Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

Ok Here is my first build thread. Its December 2009 and I bought the burb, my first, in the summer of 2008. I have a ton of pictures and I will be doin some catching up over the next couple of weeks. I can tell you it takes a bunch of $$$$ and a lot of time!!

Here is what I bought for $500 from New Hampshire. I should have waited and bought something a lot cleaner but what the heck, Im not much on patience. It was running and driving. Not roadworthy but it moved and stopped. The last picture is the 72 and the donor 89 burb that I got as a driver for $400 with a rebuilt 700R4. I told the PO that I was going to tear er apart and he didnt want to sell it to me?:waah:

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

I forgot to mention that its a 2 wheel drive 3/4 ton automatic. 8 lug thats going to have to go. 2 Bench seats. I intend on painting it blue. My wife and I have one son (11 now) and we are into boating. We head out every weekend during the summer so progress will be slow during to summer. The burb will be our ride to get stuff (booze, ice and food) to the boat and back. hit the cruise nights and tow the dingy back and forth.
The 89 has a 350 4speed auto and a nice interior. Grey cloth buckets w/ a nice overhead console and between the seats console. I expect to swap out the rear ends wich will get me to 5 lug. It also has a rear heater that I would like to swap out as it can be cold here in CT.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

Great looking project gemiii, can't wait to see what's instore for the burb.

Keep us posted on your progress!

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

rule #1, don't ever tell a seller you want to use their vehicle for parts!:lol:

Great looking project!

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The first step and the fun one Tear Down. Little did I know how long this was going to take.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

Cool project! Interested in seeing how this one goes; and looking forward to more pictures.

It looks as though you have cut off the whole drivers side of the suburban body! You really are tearing it down. I hope everything goes back together smoothly for you.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

When I said it Little did I know how long it would take I meant the whole project not the tear down. Taking it apart was fast and fun. The 89 burb is like a one car garage so everything I didnt need went in there. I blew a head gasket in the 89 so its done! That burb had lots of power so I figured I would use the complete drivetrain. It also has the serpentine belt so that will be different. Pulling all the guts out of the doors wasnt very fun and I sure hope I remember how they went! I zip locked bagged everything and labeled them. I cut all the window gaskets to get them out easier, I hope they make new ones.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

Lots of rust!!! All 3 rockers, inners, complete a pillars all the way to the top of the windshield, both rear 1/4s, under the drivers rear door if there was one, firewall, front floors, spare tire well is gone, hatch, front floors a little, front cab mounts, bottom of front fenders and this is before blasting.

I am out laid off now so I am working on it full time. I think its January 2008. I rented a tag a long compressor and a 300lb blasting pot and blasted everything I could. Its a long day! My help didnt show so that didnt help. Ever sandblast in the cold? The hood fogs up and you cant see anything. I ended up using a welding hood with just a clear lens. Boy does the rust, paint and gunk come off fast. Then everything goes in the garage for etching primer. Im shot!!! Now there even less burb than I had before blasting.
The last picture is a drivers 1/4 that I bought with a nice hatch for $300. It looks pretty good and it looks easy to swap out LOL. It wasnt that easy but its better than fixing the rust. There was even more rust under that rust.

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My hat is off to you for fixing it up instead of junking it out. To answer your question about the weatherstripping, Yes; they reproduce all of that. I know you can get all of it from Classic parts. They are vendors on this site and very reasonable on their prices.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

I left the body on the chasis for the rust repair so it would maintain its shape. I forget who did the faq on doing your own inner rockers, sorry but I did just that and it went well. I bought a brake at Tractor Supply and some sheetmetal and bent up mine own just like the faq said. I included about 3 inches of the floor where it was bad. Its fun cutting out the old stuff. I did the inner under where the 4th door would be so I could get my 1/4 back on. Everything got POR 15 on it. The 1/4 went in good.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

More pics of the 1/4 going in.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

Coming along very nicely, hats off to ya on the hard work already done.
Now post a couple pics of my all time favorite car, that blue Camaro you teased with just a slight rear end pic of! :metal:

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

Next is the inners on both the pass side doors. Rebuild the lower post in between the doors.

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Thanks. I have owned that 69 convt since 1983. 3 paint jobs and 3 motors. It just sat for 14 years and I just put the 427 in again and drove it this past summer. I got tired of working on cars. I am back in a big way again.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

Weld, grind, weld grind repeat. I am using a mig welder with flux core because the gas part wont work. It goes pretty good. If you dont get to good metal you will find out fast as the metals disappears as you weld. Now to the floors. They went good too. Weld grind repeat. The seam sealer is the best part of this process. When nit goes on your done. Off to more rust!

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

Driver side floor is next. I was careful to maintain at least original 1 bolt hole for alignment on the front cab support. I got the floor painted in por 15. Next is the spare tire well. I got a real nice well from Tom Korinek, thanks and got it in.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

After the tire well went in I got the lower 1/4 in on the pass side.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

I had gotten a 30 ft beam from a job I was on so it was time to put it up so I could pull the body off of the chassis when the time came.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

Pics of the beam I had to build some forks for my tractor so I could carry the beam.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

Heres a picture of the pass 1/4 on. I got 2 complete a pillars from Tom Korinek. Thanks again. They went from the cab support to the roof gutter including the inner kick panel. I dont think I would do this again. Lots of cutting and grinding. The only easy part was the 3 bolts to the side of the dash. I used them for alignment. Will the doors ever fit again? Am I wasting my time? What have I started? I cant wait to work on the chassis this sucks! I am still laid off so I am working 10 hrs a day on this POS! When the a pillar is cut out I am thinking I have got a pile of junk now. They went back in not too bad. Everything gets sprayed with rust inhabiter before it goes back together.

