1966 C20 LWB onto 1977 Suburban C10 Chassis

[Nopocustoms]

First, I am new to the site I find it to be a great help in research, so for my first post - I have some questions, the trucks story, the plan, and many pictures of the build coming very soon!

I am 31, been a car nut since 14, I currently work for the Military full time and have a hobby shop that takes up all my free time! I also have a slight fishing problem...

The truck, during my last Iraq deployment I had my little brother on the hunt for a 60-66 chevy truck for me - and a week before I came home - he saw this gem on a flatbed heading down the road towards Schnitzer Steel (scrap yard) He honked and flashed his lights - the guy pulled over, and sure enough - My brother gave him 400 bucks for it on the spot - The guy even had a clean title in hand, and it was a 1 owner truck with 75 K miles on it -

It is 100% original and has a nice patina -
4 Barrel 327
TH400
Mark IV Roamer AC
Drum Brakes all around

The day I got home, I pulled the tank - cleaned it up, sanded the points - and she was a driver, after not moving since 1977. I cut some coils, Heated the rears and put about a hundred miles on it - then all the stuff that sat started failing - the brakes are done - lost 3 wheel cylinders and the lining fell off the rear shoes - the transmission doesn't always shift into 3rd. You get the idea - I love the truck however and bought a super clean 1977 suburban c10 2wd with a 454 and TH400 for about the cost of a full brake job and steering box on the 1966!

So - What hang ups will I hit when I pop the Burb Body off and set my cab on it? I have A Mig, Tig, Stick, OxyAcet, Plasma Cutter, bandsaw, tubing bender, drill press, lathe and milling machine at my shop, so I have no concerns about cutting off and welding on body mounts and such - I am concerned about the floor pan - but the frames appear to be the same width front and rear?

I originally intended to use the front crossmember, and rearend But I like the way the burb drives, and it would seem better to chagne the whole mess as opposed to hangning it together. Thoughts?

Thanks I look forward to the responses.

[padresag]

put the gear from the suburban into the existing truck. it is going to have the same suspension and steering that the suburban had. a lot less work and a cleaner installation and you wont have to worry about the MVB with different frame ser nbrs
ron

[jonzcustomshop]

keep your 66 frame
the sub front x member will unbolt and bolt back to your frame with a minimum of drilling(4 holes if I remember, and 2 just need to be ovaled out..)
unless you are doing 4x4 the sub frame is going to look funny, because you will need about a 3 inch body lift to clear all the x members. the sub frame is also 2.5 inches longer.
on the rear you could either stau with the coil setup, and buy some new axle perches (cpp is one vendor I know of ) or drill the rivets and relocate the sub leaf springs to the 66 frame.

it looks like your 3/4 ton rear cab mounts need to be re-vulcanized... you can get that done by steele rubber co., or tony at 456 chevy trucks sells repro 1/2 ton style rear frame mounts.

[UK62LW]

Just wanted to say cool truck and a great story!

I have a 77 frame under my 62 (rear of cab was notched to sit it right down) - it was done before I shipped it over so I can't comment on how easy/difficult it was, but it drives great. There's a few pics in the link in my sig if that helps.

[Nopocustoms]

Thanks for all the great input, I have no interest in a 4X4 Conversion - I was under the impression for a 2wd the cab clearance issue was no concern as the rise in the frame on suburban chassis occur after the cab on a burb frame, and a pickup fram has the rise in the cab area??

I understand it would be straight up to just to swap crossmembers, drill and install rear-springs / rearend, but I also want the motor / trans - I think my course of action will be to remove the burb body, and pull my cab and just see what it looks like - it would be easier for me to shorten a frame, driveline, and exhaust system and notch a floor pan then to swap crossmembers, motors, transmissions, etc -

PIctures soon, I hope to take the body off the burb friday.

[padresag]

4 x 4 has nothing to do with it. do you want the body lines from the cab to the box to line up. either you have to raise the cab and frt sheet metal mounting or raise the floor of the bed
the motor bolts back in on the perches and I think that it would be much simpler to install a rear trans cross member than chopping a frame and mounting a body, but hey every one to their own
ron

[chevyrestoguy]

I used the suspension from a '79 Suburban on my '64. Keep your original frame, it'll save you a ton of headaches.

