The Story Of A Cummins Suburban (Lots Of Pics)

[1985-GMC]

Man that sucks! That's a really sad thing to see happen to an old truck, especially yours; sorry dude!

[Dieselwrencher]

Man, I'm so sorry to see and hear this! If it is too bad, Sharpie, Dennis, has a really nice 68 burb body for sale. it is really nice! It would be a little work and a drive, but an easy way to keep your pride and joy if yours is beat to death and may be too hard to fix. Good luck man.

[lowrollin70gmc]

That sucks man. Try and put a possitive spin on it., you don't have to worry about painting it, just a new windshield, some airing out and vacuuming of interior, and keep on trucking.

Or give teach the little guy a hammer and dolly and put him to work for a little while, looks like he can weld decent.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

Man that sucks! That's a really sad thing to see happen to an old truck, especially yours; sorry dude!

Thanks. Yeah, I mentioned that to someone today that if I fix it I can't put the original faded paint on the new parts.

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Man, I'm so sorry to see and hear this! If it is too bad, Sharpie, Dennis, has a really nice 68 burb body for sale. it is really nice! It would be a little work and a drive, but an easy way to keep your pride and joy if yours is beat to death and may be too hard to fix. Good luck man.

Thanks. Yeah, it sucks, but realistically speaking it really isn't too bad. I checked it out this morning before we got in my other truck and it looks a little better than I thought. The hood is pretty bad, but I think the roof survived unscathed. The right quarter panel has quite a few pocks, but the doors look good. I did lose a part out of my grille, but there was no damage behind it. Mind you, this is all on the right side. The left side is the straight side and it is still straight. So all is not lost.

In one of the calls of condolences I received today, the question of what to do came up. The way I figure it, the only realistic option, keeping in mind my affection for common sense is to replace the glass and keep driving it. Unless I wanted to invest the huge amount of time required to straighten the whole truck and paint it or body swap it and paint it, there really is no reason to do anything to it. It all comes back to the fact that it is not a pretty truck (thank goodness). It's ugly. It doesn't stand much of a chance of changing its status from ugly anytime soon. Enjoy the divots and drive!!

So that is what I am going to do.

I feel really bad for some of my coworkers. Mine looks great compared to some of the cars and trucks. Nice looking vehicles, clean and shiny and they all have texture to them now. Sucks, bad.

Originally Posted by lowrollin70gmc

That sucks man. Try and put a possitive spin on it., you don't have to worry about painting it, just a new windshield, some airing out and vacuuming of interior, and keep on trucking.

Yeah, like I have stated before, it is not one of the pretty trucks on this site for a reason. If it was I would be on the floor crying at how much work got obliterated. But it isn't. It's ugly. Scratches, hail, bah, it all adds character!! Roll on!!

Originally Posted by lowrollin70gmc

Or give teach the little guy a hammer and dolly and put him to work for a little while, looks like he can weld decent.

I think hammer and dolly would soon become just hammer. Then I would get questions like "how did you get hail damage on the INSIDE??"

[t korinek]

That was one bad az storm, sorry to see you got the short end of the stick, it just rained a lot out on this side of town.
Maybe I have an orange hood laying around.

Paintless dent removal is also an option the insurance companys use after a storm like this rolls through.
Tom

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by t korinek

That was one bad az storm, sorry to see you got the short end of the stick, it just rained a lot out on this side of town.
Maybe I have an orange hood laying around.

Paintless dent removal is also an option the insurance companys use after a storm like this rolls through.
Tom

Yeah, I hadn't thought about the paintless dent guys. I wonder if any of them have worked with metal that is significantly thicker than tinfoil. I have seen them save panels that had some pretty impressive damage on them. Hmmm.

Yeah, we got hit hard there at work. I was talking to the UPS guy that pulls a long-box around my area and he said that a bunch of their equipment got damaged (tractors, parcel trucks, parcel cars, etc) along with every vehicle in their employee parking lot. They are about a mile away in the direction that the storm traveled, so it sounds like it did not lose any intensity enroute to them. I also heard from someone who was a couple miles away from UPS and they had windshields busted out etc. That is approx four miles away from work, so for it to keep its intensity that long, you know it was a mean one. I heard that Sanderson Ford got hit real bad. I saw a couple tote-the-note lots that had golf-ball finished on all of their inventory.

I'm glad you just got rain as I would hate for my parts supplier to have nothing but damaged parts for sale .

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by mosesburb

I'm glad you just got rain as I would hate for my parts supplier to have nothing but damaged parts for sale .

