If it’s a big, torquey Duramax diesel you want under the hood of your Chevrolet Suburban or Silverado 1500, you’re out of luck should you try and go through a dealer. Instead, your best bet might just be Duraburb Inc. – a small specialty shop in Apopka, Florida that’s been building full-size GM trucks and SUVs with diesel powerplants since 2007. The four-bay shop, which sells all of 50 trucks a year, can even build you a Suburban 3500HD with an oil-burner under the hood, which is rather remarkable given that the 3500HD is typically reserved for government fleets.
Duraburb was started by CEO Erich Swanson, who was formerly an automation engineer at Disney World. He opened up shop after wondering why he couldn’t get a full-size SUV from GM with a diesel mill, measuring a few engine bays, and realizing a swap was very doable. The video above, which contains a walkaround of a customer 2017 Chevrolet Suburban 3500 HD with a 6.6L Duramax LML diesel V8, captures the expert quality and sensibilities of Duraburb’s work. If we didn’t know any better, we’d say it was a factory install.
“A few Duramax badges, a different tailpipe, and the heavy duty lug pattern on the wheels are really all that give it away,” Swanson says.
The Suburban sends 550 horsepower and more than 1,000 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels through an Allison transmission, and boasts a glowplug setup that, amazingly, works with the factory push-button and remote start systems. It took more than a year to develop the powertrain swap package, although given that Swanson has been tapped to build vehicles for clients like Border Patrol, the Secret Service, and the Department of Defense, the top-notch quality of the final build is hardly surprising.
Watch the video above to get a good look at Duraburb Inc.’s OE-quality work.
(Source: Motor Authority)
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