1989 Suburban with 5.3LS/700R4

[2ndGenRR]

Hey Guys - I'm a subscribing member, so I think it's okay to get your input on this rig I found locally on CL.

CL Description:
1989 Suburban in excellent shape -5.3 Engine - from a 2004 chevy truck
700 R4 overdrive Transmission
3:73 Gear Ratio
Has custom interior
6" Suspension Lift
Brand new 35" tires on chrome mods - set of Michelins on Rallys

I haven't driven out to see it in person yet, but in talking to the guy, he did the conversion about 1.5 yrs ago, with a 70k mile 5.3 out of a 2004 p/u. Only things not hooked up are the a/c lines and cruise control. Truck came out of TX about 10 years ago and the owner stripped it to bare metal and painted it back to factory...he owns a custom shop and his website looks like they do good work.

What else...there is a touch of surface rust on the wheelwells that will need to be addressed. The custom interior was done by a place in TX right after the truck was purchased...2 rows of captain's chairs, wood center console with heat ducting. So it sounds like a TX Cadillac to me! Unfortunately, I don't have a pic of that yet.

So, what is it worth? Guy is asking 10k, which I think is top of market even with the engine transplant...

[d-666]

looks clean and a good engine swap, too. 10k seems a little high but if a truck this clean was up for sale here in quebec, i'd buy it(they are verrryyy rare up north)

[68Timber]

10K is high market only if it were finished out, but man I love the truck.

[Pyrotechnic]

That's the thing about purchasing a custom vehicle, would you have built it just the way you see it now?

If you see the vehicle and you love everything that's done to it, then it's a good deal for you because chances are you wouldn't be able to build the equivalent for what the seller is asking.

However, if you're thinking "Well this is gonna have to go, need to change this, don't like this part...etc" then you need to keep on looking or find a stock one to start your own build.

On the flip side of the coin, it's also tough to sell a custom vehicle. You have to wait for the right buyer that appreciates all you've done to the vehicle and feels good paying a fair price for it.

[2ndGenRR]

Thanks for the input from everyone. Am I going to love everything about it...highly unlikely. I have never owned a vehicle that I haven't modified. I found a completely stock '91 with only 65k actual miles for 4k...but the key word is stock and I won't be able to leave it that way and can I get it to the level of this one for 6k.

I'm going to try to get out to look at both of them this weekend. I'll let you guys know if I end up with either one of them.

[SBTork]

Keep us posted, either way you go it sounds like you'd have a nice vehicle.

[misternash2]

i'll tell you this: you'll have at least $3k in a 5.3 swap. i bought mine for 1500 and spent another 1500 putting it in. price interior. yeeowza that'll set you back. paint, even if done yourself, will take about 150 hours and $1000 in materials. $800 worth of tires?

i guess what i'm getting at is that the guy almost certainly has more than 10k invested. if it's a nice truck and you like it, i'd call it a bargain if its as nice as it appears in the pics. he's got 10 in it i'd guess, plus all the hours that go into a project. literally hundreds of hours. that's hundreds of hours saved to be spent at the lake, dragstrip, or bowling with the family. this is where i feel like the "deal" is made. you can still modify it to suit your taste, but you'll be months ahead buying something like this.

no disrespect, just trying to give you another perspective on the subject. i've had my shortbed for sale for exactly how much money i have invested. and i have had a couple guys tell me i was too high. maybe i am, but i guarantee i'll be the first one in line for what i'd consider a deal like this one. but i do work enough that i run out of family time rather quickly.

just my 2 cents.

[nomrlz]

^^^ agree totally. and i'm figuring $4-5000 in our 5.3/4l60e swap once all done. nice rig

[Edahall]

Here's another perspective. A newer Suburban that has the 5.3 engine and in as good a shape would cost more than $10k.

[2ndGenRR]

More great input...thanks to all who posted.

I actually got out to drive it yesterday and it is a very nice rig. The conversion was well done and the truck went down the road very well, other than the 3:73 gears with 35's hurts the get up and go. However, even with swapping or regearing axles, plus a little maintenance to the paint, it's probably worth close to what he's asking.