Isn't that the truth! Good luck either way you go. I would for sure try to do the paint less dent removal. Dry ice on a warm day works well on the thinner stuff, I'm not sure on the old thicker stuff. It's amazing how over the years how many vehicles actually have these hail dents. I'm guessing you don't see it in the older ones as much due to their structures and metal thicknesses obviously.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

It's amazing how over the years how many vehicles actually have these hail dents. I'm guessing you don't see it in the older ones as much due to their structures and metal thicknesses obviously.

Yeah, there is something to be said for the thickness of older steel as my truck had the least amount of sheetmetal damage of any vehicle in our lot during the storm. The newer the vehicle, the worse the damage and also the less expensive the vehicle, the more damage it got.

[corvetteman10]

I know it's been said many, many, MANY times throughout this thread... but this thread is truly awesome. I've read through it multiple times. I would absolutely love to build a burb like yours. I've always wanted to do a diesel swap. Unfortunately I am a student with no $$$ so this dream is a long way away. Your fabrication knowledge and overall mechanical knowledge seem to be rather extensive. Where did you acquire it? I am sooooo jealous. Are you in some sort of fabrication or engineering as a career? Cherish that Cummins burb and keep being a great father.

[Nova70]

Awesome build man. I've been throwing the idea around of trying to put a cummins, but I might go the LS route instead.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by corvetteman10

I know it's been said many, many, MANY times throughout this thread... but this thread is truly awesome.

Thanks!!

Originally Posted by corvetteman10

I've read through it multiple times. I would absolutely love to build a burb like yours. I've always wanted to do a diesel swap. Unfortunately I am a student with no $$$ so this dream is a long way away.

Nothing wrong with having to wait a bit. This truck is not my first vehicle (I still have my first, but this is not it). Get a good education so you can make a bunch of money without having to work too hard for it.

Originally Posted by corvetteman10

Your fabrication knowledge and overall mechanical knowledge seem to be rather extensive. Where did you acquire it?

We had no money when I was growing up, so I had to learn how to fix whatever broke (including vehicles). As far as fabrication goes, I took a welding class in high school, but beyond that I just look at stuff either physically or mentally and figure out what is going to break and add a plate here or a gusset there or use 3/8 plate instead of 1/4. It's funny, in all of my years of doing stuff, I have never been accused of building something too light. Not necessarily always a good thing, but it has served me well so far. I also have a friend that I bounce ideas off of and between the two of us we ususally come up with something very functional.

Originally Posted by corvetteman10

I am sooooo jealous. Are you in some sort of fabrication or engineering as a career?

Well, uh, no. I am a steering wheel actuator in a big truck that relocates freight. Maybe I missed my calling. <dunno>

Originally Posted by corvetteman10

Cherish that Cummins burb and keep being a great father.

Thank you!! I think I will.

Originally Posted by Nova70

Awesome build man. I've been throwing the idea around of trying to put a cummins, but I might go the LS route instead.

I like those LS motors. It is almost unbelievable the numbers that come out of a basically stock motor. It's interesting, I did all of this to mine and I'm awed by some of the conversions that I have seen using the LS motors.

[mosesburb]

So I got the glass replaced on the 9th. I was lucky and the same guy that installed it last year replaced it this time. The guy was very good. He managed to get it out completely intact. He even had his doubts, but he pulled it off.

That put the truck back in service. My boy had the next week off from school. Fall break. I want a fall break. I get to do the old-man thing with the "you know, we didn't have those fall breaks when I was your age...." But I digress. I took Thursday off to get a few things done with a planned adventure for Friday. I had put the BFG M/T's on it on Sunday, but the thing that I didn't like about them is they threw my speedometer off by an unknown amount. So first thing Thursday morning, the boy and I head down to get the speedometer corrected. What I did was I had them regear another correction box so I have one for the street tires and one for the muds. After that we headed over to the Mom and Pop parts house that I use. It oftentimes ends up as much of a social call as a parts run, but this time I actually remembered everything I needed. So we got our parts and headed over to my favorite bolt store to pick up some inventory. After buying waaaaay too much inventory (always happens there), we head over to Cabelas to get a few supplies for our Friday adventure. We get in and get out and all is well. That is until I go to start the Suburban. Yup, you guessed it, nothing. No click, no rrrrr, nothing. Just like a few weeks ago. It had not acted up since--no problems at all.

