68 Burb - Project - GoldMember

[Twisted78SS]

Started to share the story already, but figured a build thread would serve to document the evolution.


Project begins a phased approach soon,
Phase one;

1. 5 lug Disc brake conversion with dropped spindles
   Rear axle swap to 5 lug 3.73 posi with 4 inch dropped springs
   Address body issues (rockers, trim, dents & bruises, panel alignment)

Phase two;

1. Swap in bucket seats and console
   Install Tach/vac
   Tilt column
   Install a factory cruise control
   Probable engine swap (she's running a bit tired today)
   Convert to 700r4 automatic

And well.. I am thinking that as we move into next winter, an extreme altitude adjustment will be in order to keep me busy..
More to come as I upload a few progress pics..

[Twisted78SS]

A few initial pics to show the original condition.. Seems to have faired pretty well after living in a barn for 20+ years..

[Classic Heartbeat]

Nice Suburban. Great find.. Looks ready to drive as is.. WES

[Twisted78SS]

Hey Wes,
She does run and move on her own, but there are still a few things to check out.. Gotta love those drum brakes... lol

Here is a couple quick runs up the street.. confirmed the brakes are not up to par, but I knew that already.

https://youtu.be/g_wtm0bpm1w

https://youtu.be/i6ePE7u8kTU

I Really plan on leaving the exterior as is for the foreseeable future.

[Hart_Rod]

Nice.

[Mr. D]

Nice find. Great looking burn to start with. Thanks for starting the build thread. What engine are you planning to go with?
Just as a suggestion, since you have the original build sheet and what appears to be the original motor, you may want to pull out the 327 and rebuild it (as opposed to a complete swap). If you decide to swap, I'd be interested in the original 327.
I'll be keeping an eye on your build.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Advanced Design]

Nice Burb and I am tagging along.

[Twisted78SS]

With work getting in the way lately, I have been basically just gathering and prepping for the 5 lug swap.

The front is nearly complete, the rear axle is ready and I have most pieces for the addition of power steering and brakes.

It will be another couple weeks before I free up space in the shop to get started, and by then I should have the last few items I need.

Some update shots of parts prep






This cross-member came out of my 68 swb, however since I'm working on A full PorterBuilt install on that now, it's no longer needed.. Glad it won't go into the corner and gather dust.

The 68 rear axle is one I built for my son's short wide, it has 3.73 and a posi. Since he's decided to build a twin turbo LQ4, he stole my built Dana 60 to go behind that I was saving for a future project...

[tommys72]

Awesome find! I'll follow along

[Hard Luck]

Looking good. I thought it looked like a nice one at the meet. I'll follow along.

[Twisted78SS]

small update;

I decided to keep the steelies for awhile, I have a pair of 15x8 Wheel Vintiques 62 Series on the way and will use some 255-70-15 tires on them for the rear.



The gaskets i needed finally arrived, so I had the rear quarter glass go in last Friday. Feels good to close up that enormous hole! It was just begging for the weather and every critter in the NW to come take a peek inside..

I now have the front cross-member re-build complete minus new hard lines, with the only remaining item is to fix both lower shock mounts, (someone previous cut them off.. $%? but that will be done this weekend.



I also got in the 4in. dropped springs for the rear, but now I am on the fence about whether to go ahead and bag the back now since my spare cross-member was already setup for bags and is what's going in the front.. I'll cross that bridge when I pull the axle and gas tank..



The front seat is out and now resides with my buddy Brad as I am switching over to bucket seats. I put a new ignition switch in as the old one was about toast and barely worked.
I pulled out my spare console and gave it a good cleaning in preparation for some new paint..
and my passenger bucket seat brackets arrived as well..

I'm off on Friday to take a peek at a replacement small block a good friend has, and depending on the deal it may come home as a replacement for the 307..
Beyond that, I have spent the last few nights trying to finish the Drop member mockup on Trippin Hazard..

More to come.. (Can't wait to get it to the shop and crack open this thing)

[Advanced Design]

Crossmember looks good. Painted or powder?

[Twisted78SS]

Thanks for looking..

This one is painted, first with two good coats of primer and three coats of black.

There were a few spots that were pretty nasty with crud, but virtually no corrosion.
The one in the Burb needs everything and is drum six lug, so it made sense to do a full swap while I'm giving everything else the once over.

