Officially a 66 Suburban owner! Check it out.

[sk8er32283]

Here it is. It has been sitting in one spot for about 17 years. I found out that the engine was either over heated or was getting hot on a regular basis and that is why it was parked. The drive shaft was removed and put in the back of the Sub. That scares me a bit thinking that something seized up or they were just extra precautious moving it into its resting place until repairs could be made. Up front most everything is there. I have noticed thus far that the generator is missing(I have an alternator as a replacement), battery and the distributor had cut up spark plug wires and of course the drive shaft it in the back?????? My question for you guys is where should I start to get this in running and driving condition. Is there a write up some where to resurrect a beast like this. My first thing is to remove the carb, intake and heads to check the condition of the cylinders and see if the engine is still decent to work with. One specific question I have is, what is the cable that is bolted to the passenger exhaust manifold and runs under the engine mount(I think thats what it is). Any and every suggestion is welcome. Thanks

[sk8er32283]

I will post more pictures later as I have time.

[Captainfab]

That looks like a pretty decent Suburban

What I would suggest, before you start tearing things apart is try and diagnose the engine. Have you checked the oil? Is there any signs of water in it? Is there coolant in the radiator? If not add some water and see if it stays full. Pull the spark plugs and inspect. Connect a battery and see if the engine will bump over, don't crank it, just see if it will move a little. If it does and the coolant stays up then I would squirt some Marvel Mystery Oil in each cylinder and let sit for a day or so. Meanwhile, drain the oil, change the oil filter and add some inexpensive oil. Also disconnect the fuel line either from the frame to the fuel pump, or from the fuel pump to the carb. Then with the plugs out and the coil wire disconnected crank the engine over a few revolutions. If all seems good, continue cranking until you either shoe oil pressure on the gauge or the oil light goes out.

I'll shorten this up a little. Once you have oil pressure, do a compression check. If that checks okay, then I would change the points, condenser, rotor cap, wires and plugs. Squirt a little gas down the carb and see if it will fire. If so then you will need to go thru the entire fuel system from the tank to the carb. If you need some more detail on those things just ask.

Or you could bypass all of that and just swap the engine for a known good running engine. It might be fairly easy to find a decent running 350 or even a 305.

That cable is a limit strap incase the engine mount separates, which this style of mount are prone to separating.

[sk8er32283]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

That looks like a pretty decent Suburban

What I would suggest, before you start tearing things apart is try and diagnose the engine. Have you checked the oil? Is there any signs of water in it? Is there coolant in the radiator? If not add some water and see if it stays full. Pull the spark plugs and inspect. Connect a battery and see if the engine will bump over, don't crank it, just see if it will move a little. If it does and the coolant stays up then I would squirt some Marvel Mystery Oil in each cylinder and let sit for a day or so. Meanwhile, drain the oil, change the oil filter and add some inexpensive oil. Also disconnect the fuel line either from the frame to the fuel pump, or from the fuel pump to the carb. Then with the plugs out and the coil wire disconnected crank the engine over a few revolutions. If all seems good, continue cranking until you either shoe oil pressure on the gauge or the oil light goes out.

I'll shorten this up a little. Once you have oil pressure, do a compression check. If that checks okay, then I would change the points, condenser, rotor cap, wires and plugs. Squirt a little gas down the carb and see if it will fire. If so then you will need to go thru the entire fuel system from the tank to the carb. If you need some more detail on those things just ask.

Or you could bypass all of that and just swap the engine for a known good running engine. It might be fairly easy to find a decent running 350 or even a 305.

That cable is a limit strap incase the engine mount separates, which this style of mount are prone to separating.

Thanks for the great suggestions. It is a small block. From what I have read it could be a 283 or 327. Is there a way to tell easily?
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[sk8er32283]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

That looks like a pretty decent Suburban

What I would suggest, before you start tearing things apart is try and diagnose the engine. Have you checked the oil? Is there any signs of water in it? Is there coolant in the radiator? If not add some water and see if it stays full. Pull the spark plugs and inspect. Connect a battery and see if the engine will bump over, don't crank it, just see if it will move a little. If it does and the coolant stays up then I would squirt some Marvel Mystery Oil in each cylinder and let sit for a day or so. Meanwhile, drain the oil, change the oil filter and add some inexpensive oil. Also disconnect the fuel line either from the frame to the fuel pump, or from the fuel pump to the carb. Then with the plugs out and the coil wire disconnected crank the engine over a few revolutions. If all seems good, continue cranking until you either shoe oil pressure on the gauge or the oil light goes out.

