Suburban quarter replacement

[CG]

Originally Posted by FLYNAVY30

I'm with you Dave. Unfortunately, I doubt the demand is there. Just look at how little traffic this side of the forum regularly gets. Theres probably only 2 dozen or so of us the regularly check in over here.

I posted a thread a year or so ago about the popularity of the Suburban as opposed to the rest of the vintage SUV market. It still floors me how under valued these things are, and how under utilized they are compared to Defenders and FJs in the vintage overloading scene.

I do wish the fenders were available, as both of mine are full of rust and bondo.

I think the problem with this part of the board, actually the whole board, is that Facebook, Instagram, and a host of other sites have pulled the Lemmings from the board.

I dont have Facebook but have looked at a couple of links that have been posted from here. For the life of me I cant figure out why people that are actually passionate about our trucks have moved to Facebook. There is zero comparison. The quality is here hands down.

[Dieselwrencher]

The back of the panels might be different upon closer inspection of the body line angle. I still might cut these long bed panels depending on how high my rust issues are. I am still waiting on a couple of the burb repair pieces they do make.

[Dave]

Well, I decided to reach out to one of the major suppliers of sheetmetal for our trucks, specifically with suburban panels in mind. I explained the issues with 1/4 patch panels, the main one being the beauty/style line in the arch patch doesn't line- up with the lower panels style line. I asked if a feasibility study and the cost of a outer full 1/4 skin had been developed. I knew in part that this request had already been brought up but was unaware how far it actually had been developed.
As it turns out, the cost that was quoted was 180k for the outer skins to include the tail piece and 250k for the inner and outer complete. This cost covers the dies, tooling and fixtures, however these costs do not cover shipping and packaging. The ROI on manufacturing the panels would take longer than what's generally a accepted amount of time. This is primarily due to that there aren't many suburbans left or at least registered thru the BMV. I suspect this how they determined a starting point of possible suburbans that are out there, then how many of those would need and order full length panels. It's a logical and fair question indeed.
However, I was given an assignment to come up with a close up picture of a unmodified or untouched original suburban 1/4 panel and email it to them. Which I intend do shortly. I think the thought here is to make a panel that covers more of the wheel opening.
Lastly, I asked if they would consider making the 3rd door lower sections inside and out. This request seemed to be well received with the greater possibility of actually making it to manufacturing. I don't want to give any false hopes but I think as our trucks are approaching 50 plus yrs old and good used parts drying up there's needs to be more sheetmetal available for our hobby. Now, I know some of you may say... Why didn't you ask for rear hatch and tailgate feasibility? The short answer is we ran out of time, lol. But I will be in contact them again not to worry.

[FLYNAVY30]

that would be amazing

[pwdcougar]

I agree, amazing. Sucks for me though after months of work cobbling three patch panels together. Thanks for reaching out to them!

[HO455]

Wow! Good work. Dave drinks for free!
Looking forward to some updates. I hope I don't ever need another quarter panel but the 3rd door sill is probably inevitable at some point.

[KFF 1]

Originally Posted by Dave

Well, I decided to reach out to one of the major suppliers of sheetmetal for our trucks, specifically with suburban panels in mind. I explained the issues with 1/4 patch panels, the main one being the beauty/style line in the arch patch doesn't line- up with the lower panels style line. I asked if a feasibility study and the cost of a outer full 1/4 skin had been developed. I knew in part that this request had already been brought up but was unaware how far it actually had been developed.
As it turns out, the cost that was quoted was 180k for the outer skins to include the tail piece and 250k for the inner and outer complete. This cost covers the dies, tooling and fixtures, however these costs do not cover shipping and packaging. The ROI on manufacturing the panels would take longer than what's generally a accepted amount of time. This is primarily due to that there aren't many suburbans left or at least registered thru the BMV. I suspect this how they determined at starting point of possible suburbans that are out there, then how many of those would need and order full length panels. It's a logical and fair question indeed.
However, I was given an assignment to come up with a close up picture of a unmodified or untouched original suburban 1/4 panel and email it to them. Which i intend do shortly. I think the thought here is to make a panel that covers more of the wheel opening.
Lastly, I asked if they would consider making the 3rd door lower sections inside and out. This request seemed to be well received with the greater possibility of actually making it to manufacturing. I don't want to give any false hopes but I think as our trucks are approaching 50 plus yrs old and good used parts drying up there's needs to be more sheetmetal available for our hobby. Now, I know some of you may say... Why didn't you ask for rear hatch and tailgate feasibility? The short answer is we ran out of time, lol. But I will be in contact them again not to worry.

