1971 Chevy Suburban - Starting The Engine & Engine Details

"Its alive!" That's what we exclaimed, with extreme giddiness, as our GM Performance Parts HT 383 V-8 finally, and at long last, roared to life and settled into a happy idle. Now we know the pride and happiness that Dr. Frankenstein must have felt as his creation came to life and began to stumble around his laboratory. Yes, it is actually running and capable of being driven, which is a major relief for a project that has taken lots of time.

With the usual lack of funds, an actual life to live, and, worst of all, a magazine to try to contend with, our Project SuperBurb has been on the back burner. This sad fact meant that it usually only gets attention on the rare weekend we are not working, or in the middle of the night when work worries keep us from sleeping. So now nothing brings a bigger smile to our faces than being able to turn the key and listen to our stroker V-8 roar to life and rattle our neighbors' windows.

In this final shot of our engine bay, you can see the GM Performance Parts HT 383 V-8 and how it all wound up. Dropping the engine in wasn't hard. Finishing off all the details to make it fire and run was hard.

In this final shot of our engine bay, you can see the GM Performance Parts HT 383 V-8 and

A few issues back we showed you the rough details of our drivetrain swap. We had put the HT 383 V-8 into position, snuggled up to a stout NV4500 five-speed manual from Advance Adapters. With the new drivetrain in place, we thought we were pretty much done. But we quickly learned that the seeming minor details of a swap take the most time. Unfortunately, we still had plenty of work to do. Now, with all those details finally handled and our Suburban actually capable of moving under its own power, we decided to fill you in on our story so far. And don't worry-we're not done with Super 'Burb, so there's more to come.

Our V-8 is going to suck a lot of air, so proper breathing is important. Also, making sure no dirt gets into our fresh engine's intake tract is a major concern. With this in mind, we topped our Jet-built Quadrajet with a 14x3-inch K&N air filter, along with its chrome housing. A great feature of the K&N element is that it is washable and reusable.
Our V-8 is going to suck a lot of air, so proper breathing is important. Also, making sure
We also decided to spruce up our engine a bit with these aluminum valve covers from GM Performance Parts. They add a nice bit of gleam to our engine bay.
We also decided to spruce up our engine a bit with these aluminum valve covers from GM Per
K&N valve cover breathers were also put into place. Like the air filter for the engine, they are washable and reusable. We selected ones with a chrome top, but black ones are also available.
K&N valve cover breathers were also put into place. Like the air filter for the engine, th

To ensure that enough juice was getting to our spark plugs from our MSD distributor, we used a set of MSD 8.5mm Super Conductor plug wires. They feature an ultra-low resistance of 40-50 Ohms, ensuring that the maximum amount of spark gets where it needs to go. We selected a universal set so that we could cut them to the proper length.
To ensure that enough juice was getting to our spark plugs from our MSD distributor, we us
These Taylor spark-plug booties, which we found at Performance Automotive Warehouse, protect our MSD wires from the headers and the intense heat they throw off. They are basically miniature Nomex fire suits for our spark-plug wires.
These Taylor spark-plug booties, which we found at Performance Automotive Warehouse, prote
Radiator hoses were a bit of a challenge, since we were now using a serpentine belt system that we also got from GM Performance Parts. We came across these flexible radiator hoses on the Summit Racing Web site and they bent right into the proper shape.
Radiator hoses were a bit of a challenge, since we were now using a serpentine belt system

Another reason we chose the hoses from Summit is that the steel-braided cover helps to protect them. We needed this protection because our lower radiator hose has to make a funky bend and then come across the frame, where it makes slight contact. Hopefully the steel braiding will keep abrasion to a minimum.
Another reason we chose the hoses from Summit is that the steel-braided cover helps to pro
To keep the big 'Burb cool, we went with an aluminum radiator from Custom Aluminum Radiator in Kingman, Arizona. We were able to use the stock mounts by simply spacing them upward a slight amount. Initially we were going to run an electrical fan on our 'Burb, but decided to use a mechanical fan for sheer simplicity. Since the serpentine belt system uses a reverse-rotation fan, we had to find a fan with the matching pitch. We found one at Performance Automotive Warehouse. While it might look like the fan is too far from the radiator, this is actually its stock position.
To keep the big 'Burb cool, we went with an aluminum radiator from Custom Aluminum Radiato
Part of the reason the fan sits so far back from the radiator is that it uses a very deep shroud. We reused our stock shroud after modifying it to make it fit our new setup.
Part of the reason the fan sits so far back from the radiator is that it uses a very deep

