C10 Suburban Update from East Africa

[Jay Pee Dee]

Finally got things moving again, assembly is going on well - by local standards... Ran out of patience with that pipe plug in the back of the block...It really didn't want to move one bit, even after heating it.

Crank thrustface clearance was a problem though, had to sand the bearing front face to get 0.002 and ended with 0.005 in the back (which is a bit too much for my comfort actually). Being in Africa...will have to live with it and go on.

Gotta love those Dupli-Color spray cans...

More later (got three pistons in the block already)

[70cst]

Hey Jay Pee Dee ...

to the forums and from Ohio.

Glad to have you on board and keep us updated with pictures

[vectorit]

Very interesting to read about a fellow Suburban aficionado so far away!
Tell us about where you are, and how you came about your Suburban.
Post up some pictures of your burb!

[Jay Pee Dee]

Thx for that Chris,

When I arrived in Kenya (Toyota and Land Rover territory) I was told to forget about finding ANY Chevy here and buy a Toyota instead (Me ??? Buy whaaat??! Yeah right!!).

Me being a bit stubborn I didn't buy ANY Toyotas , No Sir! :-) One day as I was passing by an "Oil Lybia" gas station (Yes! Still in the Gaddafi gang's hands at the time) a strangely familiar looking roof line sticking out of a crowd of parked Japanese 4X4 rice burners activated my peripheral vision [It all happened in a split second, later my driver told me he couldn't understand how I could spot a single vehicle on the back of a parking lot at such a speed and from such a distance - I'm a "Chevy Man" that's why :-) ] .

A quick head turn to the right and my Chevy brain switched to full alert mode....Ta-daaaah!!! An American truck from the sixties...It had to be one, that size, that unmistakable chromy visual appeal. That screamed GM USA to me. I had to make my driver turn around and get a closer look (You could tell he was wondering what I could have possibly seen that had me that excited ).

Couldn't believe it (It had to be an International Harvester or a Suburban and first visual indication was that it was a Sub.

There it was!

A 67-72 Sub ...In Africa!!! Gotta be joking! The beast was relatively well preserved (by African Standards and I have seen trucks in worse conditions in the US or Canada BTW) .

It was a 1969 C-10 with a 250 L6 mated to a Heavy Duty Muncie Four, had a (missing) Smog Air pump, crudely plugged head smog fittings but no power steering. Ignition wires looked duuuh...I'd say ...French!

The venerable Turbo Thrift started right up and was doing its best but it couldn't idle on its six cylinders with those funny looking ignition wires; the old screwed up carb wasn't helping either.

The inside showed its age but apart from the steering wheel which had been brutally abused by a frustrated gorilla mechanic (who used a cold chisel and a hammer to reach the direction indicator retaining screw) it didn't look too-too bad (Mind you the three bench seats were still in there!).

My concern was the oil squirting from underneath at the front pulley (Not looking good at all, I was fearing the worst). Also, the engine oil was black (when I say black I mean black - not even dark brown - it had a very strong gasoline smell which also didn't augur too well for the engine's survival - Was already mentally figuring out how much shipping would cost on a new crank).
From what I understood the vehicle was the only survivor of a family of six brought in Kenya by the US Embassy in the early seventies. Makes sense). I later approached the Embassy for a some old documentation or pictures but to no avail (Too young these State Dept people, I must be gettin old and dumb :-))

[project 67 sub]

heck yah man, nice find
Posted via Mobile Device

[LockDoc]

-



That's a good looking truck. I hope you get it on the road soon. Be sure and keep us updated on your progress.

LockDoc

[lolife99]

Welcome to the board.
The SPID sheet on the glovebox door is very interesting.

[superduty_59]

That looks nice! Where are you from originaly? What are your plans for the Burb?

[Jay Pee Dee]

Originally?? Been all over the place. You might call me a globalized citizen. I hold a UN LP and a European PP from one of the low lands (No, the other one, small and very-very low LOL)

Strangely I come across as an American or a Canadian, dunno why (Maybe because my North American accent and tastes Go figure). I feel right at home in the Pacific North West. Nothing like a good cuppa coffee, beacon and eggs, cheese cake and a clear morning view on the Pacific (with classic and hot rods nicely parked outside; their chromes shining under the West Coast morning sun)

When I bought the truck the plan was a three year tour in Kenya and and time wasn't an issue. Now all of a sudden I have to dust off ..which complicates things quite a bit (I really hate to work on an engine when I have to catch a plane in a hurry – No Napa or Lordco OTC parts at the street corner to correct last minute cock-ups here! ) ...I won't even have the time to sell it. I think I'll take it with me to my next gig which is going to be in Europe of all places...(where I already know where to find a 292, 2 X 250, and a couple of 350s - [HeHe]). I also left a 1948 Stylemaster in that part of the world (Super clean and original I'll have time to wake it up ).

I think the Burb could come handy in my international move. I'm tempted to go for an all out frame-off restoration in a couple of years. There is such an abundance of decent reproduction parts it's hard to resist.

Lucky I had the gardener around to help me pull that block to the upper yard. Carried heavier engines before but can't remember when. The difference of weight with the crank installed is phenomenal. Had to remove the pan one more time this morning to correct rod bolts torque - Had torqued them to 40 Ft Lbs...which is for the 292 NOT the 250. That mere 5 Ft Lbs difference was clearly noticeable when I turned it by hand (Pheeeeew! Disaster averted...).