He paid 7k to have it painted 10 years ago. 3500 into the swap. Not to mention the initial cost of the truck. That said, I have never gotten my money back out of a project...at least not one that I was building for myself.

I'm trying to work out a trade of my '90 Blazer plus cash...we are not quite there yet, but I'm still trying to come up with what will be the right number for him and stay within the budget.

[Edahall]

I just noticed that the 5.3 is in front of a 700R4. If that's true, the 700R4 might not be matched to take full advantage of the 5.3L powerband. Most likely, it'll need a different governor and a higher stall torque converter. At full throttle, it should run the engine up to red line before shifting to the next higher gear.

Do you know why they didn't just go with the 4L60E that's made to fit behind the 5.3L?

[misternash2]

i don't know too much about the 4x4 swaps, but i do know that the transfer case output shaft is on the drivers side vs the pass side on the truck.

[2ndGenRR]

It's an easier swap if you don't have to mess with the trans/t-case and driveshafts. Using the 700r4 he left the trans in it's original location and bolted the 5.3 to it and then fabbed his motor mounts. Then he made an adapter to make the kickdown and tv cable work properly. It's nicely done and he didn't have to deal with another computer.

That said, I have never done the swap and don't know how much additional work would go into using the electronic version...

[2ndGenRR]

I am so close to getting this deal done! God willing, I will have the 'burb this weekend...

[Edahall]

Awesome!!

[2ndGenRR]

Can you guys handle another update? I hope so...

After last weekend, I thought the deal was dead and I was pretty bummed about that. But, after reconsidering my last offer, the owner called me yesterday and we finally ironed out the details of our vehicle, parts, cash trade. Assuming that nothing changes between now and then, he is bringing the 'burb to me on Saturday!

I wanted to thank everyone again for your posts...some of the stuff I had thought of and some I hadn't. Either way it was helpful in getting my head around the money versus time versus all the other variables equation.

I'll post up some more pics when I have it...

Pat

[68Timber]

Good deal. I'd finish out the AC on it and drive it everywhere.

[2ndGenRR]

Thanks John - I intend to do just that. Although I will be on the lookout for a set of 3/4 ton axles with a little more gear...

[68Timber]

That's an excellent upgrade. 35's are a bit much for 10 bolts. Looking forward to the "got her home" pics.

[truckfan]

I'll watch

[zaccaglin]

What ever happened with the burb?

[2ndGenRR]

Sorry about the lack of an update...I did get it home. The only thing I have done so far is swap out the gears to 4:56's and put a bullydog tuner on it. The PO tuned it with HP Tuners for max fuel mileage...to the point where it was surging at idle. Still messing with the tune...thinking about taking it to the local garage and seeing if they can bring me back to a stock tune so I have a clean place to start from.

Other than that, I just have been driving it around and enjoying it.

Attaching a couple of pics of the engine and interior.

[Edahall]

Did the 4.56 gears take care of the performance issues?

[2ndGenRR]

Originally Posted by Edahall

Did the 4.56 gears take care of the performance issues?

They sure did. I can pull out into traffic with much more comfort and it climbs grades without having to gear hunt.

The fine folks at DriveTrain Specialists (DTS) hooked me up and they claimed that the 10bolts should live with the 35's and medium wheeling. I guess I will have to test that claim.

[Edahall]

Originally Posted by 2ndGenRR

They sure did. I can pull out into traffic with much more comfort and it climbs grades without having to gear hunt.

The fine folks at DriveTrain Specialists (DTS) hooked me up and they claimed that the 10bolts should live with the 35's and medium wheeling. I guess I will have to test that claim.

The 10 bolts should hold up fine but anything can be broke by someone who tries hard enough. However, lower ratio gear sets are inherently weaker than the higher ratio gear sets. Where it would get you is if you into heavy pulling.

Have you noticed any fuel economy differences with the change?