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Some more pictures. After the a pillars were done I got to do the rockers. They fit real nice and I hung the doors to gap the bottoms. The doors fit!!!! Its not a pile of junk!

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

Great work so far man!

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Some more pictures

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The beam really helped with hanging the doors. Thank god the rust is done!!!!!!!


Now the fun pulling the chassis.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

More pictures of pulling the chassis. I hate welding and grinding!! Unfortunately its spring and its boating season so the burb sits in the garage taking up 2 parking spots. My wife reminds me every day! I am working again. I am a pipefitter/ welder. I think I might work on the burb after work but when I get home I find a good reason not to.

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I forgot some progress. Its April now and I rented the blaster again to blast all my patch panels and the frame. I also got under the burb and did the underneath.

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I also got the frame painted with help from my wife and son.I used glossy rustoleum. We brushed it on. We also turned the burb on its side and seamsealed everything in sight. Then it got a coat of paint. I love my beam.

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Notice we didnt paint the springs?

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I found on EBAY a target 350 for a 90 Suburban with 20k miles and I get it for $500. Its worth a shot. I really want a 6.0 but its not in the budget now. I can use this 350 in one of my other trucks later if need be.
So I hire a body guy to finish up the body and get it nice and straight. He seamseals the rain gutter, new bottoms on the 2 front doors and skins, panel bonds everything, fixes all the dents in the door jams and door interiors. He fixes all the interior up, welds holes etc. Blocks it out twice and its ready for paint. Fenders hatch tailgate doors everything. Unfortunetly the price gets to $5k which was out of my range and I had to stop him. Our miscommunication was I thought materials where included and they werent. $1200 was material. It would have been $7k total done. My nice daily driver just became more of a show vehicle. So it comes home again. I want to get the frame done before the body goes on and I need more time anyways.
Now boating season is over but I got to get 25 cord of wood put away before it gets too cold. I have an outside wood boiler and I heat the house garage hot water hot tub so I burn a lot. Its mostly junk wood pine etc.

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So now its November and the wood is done so here we go on to the frame. I buy the cnotch from CPP and get that installed. Drilling out the rivots really is time consuming. I gave up the lease on my bottles so I dont have a torch. I tried the air chisel but that didnt work? I just grind them down then knock them out. I also get the rear end conversion kit and get the 89 rear end installed. New trailing arm bushings and 2in lowering blocks are installed. Thanks to reading VA72C10's build thread I saved lots of time on the centering of the rear to the wheel well. I flipped the trailing arm mounts also and the carrier bearing mount. It looks like the 1/2 inch plates behind the trailing arm mount works for me too. I sent the body to another shop to get it jammed and the firewall and the interior painted. All the insides of the doors, fenders tailgate,hatch are painted now. I went with 2008 Vista Blue Pearl................ford shhh!!!!! I looked at every blue on the planet and it was either the ford or Toyotas Nautical Blue and I couldnt put that on a Chevy.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

I also am using the fuel tank from the 89 because its 40 gallon and it has the fuel pump in it. I have to cut off the old filler tube and weld on a new one so that it aligns with the tunnel on the body. A little nerve wracking welding on a gas tank. I filled it with water when I was welding on it. Its painted and installed on the frame. I think I will have to notch a body rib to make it work. I got the adjustable panard bar on and its time to mount the airbags. I spent a lot of time getting the holes to line up and drilling the hole for the air fitting. I am using 3/8 stainless tubing for the air lines. I got the 3/8 fuel line to the front of the chassis and the 5/16 return line in. I replaced the rear brake line and thats done. I can blow air into the bags now and make the thing hop...KEWL. When I let it down on the bump stops my gas tank is 2 1/2 inches off the floor. The front is untouched so thats high still. We are now up to date. I got shorty ceramic headers yesterday. I am going with 3 in Stainless exhaust all the way. SS Flomaster 40s are on the way to. I should have the body back on Saturday so after the exhaust is done the body can go on.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

A few more pictures

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

Wow nice work! Love the shop and beam!:chevy:

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

You are ambitious! And make it look easy to piece together an entire burb body.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

wow thats some really nice work

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

very cool build, keep it up!

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Wow! You make me feel bad for not wanting to tear into my suburban because of metal work needed for tail ligt damage.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

Dang I don't even think I would have wanted to tackle that one. Very nice job and I love the 1x3's (nailed to the ceiling) keeping the beam from falling over:lol:

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

Thanks

It looks fast cause I posted a lot in one night, it feels like I have been working on it forever.

Thanks. I hope its straight.
I plan on driving it late spring.

All it takes is some cutting wheels LOL.

Thanks. I wont be buying any more rust buckets after I finish the 4 I have. Yes those boards are there to lock the beam in place. I should have painted them white but who has the time. Ill be looking for some of your door seals soon I hope.

George

Re: Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"
 

Got a little done tonight. I got some headers from Summit on Ebay and I hoped they would fit. I had to notch the motor perches a little to get them in. I wish they dumped out a little higher. I started to paint the insides of the fenders. The next picture is of my gas lines and the ss air line for the air bag. Tight fit in there. The last picture is my braided gas lines to the tank and the new brake lines. I am waiting on UPS for my mufflers and the pipe bender I bought.