[Twisted78SS]

While waiting for a spot in the shop and a couple parts to get the 5 lug conversion underway, I have been looking and found something to try and remove the buildup of haze on the windows..
Researched online some options and came up with CC550http://www.winsol.com/550.htm.
So tonight I tried it on one area of the windshield that is pretty bad. Looks like it's going to work really well...

Needless to say, I did part of the passenger side. The rest of the windshield was just cleaned and dried.. No kidding

[sierragrande71]

Looking good!

[Twisted78SS]

While still waiting for some shop space, the parts prep and clean-up continues on GoldMember..

I finished my first pass with the CC550.

Before: (with 20% done)




After:
I think this will do for awhile. (excuse my portable storage & mess in the background...)





I also plan on some mechanical polishing effort to work a bit on the wiper swath, then I will seal it all and call it good for now.

I also picked up a set of Strong Arm lower control arms to replace the old school originals which will also allow me to run the sway bar I have (much like the muscle Bar with end links)..

[Twisted78SS]

Well finally, its been way to long already, but I got Goldmember into the shop for some much needed love and attention.

First order of business was to snatch the hood off while my son was home over the weekend. After he left, I kept right on working.. I attacked the front clip carefully taking it apart and bagging/tagging everything as I went.

Here are a few shots of how things look after hiding out 47 years.. Not bad at all!




I also took a couple shots showing the current ride height of the rear wheel well and rear bumper..



It was getting late, and after riding a Century (100 mile bike ride) on Saturday, I was tired decided to stop here for the night.

I did however take a moment and start assembling the seats, here is a shot showing them with 73 up Blazer brackets, but of course they will get changed. Console is overall in great shape, will most likely leave it for now except I may put a better trim piece on it as the chrome has a couple spots not so nice..




More to come, pulling the engine / trans tonight.

[goldenburb]

Nice color Good luck.

[LockDoc]

-
Looking good! Looks like the parts are in pretty good shape overall..... That makes it easier.

LockDoc

[Twisted78SS]

Originally Posted by goldenburb

Nice color Good luck.

Thanks goldenburb, (dig the name..!) the color has really grown on me, and I've been itching to get this on the road before the weather changes.. Hoping any delays are small...

Originally Posted by LockDoc

-
Looking good! Looks like the parts are in pretty good shape overall..... That makes it easier.

LockDoc

Thanks LockDoc,
Always amazed to see/find that after all this time many items look this good. especially as we all have seen the opposite!

Only had an hour or so last night, so I continued with the tear down. My plan was to pull the engine/trans, well... I got close.. Only item left is to remove the drive-shaft and hoist it out which is where I'll start tonight.

Bottom of the core support looks as nice as the top side.



Found where I guess someone's previous tow job may have been exciting.. or simply used this one spot to tie it down? will correct this shortly



Here is where I left off for the night,



If you notice, the steering box is gone, sway bar unhooked etc... this is because I am going to pull the entire front cross member out right after the engine, and swap one I have nearly ready to go in with 5 lug disc brakes, bags, tubular lower control arms, and a beefier sway bar. adding power steering as well.

more to follow..

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks good, I'm following along

[tommys72]

Looks real solid

[71chevswb]

Can't wait to see this thing bagged!

[Twisted78SS]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Looks good, I'm following along

Thanks for taking a peek Ol Blue, having fun with her so far.

Originally Posted by tommys72

Looks real solid

Thanks, It's even better than I thought the farther i get into it.

Originally Posted by 71chevswb

Can't wait to see this thing bagged!

Me Too!!!! hope to have the front in before the weekend is over

[Twisted78SS]

I had to work late the past few days, so I've only had about 2 hours to work in the shop..

Here is a peek at the progress I Made, ( I didn't take a bunch of pics, but you get the idea)







I have a heater assembly restored and ready to go, so I'll drop the box off the firewall, stuff a new heater core in and after seeing if buffing out the firewall is sufficient for now, install that. If not, I will re-paint the firewall first.

Cleaning and painting the entire frame is on tap starting with the front first.
Plus, I have decided to go ahead and install my Accuair now. The more I thought about it, the more I didn't really like the idea of man-O-matic ride height...

Then I only have one item left (upper & lower ball joints) to replace on the cross member going in as I picked up 73-up style dropped spindles...

More to come