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Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Original axle had spicer hubs and drum brakes....after all the work Nick-mosesburb put into my rig it will just about stand on it's nose :)
I am pretty sure I am 4.10 in the axles with ARB lockers front & rear...just need to hook those up. Thanks for the reminder on the new pedal...for a guy with a fake leg like me it is amazing the difference a brake pedal can make :) The seats are out of some mini-van...not sure but they are always on craigslist for $40 here in Phx, the fold flat feature is a huge advantage for the rear sleeping platform and even as the front seats just to make moving around the rig easy. I have plenty more pics to post including some closeups of the sleep setup, suspension, and more of the trip. |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Due to the extra time we had spent along the way we got into Bisbee a bit late in the afternoon/eve to really see or do much...unless we wanted to roll into camp about o'dark thirty.
So we made a call to head out to find camp and come back to walk the town/mining museum in the am. And here is the mountain top camp we found. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-R...ithNick-11.jpg Happy wife, happy life....yeah she likes the rig much better now and soon we will be trying out the new sleep platform. No pics of that though. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-W...ithNick-12.jpg Nick also has a great setup and his family always seems to enjoy the outdoors. However as his son grows Nick will have to get really creative for all 3 to sleep in the rig or get that kid hooked on hammocks/tents. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-l...ithNick-13.jpg I am really loving my FrontRunner Table, it is light wgt enough to stow on my roof rack with ease yet strong enough to hold double my camp kitchen. We had a killer view while enjoying dinner. Even late into the night the overlook of Bisbee and Sierra Vista was nice. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-g...ithNick-14.jpg |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Love the action shots.
It motivates me to get mine road worthy again. |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Morning rolled around too soon, I sleep really well camping and even with some overnight rain it was a good night. I will say the wet actually shows what Nick's rig looked like back in the day....maybe he should consider paint....hahahahahaha
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-o...ithNick-15.jpg Lest anyone think the rebuilt rig is too fancy for me to get out and enjoy....well I did get some decent desert pinstripping on this outing. The suspension really articulated well through some nice ruts (not shown here) https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q...ithNick-16.jpg "Come'on Nick let's go"....yeah I was having a great time, and I am not even a morning person https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9...ithNick-17.jpg Overlook of Bisbee.....looked nicer at night :) https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3...ithNick-19.jpg The Mule Pass area we were in really is the local Mecca for strange homes...there were some crazy designs and self built projects out there. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-w...ithNick-20.jpg I have no idea what the sombero hat party area or hobbit house behind it were all about but at least we got some good radio chatter out of seeing them. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q...ithNick-21.jpg Flip a boat over and call that a house design....I have no idea https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-c...ithNick-22.jpg |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Sorry for the delay in finishing this trip report....life, oh how it gets in the way :)
So we were coming down the mountain Sunday morning heading into Bisbee, checking out the "I can design stranger house than you" development and I realized how lucky I am to have quality people to help me build my rig and then hit the trail with. Our families get along, our values run close enough to keep the campfire chatter entertaining and we can razz each other without anyone getting their panties in a twist :) Oh and Nick has a pretty cool rig also :) https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-h...ithNick-24.jpg Mule Pass used the be the route into Bisbee and the poor mules had a serious grade to overcome bringing mine ore to the smelter. This structure was a bit left over from the old old. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q...ithNick-26.jpg And lest anyone think I went to all the trouble of making my burb pretty and then became scared of playing the dirt.....my first desert pinstripping. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E...ithNick-27.jpg We did some walking around Bisbee, very cool variety of architecture as the money flowed into town. And we found the one restaurant open on a Sunday morning. The Savory Spot is some good eating if you find yourself hungry. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-H...ithNick-28.jpg Of course a couple of guys like Nick & I can't stroll through a little town without catching the scent of rigs for sale....this one had a pretty creative sign in the window... https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E...ithNick-29.jpg https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5...ithNick-30.jpg Onward in our walking travels we came across something the town map called "Iron Man" which is odd considering he is copper and dedicated to those "virile" copper workers.....ummm virile, I guess playing in the dirty dark and then hitting the town on payday would make me virile also :) https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-S...ithNick-31.jpg https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-s...ithNick-32.jpg I know I mentioned some cool architecture in town, one of the ones that really stuck me was the courthouse. This thing was full of some really need elements. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9...ithNick-33.jpg Walking through these doors would never become routine for me....these carry some nifty symbolism and sytle. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5...ithNick-34.jpg https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-r...ithNick-35.jpg Lamppost that caught my eye when it caught the sunlight.... https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-x...ithNick-36.jpg The "Merchants & Miners Bank" also had some neat details....if this building ever gets torn down I want this for my home mailbox :) Oh and the antique store that currently resides in the bank still has the small vault on the other side of this, and 2 older vaults also. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-b...ithNick-37.jpg |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Alongside the giant hole in the ground that is the Queen mine pit there is the preserved rementant of one of the small towns that grew up with Bisbee, but didn't survive.
