Newbie intro, pic, and questions

[kc chief]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum and wanted to show the virgin pic of my newest ride. Its an 83 burb with 60k one owner miles. She was garaged all her life and is immaculant. Please forgive the awesome bug shield, white walls, and running boards, like I said, this is how I picked her up.

I want to lower it, but have not yet decided which setup to go with. I need to be able to still pull a boat, and carry a load, so it needs to be functional and driveable on crappy Mo. roads. I was going to keep it simple and do a 3 inch drop in the front (either springs or spindles) and 2 inch shackles in the rear. The rear is a tad lower than the front, so I think this would even it out nicely. For those of you with 3 inch drop springs, has alignment been an issue?

I'm also considering spindles and springs in the front and a flip in the rear (with c-notch) but I have concerns about pulling a boat with it loaded with kids. Any input is appreciated.

[tvblazer78]

First thing welcome to the site! And you found a very clean burb it looks like, would not take much to make it sweeter then it is.

First thing, springs will not mess your alignment up to bad, you will need to take it and get the alignment done.

And if you go the way with the flip kit you can always put a helper air bag on the back it's very easy to do and works like a chanp. Get us some more pics of the thing and keep us posted on you project.

Trav

[kc chief]

Here's some more pics. What's funny is I have a Mustang, Chevelle, and TA sitting in my garage, and this thing is becoming my favorite project. I have big plans, and this site is inspirational to say the least.

For those with 5 inch drops, does it really kill the driveability around town? I already have to pamper my other cars cause they are all lowered, so I'm used to it, but I'd rather not have to worry when my lady drives to the grocery store.

[Square84]

the first pic is with 3 inch coils and no drop on the back i did have to get it aligned but it came out fine. the second pic is with 2 inch shackles on the back. they were a pain to put on because the hump for the spare tire is in the way and the gas filler neck is in the way. welcome to the board and the truck is very nice.

[kc chief]

What brand of springs and shackles did you use? When you say pain, is that like a 1 hour extra annoyance, or a 8 hour prison screw job?

[Square84]

everything is from belltech and by pain i mean i had to cut a large hole in the spare tire well be cause the bolt has no way to come out. after i was done i made a patch panel for it and bolted it in so if i ever want to change them out again i can just pull that panel. with a sawzall and handtools it took about 2hrs to do the back. and i have to take the gas filler neck to the exhaust shop and have a bend put in it because the springs are hitting it now. i also bought new shocks but not drop shocks i just got the heavyduty ones from autozone and the burb rides better than new there is a lot less body roll and it just seems to hug the road better. i was at my dads shop doing all this and he said i cant believe your screwing that truck up like that but after he drove it he apologized and said he also thought it rode much nicer. and i would not be afraid to pull anything with mine i routinely take the third row out and use this thing like a truck and no problems so far.

[tvblazer78]

Man that thing is nice!

I had a 5-6 on my blazer years ago and I drove it every day, but if you start going much more then that then you will have to start babying it.

[flamingbig10]

nice burb

[kc chief]

So, is it actually easier to install a flip kit / c-notch, compared to the shackles?!

[tvblazer78]

Both are not that hard, but I have not put one on a burb before.

[kc chief]

All the truck bed guys tell me it's easy, which it does look really easy on their trucks, but I've now had 2 people with burbs tell me it was a complete pain in the @ss to do shackles and hangers because some of the bolts are really hard to get to. I guess my question is, do I have to remove the same "hard" bolts, if I do a flip kit.

[Square84]

Originally Posted by kc chief

All the truck bed guys tell me it's easy, which it does look really easy on their trucks, but I've now had 2 people with burbs tell me it was a complete pain in the @ss to do shackles and hangers because some of the bolts are really hard to get to. I guess my question is, do I have to remove the same "hard" bolts, if I do a flip kit.

yes you still have to remove the same bolts becausr to do the flip kit you have to take the leaf springs out and put them under the axle. on the trucks it is mich easier to do shackles because they do not have a hump for a spare tire. its not bad to do either yor just going to have to cut that hump a little bit, or if you have the time you can completely remove the spare tire hump it all unbolts then put it back in when your done and seam seal the whole thing just depends on how much time you want to take on it.

[kc chief]

Square84 and TVBlazer, I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to all my questions. Thank you!

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by Square84

everything is from belltech and by pain i mean i had to cut a large hole in the spare tire well be cause the bolt has no way to come out. after i was done i made a patch panel for it and bolted it in so if i ever want to change them out again i can just pull that panel. with a sawzall and handtools it took about 2hrs to do the back. and i have to take the gas filler neck to the exhaust shop and have a bend put in it because the springs are hitting it now. i also bought new shocks but not drop shocks i just got the heavyduty ones from autozone and the burb rides better than new there is a lot less body roll and it just seems to hug the road better. i was at my dads shop doing all this and he said i cant believe your screwing that truck up like that but after he drove it he apologized and said he also thought it rode much nicer. and i would not be afraid to pull anything with mine i routinely take the third row out and use this thing like a truck and no problems so far.

That bolt can be replaced with a new bolt after you cut the head off and pull it out the opposite direction.

[lolife99]

First,... WELCOME to the board. You have a really nice suburban! I think you will like it alot better lowered. Just make sure and install good drop components and drop shocks.

This is my old '91 'burb.
It has 4" drop leaf springs and 3" spindles with 2" drop springs. Also Belltech shocks.
It road and drove great!

[kc chief]

Lolife, that's the stance I'm after. Drop Leaf Springs? Where did you get these? Does it require a flip? Or a C-notch? If you didn't do a notch, did you have any problems with the rearend hitting the frame? Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure I get it right the first time. Thanks!

[Square84]

Originally Posted by lolife99

That bolt can be replaced with a new bolt after you cut the head off and pull it out the opposite direction.

i was going to try that but the gas tank is too close to the shackles so i would not have been able to get the bolt in from the other direction either.i actually tried to put it back together that way so if i needed to take it apart again it would be easier but it was a no go.if time was not an issue i would have just pulled the leaf springs and attached the shackles while they were out.

[87 dually burb]

this is a 6 inch flip in rear sit kinda low for a DD and towing is out with out helper bags
has 2" to frame

I would do 3" in front and pull a leaf to match it in rear + helper bags

[truckfan]

nice truck. i am just down the road in lawrence. i think i'd lower w/ a 2" 4" for the towing. put all factory chrome back on, flip the tires and drive it

[justpball]

Nice bro!

[factory2wdblazer's]

that's one cherry burb can't wait to see it lowerd...........