I totally agree with you on the 3rd door inner panel. The one that everyone sells is for a truck NOT a Suburban. I learned that the hard way after purchasing one and ended up buying another passenger side inner rocker then cut it down to fit . I made sure to document that in my build thread to spare others the aggravation I went through

[Antal]

Posted via Mobile Device

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by Antal

Posted via Mobile Device

Try it again Antal. Your message didn't post that time.

LockDoc

Originally Posted by Dave

Well, I decided to reach out to one of the major suppliers of sheetmetal for our trucks, specifically with suburban panels in mind. I explained the issues with 1/4 patch panels, the main one being the beauty/style line in the arch patch doesn't line- up with the lower panels style line. I asked if a feasibility study and the cost of a outer full 1/4 skin had been developed. I knew in part that this request had already been brought up but was unaware how far it actually had been developed.
As it turns out, the cost that was quoted was 180k for the outer skins to include the tail piece and 250k for the inner and outer complete. This cost covers the dies, tooling and fixtures, however these costs do not cover shipping and packaging. The ROI on manufacturing the panels would take longer than what's generally a accepted amount of time. This is primarily due to that there aren't many suburbans left or at least registered thru the BMV. I suspect this how they determined at starting point of possible suburbans that are out there, then how many of those would need and order full length panels. It's a logical and fair question indeed.
However, I was given an assignment to come up with a close up picture of a unmodified or untouched original suburban 1/4 panel and email it to them. Which i intend do shortly. I think the thought here is to make a panel that covers more of the wheel opening.
Lastly, I asked if they would consider making the 3rd door lower sections inside and out. This request seemed to be well received with the greater possibility of actually making it to manufacturing. I don't want to give any false hopes but I think as our trucks are approaching 50 plus yrs old and good used parts drying up there's needs to be more sheetmetal available for our hobby. Now, I know some of you may say... Why didn't you ask for rear hatch and tailgate feasibility? The short answer is we ran out of time, lol. But I will be in contact them again not to worry.

Hi, and thanks for your efforts on this. I'm getting close to the time where I would like to order some rear quarter panels that cover the wheel well. Was there any progress on this, or could you share the name of the vendor so I can follow-up with them to inquire?

PS - I need to start a build thread, but it's a daunting task because I could write a dozen pages on the preparation for the restoration.

Cheers,
Nick

[Dave]

Hi Nick,
Thx for reminding me to keep after this. I talked with the supplier this week about making the 3rd door lower inner and outer panels. He said they are reviewing market projections and cost on these items and should know something soon. New tooling will have to be made but for only one side. I asked how long it would take to get to market once approved, he said that it would be under a year. I'm thinking it could be 6 months or less. But the with the current supply chain problems with regards to overseas shipping it could be anyone's guess. With that said, I think this has a better than average chance of becoming a reality for 2022.

As far as a 1 piece suburban 1/4 panel section covering the rear arch area, I can say they're entertaining the idea but it's obviously a large commitment. When you consider there are repro bedsides or even blazer sides that could be cut down to fit in that area. Along with the lower patch panels being offered as well, it makes for a hard sell when you look at all of it. But I think its worth my time to push for a bigger patch panel covering the arch area, rather than trying match up 3 different panels or cutting down bedsides.

I'll be talking with them again next week, hopefully I'll have more info then.

[FLYNAVY30]

Originally Posted by Dave

Hi Nick,
Thx for reminding me to keep after this. I talked with the supplier this week about making the 3rd door lower inner and outer panels. He said they are reviewing market projections and cost on these items and should know something soon. New tooling will have to be made but for only one side. I asked how long it would take to get to market once approved, he said that it would be under a year. I'm thinking it could be 6 months or less. But the with the current supply chain problems with regards to overseas shipping it could be anyone's guess. With that said, I think this has a better than average chance of becoming a reality for 2022.

As far as a 1 piece suburban 1/4 panel section covering the rear arch area, I can say they're entertaining the idea but it's obviously a large commitment. When you consider there are repro bedsides or even blazer sides that could be cut down to fit in that area. Along with the lower patch panels being offered as well, it makes for a hard sell when you look at all of it. But I think its worth my time to push for a bigger patch panel covering the arch area, rather than trying match up 3 different panels or cutting down bedsides.

I'll be talking with them again next week, hopefully I'll have more info then.

