Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Big day....

I got around to finalizing the installation of the 3rd row of seating. This was big because there was a TON of work involved to get this to work.

The goal all along was to layout flat over 22" wheels while retaining the 3rd row. As you start to look around there are not many (if any) others that did this. Early on I figured out why

Here is a recap of the work done to pull this off:

* Widened and raised the inner wheel tubs
* Narrowed the factory (rare) 3rd seat frame and springs 2 3/4" of an inch
* Modified the seat frame legs
* Created pockets in the body for clearance for the tops of the tires when aired out.
* Moved the seat back to clear the notch cover

All of this while keeping the flexibility to run the 3rd seat in the 2nd position if I choose.

Most people will look inside and not realize the amount of work to pull this off.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Wow,those look great Marc..!!..I'm really liking your seats...wish I had a good upholstery shop around here..sadly all the old good ones are gone

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Nice job, and that was a lot of work.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

:drool:

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

it looks like it came from the factory that way. looks great, congrats

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks, my guy is good. He's about 90- minute from me thick in Amish country. ha ha. I have to return soon as he is making me some floor mats. I might take the Suburban there for a short road trip..

Thank you...

If you drool, please keep it away from the leather...ha ha

Thanks that was the goal.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

WOW looks FANTASTIC!
"Most people will look inside and not realize the amount of work to pull this off."
That is how you know you did a great job.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks man, I'm going to be figuring out seat belts soon. Having too much fun driving it. I'm close to 1,000 miles since early July...

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

That turned out great! Awesome work!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thank you...much apprecaited!!

We went for an ice cream run last night with my wife my son Austin and one of his buddies. It was fun rolling out with 3 other people. We still had room for 2-3 more.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

I saw that posting about the 3rd row seat install, then went back to see the rest of the interior pics. Wow……..It takes an absolute ton of effort to make something look like it was originally designed to be that way, and you sure pulled it off. Awesome skills!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks man....It was a ton of work. You tend to forget a lot of the details as you start to rack up miles driving and enjoying....

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Hey Marc!
It was a blast meeting you at the Grand Rapids Auto Gallery Show Yesterday! I had no idea that I would win Best of Show there!!!
I am so glad that you came over & introduced yourself...I immediately remembered your old green truck when you mentioned it. I really love your new creation, and need to catch-up on this thread!
I hope to see you and the truck again sometime soon. Maybe at the Gilmore?
Thanks again for starting the conversation!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Hey Mike

The award was well deserved. Funny as soon as you pulled in I said hey I know that truck...It was nice chatting with you. My son thought you were cool.

We are hitting up a show in Gas City Indiana on the 25th that is supposed to be a good event.

Talk soon
Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Good to hear about members meeting up...Jim

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Marc,
I forgot to mention that my buddy is having a car show this Saturday (9/18) at his customs shop in Kent City just north of Grand Rapids. This show should be fairly large as the one that he had this spring had several hundred cars. It would be great if you could make it!
PM me if you need more details.

Attachment 2131275

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

So we have been taking the Truckster out as much as possible. We went on a decent drive to Join Mike (Modges 66') at a car Show at Star Customs on Saturday. We had a great time. I just passed 2,000 miles since July.

During these 2,000 miles there was this strange sound inside the inner walls of the interior in the back by the rear most side window. I kept saying it sounds like a chain that is dangling. It drove me nuts especially on long drives. You could hear it whenever turning to the left.

Look what I found..... I was pretty spot on in my description of the sound.

I couldn't see the chain at first. I removed a small access panel by the back doors and stuck a finger in and felt something strange. After fishing around for a bit and prying with a large screw driver I found this chain.....I was so happy to find the source of the noise.

Weather permits we will hit up a show in Gas City Michigan which is about 3hrs away.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Was that the dog's collar from Family Vacation in the Family Truckster?

