1972 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN
WHAT GM SHOULD HAVE BUILT
JOHN EILERMANN’S DURAMAX POWERED 1972 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN
BY CHRIS TOBIN
PHOTOS BY CHRIS TOBIN AND COURTESY OF LINCO DIESEL PERFORMANCE
When John Eilermann of St. Louis, MO turned to Jeff McCord and his team at LinCo Diesel Performance in Troy, MO his goal was to have the team build him a Jeep that would be rugged for off road use but have room for friends for hunting trips. After discussing his wants and needs for the rig McCord showed him pictures of a ’71’ 72 Chevy Suburban and he was sold, changing direction on the project from a Jeep to a safaristyled classic Chevy rolling on 40s with room for the whole crew. The fullsize classic rig would have plenty of room for passengers when crawling through the back country as well as space for a potent Duramax diesel drivetrain to motivate the heavy rig through just about any situation he would encounter.
Lifting the hood reveals the highly detailed engine bay with a LBZ Duramax nestled between the modified frame rails and capped by a custom fabricated shock tower brace. The LinCo team fabricated and TIG-welded all the stainless steel charge and intake piping. Notice the classic Chevy orange powder coating that highlights the engine mimicking a traditional small-block Chevy gas engine that is typically seen in restomod trucks like this.
McCord expected to have a hard time finding a ’71-’72 Suburban to use as the base for the project, but within a week of searching through online sources he found a suitable candidate on eBay Motors and the project officially started. The 1972 3-door Chevrolet Suburban eBay find was in pretty good shape in primer with a 4-inch lift and served as the basis for the wild hunting rig. As the 18-month build progressed things changed and evolved with the project morphing from a rugged hunting rig to the show-stopping Safari Suburban you see here.
After test fitting the Duramax engine and Allison transmission in the Suburban the LinCo Diesel Performance team went to work separating the body from the chassis before totally reworking each. Knowing the modern diesel drivetrain would fit in the chassis was one thing, making it fit exactly the way they wanted it to fit was something else entirely. They wanted the engine to sit low in the chassis between the frame rails, so they turned to Bare Knuckle Machine in Hawk Point, MO to plasma cut and bend new frame sections they designed to box, strengthen, and widen the front section of the frame. The LDP team also designed a complete engine crossmember to secure the Duramax into the chassis and had the parts plasma cut for it at Zerr Engineering in Troy, MO before welding and installing them in house.