On the front, you'll need to drill 2 new holes and elongate 2 others. Bolts right in. Done

On the rear, strip the spring perches off of your '77 rear axle, buy a new pair of 60-66 perches and a super trackbar kit from Early classic. Done

With a few days work, that truck can be a roller with better, later, safer stuff.

[chevyrestoguy]

.....I think my course of action will be to remove the burb body, and pull my cab and just see what it looks like - it would be easier for me to shorten a frame, driveline, and exhaust system and notch a floor pan then to swap crossmembers, motors, transmissions, etc

I know your mind is made up, but that's waaay more work. You'll have more time in building cab mounts and getting them square than you would swapping the crossmember. Plus, you can use the Suburban trans crossmember with a little bit of work. It's a Chevy, you'll be amazed at how much you can use off of that Surburban

[padresag]

he was more than likely just looking for validation of his orig statement. sometimes you can't tell people things
ron

[Nopocustoms]

Originally Posted by padresag

he was more than likely just looking for validation of his orig statement. sometimes you can't tell people things
ron

Ron,

I appreciate the input- but I was really looking for people who have been down this road, and had good or bad experience on this swap - I do apprecitate the input - but it appears from a search or response that the issues I will see either apply to to a 4X4 Swap, a Truck vs Suburban Swap, or a floor pan swap -

To make my plan more clear, the burb body will be scrapped - which will pay for the cost of the burb - and the cab is coming off the chassis anyways - so I will take plenty of pictures and document this to save the next guy problems -I am in no rush, and I don't drive the truck daily.

Thanks for the input.

BTW great heads up on the body mounts, Odd that the C-20 mounts are weaker AND more expensive!! I love this site

[Captainfab]

I have been down a similar road, just with a pickup frame instead of a Suburban frame. IMO there are several reasons to keep your original frame. Probably the biggest is the possible titling and licensing issues with a frame VIN different than the cab VIN.

While the body mount fabrication is a piece of cake for me, I would not make this conversion again if I had a choice. It is far less work, and with a better end result to swap all the suspension and drivetrain as already mentioned.

Here is a thread I started last year showing the result of what I did many years ago.

http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vboa...d.php?t=481023

[Nopocustoms]

Thanks for all the information so far, I really want start yanking things apart - and taking tons of pictures - If anything, I can get plenty of measurements, might be a good time to use the CAD program I paid way too much for a few years ago to map out stock frames on at least two different trucks...

Pictures - soon very soon...

[Nopocustoms]

Work has been crazy, I finally got a chance to take some pictures of the Parts Truck -- It actually runs and drives super nice, and has a clean title and good tags. Part of me hates to cut it up and scrap it - looking at the 66 makes it more tolerable!

No matter how this goes I will have a wrecking yard dilemma - I have clean clear titles on both the Sub and the C-20 - Oregon law is pretty wacky about what necessitates a vehicle, and what is just scrap metal... I don't want to sit on 2 frames and 2 bodies all spread out, until I get the plan dialed in, and the title has to go to the wrecker for a body OR a frame... Worst case scenario - the plasma cutter gets a work out on either the C-20 frame or the Suburban frame...

Thursday I intend to pull the body off the sub - and scrap it, then I can pull the clip, box and cab from the 66 and start the side by side frame measurements to dial in the final plan. I will ensure to take plenty of pictures and measurements, hopefully It will help someone else !

Thanks - foreward progress due soon

[Nopocustoms]

Finally some foreward progress, Started last night by pulling the front clip and body off of the sub - surprisingly easy! In under 2 hours the chassis was sitting on the wash rack, and the body was sitting on the car trailer - I posted it on cragslist for parts, if no one comes this week she goes to the scrapper.

I pulled over the truck and got out the trusty measuring tape - it's amazing how close they are 2.5 inches in wheelbase seemed to be the best answer I found from the internet and from the trucks themselves.