I'll shorten this up a little. Once you have oil pressure, do a compression check. If that checks okay, then I would change the points, condenser, rotor cap, wires and plugs. Squirt a little gas down the carb and see if it will fire. If so then you will need to go thru the entire fuel system from the tank to the carb. If you need some more detail on those things just ask.

Or you could bypass all of that and just swap the engine for a known good running engine. It might be fairly easy to find a decent running 350 or even a 305.

That cable is a limit strap incase the engine mount separates, which this style of mount are prone to separating.

Thanks for the great suggestions. It is a small block. From what I have read it could be a 283 or 327. Is there a way to tell easily?
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[pimpston65]

Originally Posted by sk8er32283

I will post more pictures later as I have time.

nice roof rack...

[sk8er32283]

Originally Posted by pimpston65

nice roof rack...

Thanks for the compliment on the roof rack. Are these rare at all? I was thinking of removing it because it is leaking a bit and some of the bars are bowed up for some reason. 8 think because the rubber separates are so old. I am missing one bar from the roof rack though. Does anyone make replacement parts for the roof rack?
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[sk8er32283]

more pics. I couldn't believe that the ash tray was still there. I think there is even a second one in my box of random stuff. From these pictures you can see that the luggage rack needs some work. Are the arm rest the original or from a different car. I have the two on the doors and a third in the box. I noticed that the steering wheel wires have been cut. Can you tell if this is the original steering wheel????? For the most part it appears that most of the upolstrey is original. The diver side of the front bench has had the bottom portion redone at some point because it is definitely a different material.

[Captainfab]

Those arm rests are not original but the steering wheel does appear to be original.

It looks like your heater controls are missing.

To ID your engine you need to get the engine build code that is stamped on the pad directly in front of the passenger side head. The block casting number behind the drivers side head will get you a generalization, but can be more difficult to see.

[65sub]

along with the 400 specific balancer and flex plate that Captianfab mentioned the heads on a 400 need to have steam holes between the cylinders. Just use the head gasket to make yours have been drilled

[sk8er32283]

He did say the heads were specific to a 400SBC. I have not personally laid eyes on the holes. Here are the numbers off the heads

passenger
333882
GM18T
E12 76

Driver
333882
GM17T
E10 76

From my research These heads are for a 350/400 years 70-80, valves 1.94/1.50 and 76cc camber(?).

[Captainfab]

The suffix code on your 305 is just TU not STU. That can be found on this page as well as the TLS on the 400.

http://www.nastyz28.com/gm-chevy-cod...s-suffix-8.php


The 400 is a far more capable engine than a 305. Most guys won't even bother rebuilding a 305. Even in stock form the 400 will have much more torque than the 305. A mildly built 400 will easily produce 2X the power of the 305.

If the trans in your Suburban is the original trans it will be the 2 speed Powerglide. I personally do not like those transmissions. I much prefer a TH350, TH400 or a 700R4 for an automatic.

[sk8er32283]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

The suffix code on your 305 is just TU not STU. That can be found on this page as well as the TLS on the 400.

http://www.nastyz28.com/gm-chevy-cod...s-suffix-8.php


The 400 is a far more capable engine than a 305. Most guys won't even bother rebuilding a 305. Even in stock form the 400 will have much more torque than the 305. A mildly built 400 will easily produce 2X the power of the 305.

If the trans in your Suburban is the original trans it will be the 2 speed Powerglide. I personally do not like those transmissions. I much prefer a TH350, TH400 or a 700R4 for an automatic.

I will look at the code again. Is there a way to easily identify these transmissions?
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[sk8er32283]

Originally Posted by sk8er32283

I will look at the code again. Is there a way to easily identify these transmissions?
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After some research I found out that I have a turbo 350 tranny. It appears to not have the lockup feature of the turbo 350C.
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