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Keep It Simple Suburban

Grocery Getter and More
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Capt Ron

Capt Ron

1/2 ton status
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So I have been on the hunt for a 2 wheel drive Suburban for a while. A 72 or older was going to be my best case find but the price/timing on those never worked out.
The price and barn doors made this one that I felt I could work with.
5.7 engine, auto and all the normal pw/pl etc...
Future plans call for a bit lower, new paint, and someday an engine upgrade.
All while keeping down time to an absolute minimum.
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I love a clean 2wd Suburban. They look real nice with 454 SS wheels.

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Capt Ron said:
This thread is for the general discussion of the Item Keep It Simple Suburban. Please add to the discussion here.
So I have been on the hunt for a 2 wheel drive Suburban for a while. A 72 or older was going to be my best case find but the price/timing on those never worked out.
The price and barn doors made this one that I felt I could work with.
5.7 engine, auto and all the normal pw/pl etc...
Future plans call for a bit lower, new paint, and someday an engine upgrade.
All while keeping down time to an absolute minimum.
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‘97 ‘98? Ish?
 
regal403 said:
They look real nice with 454 SS wheels.
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The wheels are definitely getting changed.
I have had a set of old school chrome reverse wheels with baby moon hubcaps stashed away for about 10 years I am thinking will look good.

All the lowered trucks I have ridden in have rode like crap. Even though I only plan on lowering it about 2" or 3" in front and 5"ish in the back I gotta figure out how to do that without it riding like a stagecoach. I actually have not even seen it in person yet as it was an online police sale. I cannot even pick it up until Saturday. Not sure why but it looks like it is sitting higher then stock from the pics.
 
Should be a neat driver!
I know that I am old in several ways, but I always like keeping the tail slightly higher than the front when empty. This helped me when I lowered my '72 C10 because it still had upward travel after losing 2.5" of height.
A suburban could possibly be tricky to find the right amount to drop, without losing bump travel or dragging its butt when loaded with passengers and gear.

Are you thinking about air assist, or full air ride on the rear?
 
6872xtc said:
Are you thinking about air assist, or full air ride on the rear?
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I got nothing.
This is totally out of my wheelhouse.
My dad did about a dozen lowered swb squares back in the days of axle over springs and it felt like they were on the bump stops most of the time. I have no problem upping the money for something that is user friendly install wise and rides decent.
What setup are you using on your 72?
 
Well, I cannot remember if a '99 1/2 ton sub is leaf, or coil rear.
My '72 is coil rear, so I bought new springs for the rear, cut the front with a cut-off wheel. I trimmed the bump stops by half, on both ends.
I haven't looked into any options for the GMT400 stuff at all, but I personally would look at air assist, if it has leaf springs, possibly with a leaf delete, or new springs. This isn't the best option, if you add too much power, of course.
Making room for bump travel, and giving it a softer bump stop would seem to be the best path, IMO.
The front could be easiest with drop spindles. The ball joint operating angle is something to consider.
But keep in mind, that I have only lowered one truck, a little bit, so no grand knowledge here.
Air bags, no matter if they are assist, or primary, will make a difference in ride quality depending upon pressure and diameter. This is where an experienced person could be beneficial.
Think about how KW 8 bag rides, vs Freightliner, Neway or Navistar 4 bag. The 8 bag was always smaller diameter, but more bags, and softer. The 4 larger bags have slightly more firm ride, but handles slightly better, while they typically run the same pressures. Square inches of actuation area can make a difference.
I have had guys tell me that the small diameter helper bags took so much pressure to make a difference, the ride got harsh quickly.

Hopefully I am making sense.
 
6872xtc said:
Well, I cannot remember if a '99 1/2 ton sub is leaf, or coil rear.
My '72 is coil rear, so I bought new springs for the rear, cut the front with a cut-off wheel. I trimmed the bump stops by half, on both ends.
I haven't looked into any options for the GMT400 stuff at all, but I personally would look at air assist, if it has leaf springs, possibly with a leaf delete, or new springs. This isn't the best option, if you add too much power, of course.
Making room for bump travel, and giving it a softer bump stop would seem to be the best path, IMO.
The front could be easiest with drop spindles. The ball joint operating angle is something to consider.
But keep in mind, that I have only lowered one truck, a little bit, so no grand knowledge here.
Air bags, no matter if they are assist, or primary, will make a difference in ride quality depending upon pressure and diameter. This is where an experienced person could be beneficial.
Think about how KW 8 bag rides, vs Freightliner, Neway or Navistar 4 bag. The 8 bag was always smaller diameter, but more bags, and softer. The 4 larger bags have slightly more firm ride, but handles slightly better, while they typically run the same pressures. Square inches of actuation area can make a difference.
I have had guys tell me that the small diameter helper bags took so much pressure to make a difference, the ride got harsh quickly.

Hopefully I am making sense.
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Totally, all that pretty much aligns with all my thinking as well. Thanks
regal403 said:
I believe they have rear leaf springs.
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Yeah, I am pretty sure they are leaf rear also.
Wes Harden said:
My Question is where are you going to park it ?? :D
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LOL, now that is some funny stuff right there. My girlfriend said the same thing. I got a couple stashed at work so this will go in the carport.
6872xtc said:
Quit it with the rational thinking!
:haha:
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Yeah, what he said.
Wes Harden said:
Poor Dog gonna loose more yard lol
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Dog is always gonna be warm, fat and happy. He is one of the reasons for the Suburban actually, he will have more room on road trips then he does in the crew cab.
 
Anything made to drop a C1500 truck of the same generation will work on the Burb. We can get stuff for that at my work. Just depends if you want to use drop coils or drop spindles on the front. I'll check out some options.
 
ZooMad75 said:
I'll check out some options.
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Yes please. I was going to tag you in for info.
Thanks!
Also, on the low budget side has anyone had success with cutting a 1/4 or 1/2 coil in front {as 6872xtc mentioned} and pulling a spring or two from the rear. Seems primitive I know but some internetters are claiming decent results.
Remember I am not going for slammed, just a bit lower.
 
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A dropped shackle would net the rear without fooling with yanking leaves out of the pack. They aren't horribly expensive and get the job done for a small amount of drop out back. Cutting coils works, but it's trial and error as far as how much to cut. Let me find out what I can get and what the prices are.
 
The guys on Faster with Finnegan just dropped a Tahoe of the same era with a Belltech kit.... thats what I would put my money on. I've sold a few of them before and always had good luck with them.
 
It will definitely ride worse if you cut springs and remove leaves. From everything I've seen, not done it myself ever. I'd go with a drop spindle up front to keep the factory ride. Wheel diameter might be an issue though.
 
Truckman4life said:
It will definitely ride worse if you cut springs and remove leaves. From everything I've seen, not done it myself ever. I'd go with a drop spindle up front to keep the factory ride. Wheel diameter might be an issue though.
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My '72 rides very well, but I only took one coil off, which lowered it slightly over 2". I removed 1" of coil spring. I tried lowering springs, (back in '98) and they were very stiff, and only brought it down 1/4".
While my experience may be rare, I would try it again, as long as it was only a small drop.
But drop spindles would be easy, and hopefully they aren't real expensive.

I like @ZooMad75 idea of shackle drop as the first option for the rear.
 
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