What year Suburban to look for

[Fred & Gerry]

My page is blank on the research of a good Suburban to do what we want out of the vehicle. I have good mechanical abilities so I'm not afraid of swapping an engine or transmission if needed. We want to be able to tow a small camper and at other times an open trailer with an antique car on it. We are not interested in a new one or even a late model, but would prefer an older model which would be a good canidate for upgrades either after market or newer model stock parts.

We are also interested in adding a fiberglass nose that looks like a 50 chevy pick up to it that fits 88 to 94 models, we have the info. on the nose. It looked very good on the pickup I saw at a car show and I saw a picture of it on a Tahoe and it looked great in the picture. I hope it looks as good on a Suburban.

I need help with filling that blank page.

[socalrob]

I have been very happy with a 3/4 ton 4x4 89 (350). Does ride harsh though. I had a 96 1/2 ton 4x4 5.7L that rode great but was not reliable and seemed flimsy. The current style (2000 & newer?), I have a 3/4 ton 4x4 8.1L, 3/4 tons with autoride have a very good ride and seem to be very solid. I still own the 89 and the 2001, am happy with both. Put a new engine (chevy crate) & trans in the 89 last year at about 200,000 miles. Old engine/trans was working but I was looking for reliability. I understand that the body style of the 89 goes back to 1973 at least.

[Firminator]

I'm the original owner of a 1986 Suburban that has over 215,000 miles. Other than rebuilding an automatic transmission that was just worn out, it has not required much more than routine preventive maintenance. The Haynes repair manual that I have for it covers models 1967 thru 1987, so you know that I didn't change a whole lot over that long stretch. That means parts are readily available considering the age of these vehicles. The mid 80's models assures you that most design corrections have been made. I'm told by some of my friends who had '90's models that there were some good and bad years for the Suburban. Hope that helps with your evaluation and decision.