
Click to expand...

The specs looked close enough that if you lift it the rear may be ok where it is:dunno:

I agree, the body swap will work out to be the better option, although I can't say if it will be easier than the drivetrain swap. The new frame is meant to handle that much stress from the cummins, plus as stated it'll ride a lot better.

Either way, I'm sub'd:waytogo:
 
Z71paramedic said:
The specs looked close enough that if you lift it the rear may be ok where it is:dunno:
Click to expand...

If you lifted it and did some of the basic (for CK5) trimming it might fit close enough to center it on the axles. Would be like moving the front forward a couple inches and the rear back a couple inches.

That would also give a bit more room for the firewall and tunnel to clear what ever might be in the way:dunno:.

Sounds cool though and I wanna see it done in detail...... Please!
 
If I do it, I'll be sure to post...

Trying to find suitable project vehicles in/near MI is dern near impossible... Dang road salt...:flipoff2::flipoff2:
 
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