1964 Suburban Pics

[protrash64]

Originally Posted by mosesburb

Looks great!! It should be a real hoot with that big block in there.

Thanks mosesburb; read thru your thread and it was entertaining and informative. Good job.


Fixed an age old problem tonight; broken/missing hatch support on the upper clamshell. I met a couple guys a while back and both had 'burbs. One was a '63 and the other a '66. The '63 was traditional style in gold and the '66 was more streetrod style all in black. Both were very nice. Anyway, I learned from these guys that a 67-72 'burb hatch will fit the 60-66 if you mount it low. Sure as hell!!! Cruised the parts section on Monday and member 'teeitup' is parting a 'burb. Got the supports delivered today and installed them tonite. There is a little interference but nothing I cant live with. One must drill a lower hole and fasten the bottom with a nutsert or self tapper. I also picked up a missing tailgate latch mechanism cover from the same guys. Now on to the best part......the pics.

Oh yeah, the original 60-66 hatch support was stamped 'ATWOOD' and underneath it said Rockford, Illinois. Up north from where I grew up. I also included a comparison pic to show how much they beefed up this part for 67-72. I think they knew it was a problem. I still need to put in the lower screw.....got lazy.

[63burb]

Thanks for posting this up protrash64 because i also need some for my burb and i was wondering if they'll fit but know i know, thanks for the good info oh and also what set did you use for your rubber body mounts?

[AZ66GMC]

Nice work Jeff! keep the pics coming!


Tony

[protrash64]

Originally Posted by 63burb

Thanks for posting this up protrash64 because i also need some for my burb and i was wondering if they'll fit but know i know, thanks for the good info oh and also what set did you use for your rubber body mounts?

You're welcome 63burb. Like I mentioned before, there is some interference with the fit. Some of the mounting pins are rather tall and scrape a bit inside when closing the hatch. If you have a new paint job beware!!!!!! It may be able to fit with some lite filing/grinding.

I have not changed my body mounts....you may be able to use 67-72 but I am guessing.....the same guys I mentioned above used the 67-72 Steele Rubber tailgate/hatch kit for all the holes and plugs in the 60-66. I have not purchased the kit yet, but I have seen it and it looked perfect to me.

Originally Posted by AZ66GMC

Nice work Jeff! keep the pics coming!


Tony

Thanks Tony.....I will as there are never ending things I want to do

[Eagletucky]

Great info. Mine are missing on my burb as well.

Thanks!

[fryer1979]

Very good looking Burb Protrash, I really like where you're going with this one. When do we get burnout pics?

[jason65]

Originally Posted by protrash64

Fire in the hole


Started it up tonite!!! Fired off and scared the crap out of me with open headers. Have a couple small leaks to deal with but that comes with the territory. Also my neutral safety switch doesnt want to let the truck fire in PARK. The hard part is done; it runs.

That is awsome. The new mill looks great Jeff.

[protrash64]

Nothing huge to update, but I did finally get it out and cruise the 'hood a few times. Runs great, had to fill the trans with a case of fluid it seems and it started shifting correctly.

Found a pinhole in my upper radiator tank, so it's gonna get changed out for a new unit at some point. Also have my serp belt walking off my crank pulley...so I have an alignment issue. Pretty happy if thats all I have to deal with fixing.

[protrash64]

OK.......major problem with my Hurst shifter; boring shift knob. Cool shift knob that matches my previously installed 'bag-o-skulls' doesn't fit. I rolled down to the hardware store and picked up a 3/8-16 coupling nut and proceeded to cut it and fit it into the shaft of the 'cool shift knob'. Cool shift knob comes with fastening hardware to fix the coupling nut in place....

installation of the the knob is now complete. I think this thing is well on its way now.

[protrash64]

After finally running this thing for a while a few minor problems have crept up. It's to be expected and they are mostly just a PITA. My radiator had a hole in the upper tank......you can see a small white spot near the left center, about 3'' in from the edge. I also found my serp belt was running off the back of the crank pulley and found things to be out of alignment. I have dissassembled everything and have it spaced out 1/8''. I also cranked the harmonic balancer on and got a 1/16th'' out of it. I need a 1/4'' longer 7/16th's bolt and the serp system will be together.

