carnutdallas
OBS Enthusiast
Have been a long, long time Chevy Suburban Owner. I am not a huge fan of the 2007 and later trucks, granted a Duraburb may be in my future, but for now I am settling in on my 1999 GMT400. A little history for you to know where I have come from and where I am currently going. I bought a new 0 mile 1999 K2500 7.4ltr LT of the lot and thought is was the Mac Daddy Suburban. Dressed it with Ranch Hands front and rear, chrome wheels and Sub box in the door - Q form. I kept it perfect and enjoyed the $1.27 gas at the time. Daily commuted it for 4 years 25 miles one way at 80mph. Loved that 454! I stepped into the GMT800 8.1 Liter 4x4 Autoride in 2003 with a like new but slightly used Burban. Kept stock bumpers, but added a killer Alpine set-up with full headrest monitors, custom sub and amp build. Became wife's Daily with the Kiddo's and we drove the wheels off it. I always wanted the 2003 and later dash with upgraded creature comforts, steering wheel controls and trip computers. Went without a Sub in 2006-2007, but then bought a nice 2003 with low miles in late 2007. It was a K1500 loaded z71. Kept it like new. Always in top condition. Only add was aftermarket exhaust and towing upgrades. As fuel got pricy, I decided to sell it in December of 2011.
So for the past year, I have been without a Suburban and hating it! I knew I wanted K2500 again. I wanted a big Trans and I really wanted a Duramax conversion, but could not see those dollars anytime soon. I bought a nice 1998 K1500 ECSB with 168K miles and it has been a great truck, but hard to travel in as a family and I keep it parked at my shop, so I never have it when I really needed it, like on Sunday afternoon for a quick Home Depot trip. I have spent the last 6-7 weeks looking at how best to spend less than $4k on a Suburban and get a good one. Not easy. High miles would not be a concern if condition was right. I tried to work a few deals and looked at CL religiously. But most were duds, until 4 weeks ago when I had a choice between a loaded K2500 LT 7.4ltr with 285 BFG's one owner and 178K miles or a well cared for City owned Survey Special. Man I wanted that to be the 7.4ltr to be the one. He was firm at $5k and after a test drive and inspection, I realized it was a $3K truck. Had a lot of negatives. Seats were shot up front, brake booster was going out, exhaust was junk and the engine had some leaks and I am sure some expensive 454 deferred maintenance.
I ended up buying my back-up survey special - a 1999 K2500 Base 5.7ltr 4:10 gears - manual transfer case. Work truck front end and yellow lights on top. When I went to see it, I liked it, but not sure I could live with the utility look. The seller had spent a lot of time keeping it up and it sure drove like new. 104K on the miles but it drove tight. He swapped in LT leather interior with consoles, overhead and nice stereo - alpine unit and 12" sub in a box. New brakes all around, new steering components in the past 20k. Newer brakes. All fluids done religiously by city and the PO. He even did all new pins and bushings on all four doors and lubed window regulators and door latches. The body was decent and the white paint helped. Has light hail, but who cares at this point. You do not see it unless you look for it. I was given the chance to buy a fairly low mileage rig with lots of upside. Here are the before photos:
and here are the photos in chrono order after 4 weeks of ownership. On the 4th of July, we took it on a 1200 mile family trip. It was a pleasure to drive. The 5.7ltr is plenty for my needs and will make it cheaper to own and maintain. I bet I do not put 7K miles a year on it. The following photos are over the past 4 weeks with the last ones on 7/13/13:
New Grille and lights
New wheels and tires, light bar removed and luggage rack installed.
Ranch Hand Rear Bumper
New sub box and sub - had in attic from my first K2500 Suburban including rear door trim - missing on base Suburbans.
Front Ranch Hand and wheel shot - This past Friday
New Kenwood Set-up (BlueTooth, Pandora and I have same unit in my 1998 ECSB K1500) Hidden Rear Accessory outlets for kids and Special Rear Hitch to clear Bumper.
I will add to this thread as I keep making the Sub my own. Plan on L.E.D off road lights, safari roof rack, receiver winch, back up camera and some additional tricks and improvements. Thanks for looking. -Rob
So for the past year, I have been without a Suburban and hating it! I knew I wanted K2500 again. I wanted a big Trans and I really wanted a Duramax conversion, but could not see those dollars anytime soon. I bought a nice 1998 K1500 ECSB with 168K miles and it has been a great truck, but hard to travel in as a family and I keep it parked at my shop, so I never have it when I really needed it, like on Sunday afternoon for a quick Home Depot trip. I have spent the last 6-7 weeks looking at how best to spend less than $4k on a Suburban and get a good one. Not easy. High miles would not be a concern if condition was right. I tried to work a few deals and looked at CL religiously. But most were duds, until 4 weeks ago when I had a choice between a loaded K2500 LT 7.4ltr with 285 BFG's one owner and 178K miles or a well cared for City owned Survey Special. Man I wanted that to be the 7.4ltr to be the one. He was firm at $5k and after a test drive and inspection, I realized it was a $3K truck. Had a lot of negatives. Seats were shot up front, brake booster was going out, exhaust was junk and the engine had some leaks and I am sure some expensive 454 deferred maintenance.
I ended up buying my back-up survey special - a 1999 K2500 Base 5.7ltr 4:10 gears - manual transfer case. Work truck front end and yellow lights on top. When I went to see it, I liked it, but not sure I could live with the utility look. The seller had spent a lot of time keeping it up and it sure drove like new. 104K on the miles but it drove tight. He swapped in LT leather interior with consoles, overhead and nice stereo - alpine unit and 12" sub in a box. New brakes all around, new steering components in the past 20k. Newer brakes. All fluids done religiously by city and the PO. He even did all new pins and bushings on all four doors and lubed window regulators and door latches. The body was decent and the white paint helped. Has light hail, but who cares at this point. You do not see it unless you look for it. I was given the chance to buy a fairly low mileage rig with lots of upside. Here are the before photos:
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and here are the photos in chrono order after 4 weeks of ownership. On the 4th of July, we took it on a 1200 mile family trip. It was a pleasure to drive. The 5.7ltr is plenty for my needs and will make it cheaper to own and maintain. I bet I do not put 7K miles a year on it. The following photos are over the past 4 weeks with the last ones on 7/13/13:
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New Grille and lights
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New wheels and tires, light bar removed and luggage rack installed.
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Ranch Hand Rear Bumper
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New sub box and sub - had in attic from my first K2500 Suburban including rear door trim - missing on base Suburbans.
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Front Ranch Hand and wheel shot - This past Friday
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New Kenwood Set-up (BlueTooth, Pandora and I have same unit in my 1998 ECSB K1500) Hidden Rear Accessory outlets for kids and Special Rear Hitch to clear Bumper.
I will add to this thread as I keep making the Sub my own. Plan on L.E.D off road lights, safari roof rack, receiver winch, back up camera and some additional tricks and improvements. Thanks for looking. -Rob
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