Well, this is not good. I have my boy crawl over and hit the key when I say so. I grabbed the hammer that I installed under the seat and ever-so-lightly tap the starter and the thing cranks and starts instantly (as usual). Hmm, a starter issue on a Friday adventure could be a real, real bad thing. I make a call to a friend at the mom and pop parts house and he is going to bring a starter home. We get home and I pull the starter out so it is ready to go. I then find out that the flight my MIL is on is coming in earlier than I thought. I have to take the Sub because my wife went to some appointment and left me and the boy at the house to pick up her mom. I need the Suburban all of a sudden. Er, uh, but it's got no starter man!!

So my buddy forgets the starter at the store. D'oh!! This is really not good now. He saves the day by having a co-worker bring it home with him (what chain stores would do this for you??) and I pick it up. I throw it in (almost literally) and I ask my boy if he thinks it will work. He says yes, and i say I hope so. I hit the key and we are in business. It actually sounds great. The old started had been going for awhile--possibly before I bought the motor. The new starter throws the motor over with no effort at all. I pulled my heavy-duty contacts out of my old starter and put them in a bag for possible future use.

Of all the things that Cummins did with their motor nothing confuses me more than the bolts they used on the starter. Every bolt on the motor is a reduced hex, flange head bolt. Every single one--except three. The three that hold the starter to the engine. Those three are reduced diameter flange head TWELVE POINT bolts. Why in the world would they do that?? Well, when I assembled this thing I could not bring myself to install those so I go the proper grade 10.9 reduced hex flange head bolts instead. How goofy to need a special socket just for that.

[jbclassix]

HA! Man the comments I have for that story! Cummins and starters... hmmm! Cummins engineers hate mechanics! Enjoy your 5.9L because that is the easiest starter to change on a Cummins engine! As for MIL and airports... that's like going to the dentist for me.

[Dieselwrencher]

Yeah, that seems to be the industry standard for starter bolts on a diesel. They might be nice at the factory, but are a PITA when the starter fails! I replace the bolts just like you do when I replace a starter to try yo save someone the headaches later down the road.

[ERASER5]

Originally Posted by jbclassix

As for MIL and airports... that's like going to the dentist for me.

Wouldn't that depend on whether the MIL is coming or going?

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by jbclassix

HA! Man the comments I have for that story! Cummins and starters... hmmm! Cummins engineers hate mechanics! Enjoy your 5.9L because that is the easiest starter to change on a Cummins engine! As for MIL and airports... that's like going to the dentist for me.

I believe that this is the easiest starter on a Cummins. With the six point bolts it took maybe ten minutes to change.

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Yeah, that seems to be the industry standard for starter bolts on a diesel. They might be nice at the factory, but are a PITA when the starter fails! I replace the bolts just like you do when I replace a starter to try yo save someone the headaches later down the road.

I was real glad that I had the foresight to do this when I put it in.

Originally Posted by ERASER5

Wouldn't that depend on whether the MIL is coming or going?

Nah, my MIL is great. She helps us out a whole bunch in watching my boy when work schedules get wierd, or doing the dishes because they were there or whatever. She is a very nice lady to boot!! I try to do anything I can for her to try to repay all of the things she does for us. She actually had a Super Shuttle scheduled, but I said that I would take care of it because I had the time available.

[Dieselwrencher]

You almost got burnt on the picking her up deal huh? That is my kind of luck right there too.

[mosesburb]

Ok, so at this point I have a truck that starts and runs. So Friday morning I head down to give the state a bunch of money and time so I am allowed to continue doing what I do for a living. I get done there and head home and load the truck up for an adventure. The adventure ended up becoming slightly abbreviated as my wife's half-day turned into more like a 3/4 day or even a 7/8 day. So we got a bit of a late start and even at that, I forgot a couple things. Oh well.

So the adventure as it was ended up being rather sedate, but a bunch of fun just the same. We left out of here and headed up toward Crown King. It is an old mining town/ghost town in the Bradshaw mountains. There are several ways to get there, but we took the easiest way by going in through the front door. This is not much of a wheeling adventure as it is graded and a passenger car can navigate it without much trouble at all. But hey, it is twenty six miles of dirt road and dirt is better than pavement so I'll take it.

Along the way in, we pass through the thriving metropolis of Cleator. It is about half way in and it has a bar. I bet this little bar can challenge some of the larger bars in Phoenix for revenue.



