1997 k1500 Suburban

[CumminsBronco]

I had a 97 Sub that I bought new. Drove it 236K miles and then did a Cummins swap on it. Drove it for 10 yrs and the body was shot. I picked this one up out of Az and am swapping the drive train out of my original 97 into this one.
edit: My original 97 was blue/silver bottom with a grey cloth interior. This one had a Neutral interior but the owner was a heavy smoker. I gutted this one to get the stink out, and swapped my grey interior into it. I had removed my grey cloth seats years ago and stored them in the basement, as I had found a set of leather seats to use, so the cloth ones were still in shape.
The 12 valve Cummins got a complete rebuild prior to going into this truck. In addition to the Cummins the trans is an NV4500 DHD out of the dodge donor truck. The SAS is an F350 SuperDuty Dana 60. The rear is a Sterling 10.5
I opted on the sealed beam work truck lights as I wanted to run good quality LED headlights. I kinda like the older look of the grille that goes with those lights, although the grille I found is, I believe; an aftermakrket grille that is unlike any other I've seen.......anyone know if GM ever used this grille? (pic of grille to follow)

 

[CumminsBronco]

A few more pics..

 

[CumminsBronco]

For those that have K2500 Subs, could someone measure the thickness of a frame rail? Anyone with a set of calipers. I was wondering if a 2500 has thicker steel in the frame than a 1500.

 

[skylark]

That is an early work truck grill. I had a 90 with that same grill.

 

[CumminsBronco]

Thanks for that info Skylark. Tomorrow or Tue I am going to a local junkyard that has 15-20 400's. Among other things, I'll be looking for the filler panel that goes under that grille.

 

[Donald Mitchell]

Clean!

 

[CumminsBronco]

The underbody was pretty clean. Sprayed it down with Simple Green and then pressure washed it. I wish the exterior were as clean as the underbody. The frt doors have lots of dings but they'll work out and be repainted.

 

[skylark]

Thanks for that info Skylark. Tomorrow or Tue I am going to a local junkyard that has 15-20 400's. Among other things, I'll be looking for the filler panel that goes under that grille.

You need one from 88-93 chevy or gmc. The 94+ are different.

 

[DonYukon]

that things a beast

 

[CumminsBronco]

Made it to the JY and picked up the grille/bumper "fill-in" piece, with the 2 end pieces too. While there I also picked a diesel bumper. It's not perfect, but it will do until I find one in great shape. It had good bumper guards on it, and I got the air deflector pan that goes behind the bumper too....and a couple interior trim pcs. that I wanted for spares.
Not bad for 50 bucks!