Nearing completion

[magicoolbus]

I am very near completion of a very long project with my 69 suburban. I am waiting on the seat covers to come in, been 6 weeks, but then again, they are sewing up three seats. I also need to decide what to do about the headliner, FRP or something else? I know the interior door panels are from a 72, but I liked that better than what was optioned in 69. I used SEM products to restore all of the door and back panels.

I paid lot of attention to sound and vibration control. I used MLV decoupled with foam and did a DIY lizard skin in all the doors and behind all the back panels.

Paint was done in my garage with a DIY booth. I brought it back to factory colors of Saddle Metalic and White. I am saving up for Mar K lower moldings to offset the two tone at the bottom

This forum was a valuable resource for parts, ideas, troubleshooting and countless other accolades. Looking forward to the first drive in more than 5 years as soon as the seats come in.

[LockDoc]

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Looks really good! The colors set everything off, that's for sure.

LockDoc

[magicoolbus]

Thanks Leon

[Twisted78SS]

Awesome!
that looks killer.
Would certainly be interested in finding out details of the build.. I can also feel for you on how long it takes to get behind the wheel and drive one that has undergone such a transformation.

[Blown06]

Man that thing looks good, nice work.

[notchbackgta]

Originally Posted by magicoolbus

I paid lot of attention to sound and vibration control. I used MLV decoupled with foam

I applaud you for doing it the best way! I used Fatmat instead of the Lizard skin, but then with the MLV, foam and then mass backed carpet. I haven't finished the firewall, roof or doors yeat but it made a HUGE difference. I did one pound MLV across the metal floor and even on the wood in the back. I still have to finish the wheel tubs and inside the quarter panel areas. You will not be disapointed in the time and money you spent doing it.

I hope mine looks as nice as yours when I get to the paint part

[68SWB4x4]

Love the color!

I had a similar gas tank under the back seat in my suburban. I guess it was a common?

Also what color is that carpet and where did you get it?

[Madipie03]

Looks great! If this took you 5 years i'd say i'm about 4 years and 11 months away from completing mine. HaHa The progress is never quick enough but the reward is amazing. I like that you kept it original. Nice job!

[enigma]

That is very sharp!!! Nicely done

[magicoolbus]

Originally Posted by 68SWB4x4

Love the color!

I had a similar gas tank under the back seat in my suburban. I guess it was a common?

Also what color is that carpet and where did you get it?

I believe the tanks were produced by a company in California. I have seen a couple of them. They are lined and very durable. Found a picture of the label before I repainted the tank.
The carpet is the saddle brown available from many sources, got mine from brothers during one of their sales. But the carpet is made by ACC.

[magicoolbus]

Here's a before, during and after shot of interior. In the before, you can see the DIY lizard skin. I used white elastomeric roof compound and added 'micro balloons (spheres) and water to thin. Using a undercoating gun sprayed two coats to about 3/16" thick. Did this in the doors too.

Picture 2 is epoxy primer, and then lastly is Saddle Metalic, PPG code 2101.
You can also see the rear a/c lines that I ran.

The rear floor was in very good shape and I freshened it up as recommended in the Mar K wood finish test. Used POR 15 and Black Oil Base House paint. http://www.mar-k.com/wood_finish_testing_ii.aspx

[SocalBurb]

Lots of man hours !! Great job.

[Ol Blue K20]

Very nice, how about some pics showing the process.

[Manatee Poacher]

That looks awesome!

I'm getting ready to start the interior of mine, didn't even occur to me to paint the wood in the back. Duh!

How did you stick the MLV down? Spray adhesive? Or did you just cut it and set it in there?

[magicoolbus]

Originally Posted by Manatee Poacher

That looks awesome!

I'm getting ready to start the interior of mine, didn't even occur to me to paint the wood in the back. Duh!

How did you stick the MLV down? Spray adhesive? Or did you just cut it and set it in there?

The foam I used was self adhesive. I used 3M 90 spray adhesive to hold the Mass Loaded Vinyl down. The carpet from ACC had a jute padding as well in the footwells for the front and center seats.

