Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

More.....

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Nice find on all the parts, as the old saying goes "right place and the right time"...Jim

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

That is a great parts find and it looks like he has parts organized in the racks. Guessing that was a fun trip!

And a rock solid Burb right in Michigan. Did he mention where it came from?

Hope he doesn't leave the seat risers out in the weeds.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

That's right Jim....

The Suburban came form Utah. He probably will...He did have a front flip seat and driver seat frame outside. He also had a rear spare tire carrier sitting in the dirt. He had (3) spare tire mounts from trucks in a stack outside. I kept pointing out you know how much those are worth...

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Wow looks like a gold mine. They even look well organized.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Yes and no....I didn't take any pics of the disorganized stuff, but there was plenty. It was all good stuff though.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

One other Suburban related item I'm working on is the PB core support mount. This will have a mounting plate/bracket at some point. We are working to figure out the placement of the mounting plate. I kept my original front frame section so I need to double check the placement of the core support on that piece and see how it corresponds with the PB part.

Other than this the only remaining items in development is the front sway bar (the tabs are already welded on the lower control arms as well as a steering linkage mount bracket because I will need to go with a 2 piece steering shaft to clear the headers...

Thanks
Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Nate should give you a T shirt...ADVANCED DESIGN TRUCK PORTERBUILT DEVELOPMENT TEAM....with a pic of your Burb on it. Better yet...a jacket.

I would guess trial fitting your front end pieces to the core support...helping situate the up / down and fore / aft....would be part of the checking too?

Anyway, sounds fun.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Yes not shown in the picture but I mounted up the front fenders. I still have the factory frame rails to check the position of the PB core support to the original one.

Nate, is a good dude. I find it fun to collaborate on figuring this out. Some of these wrinkles that have to be full figured out is why you don't see these kits listed on the PB web site yet.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Wow!!! :metal:My wallet and SWMBO would've been at odds if I'd found this gold mine. :mm:Folks keep tellin me there's a place here (Louisiana) that's like this but I've yet to find it...:rolleyes:

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Well, I'm still alive and so is my project.

Youth football ended last Saturday. I couched my sons 3-4 grade team. We won our last game and the kids had a blast. It was a nail bitter 12-7. I have just a little bit of yard clean up and then I should have even more garage time. Porterbuilt completed the front core support bracket. I mounted it up. I like the simplicity of PB designs. On Friday I will receive my PB steering shaft bracket and carrier barring. Tonight I ordered up my (3) universal joints and steering shaft. To clear my headers I need to go with a 2 piece sheering shaft. I already purchased an Ididit column so I should have steering figured out.


Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Good to see you back on the Burb Marc. The core support is very trick. PB has good looking parts!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

That's a sweet looking bracket...Jim

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Looking good Mark!!

Looking forward to more build pics in your football off-season ;)

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

You and me both. I did get 90% of the steering column and shaft mocked up/figured out. I'm waiting on one more universal joint to complete the install.

I will get some pics this weekend.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Tonight I worked on finalizing my steering column mount. I couldn't totally complete it as I'm waiting on a universal joint and a drop column mount. I also threw the front grill on to see how it fit now that the core support is attached. The Porterbuilt carrier barring bracket worked slick.

I also started trying to figure out how I can run 22" wheels out back. The challenge with Suburban's is how the rear fenders attached to the body. It limits you on how much you can cut out of the rear body structure. I have an idea how I might make it work. I also started to figure out how much I need to narrow my rear end in order to run a decent offset on the rear rims.

It felt good to get back on it. Oh, I have also been dying to see how my Impala wheel looked. I stole this wheel (fugitively speaking) a few years earlier at a local swap meet. I like how it looks. I also mounted the floor steering column mount.

A couple other pictures of the Suburban laid out. The rear bumper is only about 1.25" off the ground.

That's all for now.

Thanks
Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

More pics

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

That lays right down Marc...looking good.

How close is the steering wheel to the seat? In the picture it looks very close.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks Doug...Optical illusion with the wheel. It is not in the tilt position and there is still plenty of room when sliding in. I think I have more room in this than my 48...