You can see in the pic that the lower radiator supports were sectioned to increase the width by the PO. Low-buck mod if someone needs to do this. I will be grinding those out and doing my Summit radiator install soon. More soon.....it's time to get driving!!

[Dinos63]

DUUUDE WERE YA BEEN, I MISSED YOUR CALL SATURDAY! GLAD TO TO SEE THE SUB!

[protrash64]

Thanks Dino.......here is todays progress. Serp system back together and a standard Summit radiator. Also put in a 160* stat. After removing the mounts on the frame I replace them with urethane bumpstops which fit into the channel on the bottom of the radiator. I will trim the drivers side fender slightly and then make a mount for the top to hold the radiator in place. Looks like I'll need new hoses to replace my new hoses.

[protrash64]

Haven't updated in a bit as I've been busy and tired. Anyway....I've managed to get the radiator in and made a 'hold down' for it out of steel. It bolted to the top of the core support and used 2 more bumpstops. I was going to mount my fans on the radiator but the new bracket interfered so I scratched my head for a week or so and decided to make a shroud. I ended up combining my original idea with the shroud and making a one piece unit. It's not quite finished as I do not have my sabre saw right now. I need to mark and cut the holes for the fans. Used 16g diamond plate and think it turned out well.....check it!

[Alan's Classic]

Nice work!! It's fun making stuff even through all of the headaches it's worth it in the end.

[protrash64]

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

Nice work!! It's fun making stuff even through all of the headaches it's worth it in the end.

Thanx Alan; I agree. Plus you have original stuff that no one else has.

[protrash64]

Like a dairy farmer, I'm really milkin' this out!!! I finally cut the holes for my fans, assembled the shroud, and installed the whole bunch tonight.

Next is to get to a brake leak in the passenger frame rail.....

[Dinos63]

nice kaT!!

[protrash64]

Brake leak fixed......easier than I thought as I was able to get to the fitting and tighten it up. Fired up the truck and had 11 volts everywhere. It ran fine and the fans were going with the headlites on etc. Lot to be said for Optima batteries I guess 'cuz the alternator was not charging. Finally yanked it and took it down to the parts store and it was bad right out of the box. Exchanged it out and had it bolted on and popped off the 454 and it was happily putting out 14v. CS style alt with 105a output. I turned on everything and it kept up well.

Here's a pic of the alternator.......I dont know why, just happy that it wasn't something I did.

Next up is driving and getting/checking the trans for proper shifting.

[fryer1979]

Looking good man. I can't wait 'til mine is that close.

[1LOW4X4]

So cool! Subscribed!

[protrash64]

WOW!! Cant believe its been a year, but I drove this around the 'hood a bit but had issues. Mothballed it until now as its finally nice to be outside.

Cheap Summit ministarter was manufactured wrong and ate my new flexplate. Still had brake issues...frame was coated in fluid. So, being this close to driving the 'burb I decided to start tackling this stuff. New brake line and fitting in the frame right at the level of the starter. Didnt have my kill switch on and about welded my line wrench to the brake line!! Dont know if I have it sealed up or not. I began seperating the engine and tranny, removing exhaust, etc. I have it just about apart and I need to slide the trans back and R&R the flexplate. It sucks going backwards, however spending the time to put stuff together correctly with all the same hardware saves a lot of time. Highly recommended!!

Here are a couple pics of the new flexplate; got 5 bucks off cuz its grungy. And 5000lbs of truck about 2 feet in the air. I dont like to think about that when I'm under there....hope to get some updates of it rolling in the next month.

Also, I used a starter for a '95 454 and they are tiny. Smaller than my ministarter. Plenty of clearance and weigh 10lbs.

[babylonflyer]

Big UP !!! Very cool build

[gostranger]

cool update cant wait to see it out rollin to bad you couldnt get it done for Dinos party!!!!!

[jason65]

Burbs looking good Jeff. Good thing it broke now vs being out away from the house and costing you a tow bill.

[protrash64]

Thanks guys; nice to hear from you Jason!! I actually got home from work and went out and knocked out the whole flexplate and put it back together. Here are some pics that I took of the flexplate and the engine and trans seperated. I'm sure a few of you out there have seen this angle before.

I may get this running by the weekend, who knows?? I'm still leaking brake fluid and now realize that it must be the original line I put in 1 1/2 years ago. I'll get it straight one of these times.