I am concerned about it sitting too high, the 454 is 3" taller at the top of the aircleaner than the 327, however I have 5.5" to the hood, the front frame horns on the sub seem to drop about 1 inch more than the 66, and the cab mounting hieght is 4 inches taller - from the ground, 1.5 taller from the bottom of the spindle.

[Nopocustoms]

The measurement from the front spindle centerline to the kickup was 4 inches longer on the burb, so I chose to pull the 2.5" out from behind the carrier bearing - It will made it easier to pull the driveline, and cut 2.5 inches out of it - I may try it myself, I am fair with a lathe, but I have no idea how to balance it. It may just be worth the 50 bucks to have it done downtown.

[Nopocustoms]

To date that SheetRock square I bought has been the best single investment I have ever bought in a tool! For 19 bucks it helped me sheetrock my house, used it to validate a ton of Model T Type Frames i have built - and it generally bad ass!

Once it was laid out, I let my dad take a turn on the plasma cutter - the second best investment we have ever made!

[Nopocustoms]

I failed to show the cut exhaust, pretty straight up - brake out the sawzall, and lop off 2.5 inches, this exhaust may be temporary anyhow -

Then after the cuts, make sure you think about where to put the jackstands, it didn't occur to either of us that the rear bumper and trailer hitch may just wiegh more than 30 inches of frame rail... Total teeter totter situation.

[Nopocustoms]

Not rocket science here, just used a few tie -downs to pull it in tight after a good clean up with the grinder. I was pretty amazed how square it cut, it didn't distort, and a floor jack under the crossmember was all we needed!

A couple of cross-measurements to validate, a quick straight edge on the frame rail top, bottom and side and it looked great.

Normally I encourage people NOT to grind welds when doing frame work, however this was welded top, bottom, inside and outside, and a fishplate is going on top of the outside weld, with a gusset on the inside. I will also plate the inside of the c-channel to box the frame 3 times the hieght (18 inches) If you drive it into a wall at 50 MPH the boxed / plated portion of the frame will be the only straight part left!

[Nopocustoms]

The not so exciting stuff - when I shorten frames, I have had pretty good luck mig-welding the end of the park brake cable back on it self, then cutting off the extra cable. One time I chose to just shorten the rod that holds the cable, but it changed the angle enough the passenger side wouldn't move -

I hate diamond plate - but I had a big chunk laying there, and if I end up channeling the mess over the frame no one will ever see it - I will pop for some 3/16 plate for the inside, as it may get seen from the underside.

A quick cutting and re-flare saved the rear brake line. If I did the driveline, it would be back to a driving chassis -

Pretty happy with the results, it went very fast - so if I opt to pull the from crossmember, motor, trans, and rear suspension, I am only out 2 additional hours of labor. After all the cutting, the kick-up is still 2 inches further back than the 66 frame.

I may eat my words, but I don't forsee any floor pan work, unless I channel it to make it lay frame - I even think I will be able to build new rear mounts to use the Suburban Doughnuts on the rear cab, replaing the piece of crap mounts used on the 66 c-20

I wish I had more free time, I am around 6 hours into this project, and want to just trash all day and night - so it would be ready for next wednesdays car show!

[Nopocustoms]

Couldn't get all the pics on the last post...

The fish plate, and the brake line.

Time to go BBQ some beef and hang out with the wife!

Hopefully more tommorrow, (like pulling a 66 cab, measuring and installing some body mounts for a test fit!)

[Nopocustoms]

Overall of the frame

[MikeS.]

Very nice and a great update. Enjoy the bbq with the wife.

[Nopocustoms]

First thing I did this morning was pull off the cab and front fenders, I left them all assembled - this way I shouldn't have to pull my hair out re-shimming everything.

[Nopocustoms]

I rolled the chassis over from the other bay, and wheeled her right in - a quick check of the measuring tape showed me that the radiator and AC pump had to go until the body was lowered over it - Then roll it into place, using my hight tech masking tape plumb bob.

[Nopocustoms]

Lowering the body, and the plumb bob