[RyanAK]

Thanks for the thoughts, gang. I appreciate the input.

Nodnarb76, the one thing that stands out is your comment that you felt safe. That’s important to me. I feel great tooling around in Earl, but had been wondering about how I’d feel with the kiddos in the back and going down the interstate at 70.

I don’t mind the idea of upkeep. I did most of the maintenance on the S-10 truck and Blazer, and the ‘97 and ‘99 Tahoes. And when I was growing up, Dad had a ‘79 and ‘86 Suburban. I have plenty of memories of lying under those trucks with Dad out in the driveway. I’m all tooled up and pretty handy and most maintenance stuff. Earl has taught me a lot.

Ski-me... I’d be interested in knowing more about why you’d chose the TBI engines over a carb one. Better general reliability, more convenient not waiting on the truck to warm up? Doesn’t seem like there would be better gas mileage just from a fuel injected engine. I like carbs and I’m learning more about them, but certainly willing to hear more about your thoughts on EFI.

Speaking of fuel economy... the ‘11 Tahoe is getting 16.5 average with a mix of highway and town. So IF I could get close to that with a square, awesome. I’m not really expecting higher, and 20s... well we can all dream right? I’d be plenty happy around 13-15mpg.

The lower insurance is something I hadn’t considered. Interesting! Lower cost of parts, easier maintenance, eliminating the car payment, sure. But I bet the insurance premium will seriously improve.

I agree that the ‘92-‘99 Suburbans are probably a more reasonable choice for a DD... and the one you posted certainly is a nice example... but they just don’t speak to me like the squares. I don’t think I’m alone, which is probably why they really are a huge value right now.

James... I appreciate your comment on the ride quality. The newer trucks really do ride nicely... but I was seriously impressed with just how nice I could get my ‘72 to ride and handle with sway bars, new stock springs, Bilstein shocks, and a good set of tires. 2wd though, but as long as I can get a solid axel 4x4 to the point that it won’t rattle the teeth out of my head, I’ll be plenty comfortable.

I’m not a diesel guy, so I won’t be going down that path. I am interested in thoughts on engine/transmission/rear combinations - available stock initially, we can talk about builds down the road... - that would make for a comfortable daily driver. You know... keeping the rpms reasonable at highway speeds, reasonable fuel economy, but enough hp and torque to make it not feel like a dog. I ain’t gonna lie... the 700r4 terrifies me. I had a serious bout of bad luck with them. And I also noticed its propensity to hunt back and forth between OD and 3rd when pulling a grade on the trucks I had. I usually just dropped the shifter to D. I’ve been looking at trucks with everything from a 400-TH400-3.73 to a TBI 350-700r4-3.42. My preferred tires are usually around 32” all-terrains. Seriously, I love hearing what guys think about this stuff.

Rust... Tim, I hear ya. It certainly has crossed my mind. I bought Earl as a pretty clean truck from the southwest, but I still had some minor areas to deal with on the quarters and rockers. I was always pretty religious about washing my trucks whenever they’re exposed to road salt and never owned one where rust showed up. It’s something to consider for sure.

This stuff is fun, eh?

R