Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Just wondering Marc but if you had known about your caliper clearance issue could you have "clocked" the axle ends when you had it narrowed? To rotate the caliper

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Looks pretty nice! Are those wheels shown in the pics the 22's you are going to be using? Would 20's get you on the ground easier?

keep it going!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Yes I could have (you know what they say about hindsight). By re-drilling the backing plates I can get it more precise because I would still be guessing and hoping the axles where clocked correctly and even from side to side

No these are 20's off of my 48 truck with 275/45/20 tires (29.75" diam). If I go with 22's I will drop the tire size down to 265/35/22 (29.44 dia). That will help the width of the tire fitting into the body and it will help with laying out as it's a smaller overall diameter.. A win - win of sorts.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

So I have been out in the garage quite a bit lately. I have been concentrating on the rear wheel well area. If you remember I cut a some body structure out of the way to allow the tire to go up into the body to allow me to layout on 22" rims. After I cut enough of the wheelwell I reinforced the opening with new metal to add strength back. At some point I will treat with rust guard then seam sealer before I add raptor bed liner to the whole underside of the body and fenders.

Next I needed to clearance the top of the fender the same width of the pocket so that wheel would not be limited by the top of the fender when I laid out. I then reinforced the fender area I removed with round stock to help add strength back the new opening as well as creating a smooth fender edge. One challenge that identified itself during this process was when I removed the top of the fender it left me with a sizeable gap between the body and the fender. In this process I lost one bolt hole from the new fender pocket. I'm guessing this is why the gap seems to prominent. I personally hate fender welding. I like using strip caulk between the body and fenders. I did this on my 48. I needed to add some metal to the top of the fender to help close this gap. I was just trial fitting. I will go back and finish weld at some point.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

More pics to help explain my progress.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

A couple more..

I then mounted the wheels and bolted up the rear fender to push it out of the garage to take a better look. I wish I had less gap between the tire sidewall and the edge of the fender. Oh well I guess this in another compromise when running large wheels and trying to lay out. I cant push the wheels out father to the outside because the wheels need to tuck up inside the Suburban body when it airs out.

Now I just need to do the same fender mods to the passenger side.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Nice work Marc, looking good...Jim

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Great job - that looks awesome!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

It looks fantastic!!
Really nice work!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks guys!!

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Great job! Ya sometimes to get a look we want we have to give a little in other spots. I like your execution.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

I agree. Sometimes it harder to settle then others when you spend a bunch of time on something and you were expecting a different outcome.

It has taken the wind out of my sails some so I have decided to take some time off from working in the garage this week.

I will get back at it this weekend.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

The burb looks killer!:metal: nice work.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks!!!

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Excellent work sir!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thank you man

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

You are doing killer work man it looks so bad ass laid out in the pics in your driveway

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thank you... it seems as if I have been cutting on it and cutting on it for weeks. I'm in the process of finalizing my rear inner wheel tubs and getting it all welded back together.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

OK, so as my previous post lead on I have been cutting and cutting. Then trimming and then welding the rear wheel tubs. Most of which was not picture worthy..

I ended up widening the factory wheel tubs approximately 3" and raising them 3-4 inches. This is all to allow me to layout on 22's (with decent sidewall). Sunday I welded back in my wheel tubs to my floor structure. This was a huge accomplishment for me. During the fitment process I didn't like how to frame rail in front of the notch was exposed since I raised the wheel tubs. To correct this I added a large piece to contour with the frame better..

Tonight I confirmed my idea from months earlier that If I took the factory (rare) third row seat and narrowed it 3" it would fit in between the widened tubs. Tonight I trimmed the front and rear wood floor pieces to get a feel for how everything fit. I will use this wood as a template for the new 5/8" marine grade plywood that I will replace it with. I'm stoked that the third seat looks like it will indeed fit. I still need to finalize the legs and how it attach the seat but that should not be too difficult.

Its cool to have a vision and to slowly work towards it and you have a day like today where your blind faith is confirmed.

On to the pics............

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Beautiful work! Your statement...."Its cool to have a vision and to slowly work towards it and you have a day like today where your blind faith is confirmed".. wraps up what keeps us all moving towards the end goal.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Marc, nice job on getting everything welded in place. Filler piece looks good...Jim

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks guys...

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

i'm digging the 3rd seat. filler looks good.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks. The challenge will be the middle and back seat (from GM) are modular in design meaning you can remove the middle seat and place the back seat in its place allowing you to haul more cargo while maximizing how many people you can haul. Since I needed to modify the rear seats I will get creative to create a modular mount for the rear seat so I can also use it in the middle position if I choose.. Did I throughly confuse you?

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Wow Marc that turned out great. So happy you where able to make vision turn into reality, it's a great feeling!! So for the 3rd seat will your feet be on the hump?

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Nice work Marc, good to see you moving right along.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks

Yes, that is the idea but some of the details that need to be sorted out yet. The notch might be more like a foot rest. I realize its not the most ideal set up, but I learned long ago if you want a truck to layout on big rims, you need to make compromises.

Thanks Doug....Have you been messing with yours lately?

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Seems like everything else and life has taken over lately. Focused on the 72 needing minor repairs.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Very true!! The people in the back could always sit cross leg too. Still nice it will be there.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Yes, Doug I have been neglecting some items on the 48 that I need to attend to so I can relate.

Yes, I will make it work.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

I thought I would share a little idea that I barrowed from someone else. I picked up these black brackets to hold the brake hose out of harms way..these are billet and when I mount them for good I will flip them around so that the allen head will be on the bottom side and not visible. These are actually Harley throttle cable brackets. They are for 1.25" diameter bars which is the diameter of my Porterbuilt A-arms.

I have my pop up gas cap coming in while I'm on spring break. I leave Friday AM with the fam to drive down to Florida...The Suburban will get some rest..

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

nice share on the line holder. great idea. enjoy the trip

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Very nice....but HD in Harley really stands for Hundred Dollar.
They look spendy.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Youngrodder

Great idea for a re-purpose, if there pricey I think that maybe a fab could be done.

Keep on keepin on

NC

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Not bad at all. $24.00 shipped for the pair.

Marc

I hear ya, most things can be fabricated. I choose to spend a little more on things that are all ready thought out and clean. $24 for the pair shipped I didn't think was too bad. I could have done something with zip ties for 17 cents but not the look I was going for....ha ha

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Looking really nice! --- great idea on the brake line holders. Also look into Longacre and Allstar racing parts. They have rollbar clamp (different diameters) style parts like that to hold all kinds of things and their prices are better than HD stuff....

racers are poor!!! I wonder why? ;)

Keep up the good work!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

I really like the idea of a HD pop up gas cap. Bought one about a year ago but decided to go with a conventional fuel door in fender.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Youngrodder your burban is awesome, enjoying the thread.
CanadianKid :ito:

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks, I'm familiar with Allstar. They are a brand that Lane Automotive carries. They are like Summit only smaller but local to me.

This has been my plan for a gas filler for quite some time. I did a quick mock up and it will work. The only negative is that I need to modify the filler neck of the tank. Currently it is at an angle. The idea is that I will mount this in the wood floor just inside the rear doors slightly off center. I also placed the 3rd row seat in place to make sure that the seat would not interfere with fill ups. I will get pics soon.

Thanks man I appreciate it.

Marc