I will start with a brief story of the build:

My 1971 Suburban began life as a west Texas Boy Scouts of America vehicle. Somehow it ended up in Louisiana and became an air bagged low rider. I bought it on October 1, 2017. A 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche Z71 was used as a donor vehicle for the frame, all mechanicals and electronics. All of the parts pertaining to the 1971 Suburban were purchased from LMC. This build was completed in my backyard within about a year and a half. I drove it to the C10 Nationals for it’s first long road trip and had a blast! I made a pass around the autocross track and won the Best Overall SUV runner up award.

I have also included a longer more detailed description if it is needed.

This 1971 Suburban started life as a two wheel drive C20 400 big block with TH400 transmission. In it’s younger days it was a Boy Scouts of America vehicle, then it ended up in Louisiana and became a bagged low rider, and now it is a modernized restomod 4×4.

The transformation began by acquiring a highly optioned 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche Z71 for the donor vehicle. Both the Suburban and Avalanche were completely disassembled so the re-engineering process can begin. The main goal of the re-engineering process is to use as much of the mechanicals and electronics from the Avalanche as possible.

After a large amount of measuring and figuring, it was determined that the Avalanche frame would need to be shortened three inches. Also, to make it easier to mount everything that attaches to the firewall such as the AC evaporator, adjustable brake and throttle pedal assembly, the entire firewall from the Avalanche will be installed on the Suburban body. This will also allow approximately eight more inches of foot room because of the cab forward design of the Avalanche.

The engine in the Avalanche is actually not located in the middle. It is moved towards the passenger side approximately two inches to accommodate the front differential. This made it difficult to make the steering column come out in the desired location. To correct this, the Avalanche firewall had to be installed slightly to the left so the steering column could be in the exact location of where it came in the suburban. The metal dash of the Suburban was made to be able to be bolted in instead of welded in. This made it easier to install firewall components.

The front of the frame had to be modified to accommodate the suburban radiator support. A 12,000lb winch was also installed with controls located inside and outside the cab. The rear of the frame only required modifications to the hitch receiver and custom bumper brackets to be fabricated. The frame was cut at the repair pockets in front of the rear wheels so the frame could slide in three inches and welded up. This corrected the wheelbase from 130” to 127”.

After all of the fabrication and mock-up, the body was put on the rotisserie, stripped, sandblasted, and epoxy primed, body worked and painted in the correct PPG Ochre and white.

The frame was also sandblasted and a heavy duty satin chassis black was sprayed on.

Since the original 5.3 was lacking the desired amount of horsepower, a custom built 5.7 liter LS6 engine was built with over 400hp. This is the same engine that came in the 2003 Corvette Z06. The exhaust system is comprised of stainless steel long tube 1 7/8” headers with a free flowing stainless steel chambered exhaust system.

All of the wiring from the Avalanche was utilized in the Suburban. This made it able to have every option from the 2003 Avalanche functional.

These options include:

Electronic 4wd controls with AWD

Anti lock brakes

Digital climate control

Intermittent wipers

SRS airbags

Cruise control

Power heated memory seats

OnStar

Garage door opener

Automatic headlights

Rear view mirror with temperature and compass

GPS navigation with Apple CarPlay

Backup camera and sensor

Wood grain steering wheel from Escalade with functional controls

Sideview mirrors with turn signals

The front seats from the Avalanche were used and re-covered in top grain Maui Coffee leather with a hint of the 1971 plaid. The second and third row are from a 2005 Suburban and were also covered in the Maui Coffee with a hint of the original plaid from 1971. Both second and third row are able to unlatch and be totally removed easily. A total of 5 hides of the Maui Coffee were used inside. The headliner was fabricated out of ABS plastic and covered in UltraSuede.

The center console was 100% custom built out of wood, sheet metal and covered in the Maui Coffee leather with a simulated wood grain on the top.

Features of console include:

600 watt 8” subwoofer
1” soft dome tweeters x2
Front passenger cup holders
Rear passenger cup holders
Front 2.5” chrome ac ducts
Rear 2.5” chrome ac ducts
Apple lightning port docking station connecting phone to navigation unit and to charge phone
Front 12 volt outlets x2
Rear 12 volt outlets x2
Front USB charging ports x2
Rear USB charging ports x2
Four switch panel including winch control, USB, and two lighted optional switches
Spacious compartment beneath arm rest

The exterior was kept as close to original as possible including the original color scheme of ochre and white. The wheels are 17” GM steel wheels that have the original style center caps and chrome trim rings added wrapped in BF Goodrich KO2 285/70/R17. A matching full size spare is also included underneath utilizing the Avalanche spare tire winch along with the correct jack and tools.

This 1971 Chevrolet Suburban Z71 drives and behaves just like a 2003 Suburban would. When driving, if feels like a new truck, however the reaction of everyone in traffic around it is quite amazing. Everybody thinks it is a restored original truck.

Everything done to this vehicle has been performed at home by the owner’s own two hands including all engineering, fabrication, body work, paint and interior. Help on the body work was assisted by long time friend Lou Ricks. Upholstery lesson was provided by the amazing Bill Harrell. Josh Singleton assisted in the engine assembly. Transmission was rebuilt by Jonathan Williams and front differential was redone by Zimmer Gears.

Every single part on this 1971 Suburban is factory GM EXCEPT:

Headers, exhaust, navigation unit, radiator, winch, K&N filter.