Solid Axle or IFS

[stanton77]

Going to under take a major project this winter and drop my 72' burb body onto a 00' burb frame. Going to run the engine, tranny, tcase, and all the electrical and HVAC from the 00' in the 72' body. What I can't decide on is whether to run the IFS setup or tear it out and replace with leaf springs and a Ford HP60 that I have sitting around. I plan on running a 37" tire and periodically go trail-riding with it. A older lifted truck just looks better in my opinion with a solid axle under it. But the main purpose of the truck is a family hauler/tow rig.

Thanks for your comments and recommendations.

72'

00'

[1970 C10 MJW]

i think that the ifs will ride nicer but not nearly as good in the trails.... i think personally i would keep the ifs, cuz that would be a lot of work to get the straight axle under the 00 frame... but the ifs is a lil harder to repair if the ball joints are wore out...

[SS Tim]

Why? What advantage will you get by reworking everything to put the late frame under your existing K20 Suburban. The IFS is nice riding and that is about it. Solid axle swaps are a lot of work to do to a swapped in frame. If you didn't guess I am not a big fan of the T400, T800 or T900 platforms.
Looked long and hard into this when a local GMC dealer offered a screaming deal on a new 100 mile, two year old truck about two years ago. It was almost everything I wanted but 4x4. In the end the cost of a conversion when all was said and done was expensive but only slightly more than converting a 4x4 to solid axle.
Replacing the driveline and related electrical with the modern parts are a big but doable project with long term benefits aside from cost. Unless you would be happy with the body perched on top of the frame a lot of work awaits you.
If you must do this I would have to suggest buying a Suburban shell body and front clip. Start hacking and whacking it up to see how well it will fit and what it will take to finish. The more successful projects I have seen were more of an integration project of stuffing a chassis and floorpan into a shell, not unlike an old AMT plastic kit. These trucks have also used the newer dash and interior also keeping with the model car analogy. Modern on the inside and old outside. It is a lot more than a winter project and one I fear will leave you without a classic ride for a very long time.
If you haven't already, review the steps involved in the solid axle conversion and the expenses beyond the kit not to mention an axle as well.

ORD
http://www.offroaddirect.com/Gallery_ep_41.html
http://www.offroaddirect.com/Instruc...ech_ep_42.html

ORU
http://www.offroadunlimited.com/orus...p?idCategory=3
http://www.offroadunlimited.com/orus....asp?idpage=34
http://www.offroadunlimited.com/orus...t.asp?idpage=4

[N2TRUX]

If your going through the trouble to adapt your old body to the new frame and include all the modern amenities that come with it why would you want to go backwards with a solid axle? Yes, they are much stronger, but you have already said you don't plan to run off road, so thats not valid. The IFS will hold up to mild trail running, if you ever change your mind. In the interim, you have 4wd on the fly with a smooth ride.

[jimmydean]

The IFS clearly rides better and I never had issues with my IFS Toyotas on the trail. Granted the clearance isn't there like you get with leafs on a solid axle, but the ride is worth it to me.

[69gmcc10]

simple math

ifs + newer vehicle = stock and boring

solid front end + 72 burb = vintage and classic

solid axle + newer truck = cool

ifs + 72 suburban = real cool

Save your self some work and money and make it "real cool!"

[b454rat]

I would swap all that stuff in the current body and frame. I think it would a sh!t ton of work to do swap it all. A properly setup leaf setup can ride just as good as IFS. Also, it's not that hard to do an IFS. A 60 isn't always needed, specially with only mild wheeling and 37s.

[smashingchuck]

Swapping frames is never a good idea for one simple reason... they arent inner changable. You could have the newer motor, trans, transfercase, and a/c installed in the old frame before you even figure out how to adapt the old body onto the new frame. Youre already questioning the IFS, so screw it.

Swap the driveline and be done...

[andrewmp6]

I'm with smashingchuck i would just swap in the drive train and a ac kit for the burb is like 1300 bucks.

[stanton77]

Thanks for the input so far everybody.

As far as the cost for the 60 front, I have a 78-79 Ford HP60 from another project. I already have good parts for the axle, detroit locker, 35 spline chrome-moly inner and outer shafts and CTM joints. Along with the highsteer arms for it to make crossover steering.

The way I was looking at it was it may be faster for me to reconfigure body mounts then to relocate the new drivetrain between the old frame rails. Which if I'm not mistaken, I'll have clearance issues with frame and A/C pump on the 6.0. Plus I can run the late model gas tank and fuel lines and not have to use aftermarket components.

With the burb still a driver I figured I could work on the frame by itself in the garage and have it all cleaned before dropping the body on it, with the the understanding I'll have to do some touch ups after the new body mounts are installed.

Keep the comments and suggestions coming

[stanton77]

Just a side note, this is the project I'm replacing. Custom built rockcrawler I was building. This one I built myself. I'm not afraid of a little fab work

[andrewmp6]

They do make a kit to move the ac compressor up top http://www.kwikperf.com/lsx_ac.html and with a aftermarket ac kit you can smooth the firewall if you want.