Craigslist Lust of the Week: Square Body 'Burbs

For reasons I cannot explain, I've got the hots for an old square body Suburban right now. Raised, lowered, or stock height, in two tone or solid colors, clean as a whistle or with ample patina, that body style just looks so right to me on a big chunky SUV.

Suppose I wanted one of these as at least a part time daily - how terrible of an idea would that be? Gas mileage would obviously suck, but how bad are we talking? Single digits or is mid-teens doable? What configuration would be your choice for daily driving and medium duty towing (say 5-6k lbs?) My thoughts lean towards a later half ton with the TBI 350 and 700R4 in 4x4 configuration for winter beast mode ability. How about a manual swap, easy or are there unicorn parts required (I know these could be had factory with a 4 speed, but they seem exceedingly rare.)

This is probably nothing more than a bench build at the moment, but indulge me anyways, if you would please.

You definitely want a TBI motor and 700R4, that makes a huge difference. The 6.2 and 6.5 Diesels are either great or awful depending on your likes and strengths and weaknesses as a mechanic. Keep in mind the 3/4 ton variants never got the overdrive transmission but you could get them with a 454.

Other than the gas mileage, they are plenty fine space for soaking up the miles, they are not as refined as the 90s variants, but still do the job.

You'll be driving it pretty much for nostalgic effect. Expect 10ish mpg give or take a bit. Loose and jiggly chassis tuning with a sensation of herding it down the road more than carving up the corners.

My mom drove an '85 back in the late 80's and it was a big thirsty beast. I just replaced my '99 1500 with a 2004 2500 and the generational difference is just amazing, the newer design is tighter and dynamically better all the way around. The best answer would be to rebody a newer truck with the old sheet metal.

I had a 1990 3/4 ton model, two wheel drive, with the 454 TBI. Mileage was maybe 12 mpg on a good day and single digits on a bad one. It basically drove like a slightly lower version of a cargo van. Parking it was awkward due to its size, and it could overheat if you let it idle for a long time with the A/C running, but from a reliability standpoint it was something I didn't have to worry when my wife decided to borrow it for a DD for several months.

Bottom line - they're old trucks and they don't let you forget that.

WE had an 84 6.2/700R truck. 20mpg all day every day. Wasn't overly fast but it was a beast. I long for one to stuff a D-max/Allison into, update the interior and drive to the northernmost part of the North American Continent.

Wife rocks a 1991 Suburban- the LAST of the box bodies. She loves it.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/smells-like-a-steak-and-seats-35/99875/page1/

We get 14 mpg with ours on the highway towing a small camper. She gets about 15 doing kiddie-hauling duties, bombing around back roads and terrorizing minivans.

350TBI and 700R4 FTW.

join us.....

I have wanted a 3/4 ton 4x4 with a 4 inch lift, cool wheels, 33" all terrains, and kc daylighters for literally 20 years. I have owned a hand full of square body pickups, but no suburbans as of yet.

In reply to gearheadmb:

Add a roof rack with the spare attached, Fuel cans, and a 50 gallon fuel tank and I'm in

For several years, I had this is a tow vehicle and general purpose hauling beater...well, not this exact one, but mine looked just like it. Same color combo, wheels, even the vent shades.

It was a '93 2WD w/350. We loved the thing. Yeah, not a "fun" corner carver for sure, but it drove fine enough. MPG sucked, as you'd expect. 10mpg was about right, less when towing. I had brake issues with mine, but that was because it sat a lot. It's been 10 years since I last owned it and I still miss it.

In reply to KyAllroad:

Sounds like a bigger, thirstier version of my XJ then. Could be worse

In reply to Bobzilla:

Was that in a 2wd or 4wd truck? Impressive economy, but I'm not sure I could live with something that slow. Wonder how easily the turbo bits from the 6.5 could be adapted? $3k for the Banks kit is a little rich for my blood, might as well LS swap it at that point.

And on the other hand, a 454 would be sweet but I fear the fuel costs would outstrip my mortgage payment. 350 definitely seems like the sweet spot, unless swapping something comes into play.

And all else equal, I imagine the TH400 must do a lot worse than the 700R4. Wonder what something like an NV3500 would do for the fuel economy?

Bobzilla wrote: In reply to gearheadmb: Add a roof rack with the spare attached, Fuel cans, and a 50 gallon fuel tank and I'm in

Love the look lifted on 33s or 35s even, but I'm thinking more like stock height with some moderately sized A/Ts on rallye wheels

For me, it has to be a 3/4 ton. Those 6-bolt axles are just not strong enough.

I've been looking for a excellent condition, 89-91 Suburban, stock 1/2 ton 4x4, in 2 tone blue, with a blue interior for awhile now. They're getting pretty damn hard to find. I currently have a 97 3/4 ton 4x4 burb, and I know it's better really, but I prefer the square bodies.

BTW to the OPs original question. I daily drove my 89 1/2 ton 4x4 with TBI and 700r4 for awhile and got around 14-14.5 mpg stock. I honestly didn't mind driving it as a DD.

