The “Durty Burb” 1994 k2500

[greatwhitez71]

I picked this thing up a couple of years back. I was tired of taking my much cleaner daily drivers down the beach and subjecting them to sand and saltwater spray for days at a time so I decided to look for something a little less fancy yet still reliable.

This is what I ended up finding.
1994 k2500 Suburban
Gen 5 454 TBI
4l80e transmission
NP241
(I believe 3.73 gears, I honestly haven’t checked)

It had the normal faded paint on the roof and hood and a god awful ugly grill. Also some relatively rough rust cancer behind the rear wheels but nothing that can’t be fixed.

Soon after I got it I put a new factory style grill on it. And then fought a busted fuel pump. After fixing both of those it served me a good couple of summers of running up and down the beach fishing/camping.

I added a front receiver hitch for my surf rod basket, and “rigged” a rack on top for running larger shark fishing setups at night.
I also figured a way to store my quality surf rod gear inside tucked up against the roof.

Other than all that it has been left mostly alone. But, I don’t beach fish the beach as much as I originally wanted to so I decided to go ahead and sell the burb...but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. So I pushed that idea and decided to keep it. (I’ve always had a soft spot for suburbans and 88-98’s)

I want to keep this rig as driveable and reliable as I can stand to keep it. It’ll be my weekend tow/hunting/camping/fishing setup.

 

[greatwhitez71]

Plans at this point (while still working on my k30) will be a leaf sprung solid axle swap. I already have some ORD brackets and a 1978 F250 Dana 44. I was torn between 37’s and 35’s and what amount of lift overall. Having the ability to somewhat tow occasionally 35’s made the most sense. And after seeing how kay86k5’s white 93 suburban is coming along I’m pretty set on keeping it around 5” and sticking with 35’s.

If I keep the 80e transmission I’ll probably add a temp sensor/gauge setup and a larger aftermarket cooler to help keep an eye on it. BUT I do have the setup and the transmission to do an early model NV4500 swap so that may also be an option.

For now I’ll be leaving the motor alone. Just freshing it up a little and cleaning under the hood while I’m at it. Some of the wiring is fairly ratty.

Eventually redoing the paint (especially the maroon part)

 

[GWeakland620]

 

[78K30]

Looks like a fun build, count me in

 

[greatwhitez71]

Made a good score yesterday. One of my past times is poking around the local pull a part looking for good stuff others overlook.

So here’s how this unfolded. After finding this bumper I’m thinking how the heck had everyone passed it by...the truck it was on was pretty dismantled and it’s a very common model. (88-98 gm).

Sure enough, bumper is welded on.
So I price checked...bumper is $50 at the yard no matter what the make. Just “bumper”

So I took it upon myself to use that as an excuse to add to my cordless dewalt 20v collection and left the yard and went and found me a handy little angle grinder and some diablo blades.

Well then my half spent batteries didn’t hold out long enough. I made it about 3/4 of the way through the welds and had to go the rest of the way with a couple of chisels and a small hammer. My big hammer ended up being a semi floater axle shaft.

It took some persuasion but I made it happen. The bumper may not be everyone’s flavor but for $50 bucks I’ll take it.
Certified ranch hand bumper, (it’s Texas after all)
even had the old faded sticker still on it.

 

[GWeakland620]

Heck yeah!

 

[swettysblazer]

Made a good score yesterday. One of my past times is poking around the local pull a part looking for good stuff others overlook.

So here’s how this unfolded. After finding this bumper I’m thinking how the heck had everyone passed it by...the truck it was on was pretty dismantled and it’s a very common model. (88-98 gm).

Sure enough, bumper is welded on.
So I price checked...bumper is $50 at the yard no matter what the make. Just “bumper”

So I took it upon myself to use that as an excuse to add to my cordless dewalt 20v collection and left the yard and went and found me a handy little angle grinder and some diablo blades.

Well then my half spent batteries didn’t hold out long enough. I made it about 3/4 of the way through the welds and had to go the rest of the way with a couple of chisels and a small hammer. My big hammer ended up being a semi floater axle shaft.

It took some persuasion but I made it happen. The bumper may not be everyone’s flavor but for $50 bucks I’ll take it.
Certified ranch hand bumper, (it’s Texas after all)
even had the old faded sticker still on it.

View attachment 295150

I feel like this is fitting.

 

[greatwhitez71]

Haha! Surprisingly yes it is

 

[Whitesnake]

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