'89 Crew Cab body to '90 Suburban frame?

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nvrenuf

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Sure would be easier to shorten the long frame - 1 weld joint vs 2, no cab mount fabrication, no body lift on part of the bed, shortening wiring and plumbing is easier, no frame shape issues, etc, etc.
 

89 Crewzer

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Tim
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1989
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Crew Cab 2500
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350
Honestly, I'm not sure on a Sub. I just know that when people put a truck cab on a Blazer frame they always need/want the crossmember with body mounts for the back of the cab from a truck, I'm guessing a Sub will have similar issues.

I'm not sure what year it started but around the late 70's Blazer frames went from being completely straight to spreading out wider about a foot or so in front of the rear spring front hanger, did Sub's also do this? That might be tricky for a truck bed too.

Also, a Sub frame is fairly level in front of the rear axle so if converted to a pick up I would think you'd need to use a fair sized body lift on the front bed mount
Yup, that's what I was getting at....
Suburban cargo area is only 5' long with the second row seats up. That's where the second row doors are. Burbs cargo area is 8' long when second row is folded down. The square body Burb has a 129.5" wheelbase which is 2" shorter than the long bed pickup (single cab) at 131.5". For the OBS Burb the wheelbase is stretched that 2" to be the same as the single cab long bed, but the frame and body mounts are still different because of the floorboards vs. cab and bed.
My family's had 8 Suburbans. I've worked on all of them, loaded and unloaded them, washed them....I know them well.
Before that, we had 3 square body pickups, all GMC half ton single cab longbeds.
the sub has a WB of 129.5" as you said, the crew cab long bed has a WB of 164.5, best i can figure is the Crew Cab Shortbed is 150.5". That is taking the CCLB WB and subtracting the 14" from the frame length as people do when shortening a CCLB. So my idea stems from wanting to use the Sub's 1/2 ton f/r suspension, the TBI 350/700R4 trans, the steering column, the rear mounted fuel tank and the brake system as well as the entire interior, doors, and the front clip. Seems more straightforward to swap the bodies vs all the drivetrain and all i mentioned above. Either direction i go the frame needs to be either shortened or lengthened. As long as the fab work is done right and properly reinforced, it seems thats a better way for me to go with less chance of f'n everything up as the sub is a running driving vehicle where 95% of everything works. Anyway thats my plan. I might even sell the 89 Crew Cab 2500 and just buy a bare crew cab body then i don't have as much to part out or scrap when i'm done. I'll only have a suburban shell to get rid of. The pics show the rear body mounts on the truck cab are inboard mounted on a crossmember. The other pic is a sub chassis where the body mounts are outboard of the frame rail. There is a long straight section of frame on the sub frame pic where it could be easily stretched under the cab and the rear body mount crossmember added.


Tim
 

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89 Crewzer

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So Cal
First Name
Tim
Truck Year
1989
Truck Model
Crew Cab 2500
Engine Size
350
Sure would be easier to shorten the long frame - 1 weld joint vs 2, no cab mount fabrication, no body lift on part of the bed, shortening wiring and plumbing is easier, no frame shape issues, etc, etc.
The bed mounts will need to be fabbed as i intend to notch the frame to allow for clearance for lowering the truck. Not sure if it'll be on airride or a static drop but the bed floor will likely be raised so i can have a flat bed floor. unless i get super lucky and find an OEM short bed thats not thrashed, i'll likely build one out of repop parts i think i can get locally at The Truck Shop.

Also If i end up using a bare cab, i can body work and paint it and install the cab on the stretched and painted/detailed frame, and do the exhaust all on a rolling chassis without a cab in the way. It'll enable me to paint the entire cab inside and out including the firewall which will make for a cleaner job. While the front clip is off i'll send out the inner fender wells and radiator support out for satin black powder coat.

At least thats my thought process and plan so far. We will see how it plays out. I can't do any heavy lifting so to speak until after my daughters wedding in Sept. I hope to get rolling after that is done. I've been accumulating House of Color paint materials and misc parts i can source off eBay or FB marketplace.

I'm actually stoked as i haven't had a squarebody for a number of years. I had a pristine 1991 Sub that was unfortunately stolen and a semi custom 81 Dually in the pic. It had a 15"x15" Weld super single with a big M/T 18-31.5 /15 tire on it so i'm not totally new to this.
Thank you for your input.
Tim
 

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89 Crewzer

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Location
So Cal
First Name
Tim
Truck Year
1989
Truck Model
Crew Cab 2500
Engine Size
350
Turns out that getting a bare cab w title will be a pain to register in commiefornia.Probably gonna re-think plan. Probably just use the C2500 arizona truck and put the other suburban stuff on it. Too many hoops and obstacles with ca dmv.
Tim
 

89 Crewzer

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Location
So Cal
First Name
Tim
Truck Year
1989
Truck Model
Crew Cab 2500
Engine Size
350
Been a while since i posted but i sold off the AZ 89 C2500, still have the 90 Sub donor vehicle. Bought a 1974 GMC 2500 Crew Cab that was already converted to Half-Ton Shortbed. At some point i'll take the front clip, doors, steering column, dash and complete interior and put it on the pre-smog '74. The doors and fenders of the 74 have decent amount of rust. will post pics as i get them uploaded to my computer.
 

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