Power-steering hoses also presented a slight challenge. Our original '71 Chevy box uses standard fittings, but the newer style pump that came with the serpentine system is metric. The folks at Orme Brothers in Northridge, California have hoses and fittings for just about any application and were able to build us a set of hoses with the appropriate fittings.
Power-steering hoses also presented a slight challenge. Our original '71 Chevy box uses st
Moving underneath the Suburban, we can see how the new NV4500 five-speed manual transmission from Advance Adapters mates to our original crossmember. We played with several transmission mounts for some time, but they all required us to space the crossmember downward to let the transmission clear the body. For strength and ground clearance, we wanted to avoid this and finally came across this smaller mount from Energy Suspension.
Moving underneath the Suburban, we can see how the new NV4500 five-speed manual transmissi
The smaller mount also meant that the transmission, and therefore the transfer case, would sit a bit lower. Therefore we needed to grind part of the crossmember to make room. After some grinding, we finally got the proper fit.
The smaller mount also meant that the transmission, and therefore the transfer case, would

Our NP205 also used this side mount from the factory and we wanted to keep it. The mount also had to be moved back 2 inches, just like our crossmember, since the new drivetrain combo was 2 inches longer. It took a bit of work, but we finally got everything to fit.
Our NP205 also used this side mount from the factory and we wanted to keep it. The mount a
A small detail that reared its ugly head later is that we lost the original clutch rod while doing the swap. We made a new one by using some all-thread and a rod-end on one side. Since all-thread isn't the strongest of materials, we sleeved it with steel tubing.
A small detail that reared its ugly head later is that we lost the original clutch rod whi
New driveshafts were also needed for our Suburban, since everything had shifted 2 inches toward the rear. We turned to Jesse at High Angle Driveline in Paradise, California for our shafts. Jesse 'wheels, so he knows what 4x4 guys need when it comes to driveshafts. This was readily apparent when he asked us questions like what size tires we are running, how much horsepower we have and the intended use of the vehicle.
New driveshafts were also needed for our Suburban, since everything had shifted 2 inches t

Since our 'Burb is lifted just 6 inches, Jesse didn't use a CV joint for the rear axle. When Off Road Unlimited built our rear 14-bolt, they installed a 1350 U-joint, so our shaft comes equipped with 1350 joints front and rear.
Since our 'Burb is lifted just 6 inches, Jesse didn't use a CV joint for the rear axle. Wh
Our front shaft from High Angle uses a CV joint on the rear. If the 'Burb had a ton of articulation, Jesse would have equipped our shaft with one of his long-travel slip-shafts. However, since our suspension is fairly standard fare, this was not needed. After talking with Jesse, we decided to keep the 1310 U-joints. They should hold up fine, since our 'Burb is not going to be a hard-core trail rig.
Our front shaft from High Angle uses a CV joint on the rear. If the 'Burb had a ton of art
After getting our front shaft in, we noticed that it was a tight fit with our Hooker Super Competition headers. We also noticed that the header was very close to the spring shackle. After looking at part numbers we discovered that we had received the wrong headers and were immediately sent the right set.
After getting our front shaft in, we noticed that it was a tight fit with our Hooker Super

With the new headers on top of the wrong headers, you can see how the new headers made for a 4WD have the collector farther forward and up higher. This should alleviate our clearance problems.
With the new headers on top of the wrong headers, you can see how the new headers made for
You can see how the new headers, once installed, fit better than the first set did. With the collector moved forward and up, there is no longer a clearance issue with our driveshaft or spring hangers.
You can see how the new headers, once installed, fit better than the first set did. With t
After throwing on our headers, we were ready to bolt on our exhaust system, which also came from Hooker. It features all mandrel-bent tubing. However, we discovered that again we got the wrong part-this one was for a two-wheel drive. The system would not fit and unfortunately Hooker has ceased building 4x4 exhaust systems for out application, which means it is off to an exhaust shop for us.
After throwing on our headers, we were ready to bolt on our exhaust system, which also cam

The exhaust system came with these fully welded Maximum Flow mufflers, also from Hooker. They produce more flow than a straight 2 1/2-inch pipe and we like their fully welded construction.

Project SuperBurb - Part 1
Project SuperBurb- Part 2
Project SuperBurb- Part 3
Project SuperBurb- Part 4
Project SuperBurb- Part 6

SOURCES
Advance Adapters Inc. 8-00/-350-2223 www.advanceadapters.com	K&N Engineering, Inc. Riverside CA 8-00/-858-3333 knfilters.com
Custom Aluminum Radiator 4805 Finance Way Kingman AZ 86402	MSD Ignition El Paso TX 9-15/-857-5200 msdignition.com
Energy Suspension 1131 Via Callejon San Clemente CA 92673	Off Road Unlimited www.offroadunlimited.com
GM Performance Parts www.gmperformanceparts.com	Orme Brothers Inc.
High Angle Driveline	Performance Automotive Warehouse Chatsworth Ca ARGET="_new">www.pawinc.com
Hooker Headers	Summit Racing P.O. Box 909 Akron OH 44309-0909 800-230-3030 www.summitracing.com
Jet Performance Products www.jetchip.com