New DD family hauler tow pig - 95 Suburban - The Spook

[Blaze]

So in a quest to become debt free, we've been trimming down on our expenses and getting rid of some monthly payments and stuff like that. I currently DD a 2008 Tahoe that is really nice and I really like, but I don't drive it that often and I really would like to have something a little bigger and haulerish for when we go wheeling and take the Jeep on the trailer.

So I put the Tahoe up for sale, if anyone wants an awesome DD SUV...hit me up. My wife wanted me to get something big, so I bought what I wanted, and she somehow agreed with me. I love the OBS Chevy trucks, I am a huge fan of them, like total OBS geek. I've owned a bunch, our shop truck is an OBS, and I wanted to get back into a 3/4 ton OBS Burb. I wanted a 95 so I can have the newer interior but still be OBD1. I know I'd have to deal with the TBI but that is stuff I can deal with later, the OBD1 gives me more freedom to upgrade those things.

So @rusty cj5 sends me a message that he has one, I ran down and checked it out, liked it and worked out a deal with him. Mechanically it is awesome, runs and drives great, 4x4 floor shift works, etc. Cosmetically.......it needs a lot of love. I'm fine with that because I really like doing that kind of work.

The plans are to clean and redo some of the interior. I have nice seats that came with it, so I'll get those mounted. Mount the console, etc. I need to redye the extra dash I got and install that, which will be the worst part of the whole process. But other than that it'll mostly be deep cleaning and putting it all together. The outside needs a few dents and dings repaired and then I'll Maaco it black. Cheap and easy. It's a cheap tow pig, Maaco is fine.

It also has a bumper and Chevy grille on it now that is pretty rough, so I bought a new GMC WT grille setup with the sealed beam headlights, black of course.

So pretty much this thing will look straight up like a CIA vehicle from any 90s/2000 movie with a spy in it. So we're naming it The Spook.

Here's how it looked when I got it home.

 

[Blaze]

Here's how it looks after yesterday.

 

[jcramsey]

Digging the w/t grille.


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[anvilrubi]

Dang tough trucks, has to be one of the best year models ever made.

 

[NickMaul]

Anything new with this? Hoping to cash in on something like this with low miles to be a tow rig in a year or two.


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[Blaze]

I've pretty much just been driving it. I had a 99 Burb parts truck come through the shop, so I pulled the complete gray interior out of it. I kind of like the darker tan color better, but I'm fine with the gray since it is so nice and my tan is so disgusting. I also am trying to find some new wheels for it, either the 2000s Duramax/2500 wheels or some 2500 steelies and trim rings from the earlier models.

I am also going to Plastidip it in either blue black or anthracite. I have some cans here that I am going to test on it to see what I think. Main reason I am plastidipping it is because once I finish my race car it will be Plastidipped and I am going to match the truck to the car with whatever color I decide for the car.

 

[Blaze]

I did install a new grille emblem and diesel bumper though.

 

[C.Berry]

Gonna be badass! I love my 99but also loved my 94 bc of obd1 I was gonna do the gmc grille swap myself bc all my burbs have been gmc's up till now! Is the w/t grille a straight swap out? Is that one a 5.7?

 

[Blaze]

Gonna be badass! I love my 99but also loved my 94 bc of obd1 I was gonna do the gmc grille swap myself bc all my burbs have been gmc's up till now! Is the w/t grille a straight swap out? Is that one a 5.7?

It's not a straight swap out, but close. You'll need to install headlight buckets for the halogens and rewire the headlight harness because the plugs are different. I just pirated an XJ at the shop for the plugs and soldered them in. Everything else bolts right in.

This one is a 7.4L. I really like the 95 because it has the newer interior but OBD1. Not that I don't like the other one, I also have an 88 GMC truck, but the newer one is just more comfortable and acceptable to my family.

 

[C.Berry]

I didn't know the 95 had the newer interior I like the interior in my 99 it's same as yours I'll be covering the seats eventually to keep dogs and kids from messing em up! I wanted the 5.7 but now that I have it, I wish I went for 7.4 instead, I kinda have a man crush on small block Chevy engines tho Mine is a lil sluggish till 2500rpm in 2nd but love the 4l80e on the highway and 14sf! If I ever buy a new truck/SUV ill sas this 99 and family crawler/hauler it for shits and giggles I basically already got what I paid for it out of it in last few months!
How much maaco quote ya on paint job?

 

[C.Berry]

Btw that diesel bumpers looks damn nice and since ya don't need cooling slots for the 7.4 you can mount fog lights and they look pretty slick with black covers!

 

[C.Berry]

How bad off was the bumper that was on it?