However the street is really cool to walk around and check out. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-r...ithNick-38.jpg Of course this street was much cooler with a couple of vintage Suburbans parked there. The flash splash of rain we got was just enough to make us laugh but not enough to actually soak anyone. Oh and see that very thin and stealthy lamppost behind my rig....well my only damage of the trip was catching my ham radio antenna on that thing as I was backing up to do a U-turn...dumb*ss me. 43 sq feet of glass in our rigs and I manage to find the one blindspot. Teach me not to use the mirrors and double check everything. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-V...ithNick-39.jpg We dashed back to Phoenix, getting home later than we wanted but happy to have enjoyed a great shake down run of the new suspension, axles, tcase,trans, brakes, shfiter, sleep platform, fridge mount and whatever else I forgot :) Nick is a tremendous resource and friend and none of this would have happened without his help. Huge thank to that fellow. I know I still need to post some pics of the actually springs, shocks, hydraulic bumpstops....sometime soon as it gives me an excuse to get back into the dirt and flex the old girl. |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Pictures of your trip with Mooseburb and your families look nice. Sounds like you and your family had a good time even with the 'christianing' of the new paint job.
Now how about those pictures of the new mods (now older) of the Suburban.;) |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Oh man do I ever need to get some pics and post them :)
Mosesburb-Nick has been doing some killer work/teaching on my rig and there is plenty more to come. Mainly I have just been out using the rig...finsihed or not we like to get out on the dirt. Going again this weekend for a couple of days so I will try to get some pics and post up an update. |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
You might have posted it somewhere and I missed it, what percent is your tint? That's the exact look I'm going for on my burb. Thanks and great project
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Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
:wop::waah: Looking for updated pictures....PLLEEASE!!
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Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
hey your trip to tombstone, and other sight seeing stops. How narrow are the trails? Right now I just have a Dually for the family and would like to see some of those places. Just want to make sure her fat ass can make it.
Thanks Chris |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Know this is an old thread but how much was youR MAACO paint job?
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Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
I heard a rumor he abandoned this in someone's driveway and went on a couple vacations. Anybody else heard that??
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Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Yeah Yeah the Big Blue Burb has been hanging out at Nick-mosesburb's house for a couple months.
One of those "out of sight, out of mind" things for me...for Nick more of a stray animal you can't get to stop coming by :) But last night was a big milestone in that we drove it around a bit and I was IMPRESSED. Sure I knew adding TBI would be nice, and I knew Nick would do his usual best work but actually riding in the rig was way cool. So since it has been about a year since I updated this thread I figured I would add some history.. The rig has been getting out and playing in the dirt plenty.. North rim of the Grand Canyon https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-R...o/IMG_0137.JPG A comfy place to sleep on the trail for my wife & I https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E...o/IMG_0179.JPG And now let's see if we can't start to tell the story of the last couple of months... |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
OK Lance,
Now you have fuel injection and an overdrive automatic with a lockup torque converter. So with those 4.11 gears down to 2.90 in OD locked up in 4th gear how are you MPG's compared to Nick's diesel? I'm sure his are better but you should be well into the mid to high teens on MPG. I heard a nasty rumor that you have to reserve campsites at Toroweep now. We did not make it over due to mud and fuel concerns, but our last trip on the Arizona Strip was terrific! |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5...o/KIMG0008.jpg So the day before my rig was supposed to go to Nicks for all this work my younger son drove it to school....and got it towed. $200 later and a ton of rushing around and we get it out of the yard...good lesson for him and not too big a hit to his savings https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E...o/KIMG0007.jpg Yes there is a light coming out of my grill....very strange things happen at Nicks house. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-S...o/KIMG0011.jpg Sometimes you wonder about your friends...especially if they have to but in a ton of work to defunk your project before they can start on the real fun. Lucky for me Nick didn't need an intervention, he was just making sure we had plenty of hood clearance for all the stuff he wanted to stuff in. |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
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We have put on maybe 10 miles and still have a ton of work to do before Nick will let this project go home. I think he has grown emotionally attached to my blue truck and burb and has separation anxiety :) I will actually track my mpg for a while, normally I don't care but it will be fun to figure out the cost to benefit ratio. |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Looking great Lance! You got the right guy working on it. You can guarantee Nick’s work will be done right the first time. No too sure you will actually gain much more power with TBI but the overall drivability will be sooo worth it. Carburetors are just horrible for intense heat, altitude changes and bouncy off-roading as you well know. Can’t wait to see it on the next go around. Hopefully you and Nick can come along for Desert Trip 2015 in May with the Pueblo crew. We're probably going to skip OX this year and do a Utah trip the week before Memorial Day.
