My '69 Suburban

[1971BB427]

Not really a project, as it was pretty close to done when I got it, but still a number of little things that remained loose ends.
The heater controls were all broken, so got a kit from Classic and installed that, along with a new sw.
Radio was not hooked up, and wrong also. Installed a new Sony CD player, and at the same time I built new cargo area side panels to mount speakers in.
The glove box insert was gone, so picked up a NOS insert locally, and got it in.
Tires were Toyo crap, so had a new set of Hancook hi mileage 80k mile tires installed.
Dome light didn't work, so today I found no lamp, and put it in. That got it working with the dash sw., but still not with the doors. Pulled the door switches, and found two bad, and the 3rd door not even a wire! Replaced all three, and snuck a wire into the rear door to connect it to the new sw. They all work now.
With all the dome light switches working I'll install the alarm system soon, so it stays home at night!
Still need to find a decent pair of bucket seats to fit it. Don't care for the ones that are in it now. Also need to pick up the "Chevrolet" emblem for the tailgate. Someone shot some rattlecan paint on the tailgate in spots, and it's way darker, so once I get it sanded down I'll get out the gun and shoot the tailgate again to match.
Need to wire in a plug to match the trailer too, so I can haul the gasser when I'm taking it out of town. It's got a good receiver hitch, but somebody took the plug off.

[vectorit]

Welcome!

Post some pictures of that burb up! We LOVE pictures here, so don't tease us ok

Good to see another burb here, and again welcome to the best truck board on the net!

[1971BB427]

Thanks! Here's a few pics:

[dan42]

Very nice rig. I love the old 'burbs. I like that color.

[1971BB427]

Thanks Dan! It's geting closer to being exactly what I want.

[70cst]

Originally Posted by dan42

Very nice rig. I love the old 'burbs. I like that color.

I agree what he said. Nice Burb!!

[BlackTopMotors]

Very cool! What did you use to create the black panels where your rear speakers are mounted?

[1971BB427]

Originally Posted by BlackTopMotors

Very cool! What did you use to create the black panels where your rear speakers are mounted?

Thanks guys!
I used Masonite (pegboard without holes) to build the boards, then got black naugahyde from Fabric Depot on sale for $5.50 a yard and spray glued it to the panels after cutting out the speaker holes. Bought washer head trim screws from the local hardware house when I was doing the interior on my Chevy powered gasser, so they were leftovers.

[BlackTopMotors]

That's a good idea...I may look in to working with that to create a good backing for various panels...what are you using for your headliner(s)?

[1971BB427]

The headliner was already new in mine. looks like they used some kind of thin flexible plastic and covered it with dark blue material. I'm going to pull it eventually and recover it in black headliner material too. At the price I'd rather have it black and not another shade of blue. The headliner material is even cheaper at Fabric Depot, so it will cost very little for a 60" width piece of fabric.

[1971BB427]

Swap meet in Portland last weekend, and I picked up a tube grille for $5! Problem was it's for a later Chevy without the center bar, but couldn't pass it up for the price. My egg crate plastic portion was beat, and pieces missing. Hard to see since it's sprayed flat black, but I see it, and it bugged me.
Today I got out the tools and the die grinder, and tore the front grille off. I took the die grinder to the tube grille and removed the center two tubes so that left 3 above and 3 below the center piece.
Then I took some measurements for the mounting brackets that attach to the radiator core support, and cut 2" off the brackets to set the grille back. After that I measured the grille and mounted the brackets to the core support. Then bolted the grille to the brackets and reasembled my hood latch and the turnsignals.
Now I've got a combination of original grille and tube grille set back slightly. I like it because it's not plastic, and personalizes the grille without modifying it too much.

[1971BB427]

Gradually knocking out the little issues with my Burb.
Got the new gas pedal in. Got the horn working correctly. Previous owner had wired a horn button low on the dash, wired horns and didn't use the steering wheel button or horn relay. I opened up the horn button and found the wire missing from wiper to horn button. Made up a new wire and connected it. Cut the hashed wiring and button out, and reconnected the steering wheel button, so it works now.
Also got some new buckets and bench seats from a late model Durango, so I'm going to swap out the ugly buckets, and have three rows of seats, with the back row a fold down.

[gcburdic]

that's looking good!!!

[1971BB427]

Picked up a nice set of leather seats today from a late model Durango. Got the front power buckets and the rear bench with fold down center section. Fronts will need some mods to make the front brackets horizontal, instead of vertical.
The rears will also need some metal welded to the stand to allow the rear to bolt to it, but they are worth the work. They lay down and fold forward, so they'll really add to the space for hauling things if I ever need it, plus I can leave them laid down for a cleaner look.
Hope to pick up new carpets this week, then install the new seats once it's all done.

[Bigblueburban]

Sooooo #1 your the first person Ive seen with the same spark plug wire separator that i have and Ive never seen how it bolts up so thank you for that. and second off I was about to start my rear panels and i was thinking the same idea as you. either Masonite or a door skin. truck looks nice though!!! cant wait to see the new seats

[1971BB427]

Originally Posted by Bigblueburban

Sooooo #1 your the first person Ive seen with the same spark plug wire separator that i have and Ive never seen how it bolts up so thank you for that. and second off I was about to start my rear panels and i was thinking the same idea as you. either Masonite or a door skin. truck looks nice though!!! cant wait to see the new seats

Thanks! It's getting closer to done! I am headed to the metal shop today to get steel to adapt the rear seat bases, and mod the fronts. Then over to get carpet and hopefully get it done by Fri. or Sat. if weather permits.
Gotta do the Burb outside in the driveway, 'cause the '71 Camaro, and '46 Austin gasser take up my garage space!

