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Going to look at an 83 suburban tomorrow... need some help

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Old March 8th, 2012, 11:02 PM
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Default Going to look at an 83 suburban tomorrow... need some help

Hi, my name is Paul and I own a smart car.

I'm sick of getting good gas mileage and decided to browse craigslist when lo and behold i found an 83 suburban with the 454 for a pretty good price. I'm interested...

so i call the guy and ask him a few questions. He informs me that the truck has sat for a while, but he has run it periodically. He also tells me that after you shut it off, it keeps idling for a little bit. It hasn't been tuned up in a long time, and he says there's probably bad gas in it.

I'm a mechanic, so engine work doesn't scare me. My only concern is for the dieseling after shutoff. The only problem is i've never laid a finger on a carbuerator and distributor. I'm told it could be timing, but i'm at the end of my intelligence when it comes to this stuff. I really just want to get an idea of what to look for tomorrow when i go to check this thing out.

i know its a long post, thanks for reading and any help is greatly appreciated
Old March 9th, 2012, 8:42 AM
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your a mechanic, yet have never laid a finger on a carb or distributor??? how???

the dieseling is likely from carbon buildup. given the age of the truck and the fuel that was thru it back in them days, I'm not suprised.

our 82 454 little motorhome does the same thing sometimes, and it's got like 85k on it.


:chug:
Old March 9th, 2012, 9:13 AM
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Default Can't tell if trolling....

Can't tell if trolling....
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Old March 9th, 2012, 12:31 PM
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well, at least you wont have to worry about good gas mileage after you buy it. The tons of Bondo and rust should help that out.
Old March 9th, 2012, 12:49 PM
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Highly suspect. Bears watching. Not sure anyone on the planet buys a Smart car and then a beater '83 'burb w/ a fat block Chevy.
Old March 9th, 2012, 1:19 PM
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Originally Posted by 73shark
Highly suspect. Bears watching. Not sure anyone on the planet buys a Smart car and then a beater '83 'burb w/ a fat block Chevy.
Yea, and of all places : Cali . with $ 5.00 per gallon gas.
Old March 9th, 2012, 1:51 PM
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Crazy bears... i thought our suburbans melted all the ice, and none were left?
Old March 9th, 2012, 8:15 PM
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Originally Posted by 73shark
Highly suspect. Bears watching. Not sure anyone on the planet buys a Smart car and then a beater '83 'burb w/ a fat block Chevy.
Same here.

Last edited by Millermagic; March 9th, 2012 at 8:20 PM.
Old March 10th, 2012, 12:17 AM
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No, not a troll, it was an honest question, i just tried to make my first post entertaining to read. And i never touched a carburetor because its old school... im skeered.

regardless, i picked it up because the price was right - $750. I figure at least I can pull the motor and trans for selling and scrap the rest for what i paid for it... I'm excited to get to work on it tomorrow (and theres a LOT of work to be done...)

I'll make a thread tomorrow with pics and stuff, but for now its parked at my friends house.

Its giant and blue and a total piece of crap and i love it...
Old March 10th, 2012, 12:33 AM
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Originally Posted by 73shark
Highly suspect. Bears watching. Not sure anyone on the planet buys a Smart car and then a beater '83 'burb w/ a fat block Chevy.

its funny, because i was born and raised in Georgia and bought my smart car there - where everybody and their mother in law drives a jacked up truck. When i moved to california where all the tree huggers are, i go and buy a suburban.

theres something satisfying about driving a gigantic vehicle in the "greenest" state in the union.

And i just gotta say... torque is AWESOME.


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