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

That's comedy gold right there....hell it might be.
I kept the chain.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Ha-Ha-Ha!!! That is pretty epic!
I wonder how long it has been there, and what the real story is behind that chain?
I wish that I was in a situation where I could tag-along to the show with you this weekend!
Maybe next show-season!!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Marc ...i could see it now..!!!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Right I know. From the rust it has been there for a bit.

The weather looks suspect for Saturday. It might be a no go. We might hit one up closer to home (Marshall) if the weather looks sketchy.

Pretty much... the only difference is mine was on the passenger side. ha ha

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Warning....Photo heavy update!!

Since our maiden voyage to Columbus, OH in Mid July, we have have been burning up the roads as a family in the Truckster.

We have hit up several cruise nights, car shows, cars N coffee events to name a few. I have regularly driven the Suburban to work and run errands (like Home Depot) as well as a few ice cream runs.

The odometer sits just under 2,500 since (Since July). All of this driving has made me realize I NEED cup holders. I have an idea for a slick solution without detracting from the simplicity of the interior/dash. More on that later.

We have had a blast. Here are some pics from the various events.

Thanks

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

More pics////////////////

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

I told you it was picture heavy..

The last red sky pic was from our way home from a cruise night yesterday in Middlebury IN. It was the last cruise night of the season and had well over 1,000 cars. It was a great time for a drive. MI weather in the fall is the best time to have an old car/truck to bomb around in.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Very nice!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

all that great work is paying off it looks like..!!!!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Love all the photos of your family enjoying your suburban.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Marc, great pics and great looking family, continue to enjoy...Jim

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thank you all....These are the main reasons behind this build. I have had a few people ask "How much $$". I'm having too much fun driving this thing to think about selling it. Besides I need to finish it the last 5% over the winter.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Great pics, great use of the truck, and great build

Glad to hear that everyone is enjoying that very cool truck.

Thanks for sharing

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Awesome pics, and keep them coming. We just did a large cruise here as well and I enjoy it for the same things this time of year. It has been pretty warm this fall and I'll take it so I can get a bunch of stuff done before it turns to cold in a weekend. That's how it seems to work here lately.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks and thank you for continued interest...

Yes, same here with the weather. I'm getting it tuned on the 15th and have some other upgrades over the winter but I had to put it up (just yet). I'm going to head over to a fellow board member this weekend to meet him and check out his projects. He's on the other years/body style sections. Everyone that I have met in person from this site have been great.

Thanks
Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Operation Cup Holder/////

With driving as much as we do it helped to identify how badly I needed cup holders in the Truckster. Like most of the build details I didn't want the cup holder to look like a stuck on after thought. I also didn't want to spend a ton of $$ on a solution.

I purchased a double barrel cup holder from LS Fab. These were designed with the intent of mounting under the dash. Since I used a custom lower dash panel and was out of real-estate I come up with a different solution. These cup holders are SS and very heavy gauge metal. Like all of their other products very nice quality.

I purchases some tube clamps of Amazon that would be used for mounting lights on an off road vehicle. I then cut up the mount to better fit my location. The offset of the mounting hole location I drilled were dictated by the seat spring supports. The goal was to center the cup holders in cab.

Pretty happy with how it turned out.

Cheers....

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

nice touch

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

I like that. Good idea for use with a bench seat.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

That turned out really nice.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks Guys.....I toyed with having it mounted only on one side and be able to pivot/spin it to fit under the seat out of sight. I didn't like how much of the cup holder I would have to cut to pull it off. Also I was pretty certain it would not be as stout as this mounting method.

Thanks
Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

It was nice to meet you yesterday. You have done one hell of a job on it. That is one sweet ride!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks Josh

On Saturday taking advantage of this great fall weather, I cruised over for Josh's (JJH Jimmy) to check out his projects. I really like what he's got going on.

Thanks your chatting about trucks on Saturday.

**Oh, it tried out the cup holder this weekend and I'm very pleased. The ergonomics of the location works great.

Marc