86 suburban 2wd to 4wd

[squaredeal91]

I was on the phone with ORD today, and they said the issue I will have is more to do with the width of the hump rather than the height to accommodate the transfer case. They said typically people will cut and patch as needed for the clearance.

Could probably remove seat pull carpet back and make changes to the floor and carefully use existing carpet afterwards.

 

[sidschev]

why not just trade the thing for a 4x4 and be done......

 

[squaredeal91]

Hard to find one as crisp as this honey. I'd be doing what he's doing. I've done 4x4 conversions before and it's not horrible.

 

[Craig Nedrow]

Here are some pics from a 1973 K20 W/205. 203 will be almost the same, not sure about the 208. I would do as you said in your #15 post. Install it first and see where the obstruction is, then modify if needed. Notice the last pic, the hump has plenty of room around most of the Tcase.

 

[cmichels83]

Here are some pics from a 1973 K20 W/205. 203 will be almost the same, not sure about the 208. I would do as you said in your #15 post. Install it first and see where the obstruction is, then modify if needed. Notice the last pic, the hump has plenty of room around most of the Tcase.

This is very helpful! Based on the last photo, I am less concerned about the width. Maybe a 1" body lift would be a good option for height clearance.

 

[Fat 454]

Hi - some of the "why" you are looking for is that the engine / transmission combo in a 4wd is mounted higher and further back into the firewall, compared to a 2wd. This is because the sump needs to clear the "live" 4wd solid axle with pumpkin, whilst the 2wd can sit down further into the front crossmember ( you will see the radiator shroud is different between 2 and 4wd etc ). Also, remember that everything that connects between the body and the frame ( if you were to lift one off the other ) will need to accomodate the increased distance between the two after the lift ( cables, linkages, steering, shifter etc, otherwise you are putting more stress on the components ( ie. reliability on the trail ). I would argue for installing a cut from another floor, that has a bolt in removable high hump. It can be done neatly with a lap weld joint and then sealed and painted. You may not want to keep carpet in the front if you off-road anyway, and also you may be glad out on the trail when you need to fix something and have easy access ?...

 

[PrairieDrifter]

No reason to have a bolt in hump with an automatic. Like I said before, I've got 30,000 miles on a body lift.

 

[Big Ray]

Do yourself a favor, grab any other t-case but a 203.

 

[cmichels83]

Do yourself a favor, grab any other t-case but a 203.

I agree. I liked the idea of having the full-time 4wd, but getting the 203 out of the 76 parts pickup looked like more of a hassle than planned. I am going to be using a 208. There is a 208 currently attached to the 700r4 that I have available. Both are going to be rebuilt.

 

[squaredeal91]

For a chain drive t-case I like the 208 best. Imo

 

[Craig Nedrow]

The 205 is better than either the 203, or the 208. However Ol Blue my abused 73 has about 100,000 miles offroad, and has a sloppy 203.....it still works excellent. The rebuild kits are not expensive relatively speaking. BUT>> since the 208 is married to your 700R4, as long as you keep the HP under 350, both should live. I rebuilt my 350 behind the 454, about 450.00 for parts, and it is ABUSED, and hangin' in there, many burnouts later...

 

[mcarlo86]

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Don't worry, we only did a few donuts with it. .

 

[cmichels83]

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Don't worry, we only did a few donuts with it. .

Thanks

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

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Don't worry, we only did a few donuts with it. .

Looks like a very well preserved Burb, good luck with your project!
I'm partial to square body Burbs; we've had 5 of them. Two OBS Burbs as well; a '99 C1500 5.7 that was wrecked after eight years of ownership, and it's nearly identical replacement (which is actually a better one than the first one). I like squares and OBS's cause they are still reasonably simple to work on and parts are readily available and not too expensive. Newer trucks are nicer but in the long term, my experience says they are not worth the hassle and expenses.

 

[cmichels83]

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Don't worry, we only did a few donuts with it. .

The only donuts allowed with that thing is tire spinning. No eating donuts in it! j/k
But seriously, don't mess up the interior!