1983 suburban conversion

[KevinMcD]

Hello all. I am new to this site so I'm not sure if I am posting this in the right section. I have a 1983 suburban that I am using to plow my driveway. The frame is good but the body is shot. I was thinking about replacing the body with a truck cab from the same year and building a truck bed. Does anyone know if this is possible? Were the surburbans and trucks built on the same platform and would the cab be interchangeable? Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

 

Kevin McD.

[coop]

that would be one LONG truck!!

[pm26]

I saw a school bus that was converted into a giant regular cab pickup for hauling hay. The owner basiclaly removed all the seats, cut off most of the roof, except for the very front section which he closed off to may it look like a regular pickup cab. It looked funny, but functional. No reason why you could not convert your Suburban into a pickup. Measure your wheelbase and compare it to published wheelbases of various trucks. I think it may be equivalent to a super cab long bed 1500 truck or crew cab short bed 2500.

[drmwvr]

I saw a school bus that was converted into a giant regular cab pickup for hauling hay.   The owner basiclaly removed all the seats, cut off most of the roof, except for the very front section which he closed off to may it look like a regular pickup cab.  It looked funny, but functional. No reason why you could not convert your Suburban into a pickup.  Measure your wheelbase and compare it to published wheelbases of various trucks.  I think it may be equivalent to a super cab long bed 1500 truck or crew cab short bed 2500.

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

 

Actually, when comparing the current body style, the Suburban is shorter than the extended cab with the regular bed:

 

*************Length*****Wheelbase

Suburban*****219"*******130"

Extended cab**230"*******143"

 

The only reason I know this (other than looking it up on Chevrolet's website) is that I park next to an extended cab at work and was suprised the first time I noticed that my Suburban was shorter.

 

Not sure about the '83 however.

 

Clay

[asilverblazer]

The cab part of the 'Burb looks like Crew Cab of the same era, with a possible short bedish box... I bet you could swap cabs, the rear regular cab mount is what I would make sure of, it would either be in a different spot or not there at all. Might have to professionally weld one on. I doubt the bed would bolt on. I would bet cost would negate any reason for doing this, just by the truck and be done.

[heavy4x4]

Ughh...this is a definite mess.

 

Firstly, don't bother trying to fit a bed to the rear. You'll have to fab new rear body mounts for any bed you want to put on. Also, you may have to "lift" the bed with body lift blocks or reposition the body mounts to gain clearance between the bottom of the bed and the rear of the frame where it bumps up to clear the suburban gas tank. Your best option for a bed is to fab your own or SEVERELY modify the bed and/or bed mounts.

 

Second, for the cab, the easiest would be to get a crew cab from '73-'91...this will be a direct bolt-on (provided your donor cab is 4x4 if your 'burb is 4x4...there is a difference in the tranny hump, I believe). If you want a regular cab, you'll need to grab the rear body mounts from the donor truck and weld/bolt them to the frame once you get the cab in place.

 

If you have lots of time, tools, and want a project...go for it...should be a fun project to undertake.

 

If you don't have a lot of time, mechanical skill, wiring skills, patience, and tools (and don't want to go the easy route and buy a rust-free complete pickup from the south for much cheaper than you could do this retrofit)...then you may want to look the other way and live with your rusty body.

[KevinMcD]

Ughh...this is a definite mess.

 

thanks for all the input. I wanted to do it as a project but looks like it may be more money and headaches then I want in the end. I'll decide what to do after the snow stops falling.

Kevin McD.