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Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Is there any advantage to converting to a 3 wire O2 sensor instead of the single wire in this application?
I suspect your not running a catalytic converter, so it seems the engine would benefit from the heated O2 sensor to get it into closed loop quicker. I would love to see more detailed pictures of the EFI swap. Do you run single or dual exhausts. I only saw one tailpipe on the left side in the photos. Wish I could say I was making progress on my junk but I just spent 3 months in Michigan settling my folks estate and still working on escrow and unclaimed funds in 2 states. Do your family a favor and have your financial house in order, this has been a ton of work. Thankfully I am retired! |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
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I do know it is a heated O2 sensor. I am running a Howell harness with all GM TBI stuff and Howell custom burnt a chip based on engine/cam info Nick supplied to them. Single exhaust with no cat to give me more space under the rig to mount a water tank, on board air compressor and other toys in the future. |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-e...o/KIMG0016.jpg
So there are many elements of this build that involved me telling Nick "good enough" and him having to grumble something along the lines of "it's not my truck" Not that I don't think everything he has done has been beyond what I would do....it just isn't all up to HIS norms :) I will say I am very happy with my huge AC condensor, big ol' trans cooler and even a power steering cooler he crammed in front of my core support. It did require a bit of custom work to the hood latch and a bit of hammer work on the core support. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-l...o/KIMG0006.jpg These same 2 fans have been doing an amazing job on my lowered 72 C-10 during a blazing summer, running full AC and sitting in killer traffic. They should be good for slow crawling on summer trail runs where you can generate some serious engine/trans temps. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-K...o/KIMG0007.jpg Now there were some parts of this project Nick didn't want ANY part of...and my new dual spotlights highlight the fun I got to have. I am pretty sure Nick banged his head on the inside handles enough to want to rip them off my rig. But I sure love'em. And cool thing is Unity still makes everything you could want, including some seriously bright replacement bulbs I can't wait to play with. I have a pair of vintage correct lights but these more modern ones were in much better shape so in they went. And I will admit drilling the holes in freshly painted A pillars was one of the hardest things I have done on this rig :) |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1...o/KIMG0022.jpg
Part of the conversion to fuel injection was a new tank...well new old tank. This is a 40 gal out of an 87 Burb with the inlet welded in the right spot. New sender and pump installed and we were ready to trail a long way down the trail. Oh and in case anyone was wondering about those long hoses...that is part of the reason I really enjoy working with Nick on projects. He thinks about things like having to drop the tank down the road...me I just want to slap it together and go play. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-D...o/KIMG0140.jpg Of course things will be much more tiddy when all said and done but I had to snap a pic of the new fuse block. It was impressive to see how much work Nick put into changing things and improving what I thought was "good enough". But now that I understand the wiring layout and cleanness I like it. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v...o/KIMG0139.jpg I will try to get a better shot of the cluster this weekend. But you can still tell how cleaned up and nice this is. Nick even managed to fit in a special dual battery gauge I bought in Australia. It is a digital that looks analog and has a bunch of features I have not played with yet. But nice thing is I always know the status of both of my batteries. There is also an Air Pressure gauge for the on board air/lockers. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7...o/KIMG0138.jpg This prototype version 16 or something of my center console. I wanted something that had the same rounded edged as our trucks. Had plenty of storage and filled the space. I plan to cover it with grey vinyl to match the seats. It will have 2 dual USB ports, locker air switches x2 and a dual cig lighter port for the fridge & laptop (for navigation). I still have to put together my laptop stand over this mess. Oh and that switch panel will control all kinds of things...things that give Nick more wiring worries :) |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-g...o/KIMG0136.jpg
This gives a better idea of all the subtle stuff that was built...dual battery trays, with a solar controller on the aux side. AC setup with in dash and rear evap's and plenty more I can't think of but will make a big difference in the long run. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Z...o/KIMG0135.jpg Lots of good quality OEM GM parts means I will be able to go in just about anywhere and say I am running an 87 burb and get what I need to get back on the road. Makes a difference in rural USA or Baja Mexico. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-D...o/KIMG0134.jpg I really really need to capture a better image of the electrical panel I have here. Recently I was checking out some ambulances at a local junkyard and I think I have a way cleaner and better setup. Of course I also know Nick will chop off my other leg if I ever hack into this :) More pics to come this weekend when we get the big blue burb on the road and wrap up some more inside stuff. |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Nice clean work for sure.
