1971 4x4 Suburban Project - the 'Family Adventure Wagon'

[ManNamedJed]

I started posting this on a local 4x4 forum, but wanted to share with you guys as well. This started Sept 2018:


I have a Jeep Cherokee I really love. It has taken my wife and I on some cool trips. We went to moab and biked and jeeped the awesome trails there. We did a trip across Nevada all on dirt where we saw petroglyphs, ghost towns, hot springs, and some amazing wildlife and scenery.

But we have kids now and when I take the wife, two kids, and dog camping, it just isn't big enough. Here is how the poor thing looked on one of last year's camping trip.



So I wanted something bigger. I consider a Land Cruiser, or a full size Wagoneer, but they really are only about a foot longer and a few inches wider. Hardly worth starting over.

So I settled on a suburban. I've also had the itch for a classic car, so I decided a older burb would maybe scratch that too. I ran across this article and love how this guy's suburban looks:

http://www.fourwheeler.com/features/...an-sir-burban/

Turns out its hard to find the cherry 'barn find' 4x4 suburbans like this guy did. They all have rust issues. Many are just trashed. Not many of them are 4x4. After about 8 months of looking I found this one in Chico. You might remember seeing it in the 'finds' thread.



It has had all the body work done and a repaint in the 90s. The interior was tuned up. It got a Goodwrench 350 installed then. Lots of the little things were done and I got to start with a decent running/driving rig. Since I have two little kids, I couldn't take on a major project, but can do some things here and there when a weekend frees up.

The goal is for it to be a family offroad exploration rig. Not a crazy rockcrawler, just reliable, simple and fun.

Here is the plans for this thing:
1. Install aftermarket AC/Heat (Classic Air system already bought)
2. Get some more oomph from the 190hp 350
a) upgrade to HEI (already purchased)
b) Install mild cam and intake (already purchased)
c) Headers or performance rams horn exhaust manifold
d) down the road do a Holley sniper or similar fuel injection upgrade
3. Upgrade to 3/4 ton or 1 ton axles, some kind of locker in rear
4. Mild lift and 35" tires
5. Upgrade bumpers and winch - hopefully find a nice vintage Warn 8274
6. Mild cage to add some protection for the family in case I manage to flop it somewhere.
7. Roof rack