So, once passed Cleator, you are greeted by views like this:



So we got into Crown King at about 1600 and figured we would eat there so we didn't have to deal with cooking in case we had trouble locating a suitable spot to camp. We stopped at the Crown King Saloon to eat. The Saloon was brought piece by piece over the mountain from Oro Belle (another ghost town site) in 1901. It is a very neat old building. So anyways, we head out from there and head over to the Senator Highway. This is a dirt road that is very nice in some areas and rough in others, but generally a decent road. We head north on it looking for a place to camp. Several of the trails leading off of the road are closed to motorized travel. Swell. We pass many, many spots that are right off of the road where people literally get their wheels off the road and call it a camp site. Well I like a bit more privacy and less traffic through my campsite so we keep rolling and find a narrow little trail off the side. I turn down it and it goes in a ways and levels off. Off the side of the landing is a smaller trail that looks about the right size for a Rhino. I walk down a little bit and there are three trees on either side of the trail that are very close together. I figure I can get the compact Suburban through it. "What's the worst that can happen" I say as I point the truck downhill at the narrow spot. We get through with no scratches dings or dents and are rewarded with a great little spot. It looks like an adit pile, but I could find no evidence anywhere of an adit or shaft.

From up the hill:



A little closer:



It ended up being a great place with no noise, dust, or mayhem. I started setting up the truck for the evening and we got a nice sunset:



One of the things I got at Cabela's was a self inflating air matress. The last time we camped in the truck both my wife and I woke up with sore hips from the board we were sleeping on. Now mind you, I had a high density floor padding on the bottom, an eggcrate foam on top of that, two thick sleeping bags on top of that and we slept on top of all of that and ended up sore. Well, this little air mattress made the difference. It worked great!! I don't have a pic of it, but I did take a pic of the master bedroom:



I also took one of my boy's bedroom complete with the grand staircase:



We crashed out and got up in the morning and packed up to head toward Prescott. My wife and boy were wandering around and found a little furry friend:



When we were ready to head out, I took a pic of the view. Something about getting in the truck to go and the hubs are still locked, the transfer case is still in low range and this is the view (so much better than the driveway):



It was a good night and the air matress was worth the high price of admission. The only issue that we had was it got pretty warm in the truck when we were going to sleep. It did this the last time also but the ambient air temp was much higher then. I wrongly figured that the lower ambient air temp would take care of that issue. I started out in long pants and long sleeves and ended up in shorts and short sleeves. I need to figure out a ventilation setup with screens because we encountered alot of mosquitos up there.

So we head toward Prescott and see some beautiful scenery along the way:



I have a few more to add but I still have to load them.

[eagleuh1]

Another great story and pic's.

[Dieselwrencher]

Great story! Thanks for sharing. I would love to do a trip like that some day, but it will be a ways off I'm afraid. Do you have any pics and more info on that Saloon? That sounds pretty intriguing.

[1985-GMC]

Another very cool story. I just saw your thread on ck5 too haha.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by eagleuh1

Another great story and pic's.

Thanks!! We had alot of fun on this one despite getting such a late start. One of the most surprising aspects was after all of this trail running, highway to get there, highways coming back, in the end the gas gauge was showing just over 1/4 tank used. I couldn't believe it. I was going to fill up before we came home, but figured why bother as we were still well over 3/4 tank at that point.

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Great story! Thanks for sharing. I would love to do a trip like that some day, but it will be a ways off I'm afraid. Do you have any pics and more info on that Saloon? That sounds pretty intriguing.

Thanks!! No. In all of my/our haste to get out in the woods, I didn't take any--and it is kind of old-hat to us as I have been going there/seeing it for almost thiry years now so honestly I didn't evn think about it.

Here is some internet stuff on it:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_King,_Arizona

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

Another very cool story. I just saw your thread on ck5 too haha.

Thanks!! Yeah, I started that one first, but then I thought that I should do one here as I had been buying parts from guys over here and it was a more appropriate site for it anyways.

[Fry]

ever think about selling it (to me) and moving on to the next challenge?
Seriously I love everything about your burb, have dreamed about doing the exact thing for quite a number of years now. My search for a suburban has came up dry around these parts though. Thanks for putting in the effort for a good tread.

[hgs_notes]

I have a habit of waking early and come downstairs to see what everyone else is doing with their trucks to fill the time before work or whatever starts. I spent yesterday morning and this morning, and a little time last night reading this thread (I'm a slow reader). I'd like to have something new and witty to say to describe how much I've enjoyed going through it, but I don't. I'm not a diesel guy, but love the build and how you approached it. Very well done. I think you have a knack for writing too. Some of the phrases you used made me laugh. I like that you built it to use it. I love that you actually finished the project, so many of these threads die off or get sold incomplete. My wife is from eastern Idaho and I love going out there to visit. My brother in law and I will try to sneak off for a couple days of camping and wheeling sometimes and they are some of my best memories. I love the scenics pics, some of those could have been used for ads back in the day for GM.