I like the coolant sight glass in the heater hose, where did you buy that? It is always best to have a defined build plan, when deviating from it, consult your builder. The reason is if you did not build the entire system, changing adding or modifying anything (especially electrical) could have detrimental effects on the rest of the system and negatively impact performance of the vehicle. Maybe you should have Nick build in a powered buss bar for your auxiliary electrical add ons. |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
How much was the MAACO paint job?
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Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
MAACO was around $2500 for blue with white top and some body work
it is pretty but fragile...it scratches easily..seems to not be as bonded to the primer as I would like oh well, when the brutal Phoenix sun chews it up in 5 yrs or so enough time will have passed to paint it with something a little more high quality. Paint just ain't cheap and the way we get desert pinstripping here in the southwest it is hard to invest alot of money into. I might look into something much harder down the road but my wife likes how it looks and this is the first 4wd that she makes positive comments on so I am happy |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Quality work! I digg the functionality of your Sub.
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Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Well, since the owner found it necessary to take yet ANOTHER vacation during this project, I figured it would be a good time to add a little color to the story from the guy in the trenches here (he's not here to protest and once he gets back, maybe he'll fire me!!). Several pics were posted that didn't really come out too clear, so I'll add some that are a bit easier to look at. Anyways, lets take a quick look at some of the behind the scenes action taking place on this janke hooptie.
We started with a NOS TBI intake manifold from my inventory: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psa0fd69d6.jpg This truck also got a Denso H/D starter: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psc13dd536.jpg We scrounged our parts out of some local wrecking yards and I proceeded to go through all of them before installation. Here is the throttle body when I was installing new shaft bushings: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps7224fc47.jpg I also modified the original pressure regulator so it is adjustable now: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psd4bc5ada.jpg Here it is with its new Delco IAC and TPS on it: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pscb40e49c.jpg I went through the distributor using all new Delco components (except for the Blue Streak cap and rotor): http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psbf2f2da2.jpg Shot of the dual electric fan setup that got installed. He bought the shroud from somewhere and it is set up for some other brand of 12" fans. These Spal hurricane machines I found which are also 12" require a larger hole in the shroud, so I plasma cut a 3/8" ring out of the inside diameter of the fan holes in the shroud. I got those mounted up then I converted the connectors on the fans over to a MetriPack 630 setup so the connectors will be the same as a factory electric fan setup and weatherproof as well. http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps1c7ae3de.jpg The radiator was found to be junk, so it was replaced also. In order to convey how nice this is turning out, one must understand what the raw material consisted of. The following pics are some of what was removed to try to de-janke this thing: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pse2232a34.jpg http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps617bbe44.jpg High-speed, light weight battery hold-down: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psfca2f5ac.jpg Uh, <facepalm>: (The brake pedal was his birthday present from me last year. Having an aftermarket left leg makes hitting the tiny stock brake pedal very difficult, so I figured this would be a good addition to the truck) http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps6d2592b7.jpg Dual battery setup: Safety third!! http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psb467698c.jpg Nothing but the best: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psc447cc4c.jpg Now the wiring was a challenge as there are so many accessories in this particular truck that many modifications had to be made before a harness could be installed. We started with an American Autowire setup that we got from tkorinek. It is a real nice setup, it uses high quality GXL wire, but I had to put a bunch of hours into modification to make what we needed to run all of the electrical crap in this truck. Just a note, if you don't have a bunch of weird stuff in your rig, the harness goes in very easily--I highly recommend them. So anyways, I put a bunch of time into the harness and the end