Dave, thanks for keeping the press up. Ill definitely need both sides, and willing to pull the trigger whenever they become available.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by FLYNAVY30

Dave, thanks for keeping the press up. Ill definitely need both sides, and willing to pull the trigger whenever they become available.

Your welcome sir. I'll keep updating when I have any new info favorable or otherwise.

Originally Posted by Dave

Hi Nick,
Thx for reminding me to keep after this. I talked with the supplier this week about making the 3rd door lower inner and outer panels. He said they are reviewing market projections and cost on these items and should know something soon. New tooling will have to be made but for only one side. I asked how long it would take to get to market once approved, he said that it would be under a year. I'm thinking it could be 6 months or less. But the with the current supply chain problems with regards to overseas shipping it could be anyone's guess. With that said, I think this has a better than average chance of becoming a reality for 2022.

As far as a 1 piece suburban 1/4 panel section covering the rear arch area, I can say they're entertaining the idea but it's obviously a large commitment. When you consider there are repro bedsides or even blazer sides that could be cut down to fit in that area. Along with the lower patch panels being offered as well, it makes for a hard sell when you look at all of it. But I think its worth my time to push for a bigger patch panel covering the arch area, rather than trying match up 3 different panels or cutting down bedsides.

I'll be talking with them again next week, hopefully I'll have more info then.

Hi Dave, and thanks for the update. I hope you make some progress, though it seems my timeline is probably ahead of the potential for some of these new panels.

In the meantime, what do you folks recommend for patching the rear wheel well and bottom quarters? I see that there are wheel well patches (of various sizes) and the forward and rear panels surrounding it. Will patching these pieces together produce a quality result? It seems that there are so many panel producers that I'm getting confused, so any advice, would be appreciated (photos of the problem areas on my truck are shown above).

Many thanks for your efforts, and any recommendations.

-Nick

[52napco]

I havea few areas on the lips of mine...so I'll use a dented
OEM truck bedside to repair mine lip area...as far as the other patches
I'll take it to a buddy in Cedar Mountain NC and he will make
Anything needed and tig weld them in...you will never be able to tell
It's been touched

[Dave]

Originally Posted by nsiti

Hi Dave, and thanks for the update. I hope you make some progress, though it seems my timeline is probably ahead of the potential for some of these new panels.

In the meantime, what do you folks recommend for patching the rear wheel well and bottom quarters? I see that there are wheel well patches (of various sizes) and the forward and rear panels surrounding it. Will patching these pieces together produce a quality result? It seems that there are so many panel producers that I'm getting confused, so any advice, would be appreciated (photos of the problem areas on my truck are shown above).

Many thanks for your efforts, and any recommendations.

-Nick

Nick, I can only speak for myself but Keyparts seem to fit the best imo. You still have to do some fitment but overall quality is good compared to the competition. However, trying to match all 3 panels together around the wheel opening is still challenging.
Using a truck long bedside has been done before but is also a lot of work to make it work.The front lower part of the wheel opening on a long side is rounded where all the other models are squared off. You may already know that, just thought I'd mention it.
When any new info becomes available to me, I'll post it here.

[knuckle-nurse]

I would in for accurate rocker and quarter panels for my 70 Suburban restore.

[HO455]

Here are some measurements I took comparing long bed and Suburban panels. These are not super accurate but acceptable for comparison. I was surprised by the large difference in the length of the wheel wells. I wonder how many repaired Suburbans are out there with the pickup wheel well installed? Or maybe my Burban has the wrong wheel wells?

A shout of thanks to Basketcase889 who's photo I stole for the comparison. His excellent photography skills (and beautiful truck) made it easy to define where to measure the difference in the panel shape. His unmolested photo is here in post 263.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...703601&page=11

Also notice the differences circled in the last photo.

[Dieselwrencher]

Yeah, I noticed that on ours and I sold my long bed sides so now I am on to option 2.

[LockDoc]

-
Not sure if you guys saw the thread member "ebfabman" posted back in 2010 or not. It's in the Truck Tech forum.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=462896

LockDoc

[Dieselwrencher]

Thanks for that Leon. Efabman sure makes all that look easy and it looks untouched when he is done.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Thanks for that Leon. Efabman sure makes all that look easy and it looks untouched when he is done.

Yeah, I would have to have my friend Ron help me with something like that. That is a little beyond my skill level...

LockDoc

[Dieselwrencher]

I just got the rest of my patch panels. I'm going to try to start on rust repair on the wife's burb before May. Hopefully I can make it happen.