93gsxturbo wrote: You definitely want a TBI motor and 700R4, that makes a huge difference. The 6.2 and 6.5 Diesels are either great or awful depending on your likes and strengths and weaknesses as a mechanic. Keep in mind the 3/4 ton variants never got the overdrive transmission but you could get them with a 454. Other than the gas mileage, they are plenty fine space for soaking up the miles, they are not as refined as the 90s variants, but still do the job.

IIRC the 4L80E was available in the 3/4 ton squarebody in 91, which makes it somewhat of a unicorn.

I like the TBI 350/700R4. My 88 RCLB C2500 truck gets about 16 MPG with the stock 3.73 gears.

My best friend in middle school's dad had an '87 1500 'burb. There were 4 kids and 2 dogs and they took that thing everywhere. He was the original owner and kept it for 30 or so years. Later, after my buddy and I aquired our driver's licenses, it became our transport to highschool.

I like the GMT800 platform because they were made and used as trucks.

Plus, who didn't lust over the 'burb in Dante's Peak?

I finally found mine after a couple years of searching. '89 V1500, Silverado, 350, 700r4, lifted 4", with just 91,000 miles on the clock. I'm the third owner of said truck, and I'm slowly getting the bugs worked out from her sitting most of her life.

Easy button is LS swap, but the 12v Cummins is well-documented also. If you get a '91 3/4 ton rig, it'll have a 4L80E in it. If you want to manual swap it, it can be done, but you need the trans tunnel from a manual 'Burb to do it. The NV trans does not play well with the sheet metal otherwise. If you don't mind the 700r4, there are units available that will handle up to 600lb-ft of torque, which is plenty... Try to find a suburban with manual front hubs. The bearings are usually in better shape, and they're easier (for me anyways) to rebuild. To improve road manners, polyurethane bushings are a big help, as are good shocks and a good steering stabilizer. The bad spots for rust are under the floorboards and the wheel arches and quarter panels; note that suburban's rear wheel arches are different than any of the other ones, so you may have to patch what's there. There are a ton of aftermarket parts available, and they're easy as pie to work on.

Good hunting, hope you find a good rig!

Don't be afraid of the 454 from a gas mileage perspective. From what I've heard, they do no worse than the 350. Unless you romp on it, of course.

My preferred bench race build for one of these is very near stock, manual, 4x4, on skinny wheels and some 9.0-16LT tires. Maybe 3" of lift?

Cotton wrote:

93gsxturbo wrote: You definitely want a TBI motor and 700R4, that makes a huge difference. The 6.2 and 6.5 Diesels are either great or awful depending on your likes and strengths and weaknesses as a mechanic. Keep in mind the 3/4 ton variants never got the overdrive transmission but you could get them with a 454. Other than the gas mileage, they are plenty fine space for soaking up the miles, they are not as refined as the 90s variants, but still do the job.

IIRC the 4L80E was available in the 3/4 ton squarebody in 91, which makes it somewhat of a unicorn.

Correct. 1 year only

Not to this extreme, but I lean toward low & long.

1988RedT2 wrote: Don't be afraid of the 454 from a gas mileage perspective. From what I've heard, they do no worse than the 350. Unless you romp on it, of course.

I have a '93 454-powered dually quad cab truck, with a 5 speed manual, and have never gotten better than 10 mpg, highway, empty. Mrs. VCH's 350-powered 4x4 Suburban, with a 700R4 automatic, has never gotten less than 14 mpg, even in mixed driving. I know it's not exactly apples-to-apples, but the big block will suck more gas. And the difference between 10 mpg and 14 is a shocking amount of fuel.

volvoclearinghouse wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote: Don't be afraid of the 454 from a gas mileage perspective. From what I've heard, they do no worse than the 350. Unless you romp on it, of course.

I have a '93 454-powered dually quad cab truck, with a 5 speed manual, and have never gotten better than 10 mpg, highway, empty. Mrs. VCH's 350-powered 4x4 Suburban, with a 700R4 automatic, has never gotten less than 14 mpg, even in mixed driving. I know it's not exactly apples-to-apples, but the big block will suck more gas. And the difference between 10 mpg and 14 is a shocking amount of fuel.

Fair enough. My statement was based on anecdotal evidence. Maybe I was trying to rationalize swapping the 350 in my '85 C-30 Duallie for a 454!

And yes, as someone who gets around 9 to 10 MPG in said Duallie, I can appreciate the difference between 10 and 14 MPG.

gearheadmb wrote: I have wanted a 3/4 ton 4x4 with a 4 inch lift, cool wheels, 33" all terrains, and kc daylighters for literally 20 years. I have owned a hand full of square body pickups, but no suburbans as of yet.

E36 M3 with a little bit of front fender clearancing and add-a-leafs I fit 35s on my burb. 4" to fit 33"s is childsplay - you don't even need to lift it for 33s....

here is some inspiration:

Frankenburban 1.0