Hi all I am new here. I have just bought a 60 1/2 ton chevy fleetside with a 62 front end as a project truck. I have a 283/SM465 I can put in it but also have an 89 Suburban to part out with 350 TBI/700R4. Just wondering what engine trans combination you would recomend (I know 350 probably wins) I plan to use this as an actual truck not a show piece. Also is there any way to put the front suspension from the 89 suburban on the 60 truck short of grafting the front of the frame? What about putting the 60 body on the (shortened) suburban frame?
I could be wrong but I believe the whole front cross member from the suburban will bolt right into some of these trucks, Mine is a 65 and I know it will bolt right into mine however I'm not too sure about a 60. I do believe the spindles will bolt right into these 60's trucks also if you only want to use the spindles for disc brakes. You have a perfect donor vehicle because the power steering box and pump, the disc brake calipers and spindles from the front including the power brake booster and rear end will all bolt into these vehicles with minimal effort. (rear end to keep everything 5 bolt pattern) you could probably even use the nice steelie wheels from the suburban. As for the motor, I just replaced my tired 292 (inline 6) with a 327/700r4. the swap was very easy once I found the proper mounts for the engine and tranny (tranny cross from the suburban should also work for this) You might run into wiring issues with the new TBI injection motor but if the wiring harness is clean from the suburban, you might be able to graft that into your truck. Personally I would be tempted to build up the 283 into a sweet little carbeurated motor and install the 700r4 behind that... NO WIRING except the lock up torque converter (easily done) check out Bowtie overdrive website. Good luck
I was always of the impression that the 283 couldn't be made into a grunt motor and wasn't very well suited to a truck. Is that wrong? So the front crossmember should be almost a total bolt in? And the rear axle would that need to be narrowed or is it a total bolt in as well. Are the frames the same width as well? was thinking of using the suburban fuel tank as well. This is starting to seem easier than I had thought? I really would like to have a manual trans and have the 465 sitting here (trans only no bell, clutch) but the simplicity of just dropping in the 700R4 is starting to sound nice. Any chance of using the suburban steering column too. If not is there a newer column from another vehicle to look for. I want to have the tilt, cruise etc but will probably use a floor shifter so it wouldn't need to be column shift
The front and rear end on the 89 burb is wider than your truck. I think it will work if you use the wheels from the surburban. They have a diffrent back spacing than the other wheels. As for the motor choice the 283 is bullet proof but low on potential HP compaired to the 350. But hp shouldn't be the only deciding factor. It is what you want to do with the truck in the end. Currently in my truck I am building a 350 out of a 87-95 truck and bolting it up to the 700R4 I already installed. It has a 283 that has plenty of get up and go, but drips oil. The 700R4 is the only way to go with 3.00 gas prices. Is the Surburban 4X4? If so, maybe shortening the frame might be easier way to go other than swaping front ends.
No this suburban is 2WD I just got a 86 4WD to replace the 89 as the daily driver/vacation vehicle. More than likely I will take the 89 TBI engine and put it in the 86 burb and then put the 86 carbed engine in the 60 truck with the 700R4. My main goal for the truck is to use it to haul things in the bed and tow a small (16 foot) camper. Basically it will be a real truck that gets worked not a high horsepower showpiece. Because of that I think the 350 is probably the better choice and I will probably try to sell the 283 and SM465. Do you know how much wider the axles will be?
Your 283 and SM465 is a perfect combo for a hauler. You may need to update your ring and pinion if you go that route so you will be more suited to highway driving. Or just drop in the 350 and the 700R4, which is a real nice pair AND you won't need to swap the rearend, because you are probably running 3.73 or 4.10 gear already. Just go with whatever works for you... motor and tranny or rear end. Either way, be prepared for some modifications. The spindles on the fronts will be an inch wider on the suburban and the rear axle is, if I remember right, about an inch and a half wider. DO NOT be fooled by the rear axle!!! The axle TUBES are identical length... the pumpkins may NOT be, and on top of that the later trucks had bigger brakes. When it comes down to it you are going to be messing with 16th and 32nds of inches to get if PERFECT. Cumbersom, yes. But VERY necessary. As far as I know, the front end of the suburban will not bolt directly into a 60 to 66 chevy pickup... the front end of our pickups are too narrow. You CAN swap spindles but you will need a kit to do that because it is not just a bolt on from truck A to truck B.
