87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

So I bought this gem on a whim. A good friend knew that I am a Suburban nut(#Burbslut) and called me and said the neighbor had a burb for sale. Naturally, I had to go look. It is a 87 V20 Chevy Burb. 6.2 Diesel(non Turbo)/th400/np208.
I drove out to The location to take a peak and got the info. The sellers ended up flaking on me, and after the second failed attempt to meet up i gave up. A few days later I got a call from them and they apologized about flaking on me. So I went and looked at the truck.

So I love the stacked 4x4 headlight front clip so I was sold already. Silverado, Tailgate, F/R a/c, power everything, and no 700r4. The headliner was shot but the interior was nice. It has some funky dents on the roof but no real issues that I could see then. Just a stock truck.

Batteries were dead. One was a tiny battery from a Honda, and the other was 20yr old deep cycle. It wouldn't take a jump with no surprise. I told the dude I would come back with a pr of fresh batteries and a cash offer. The For sale sign had $1800 listed.

I show up and wait 30 min just to find out the dude is passed out in his house. He comes out, talking up the truck that doesn't run yet. I put 2 newish yellow tops in, wait for the glows, and it fires right up. It smoked lightly for 5-10 min while I did a walk around. Only the rear tailgate window rolls down. Ac blows cold.

I took it for a test drive and it drove so nice(after getting diesel). No play in the steering, no suspension clunks, brakes worked great. The transmission shifted tight too. So I headed back.
After much haggling I told the dude this. "So I have been out here 5 times now, brought $400 in batteries, installed them, had to get fuel, and I know that this thing has been here for sale for 4 months. Regardless, I only brought $750 cash.


So I came home with this.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

The day I got it.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

So I drove it for a yr before things started to fail. I was having a overcharging issue and was popping headlights. After tracking down a bunch of bad chassis grounds, problem fixed.
A radiator failure on a Road trip to the monster jam world finals in Vegas had me getting a 4 row metal rad drop shipped to my hotel in Vegas. I literally changed it out the desert. The oil cooler hose failed On my way out of Vegas. Thankfully the In/out Hose has the same ends on it so I was able to loop it back into the block.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

So I drive this truck everyday. It is also our family Road trip rig. We travel to Medford OR 4-6 times a yr, Mountain Home Id once a yr,Booners Fairy ID 1-3 per yr, Yucca Valley, Winnemuca NV, Tahoe, and anyware else. I put 10-30k a yr on rigs. The fact I can get 18mpg in this thing is amazing.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

But with the kind of miles I put down and the fact it is a 87. Things are going to fail, I was prepared for that. It only had 108k on the odo(documented company truck) but a few yrs on her.


Water pump, fan clutch, t stat, belts, hoses, radiator, ip and lift pump, injectors, glow plugs,controller, glow switch, starter, starter brace, starter cables, alternator, headliner and dash pad. It's been a $$$$ trail.

Most recent the crankshaft pulley and harmonic balancer failed and I nearly called it quits with the 6.2. Those two items are $$$!

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

I left it alone and stock for about a yr. All I did cosmetically was vent visors and paint the wheels black. I drove the sh#t out of it.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

I bent a front leaf spring hitting a pothole in Quincy, and then a blow out in Grants Pass took out my fender and running board. I kinda miss those steps. Well since I needed a leaf spring, I somehow justified a 4" lift! I wanted a 2.5" lift but I had all the parts for a 4" .

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

After much searching and trading, I found a cherry pr of bumpers and some factory tow hooks. I would have figured that the tow hooks would have been factory equipt on a Silverado 4x4, but I guess not.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

Hm. Wheels and tires. I had the stocker size tires for a yr after the lift. For a few Road trips I ran 35/12.5/17 Toyo mt's. They were a bit big and rubbed slightly off road so I found a cheap option for the stock rims.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

Even found a warn winch bumper. 8274 is now on the wish list!

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

I had to part with a rusty 78 bod

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

Nice looking rig. Also have a similar rig that's also an every day driver. Best rig I have ever had and at 50k miles of driving per year, I'm half ways to 1 million miles. Highly recommend the Cummins engine conversion for saving money in the long run from less repairs and better fuel economy. But I did like the 6.2 diesel back in the day.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

I definitely have considered the 12v swap. It is just out of the budget. Sounds like a sweet truck. Do you got a pic of the beauty?

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

Finding an inexpensive donor truck and swapping everything over yourself is normally the cheapest way

to do this conversion.

Here she is after I painted it and the trailer. The paint has held up good even out in the TX sun.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-C...0063.JPG?gl=US

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

This is my kind of rig. Did you replace the cooler lines yet? I've read the best route is to have custom lines fabbed.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

She is a beauty. I almost scored a complete wrecked one at a killer deal once, but couldn't come up with the funds quick enough. Those deals come around rarely. Are you running the stock 10 Bolt and semi 14? I should have waited and gone with the 2.5" lift vs the 4".

