1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

So I've been on the forum for a while posting about a few other trucks of mine like my Dad's (now Mom's) 48 Suburban and a string of OBS projects I've had over the years. I've put a picture or 2 of my square on here, but never really made a post about it. Here it goes:

Bought the 1985 Suburban in Aug of 2015 with about 106k miles after finding it on Craigslist. An original Ohio truck with only 2 previous owners (one of them for about 2 weeks) with no obvious rust. Stock 350 with upgraded TH400 installed. Being a Scottsdale it had rubber floors, no power options, and limited interior plastics. But all 3 rows were there and pretty clean.

Over the 1st winter I lowered the burb with CPP 2.5" spindles, 2" springs, and a flip kit for a 4.5/6" drop. I quickly learned why the truck had air shocks in the rear as the leafs sagged ALOT. For a quick fix I put in a cheap add-a-leaf kit and rolled with it. I also did some routine maintenance and ended up with long tube headers and custom exhaust. I also slapped some 20s on the truck and rollled that way until the next winter...

Next 'off-season' I worked on the interior. New sound deadener and radio/speakers all around. The headliner was recovered front to back while all the plastics were re-dyed blue. I raided another burb for all the rear plastics and I made up the lower panels and had them covered so behind the 2nd row wasn't just sheet metal. I put in new carpet and recovered for the front bench before a new dash pad was finally installed.

Then the vent window seals were howling, so I replaced those (still howls, but a lot less). I did a lot of other seals and felt on the front doors and tailgate while I was at it. Then before another 'nice weather season' I bought new 22s with tires and put some helper bags on the rear. Which gets me to where the truck sits today..

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

Here's some pics from the interior project...

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

Looks great!

How does it ride with 22's vs. the 20's? Did you notch the rear? How did you set up the bags? How's the rubbing on the front?

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

Thanks! I don't think the ride is much different on the 22s vs the 20s. I was running a 255/45/20 and went to a 265/35/22, so overall diameter was pretty much the same. An extra inch of sidewall all the way around never hurts, but it's not rough or anything.

I have not notched the rear but might some day. It's pretty close, but since putting the bags on I've never hit the frame rails. The helper bags are mounted to the leafs with an upper bracket off the frame. Basically a kit like pictured from Switch.

Up front I'll hit the inner fenders 2-3 times a year when I'm on the highway and run across an avoidable bump/dip at 70-80mph. Also, when my brother and I both sit up front (we're fat.. lol) I'll sometime catch outside tire on an inner lip. That's just bad offset on the wheels more than anything. I've considered going back to 20s in the front and a bigger tire in the rear for a staggered look, but it's not really because of rubbing or anything.

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

Mine is staggered with 18/20 with 255/45r18 in the front and 295/45r20 in the rear. I want taller front tires so it raises the front up a bit and hopefully keeps my control arms from hitting. I currently hit on the inner fenders, rub the wheel lip when turning, and hit control arms so I need to do something!!! Not enough backspacing up front is a big part of it IMHO. Of the more reasonably priced wheels, seems that Coys and Detroit Steel wheels have the backspacing I need available. I like the Coys new C10 wheels, but the color is off to me in the pics I've seen. Need to see some more on square bodies before I decide.


http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1594605626

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

Nice! I think I got lucky on offset because my 20s were leftovers from a different truck and I just put'em on. A friend put some 20s on his 85 pickup after grilling me on tire sizes and had all kinds of issues rubbing. When I upgraded to 22s without issues he about shot me lol I've just not had that problem luckily.

I'm currently working on motor and trans upgrades. I've got a 700r4 being rebuilt and am going through a 350 from a low mileage 1990 Suburban. Planning Holley Sniper with Hyperspark ignition, intake, small cam and some long tube headers. Really wanted an LS but the 350 fell into my lap, so I figured I'd play with aftermarket EFI instead. Overdrive and the extra HP should be nice. Now if I can convince the wife to spring for Vintage Air, I'd be set :)

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

Tinworks Fabrication now makes a 73-87 (and 88-91) SUBURBAN only c-notch that includes the body mount.

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

Those wheels really brought it to life. Good looking truck!

