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One Piece at a Time: My 1985 Diesel Suburban

Overview Gallery Discussion
The Willomet shuffle, (noun):
the act of moving or rearranging multiple project vehicles so the current project is close enough to the required tool or electrical outlet.

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See also: extension cords and their uses

David
 
I work slow. Wrapped up the lower mount, painted and shock is installed.
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I had originally planned for the valve to be centered in the shock body - 7" of rod showing - but after double checking the difference in free arch at rest and full droop, setting the valve 1" above center ensured the Bilsteins would not become limit straps later on. That leaves 6" of compression, and 8" of extension.

Now the upper mounts need a good double shear bracket.

David
 
Need more pics!!!

Awesome build,
Any chance you can post more pics?
If so, I'd love to see your rear bumper and body trimming for clearance.
 
With the suspension set up on this truck I'd really like to see videos of it hauling ass down a dirt road. well, as much ass as a suburban can haul anyway. Lol
 
jgolden said:
Awesome build,
Any chance you can post more pics?
If so, I'd love to see your rear bumper and body trimming for clearance.
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I have some additional photos of the rear bumper, transfer case, crossmembers, shifters, wiring harness, and other odds and ends. I'll sort through them and post.

muddysub said:
With the suspension set up on this truck I'd really like to see videos of it hauling ass down a dirt road. well, as much ass as a suburban can haul anyway. Lol
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There's a fine balance. The low-revving diesel keeps me honest, but challenge accepted.

David
 
jgolden said:
How are you mounting 14" travel shocks??
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Slightly extended factory shingle shear upper posts, and the newly rebuilt lowers. Everything is setup for 6" of compression and 8" of extension.

David
 
Here is a quick rundown of the ORD rear bumper.

I like their design, and had some ideas for how it could be tailored to my truck. Stephen at ORD was very accommodating:
· Significant reinforcements for towing – enclosed center section with reinforcements around the receiver hitch and a place to connect chains
· Extended wrap around - suburban has a slightly longer overhang than their longbed pictured on the site
· Rear quarter panel protection compatible with barn-door suburbans – clears the open doors very tightly
· Frame tie-in tube shipped loose for me to mount – used non-flanged disconnects

I called Stephen in late January 2013 to discuss the project, and they had a barn-door suburban in the yard that they could use to mock up the bumper. I took delivery April 1st and got to work installing. For a custom tailored product, that’s a pretty darned fast build time.

The rear quarter panels were trimmed significantly and were about even with a rear body line covered by the factory bumper.
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Additional porting for the reinforcement bars.
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The rear spare tire well was boxed and plated and would eventually become the new home for my batteries.
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I put some small pieces of 16ga blockers in the newly created gaps at the bottom of the rear quarters to keep out the big chunks of rock/dirt. Eventually, I want to trim and fit back in the rear lower quarters to create a more factory-appearing quarter panel with these improved clearances.
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The bumper has done its job and protected the rear panels in some tight spots, and I’ve pulled several 6K lbs trailer loads of decomposed granite and dirt.
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David
 
Do your doors still open all the way? Looks like you'd have to set them up on the partially open loop on the limit straps.

It's beautiful and gives me more ideas for my rear bumper.
 
muddysub said:
Do your doors still open all the way? Looks like you'd have to set them up on the partially open loop on the limit straps.
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The doors open all the way on both the fully open setting on the limit straps and all the way to the hinge stop. The tubing clears with about 1/8" to spare.

David
 
Much better than the cheesy digital gauge setups they offer.

Martin
 
I really want a Dakota digital setup like that! Modern gauges some how feel so solid? Is that the tight word? Something like that.
 
That is a very good looking cluster! :waytogo: I’m usually not a fan of anything Dakota Digital, but that one looks very nice. The square body OEM cluster housings are pretty sucktastic in quality with hoekey mounting like the entire thing was an afterthought and just crammed in the dash. I agree with Y5mgisi that the speedo is a bit overboard. After getting used to the factory gauges for decades I’d always want to be driving 80 MPH just to get the speedo needle pointed at 12 0’clock :haha:

Anxious to hear how the install goes.
 
One Piece at a Time: My 1985 Diesel Suburban [Rear ORD Bumper Recap]

At 160 mph the 6.2L would be turning a comfortable 6900 RPM. Super realistic.

Unfortunately, the speedometer range was not adjustable, but I figured it would be a worthy trade-off for solid-state accurate gauges.

See you in Bonneville.

David
 
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