Suburban Tub differences

[catch2otwo]

Does anyone have info on the differences between the body years for the suburbans? The front clip info is easy to find but Im looking for info on the rest of the tub, mainly the roof. I picked up an 88 to rob some parts from for my 73. Wondering if Ill be able to use the roof from the 88 to replace my 73, or if my 73 doors and tailgate will fit the 88 tub.

Just eyeballing it, the 88 roof has a slightly different shape, but overall the tubs look the same. If I can find time I will pull a door off the 73 and see how it fits on the 88 tub.

[GMC85HighSierra]

As far as I know the doors/tailgate will interchange, but the door panels are most likely different. If you have a 73, you most likely have the door panels that don't cover the whole door. 77-91 burbs had the "full" door panels. If you have barn doors, the tub must have barn doors. If it has a tailgate, the tub must have a tailgate. Otherwise you'll need to do some body work to get the tailgate or barn doors. Thanks

[catch2otwo]

Originally Posted by GMC85HighSierra

As far as I know the doors/tailgate will interchange, but the door panels are most likely different. If you have a 73, you most likely have the door panels that don't cover the whole door. 77-91 burbs had the "full" door panels. If you have barn doors, the tub must have barn doors. If it has a tailgate, the tub must have a tailgate. Otherwise you'll need to do some body work to get the tailgate or barn doors. Thanks

I do believe you are right. I took a door off the 73 and it fit and lined up on the other tub. I did some research on the tailgate and barn door interchangability and it looks like a huge pain in the rear. My 73 is tailgate the new tub is barn.

You are also right on the door panels. My 73 is like a partial door panel. Also the door doesnt have a hole for the wires for power windows.

As of right now , i am leaning towards swapping the 73 front clip to my 88 tub. Theres too much body rot on the 73 to make it worth swapping the other way.

[GMC85HighSierra]

If I were you, I would use the 88 tub. Although I've never owned a suburban, I prefer barn doors over tailgate. I would convert the 88 tub into the 73 tub. If you do that, you'd need to fill in the holes in the cowl from the 80s hood, and then convert the dash to have the wiper in the dash, rather than the column. Thanks

[Keith Seymore]

I don't believe there were any changes to the roof. You may be just seeing build to build variation.

K

[catch2otwo]

So after stripping my 88 donor, I have noticed possible issues with the frame. The previous owner had done a 4bt swap and welded motor mounts to the cross member. There is also a crossmember at the very front of the frame thats twisted. Im not sure I trust this frame is straight. I think I will be pulling the 88 body and putting it on my 73 frame.