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

That's a great looking Suburban. You've done a bunch of upgrades too. Should be nicer and nicer to drive.

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

Very clean and nicely done!

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

Thanks guys! I've seen the Tinworks notch kit and will likely get one when I replace my leaf springs someday.

Right now I'm elbow deep in getting the 350 back together. I ended up with Vortec heads due to a cracked original. I dropped a cam off the build sheet to offset some cost after getting the Sniper setup (opted for their tank setup too). I think the heads, intake, sniper, and hyperspark ignition should be fun regardless.

My 700r is back from the shop and Vintage Air has been ordered. Not sure it will be here before I swap the motor as I was indecisive on pulling the trigger until the wife nudged me to go for it. Either way, just another upgrade for the list. I'll get some pictures once the motor is cleaned up.

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

Very nice. Looks like great original paint. Love the colors

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

Keep us posted on the Sniper! I really am leaning towards getting one of these for my burb. I just want to hear some more success stories first.:lol:

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

Nice Build!
What bags did you go with in the rear? I ordered the same brackets for my upcoming build and just curious on what bag you went with for clearance. Did you mount in front or behind of the diff? Have any pics?
I would like to go with dominator 2600's since that is what I'm going to run in the front and it would be ideal to have the same bag out back so I only have to keep one spare on hand, but with an 8 inch diameter i'm not entirely sure on the clearance.

Cheers,
Dexter

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

I'm running F9000 sleeve bag. I have them in front of the diff. With the shocks alternating front/back on either sides it's pretty close on the pass side. I don't have any pics on hand.

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

Slow to reply here, but we got everything setup with the Sniper. Tank, fuel pump, sending unit were super easy. Sniper and Hyperspark was pretty straightforward. Overall pretty simple enough, and the truck fired right off the bat. Then we got a little ahead of ourselves and overlooked a few things creating some issues in the beginning, but not the Sniper's fault. For example, we forgot to set/check physical timing and it was out about 10 degrees (Sniper thought 15 degrees was 25). Re-used old plug wires that end up arching and have 2-3 of them be pretty bad (hidden in heat shields).

I also had a real sticky gas pedal (hard to ease into acceleration) that I bought Holley's extension kit to fix (it did). Plus, my coolant temp sensor was bad out of the box. It read high and would go way off at running temp which meant closed loop learning engaged early or when at temp the controller was reading very hot.. both things effecting the tune to some degree I'm sure.

With all of that said, the truck is still running a 100x better with the new setup. 1st trip was about 400 miles and I was getting 18MPGs with power/throttle response all the way through. It was awesome. Cruising on freeway or back roads I had power if/when I needed it. Felt like driving my newer burbs. I tweaked some things and reset the Sniper before NSRA last month. I got the same 18MPGs in those 500 miles and ran great again. I'm still sorting the temp sensor as I've got in the rear passenger side of the head and it's getting heat soaked. My headers wrap right around the sensor, so I want to move it for a better reading (I've been checking temps with infrared thermometer and I have my stock gauge too, so I know it's fine).

End of day, I'm not done tuning/tweaking and I'm probably leaving a little bit on the table yet. I'm happy with it and excited to get it dialed in. I will say compared to Fi-tech setups my brother has worked with the Sniper offers A LOT more options which is both good and bad. I'm not a huge engine guy or mechanic, so it's a little overwhelming and forums often get into street/strip setups rather than stock stuff. Meaning I struggle to understand some of the settings I should or shouldn't get into. Also, I think the Hyperspark is new enough that Holley needs to refine a few things. It's like the Sniper and Hyperspark work against each other sometimes. Just a Sniper with HEI might have been better for my skill set... But I like options and am in technology by trade so I'll figure it out.

I'll try to get some pictures when later on.

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

Here are some of the old motor, the empty engine bay for proof, the new motor in process, and once in (before cleaning). Plus my blue LED gauge lights. I ordered white, they sent me blue.. meh.

Re: 1985 Suburban Scottdale
 

Some other shots of the burb. 2nd to last is after headlight, turn signal, bezels and LED bulb upgrades. The last pic is dash after upgrading to AC vents for the Vintage Air. Simple upgrades are still upgrades!