I was wondering what the dyno report was. You had mentioned it was on one a while back but didn't say what the results were. Again, nice build, great thread, I really enjoyed it.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by Fry

ever think about selling it (to me) and moving on to the next challenge?

Ha, ha. Well, as they say, everything is for sale, but at this point in time, you would really have to overpower me (and my boy) with a dump truck full of cash because we really like it and I really, really, don't want to do it again.

Originally Posted by Fry

Seriously I love everything about your burb, have dreamed about doing the exact thing for quite a number of years now. My search for a suburban has came up dry around these parts though.

They are out there, but up by you they have probably decomposed back to the earth from which they came by now. If you really want one (and can't overpower my boy with dollars) look at craigslist around here as they come up fairly often for decent units (body wise), a little roadtrip and boom, you have yourself a Suburban.

Originally Posted by Fry

Thanks for putting in the effort for a good tread.

I'm glad you like it.

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

I have a habit of waking early and come downstairs to see what everyone else is doing with their trucks to fill the time before work or whatever starts. I spent yesterday morning and this morning, and a little time last night reading this thread (I'm a slow reader).

That's ok, I'm a slow typer.

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

I'd like to have something new and witty to say to describe how much I've enjoyed going through it, but I don't. I'm not a diesel guy, but love the build and how you approached it. Very well done. I think you have a knack for writing too. Some of the phrases you used made me laugh.

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. I originally started the thread as an answer to the statement that I often heard--something to the effect of "I'd lie to put a Cummins in this". So I figured, well, I'm doing it, I may as well show how I am going about it. I did not realize how much making this thread could actually motivate me to keep going when the process would bog down or get so much more expensive and take the wind out of my sails. I would often times sit here, like you, and read through it (yes, I know, I wrote it), but I would re-read through it and look at the pics and think of what needs to come next or someone would post up a comment or question and get me thinking about this or that and keep me slogging when I really did not feel like going out there. The fact that other people are enjoying just makes it that much better.

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

I like that you built it to use it.

I know of no other way to do it. I enjoy the super builds that go on around here and the cubic time and attention to detail that is put forth, but I can not do that much to a vehicle and only drive it occasionally (or never). I just can't do it. Every vehicle I have ever built was built to run. Check the fluids, fill the tank and let's go. Now, mind you I have built vehicles that look much nicer than this one, but the one thing they have in common (besides being Chevrolets) is that they all have been/are driven.

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

I love that you actually finished the project, so many of these threads die off or get sold incomplete. My wife is from eastern Idaho and I love going out there to visit. My brother in law and I will try to sneak off for a couple days of camping and wheeling sometimes and they are some of my best memories.

Yeah, I agree. It is sad to see so many projects wither from loss of interest, lack of time, patience or the worst lack of funding. It is a real long process and I know that alot of people who start the projects have no idea how much they are actually biting off when they start. Taking the thing apart is the first and EASIEST step. It only gets more difficult, expensive and time consuming from that point on. Then there is the famous question from the mrs. "how long until it is finished?? I honestly hope that I have convinced as many people not to do it and enjoy what they have as have been convinced to do it.

I rolled through Idaho probably twenty years ago, Very beautiful country up there.

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

I love the scenics pics, some of those could have been used for ads back in the day for GM.

It's funny you mention that as awhile back I did the dastardly deed of cutting the dash to put a real radio in it. It has a USB port for a flash drive and on that flash drive are some Bob Seger albums. One of the albums has the song "Like A Rock". When I play that I feel like I am IN a Chevy Truck commercial. I actually brought my boy in here awhile back and fond some old Chevy Truck ads with that song playing and the bouncing dooleys so he could see what a real truck commercial should be. He loved them!! (Who can resist a bouncing dooley??)

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

I was wondering what the dyno report was. You had mentioned it was on one a while back but didn't say what the results were.

I have only had it on two dynos on two different occasions. Twice for emissions and twice for the speedometer calibration. While it sounds super-ubercool (scientific term) on the rollers, neither gives me a power report. According to the literature from Banks, it should be at 230hp and 640lb ft of torque with stock pump settings. I have played with the power screw a little bit and advanced the timing so I'd say a little more than they claim, but probably not too much. I can add alot more fuel and some more timing, but I am really likeng the 20mpg in town that I am getting now.

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Again, nice build, great thread, I really enjoyed it.

Thanks man.