[Ol Blue K20]

Thanks for the extra pics. You did a great job and I really like the color with the parchment.

[magicoolbus]

Here's a tip that I figured out myself, but I am sure that others have probably done something similar. When making holes in the carpet for seat installation, seat belts, dimmer, trans shifter etc, I did not use a carpet knife or razor. I used an old soldering iron, it worked like a hot knife and sealed the edges at the same time. It puts out fumes, so I used a paint respirator, but worked very well. Just make sure the carpet is in its final position before committing yourself. A helper is very nice here to push up from underneath to ensure correct placement, just tell them to get their fingers out of the way before burning through.

[magicoolbus]

Here's a better angle of the nearly completed dash. I used white gauge vinyls that are available on ebay. Also used his black lettered dash lens. Added a tach and vacuum. I added a rear air switch below the light switch, that is pretty hard to find item, some say it may be made of unubtainium, but patience and this board were helpful. I also added a wiper delay available from a board member here. It was a very easy install and I made my own switch location right below the normal wiper switch. Looks kinda factory I guess.

I repurposed the grant steering wheel that I had already, just scuffed the black paint and shot it in saddle metallic. I did a custom horn button, found a bowtie emblem that fits my personality and heritage and used jewelers resin to finish it off.

I redid the shift knobs too. Cleaned out the paint and crud from the shift pattern, Sanded it to a smooth finish, shot a black base coat, then misted a few coats of white over the shift pattern, took a 1000 grit and sanded off the white 'overspray' and cleared with H/S urethane.

Still waiting on my radio, hence the center a/c and glove box not being installed.

[notchbackgta]

Originally Posted by magicoolbus

I used an old soldering iron, it worked like a hot knife and sealed the edges at the same time.

That is a really good idea. I took a piece of black pipe and sharpened one end down to a taper, so it was sharp at the edge. Then I marked the holes from underneath the floor, through the bolt holes, then used the black pipe and a 4lb hammer with a block of wood to brace the back. It cuts very nice round holes too

Originally Posted by magicoolbus

Here's a better angle of the nearly completed dash. I used white gauge vinyls that are available on ebay. Also used his black lettered dash lens. Added a tach and vacuum. I added a rear air switch below the light switch, that is pretty hard to find item, some say it may be made of unubtainium, but patience and this board were helpful. I also added a wiper delay available from a board member here. It was a very easy install and I made my own switch location right below the normal wiper switch. Looks kinda factory I guess.

Nice job on all that little stuff. What is the sellers name for the black lens for the cluster? I got the white faces from somewhere else and I dont think they had black letters

[magicoolbus]

The gauge vinyl and replacement lens came from white gauges, url below. Lots of how to on their web site as well.

http://www.whitegauges.net/products/...ment-Lens.html

[69Tom]

Nice! Hope to see you driving it around the Phoenix area soon.

[CG]

Beautiful job! I really like that color.

Im curious what mass loaded vinyl is, never heard of it.

[magicoolbus]

Originally Posted by CG

Beautiful job! I really like that color.

Im curious what mass loaded vinyl is, never heard of it.

MLV is basically a modern substitute for "lead lined." It is quite heavy, my roll was of the 1/2 pound per square foot variety and it is about 1/16 inch thick. It also comes in the 1 pound per. Very effective at sound control. I am using a pretty loud exhaust and wanted as much reduction as I could get, also wanted to eliminate any resonations. In all my research, it looked like 'decoupled' MLV was the way to go. Lot's of articles on it on the WWW.

[1leglance]

Howdy JB,
As soon as you are ready to go play in the dirt there are a a couple of Phoenix area Burbs (me and Mosesburb) who are always happy to have another traveler along.
Tons of killer local trails, great weekend getaways and more history than most folks realize.
Very nice job on your build also.

[magicoolbus]

Originally Posted by 1leglance

Howdy JB,
As soon as you are ready to go play in the dirt there are a a couple of Phoenix area Burbs (me and Mosesburb) who are always happy to have another traveler along.
Tons of killer local trails, great weekend getaways and more history than most folks realize.
Very nice job on your build also.

Great news. Looking forward to some outings.