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

Here she is bringing home the latest project. I blew out the semi float 14 bolt a wk later.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

I needed some cheap all terrains so I went with these. Not the best tire, but the $600 mounted and balanced price was in the budget.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

I blew out my semi float rear attempting a burn out in 4lo with the front hubs unlocked. Full float swap was then justified.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

I blew the spiders out and chipped a tooth off the pinion gear.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

In the midst of it all. I swapped the wrong ratio 14bff! I put in a 4.10 where a 3.73 was. Super lame. Over $600 to swap the right gears in. Gggggrrrrrrr. I didn't count right. So the dilemma now is to rebuild a 4.10 10 bolt front I got laying around or find a 3.73 ratio srw 14bff. I would prefer to get a 3.73 rear because of the rpms on roadtrips. I already was keeping the speeds below 60mph due to fuel economy and having the th400.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

Pic

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

Yes. I had a line failure on a road trip and was able to bypass the cooler and route it back into the block with the other hose! I eventually made a whole external cooler setup with a 30" finned flow through cooler with Parker hoses and fittings. I mounted the cooler between the frame rails behind the bumper in direct line of moving air. I covered the lines with dei heat wrap. I no longer sorry about that part of the system.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

In the process of by passing the radiator oil cooler I decided that I wanted to monitor the oil temp. So I ended up getting a Cvr oil filter sandwich adapter with oil cooler fittings and proceeded to hawg out the internals to make it a flow through design so that I could use the oil cooler line holes for oil temp and pressure.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

I bet every square body lover wishes these were in production.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

I could use a few more of those pillar pods. My friend made this one for me, he does not want to make more. He said it was a pita. I got to find someone to make these for squarebodies and the 67-72 era trucks as well. I paid quite a bit to have it made.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

Chris Lucas sells those A-pillar pods, review of them HERE.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

Wow that is awesome. Those are way cheaper than paying for a one off again. I most likely will order a few. I do have to say that I kinda prefer a whole pillar replacement. You will have to drill holes for the wiring and mounting anyway. I think he has a better angle on his too. Mine are angled up ever so slightly.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

I like the longer taper to these pods, but you can see the angle on them.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

So my most recent dilemma, took the saved up funds for 3.73 gear swap. I have been eating up belts right this truck in addition to super wobbly and noisey belts. Well a month ago I thought the bearing in the A/C compressor was failing but it was a bigger issue. Who would have thought that a harmonic balancer and crankshaft pulley would be so $$$. It took nearly a month to track down and receive.


I nearly pulled the 6.2 out and was considering a 5.3 swap. I have a complete motor, minus harness. It was going to be over $1000,so I opted to fix the diesel once more... I doubt I'll get the same mpg's with the 5.3 gas. I really want to just save up for a 12v swap.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

The more I review this thread the more I realize how much I have done to this thing. It is a labor of love. This thing hauls my family around everywhere.

Joshua Tree So Cal
Hollister hills.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

Road trip shots
Mountain Home ID at Idaho tuff truck comp
Winnemuca NV heading to I'D

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

Today's fun project. Steering column tilt r/r and cruise control switch replacement. What a pita! I am going to reassemble tomorrow. I got the 4 Torx bolts threadlocked and tight.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

Ouch. I get to do that job on my 85 here in a week or two. Is it one of those jobs that fight you or just tedious?

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

A bit of both. Releasing the harness enough to pull the components is the biggest part. Once you do one, it will be quicker. The stupid key linkage and high beam for linkage are just a pita too. It is not as tough as it looks. 1\4" drive inverted torx will give you the room to tighten the 4 loose bolts. One could grind down a 3/8" drive one, but I had the smaller drive that fit well in side the cavity next to the shaft. Do not over torque them and add loctite.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

My bad. Reassembly sucks. The high beam linkage rod to the back of switch sucks to hold together upon reassembly. I might have been cussing for a bit. I got it all back together. What a difference! I have two other columns waiting to fix now. I think I should be able to get them done in a reasonable amount of time.


After cleaning up, I found this.... Looks like I will be in there again soon. Fml. At least it feels tight.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

I don't have tilt but I'm adding intermittent wipers so I get to replace the switch. I'm also replacing the ignition cylinder. I've never been into a column like that so I'm not looking forward to it. Have you considered putting a 6.5 turbo on your truck?

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

Like just a 6.5 turbo add on? Not really. I like the dependability, I don't want to push the old motor.

As far as a complete swap. I have considered it, but unless I find a whole donor truck for under $500(Cause that is my style), it will most likely stay until it blows. I actually found a free 6.5 truck, but my friend lives in WY. It would cost me over $1000 just in fuel. I want a 12v Conversion.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

Off Topic question. Have you still got the RPO label in the glovebox? I'd like to know what the blue and silver color codes are if you have them.

I have the same blue silver combo 87 V20 but my RPO was missing from the glovebox.

Re: 87 V20 D/D and Road trip Burb
 

I will take a peek tomorrow. I am tearing into the ball joints tonight.