 

[Blaze]

I didn't know the 95 had the newer interior I like the interior in my 99 it's same as yours I'll be covering the seats eventually to keep dogs and kids from messing em up! I wanted the 5.7 but now that I have it, I wish I went for 7.4 instead, I kinda have a man crush on small block Chevy engines tho Mine is a lil sluggish till 2500rpm in 2nd but love the 4l80e on the highway and 14sf! If I ever buy a new truck/SUV ill sas this 99 and family crawler/hauler it for shits and giggles I basically already got what I paid for it out of it in last few months!
How much maaco quote ya on paint job?

Yeah, it is basically the same interior without the airbag, it has a little shelf and a couple useless cupholders in it. I was a little worried about the TBI on the 454, my old K2500 Burb waa a Vortec 454 99, but it pulls like nothing. You can barely tell anything is back there. I've owned newer trucks and I just keep going back to these old GMT-400s. I honestly am never going to buy anything other than them from now on. Maaco wasn't bad because I have dealer pricing with them. I am going to Plastidip it instead though so I can change out colors whenever I want.

How bad off was the bumper that was on it?

It wasn't dented, but the fogs were smashed and the paint was peeling off and I generally found it pretty ugly. If you want it I have it in my scrap pile at the house.

 

[C.Berry]

It would probably be more work than what I end up wanting to do to it lol if the grill section wasn't on there I'd be all over them tho! I have to agree I love the gmt400 burbs I'm gonna have to get a 7.4 version one day or future engine swap to make it a hauler!

 

[Blaze]

Here's the color I'm thinking of. Anthracite Plastidip. Don't mind the overspray, the truck is so ugly I didn't mind since it is getting painted soon anyway.

 

[Blaze]

So in the daylight the grey looks kind of primerish. I asked my trusted adviser who is way smarter than myself, and also my beautiful wife, what she thought and she said it would look bad and to go with satin black instead. She's a smart one. Satin black it is.

I also installed a new window motor in the driver's front door, so now I can have some airflow. Also swapped on grey door panels on the front doors since I had them off anyway. I really like the grey door panels now that I see the difference in that and the tan.

 

[Blaze]

Installed some new wheels and tires last night. Well, new for the truck. Got some Duramax wheels with some Goodyear Duratrac tires. Didn't really want such an aggressive tire but for the price I'm fine with it. I already ordered some OBS centercaps for it to replace the NBS ones on it. Which is good because one flew off on the way to work today. This fixed all of the ride quality issues with the truck. I'm not sure if it was the 14 year old tires, the fact that the spacer prevented the hub from coming through the hole in the wheel, or what. The truck violently shook at various speeds, now it is smooth and rides great.

 

[buellconvert]

I just picked up a 1995 Chevrolet K1500 single cab short bed myself for those very same reasons, love having the obd1 plus the newer interior is really comfortable, it's a manual transfercase and manual transmission with the V8 so it's quite fun to drive too. I love what you did with the grill and headlight swap, might have me leaning that way myself since my grill and lights are less than pristine

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[Blaze]

Well, haven't updated this in a while because really, I hadn't done anything with this in forever because I just drove it and used it to haul things.

Well, the transmission took a shit on it and I am about to tear into it and completely redo it and build it to be an awesome tow rig and hauler for camping or whatever.

Plans are:
NV4500 swap
454 Vortec motor with carb intake and FITech injection setup
Completely redo the interior with a new gray interior I have sitting here
Respray it in flat olive drab green. I thought about satin black, but decided against it. Family wanted gunmetal metallic, but I really don't want to deal with spraying metallic paint and make it look nice. So I decided I'd just go with some military olive drab paint from Kaiser Willys. Easy to spray, easy to touch up, looks cool.

Donor truck for the NV4500. Dude actually swapped in a good NV4500 into this turd. That tape on the roof is covering up gigantic rust holes. .

 

[Blaze]

Picked out the color. WW2 olive drab. As soon as I finish building the storage area on my shop, I'll be tearing into the Burb.

 

[BigClay]

Just noticed the new wheels too, nice touch.

 

[Blaze]

Just noticed the new wheels too, nice touch.

Yeah, I am actually probably going to swap them out once I begin the transformation. With it being olive drab and turned into a tow rig and going kind of expedition style on it, I am going to put some black d-holes on it with rock rings. Give it a tougher look.

 

[Steve_Kibbe]

Nice suburban!! I missed a 2500 with a 454 and 150K for $1600 a few months back....

 

[Pennsylvaniaboy]

I love OBS trucks...all my family had growing up. But the older interior is so much better than the 95+. Those seats suck.

 

[Blaze]

I love OBS trucks...all my family had growing up. But the older interior is so much better than the 95+. Those seats suck.

You think? I've had both eras and I find the 95+ ones to be more comfortable to me.