My 56 Suburban Carrier

[rapid49]

Here's a couple of pics from yesterday . I set the cab on , now it's time to get busy !!!!

[mongocanfly]

wow..that's a lot of holes in that firewall...looking good

[oldman3]

Nice repairs, and looking good...Jim

[rapid49]

I've been really busy . Here is a quick update. I roughed in the bodywork on the cab corners , gas filler hole and rust repair with some all metal sanded and epoxied the cab. I still have to skim coat some filler and prime/ block sand . That will come later. I decided the drivers door wasn't fixable in the time frame I'm working with . I bought reproduction door and it fits pretty good ! I installed a pedal and booster kit from Ebay. It had a pedal ratio of about 3.6 so I modified it to get to about 5 to 1. I'm also working out the steering column. The steering shaft is tight but it should work. I'm currently adjusting on the steering column angle . I think I'm going to have to shorten the steering column to get he best steering wheel position . But that may come later as well. I am trying to get it drivable for Cruising the Coast (October ) .But I don't know if I will make it , still so much to do.

[mongocanfly]

a repop door that fits?..that's amazing...
trucks looking good..

[ChuckDriver]

Sweet build!

[rapid49]

I quit early tonight so I figured I would give a little update. I stripped the paint off of the bed and did some block sanding then shot it in epoxy to match the cab. I also shot some color on the interior. I am working on the drivers door ,I replaced the bottom and getting both doors ready for a coat of epoxy. Here are a few pics.

[ChuckDriver]

Looks nice!

[LCA1971]

That is a great looking truck!

[rapid49]

It's been awhile since I've updated . I'm making progress ,but not as much as I had hoped for. It wasn't even close to being ready for Cruisin the Coast , but I have added more to this build since that deadline was imagined. At this point I just cant rush it, it will get finished when it gets finished . As we all know the devil is in the details. I got the steering column done , the door hinges rebuilt , the doors hung and the front cap including inner fenders on. I also sent the ECM to Brendan at LT1 swaps .com to get flashed , mocked up the gauges and started on the minitubs .The air intake is done for now. I am almost done cleaning up the engine harness. It still needs to be installed as well as the harness for the rest of the truck. So many details to attend to . Since being on vacation I have lost focus , My A.D.D. is kicking in . It's time to get focused and get back to work. I am going to concentrate on the wiring for now as I feel it is the biggest challenge left to do. Here are a few pics .

[rapid49]

Oh yea , I forgot to tell you I appreciate the comments and reading all of your builds with all the info that you share on this forum . It is great inspiration and motivation !!!

[Advanced Design]

Looking good rapid!

[G&R's57GMC]

Nice build . I've got on of those too that is waiting in line for me to get to it.

You say you started it this year , man are you making great progress .

What kind of work schedule , daily 2-8 hours or something else ?

Keep us updated

[rapid49]

Originally Posted by G&R's57GMC

Nice build . I've got on of those too that is waiting in line for me to get to it.

You say you started it this year , man are you making great progress .

What kind of work schedule , daily 2-8 hours or something else ?

Keep us updated

I am working on it as much as I can. The most work is done on the weekends . My usual work week is four ten hour days , so I try to work on the truck at least two days a week. Right now I am working on wiring ,which is eating up a lot of hours. I hate wiring.

[G&R's57GMC]

Gee 2 days a week for a year ... Good Grief ! Just imagine if you had worked on it 6 days a week it would be done before you started at the rate your going ! LOL

Keep us in the loop .

[rapid49]

For some reason I'm having trouble uploading pics . I have been steady working on this thing , lots of details and loose ends to tie up. Still more wiring to do. I started the engine up yesterday . It sounds good but the fuel pressure is low. I ordered a new fuel pump and we'll give that a try. I am on vacation next week and hope to get a lot done , maybe a test drive ! I still need to install lights , bumpers , glass . a seat and a few more things but I am so ready to drive her !!! I will try to get some pics posted.

[rapid49]

She is running and driving !! I have busy but I haven't taken many pics . The lights are working and the windows are in . I have put about 20 miles on her. I still have lots of details to work on ' but being able to drive her is a major milestone ! I will try to get more pics and post some of the details soon. I will be working on the bed and bumpers next , as well as a long punch out list of small details . I am going to drive her to work tomorrow ( about 40 miles round trip ) that will be a pretty good shakedown run !!

[bluetrim]

Looking good! What did you use for radiator mounts? Is the throttle pedal very sensitive on the LS?

[rapid49]

The current radiator is from my 57 sedan . I made some brackets from an old 57 sedan radiator support . I will try to get some picks. The throttle is typical for a fuel injected throttle by wire. The throttle response is crisp.

[rapid49]

Originally Posted by bluetrim

Looking good! What did you use for radiator mounts? Is the throttle pedal very sensitive on the LS?

Here are a couple of pics of the radiator mounts from the top. I should mention that this is a chevy radiator support. This setup is temporary as I am going to change to a chevy truck radiator at some point and this one will go back to the sedan. Hope this helps.

[joedoh]

man that looks nice, my brother knows I want a 55-57 big window, I was planning a fleetside bed and he is trying to talk me into a cameo/carrier bed. your truck makes a great argument for him!

[rapid49]

It's been awhile since I've updated. I've put over a thousand miles on it and I'm proud to say they have been drama free with no issues of any significance. The truck handles great and is a absolute blast to drive !! I got the bed wood installed and repaired and painted the bumpers and grill. I still have to work on the emblems , tailgate and the rest of the trim. I am sorry to say I haven't taken many pics but here are a few. The wood looks discolored in the pic but it was wet . I will get some better pics. you can also see a seam in the right rear corner of the bed where I made an access panel for the fuel pump and battery. One of my priorities in this build is being easy to work on. The sides of the bed will get bedliner after the angle strips are installed. I covered the bedwood with a nice heavy duty rubber mat I found from Summit to protect the wood from the day to day hauling parts that this truck will have to do.

[rapid49]

It's been quite awhile since Iv'e updated. Iv'e been really busy and gotton a lot done. I got my vintage air installed and also a sound system . I will try to get some pics soon . I have been working on lots of details. I updated the front suspension to coilovders with Speedtech control arms with Viking shocks. Iv'e also been working on a compressor for the airbags to be able to tow my camper. Which brings me to to my latest achieved goal . We took the old girl on vacation while pulling the camper. We went Chattanooga ,Birmingham and Atlanta with the Powertour and then hung out in the North Georgia mountains for a couple of days.I am happy to say the truck performed great with almost no issues ! (I lost a couple of control arm shims and broke an exhaust hanger) Anyway here are a few of the pics I do have.

[joedoh]

super great! love the camper

[oldman3]

Cool pics, glad everything went fairly well on the trip...Jim