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

That looks so cool!!! Are you running those black rims? The whole steering setup looks good.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Marc, looking sweet, I like it a lot...Jim

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

The steering is getting there. I have had to reorder one of my universal joints 3 times to get the right one. No, the rims are junk 18" rollers. The offset is all wrong. I'm trying to figure out my wheel size. It will probably be 20's but I'm trying to layout over 22's.

Thanks Jim

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Yes, it was little progress but it felt great. I'm trying to buy a welder. I have always borrowed one in the past. Once I get my hands on one I plan to tackle the rear floor structure and inner tubs.

You got that right.. Go Blue!!

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

looks sweet.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Looks great!!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Hopefully you will get a welder. What are you going to do with your rear inner wheel tubs?

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

If your looking for a mig the Miller Matic series are really awesome!
You set the welder to "auto" select the size wire (I use .023) so it does not ball up on you and leaves flatter welds. select the metal gauge and your welding!
They also have the option to go manual so you can play around with your own settings.
Just one Man's opinion!
As for a welding Helmet if your looking for one the Optrel Helmet is a really nice hood I bought one awhile back they are the lightest in the industry and have an HD viewing lens the grind mode is on the outside so you dont have to take the hood off to change.

Again just my Opinion, I do a ton of welding and have used numerous hoods over the years and wouldn't go back to a different kind.

Mark...

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks 99
Thank you
Doug - I'm planning on trimming off where they mount to the sides and add metal back to reshape. this will allow me to raise them up as well to create more room for 22's. I have an idea on the body wheel wheel how to create more room to layout over 22's but more planning is needed to determine if this will work before I share with you. 😁
Thanks Mark, opinions are always welcome. I borrowed a Millermatic for years from a friend. I'm not the best at welding so any tools that help would be great.. which size would you recommend for a home shop. I have 220. I will use it for body work and light frame work but I want one to handle bigger stuff as my skills improve but nothing too crazy....
I have a decent helmet. The one pictured looks cool, like something from Starwars....

Thanks everyone!!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks Mark, that's why I was asking. I was thinking I needed a bigger machine like a 252. I was looking for a used one, but I bet a new 141 would be in my budget..And yes, blowing/burning through is an issue.

Thanks for your input.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

I've been very happy with my Miller machines. This sounds like a really good deal.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

helmet seems nice, been wanting a better one esp with the grinding feature. Welder note, I bought a used hobart 175 and it is awesome. I paid 350 for it. Equivalent to the 190 of today which is about a grand or less. I too agree a 140ish welder would suite all your needs and very affordable too. I been in your shoes and got so sick of CL not throwing me a bone when I needed one, so I put bought an EWood 175 onsale. Didn't want to but I had no choice. I wouldn't recommend them even though it is a good welder. I'd go with hobart, miller, licoln and I'm personally thinking of trying esab next.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

'burb looks killer laid out. No worries on 220v, just turn it down. You can't pull a long bead with 20 guage anyway. Lots of us use 220v MIG for sheetmetal. I have the new Miller 215 multi. Love it. I mostly TIG sheetmetal now.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

All the welders sound good I have used my Lincoln mig pak 15 240V for 14 years not a single problem. 30A-175A I normally run .035 solid wire but welding sheet metal I run .025 solid wire. Just some more info for you to chew on.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

I decided on a welder and since I have wanted one for soooo long I drove an hr each way to go grab one this morning. I bought a Miller Multimatic 215. It is a slick little compact unit. You can mig,tig and stick weld with this machine. Yes, I even got Miller to throw in a cardboard welding cart for FREE....I will swing by Harbor Freight and pick one up thats not as combustable.

I finished installing my steering. I also finished mounting the column with a 2" drop. Since I had my welder I decided to play with it and fill the hold where the original column stuck through. I will mount my inner fenders too see what changes I need to make to those.

Thanks
Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

That's a nice welder..love the miller welding cart to...I'd change that ground clamp out pronto..get a good ground clamp and you won't regret it..your clamp looks a little different than mine did..mine looked like a clamp for jumper cables...

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks..I'm happy with the the ground clamp. It has great grip and large brass contacts. It seems very heavy duty. The mig gun on the other hand looks a little on the cheap side. I would see changing that out at some point, but I'm not getting carried away. This purchase was WAY over due.

Marc