result looked like this: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps6e2bbd55.jpg Getting a bit closer: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps74e2a867.jpg Underhood rough-in: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps8cbc8946.jpg We used a really neat Dakota Digital fan controller to control the electric fans, but with where this hooptie is going to be taken, I figured an emergency bypass of everything fancy in the fan circuit would be a good idea. The fuses get pulled out of the Weatherpack fuse holders and those connectors get installed in these female connectors. The ring terminal gets connected to the main power distribution bus bar with a wing nut and the fans are on, period. No switches, no relays, nothing. If the fan motors work and the truck has 12 volts, the fans will be on. http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps6d76f573.jpg All of the wiring for rear ac, roof rack lights and solar panel. All run in appropriate size and color codes using the OE thermal cross linked polyethylene jacketed wire: (the remnants of the stock lamp harness has been removed since the pic was taken...) http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psfdd518ff.jpg The fuel injection setup needed a cable style gas pedal setup, so I made and adapter to run the cable setup mounted to the mechanical pedal mounts in the firewall: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psddbe808a.jpg Installed: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps473d74e6.jpg Here is a little clearer photo of the cluster I built for this thing. Lance wanted the tach hose clamped to the column.....Ugh. I couldn't do that, so I mounted it in the dash. It is one of those Autometer retro series pieces. Looks kind of neat in there: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps309144c4.jpg A three gauge dash-top cluster: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps355187de.jpg A slightly clearer pic of the cool pack I built for the truck. It consists of a full-height condenser. I had to modify the hood latch for clearance of the condenser. The large heat exchanger on the driver side is the 10 x 11 x 1-1/2" thick trans cooler with a thermostat visible at the bottom of the center grille support. The heat exchanger on the passenger side is for the power steering fluid. Here in the desert, power steering fluid gets insanely hot, so a cooler is a good addition to prolong the life of o-rings in the pump and box. I made all of the ac lines to fit the specific areas where they could fit into.: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psa351f3d9.jpg Speaking of ac hoses, here are the underhood hoses complete with tees for the rear ac lines: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pseb35136b.jpg This is what they looked like when I brought them home: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psa33c6e72.jpg Here is a better pic of the electrical "sub-panel" on the passenger side of the firewall: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pscce6e733.jpg So I think I have caught up to where Lance has posted without getting ahead of him on it. Maybe if I do he'll fire me!! Woohoo!! |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Thanx for the extra pics Mosesburb. That was quite a upgrade!
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Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
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It still has some more things to be done/finished, but it was time to start driving it to shake out any problems, etc. One issue is the cam in this motor is much larger than a TBI system is prepared to deal with, so I just ordered the third prom for it. The second was worlds better than the first, but is still putting too much fuel into the motor. It sounds like this one should do the trick. Beyond that, it's just a matter of the little things that pop up when this much stuff is changed at one time. |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Nice work Nick! Those wiring photos before the project looked a little scary.
I still want to know where the coolant sight glass in the heater hose came from? |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Quote:
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Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Is it electric? I see a possible green wire going to it. I thought is was a sight glass or a coolant filter of some type. A sight glass would be nice to have, since it would show air pockets in the system while running, you could also check your water pump performance easily that way too.
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Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
If it has a green wire going to it then it is the heater control valve. Yes, it is electrical and it is hotter than the hubs of hell in normal operation. I inadvertently touched it with a finger tip and it almost immediately blistered (temp not related to coolant temp). It is part of the Vintage Air kit.