[1971BB427]

Well the weather held off all day, and it was a long one, but I got all the interior done!
Pulled out all the old carpet under the seats. (still have to do cargo area, but that will be a snap) Cleaned and prepped everything.

Laid down sound deadener. Removed the old frame supports from the backseat, and relocated them, then built a plate to span the new bolt pattern for the Durango backseat. Welded up a piece of box tubing on the back side to keep it ridgid, and add strength:


After bolting the plate to the supports, I laid the new seats on the frame and marked the bolt holes. New back seat:


Then I drilled the pattern and bolted the new seat in:

The new seat lays down to allow more cargo space if I need it, or just look cleaner if I want it down:


Saved the buckets for last, as they would be easier. Had to add a small L bracket to the front of each foot to make it bolt horizontal, instead of perpendicular to the floor. Just used a Kindorf L bracket and then marked the holes to drill with white chalk. Bolted the seats in after cutting the electrical plug off the driver's seat and adding 5-6' of wire to run to the fuse block. Fished the wire in and bolted the new buckets down:


Hooked up the wires to the fuse block, and cleaned up the driveway full of tools and welder! Here's the new setup:


The new buckets are really nice! Dark gray leather, with adj. lumbar support, and electric 6 way controls! Gotta go to the U pull it tomorrow and find seat belts to match the seats, and then it's done! Also want to see if I can buy a center console to go between the buckets. That will allow me some covered storage and cup holders!

[1971BB427]

Pulled up the cargo area mat and old carpet. Got rear lap belts for the Durango bench, installed the new carpet, and seat belts. The carpet is edged so it can be rolled up to haul dirty stuff!

[1971BB427]

Found new polished stainless rocker panel trim today for all three doors. Actually the rear door is a nice used piece, as new wasn't to be found. Got a factory console from the same guy. It needed a lot of cleaning and had been dyed black, so it needed a new dye job before going in.
Got the console tore apart, cleaned, dyed again, and installed. Fits perfectly with the new buckets. Also got the rubber piece to fit around the column, against the dash, and the metal to hold it all in place. Guy threw it in for free with the other parts! All 3 rocker covers, the console, and the free column parts for $125. Seemed like a great price.

[salvo]

Looking great! What year Durango did your seats come from?
Nice to know other Levergunners are here

[1971BB427]

Hi Scott! They weren't in the vehicle when I bought them, so not positive. Guy said he thought they were around 1999-2000 era.

[1971BB427]

Been a long time since I had any updates to post on the Burb. Pulled the engine apart to swap cams, as I wanted a little more power. I use the Burb to haul my gasser around, so I went with a Isky 264 Mega cam kit. Works well in the operating range I need for the Burb, and has a fairly smooth idle.
Also found a nice set of tires and wheels at the local swap meet to get a little more rubber on the road. I had 235-70-15 radials all around, and the new tire/wheel combo is 10" rear and 8" front, with 295-50-15, and 235-60-15 Coopers on ralley wheels. Picked up the set of tires and wheels for $500 at the swap meet.

[1971BB427]

Decided that I was tired of lifting that heavy clam shell upper tailgate, so I ordered the Volvo gas struts to do the conversion. I got the Volvo gas struts yesterday, and picked up 10mm ball studs from the hardware store today. They had 5/16 studs instead of 1/4", so I drilled and tapped the holes out to 5/16", and threaded one stud top and bottom per side. I did one side at a time, so the other side would hold the gate up.
After installing both sides I tested it, and it works slick! Easy to open with one finger, and the struts slowly raise it, and not too heavy while closing either. Now my wife will be able to actually open the tailgate! It was too heavy for her before.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by 1971BB427

Been a long time since I had any updates to post on the Burb. Pulled the engine apart to swap cams, as I wanted a little more power. I use the Burb to haul my gasser around, so I went with a Isky 264 Mega cam kit. Works well in the operating range I need for the Burb, and has a fairly smooth idle.
Also found a nice set of tires and wheels at the local swap meet to get a little more rubber on the road. I had 235-70-15 radials all around, and the new tire/wheel combo is 10" rear and 8" front, with 295-50-15, and 235-60-15 Coopers on ralley wheels. Picked up the set of tires and wheels for $500 at the swap meet.

I really like the wheels and tires. I had the same setup on my '67 Chevy shorty, except 7" fronts.

Originally Posted by 1971BB427

Decided that I was tired of lifting that heavy clam shell upper tailgate, so I ordered the Volvo gas struts to do the conversion. I got the Volvo gas struts yesterday, and picked up 10mm ball studs from the hardware store today. They had 5/16 studs instead of 1/4", so I drilled and tapped the holes out to 5/16", and threaded one stud top and bottom per side. I did one side at a time, so the other side would hold the gate up.
After installing both sides I tested it, and it works slick! Easy to open with one finger, and the struts slowly raise it, and not too heavy while closing either. Now my wife will be able to actually open the tailgate! It was too heavy for her before.

That would be a great upgrade for sure. There is also a thread on here about doing the same thing to the rigs with barn doors...

LockDoc

[1971BB427]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

I really like the wheels and tires. I had the same setup on my '67 Chevy shorty, except 7" fronts.



That would be a great upgrade for sure. There is also a thread on here about doing the same thing to the rigs with barn doors...

LockDoc

Thanks! Wish I had run across the post about this modification a few years ago when I bought the Burb! I've hated that heavy tailgate since I got it! Wanted to switch to barn doors, but at $36 for the 2 struts, and 4 studs, this was a easier and cheaper fix!