Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Marc omg that seat! Wow!

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks man....

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Today I worked on some odds and ends. My license plate mount was crooked (my fault) as seen in the pic and it bugged me. I cut it apart to reweld in an effort to straighten it out. (no pics of the correction).

I also tapped in to my running light feed to power the license plate lights.
Since my license plate mount is basically a hitch receiver inset I needed to be able to unhook the wires that power the license plate lights. For this I purchased a 2 wire water tight connector off of EBay. This way when I remove my plate to inset the hitch I can unplug the power supply.

For a clean solution I choose to use the license plate LED bolts. I used the same thing on my 48 and they also worked great. I will mount them at the bottom of the plate shooting up.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Dome Light LED upgrade.

I figured there might be some interest in this upgrade, so I broke it out on its own page.

I removed the OEM light socket from the housing.
I purchased a 24 light LED panel (Found on Ebay for $7.00). This will put out a lot of light. You can also get smaller panels like 18 light ect.

I added longer power and ground leads to the LED panel. I also added a 2nd dome light in the roof of my suburban for adequate lighting.

You can use whatever you like to secure the LED panel to the housing. I used 3m strip caulk that I balled up as I had some laying around. The panel is feather light so you could really use 3M double sided tape or hot glue.

With the frosted glass light lens, you don't see the LED panel or black strip caulk.

I also used some more strip caulk to create a gasket around the wired exiting the housing.

Any ??'s please ask but its fairly straight forward.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

I like the Interior light mods...that should work great

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

License plate and interior lights are great idea I'm going to have to steal this from you.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Great idea...

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks Mongo..

That's why I'm not sharing ALL of my ideas with you thief's...ha ha. Steal away. They both are great cheap solutions. They both worked fine for 7+ years in my 48.

Thank you

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

lots of great ideas...roger

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

I know SQUAT about LED's. I assume since you didn't mention it, they use full 12v power?

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thank you Roger..much appreciated.

Dan, yes they use the full 12v. No need for resistors or anything. I also a strip of LED lights under the dash shinning at your feet when the dome light comes on. These LED strip lights have an adhesive backing so they can be stuck anywhere, they are cheap and you can cut them to what ever length you like which changes how much light they put out.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks Marc - for your explanations to some with "lame-old-dude-itis"!

If you've posted it maybe I've missed it but whose door switches are you using? I've heard all sorts recommended makes.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

We ALL learn something from this site (young or old). I have not purchased my switched yet. I will probably go with ones similar to those that I used on my 48 which were just universal contacts.

Similar to these. Nothing fancy. You can also get some with plastic/rubber end caps.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/prf-80170


Thanks

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

I really like the LED upgrade! I added 3rd brake lights to the cargo lamp on my 72 and now wish I would have done something like this for the cargo lamp. Did you add the frosted finish to the lens? I've been wondering id media blasting them is a sufficient way to accomplish that?

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Ryan

Thanks mam.....
No the lens is frosted from the factory. It's an OEM glass lens. They sell rattle can paint to add a frosted look. I bet you could spray the inside of the lens. That way it would still look glossy from the outside. LED's don't put out any heat so I bet it would hold up fine and might be a better option than blasting the lens. Just keep applying light coats to get the desired amount of frosting.

Just a thought (outside the box)


Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

On Friday night I started fitting and working on my lower dash panel my friend Zach made for me. The first picture I taped on the AC vents to get an idea of placement. I then cut in holes for the vents as well as the AC controller as well as the wiper and light switches. This is the last part that needed to be modified before I get it painted to match the rest of the dash.

As a refresher this panel is the reason I cut my dashboard straight across on the bottom. I did something very similar on my 48. I like to utilize this lower panel to keep the main dash free of switches and knobs....

Thanks
Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Very nice look on the dash.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Marc, looks good, like the placement...Jim

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thanks guys....

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Looks great

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

D'Oh ! not sure why, but don't let this happen to your door switch

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Thank you

OUCH!! I had similar ones on my 48 and had no issues. I'm guessing it needed to be adjusted more so it didn't stick out as far from the door opening. Looks like it caught the edge and folded it over.

Marc

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

ya, I think you are right, it sticks out too far.

The funny thing is it still works fine.

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

If it works it aint broke

Re: 53 Surburban "Family Truckster"
 

Nice touch. It will hide the ac pipes as well.