Maybe the owner can tear himself away from vacation planning and post up some more pics of progress...... I know for a fact there has been some... |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Why post on the building when it is more fun to post on the playing in the dirt :)
As is my norm I can't wait for a project to be "finished" before getting in the dirt...mainly because I never believe they are ever finished and because there are just many cool places to go to wait too long.. And it has been a long long couple months to have my burb down...but well worth it. Even through we still have some tuning to do the thing runs so well it is like a stock early 90's burb. And that is a great complement to Nick that his work makes the truck drive like it is right off a showroom floor. Nick is a bit of a worry wort so our first outing had to be fairly close to town but at least we got into a nice variety of trail conditions as we headed out east of Phoenix to play. Airing down is so always good idea and with my Extreme Outback setup it will be more of a pleasure to air up again. The Extreme Outback stuff has been on all my rigs. Now full disclosure I used to be sponsored by them but I paid full boat for this High Output compressor and tank and will again on every rig in the future. Just great stuff with great people backing it up. Here are our rigs getting ready to air down in the parking lot where all the buggy guys park their trailers. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-n...o/KIMG0205.jpg Nick wanted me running in full diagnostic mode so we would know what to do for the next chip burn. Of course my console is still in temp/trial mode and the laptop stand isn't built but why would that stop me :) https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-g...o/KIMG0206.jpg Easy start to the day just keeping an eye out for high speed oncoming side by sides, atvs, motos, trucks and who knows what else. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6...o/KIMG0207.jpg |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Getting a little more interesting with some rocks, gravel and twisty areas of the trail.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-V...o/KIMG0209.jpg Watch the speed around corners as you never know what you might bonk into. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-U...o/KIMG0210.jpg Or what interesting things might be written on the rocks...nothing ancient here, just a friendly comment about current mine claims. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l...o/KIMG0213.jpg This was fresh enough to get a little beef jerky off of for lunch....but the smell was a bit strong so back into the rigs and down the trail we went. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-D...o/KIMG0215.jpg I am not a rockcrawler by nature but if there is something cool worth seeing I don't mind taking on a challenge. However my goal is to to keep the gear from getting broken, and not just because I don't want Nick to have to work on my toys anymore. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-T...o/KIMG0217.jpg |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
And this was the cool stuff worth seeing...some really neat mining operations from back in the day. These guys knew how to pick a spot to setup.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-u...o/KIMG0219.jpg Local stone and much muscle went into putting this place together. Impressive. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7...o/KIMG0223.jpg Iron rods through the walls with cool nuts on the ends to hold the smelter building together. And you could still see lots of melted slag on the walls. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-n...o/KIMG0224.jpg https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-t...o/KIMG0227.jpg Not sure where the bricks were made but the arch work was nice and it has held up to the test of time. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9...o/KIMG0228.jpg I hiked up the wash to check out the spring where the water for this operation came from. Pretty view back to the ruins. Of course the guys who built all this were not about the scenery. Just getting the ore crushed, smelted and into a form that resulted in money in the bank. This was a silver operation if I remember right, one of the bazillion mines in the desert southwest and nice to not find one with graffiti or trash everywhere. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-V...o/KIMG0230.jpg |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Since the rig ran so well on its first outing we figured we ought to head out of town and play a bit for Black Friday and the Saturday after...beats the crowds any day.
Some strange white mineral deposit from something marked on an old map as a "deep well", the families had fun climbing all over it. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-V...o/KIMG0230.jpg King of Arizona mine and surrounding mines are some neat places to check out. A bunch of work to get the good stuff out of the ground back in the day. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-j...o/KIMG0242.jpg Army proving grounds where live fire happens. Lucky for us nothing going on with the holiday weekend so we could cross over to get to asphalt. At least we hoped there was nothing since the gates were open and no flags flying. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5...o/KIMG0244.jpg Strange rock hill, really looked out of place. And I parked here at the military signage/gate to make sure we all agreed that it was ok to cross. Nothing like being the guy in front when you aren't sure if the artillery range is live :) https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-A...o/KIMG0245.jpg We found ourselves in Fort Horn, this is one of the place Gen Patton did his desert training in prep for taking on the Germans in Africa. The rocks are laid out where the huts and roads were. Very cool to imagine what it was like in the 40's. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7...o/KIMG0246.jpg Monument to the men who died out here learning that you need more than a quart of water a day to survive in the desert...hey remember this is the same time in history when folks would go on a picnic to watch atomic bomb testing. Close up on the stone on the shrine. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2...o/KIMG0247.jpg https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-s...o/KIMG0248.jpg All in all I am super happy with all the hard work Nick put into my rig. Still a few things to do but it runs sooo much better and unlike past rigs I don't ever catch myself thinking about replacing it with something else. Old iron is a joy to see in the driveway, a blast to drive and my entire family is happy with the rig. It has plenty of room to sleep inside and all the ability to go down a trail or down a highway that I could want. |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Cool trip. You ever get an idea of your fuel consumption?
My Dad served under Pattons command for a time in Europe. He was in the 83rd Infantry in WWII. Anybody up on their history knows the winter of 1944-45 was one of Europes worst I never could get my Dad to go camping with me. He said after he came home he pledged to never sleep another night on the ground. |
Re: 70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project
Mixed 75mph highway and rocky to deep sand trail gave me 11.1mpg for the first tank I calc'd.
Nick wants to get more Scanner data and have another prom or two burnt to see if he can dial up more fuel pressure to better atomize things. I will keep updating mpg numbers tank by tank, I am a slow driver by nature and these things are bricks so I will be happy even if 12mpg is by best as it runs so well. Glad your dad made it home from a terrible war. And I can understand why he feels the way he does, but maybe day trips and cabin stays would get him on the trail :) |
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