My suburban's Twisted Little Sister

[Advanced Design]

Stretch, chop, continuing nice fabrication Dale. You must be in the shop about every day.

[62stepside longbox]

Awesome job! Whenever I need inspiration for my build I come over here and watch you build this masterpiece

[Bomp]

Making it look like nothing ever happened.

You know you're making me work at being better on my build now.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Bomp

Making it look like nothing ever happened.

You know you're making me work at being better on my build now.

And that is why we come on here to get inspired.

Not just the learning, but also pushing our own boundaries and expectations.

That tailgate looks amazing from sitting here in the comfort of my kitchen at the table having breakfast

[AJCK87]

I'm partial to the barn door set up, however your are killing it with the look on that clam shell! I'm convinced. Nice work

[65sub]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Stretch, chop, continuing nice fabrication Dale. You must be in the shop about every day.

Thanks Doug. We work it on pretty steady when life doesn't get in the way.

Originally Posted by 62stepside longbox

Awesome job! Whenever I need inspiration for my build I come over here and watch you build this masterpiece

Thanks Nik. Glad I can help but I expect your determination would get your truck built without any help from me.

Originally Posted by Bomp

Making it look like nothing ever happened.

You know you're making me work at being better on my build now.

Thanks Greg. I'm happy our little adventure can be of some help to you.

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

And that is why we come on here to get inspired.

Not just the learning, but also pushing our own boundaries and expectations.

That tailgate looks amazing from sitting here in the comfort of my kitchen at the table having breakfast

You're right Rian this forum is a gold mine of knowledge and inspiration and I mine it like an old time prospector.

Originally Posted by AJCK87

I'm partial to the barn door set up, however your are killing it with the look on that clam shell! I'm convinced. Nice work

Thanks AJ. I prefer the barn doors as well but I used the clamshell gates for two reasons. First, it fits the opening I have left and second I'm mostly using left over parts and the clamshells are leftovers.



After we shortened the sides of the upper gate it left a 5/8" gap at the bottom so we tacked in a filler piece. Then we cut the bottom inch off for later use. Next we mounted the upper gate on the truck The last thing we did was cut off the top section of the lower gate (the piece with the latch in it) and clamped it to the back wall of the truck.

[65sub]

We spent most of today removing the skin from the top half of the lower gate. The gate has 4 braces inside that are spot welded to the inner panel and the spot welds are nearly impossible to find. After we got the sheetmetal off we placed it on the truck to see what needs to be trimmed.

[lower50's]

OH YA that is going to look great.

[62stepside longbox]

Nice work, it's starting to come together

[65sub]

Originally Posted by lower50's

OH YA that is going to look great.

Thanks Lower

Originally Posted by 62stepside longbox

Nice work, it's starting to come together

Thanks Nik


Last week we found that the upper gate hinges were to loose so we spent a couple of days making new pins for them. Today with the rebuilt hinges installed we finished trimming the two halves of the gate. Then we tacked the lower half to the truck so we would have a stable piece to work with. Next we carefully aligned the panels and tacked them together inside and out. Then we cut the tacks holding the bottom half to the truck and tested the new extended gate.

[Johnny_Lamebridge]

Looks great Dale! The chop is really noticeable when looking at the height of the window opening. Cool

[CRGRS 66]

[65sub]

Originally Posted by Johnny_Lamebridge

Looks great Dale! The chop is really noticeable when looking at the height of the window opening. Cool

Originally Posted by CRGRS 66

Thanks guys. The rear window is only chopped 2.5" compared to 5" on the sides because it was short to start with.


We got the top of the lower wall tacked on. Then we filled the gaps at each end. And after a bunch of time hammering dents and trimming the edges the licence plate recess is ready to tack in.

[Palf70Step]

Really enjoying you project. Love your ideas and the magnificent metal work pulling it together.!

[lower50's]

Like your tail gate sticker says (Kick ass) Do you have a plan on when the burb will be done?

[62stepside longbox]

The work you are doing is great Dale, this is got be the craziest build to ever exist

[65sub]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Really enjoying you project. Love your ideas and the magnificent metal work pulling it together.!

Thanks Bill. We're having a lot of fun building it so I' m glad you and others enjoy reading about it.

Originally Posted by lower50's

Like your tail gate sticker says (Kick ass) Do you have a plan on when the burb will be done?

Thanks Lower. I'm terrible at estimating timelines but I would guess 2 years.

Originally Posted by 62stepside longbox

The work you are doing is great Dale, this is got be the craziest build to ever exist

Thanks Nik. That sets the bar pretty high but we'll do our best.


Yesterday we continued work on the licence plate recess.. We made a 6" diameter tube to connect the inner and outer panels. We also added a 1.5" strip to the bottom. Then we tacked the recess panel in place.

[Grizz1963]

...... Tell you what Dale

People out there who come to shows and look at completed or "rat" trucks and cars really have no idea of the amount of time and work that goes into these builds.

A "simple" job like the plate recess and tube you posted up above has to take a few hours to complete.
Then there is all the planning and thinking that goes into it. I often laugh at people who just cannot plan and see the end product toward which they have to work, it has to be tough for them.

For the first time in 25 years working in the medical field, I have a manager who rides a motorbike and has changed engines before, knows how to change a flat wheel, so one who would understand the work you do. Often it is real difficult to try explain what goes on in my world, sharing this sort of thing, and mostly I have given up trying to explain to them. However, your last post will be shared as I am again so impressed. Reminded that these things don't just fall together over a weekend.

Looking good.

[lower50's]

You are so right Grizz

[65sub]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

...... Tell you what Dale

People out there who come to shows and look at completed or "rat" trucks and cars really have no idea of the amount of time and work that goes into these builds.

A "simple" job like the plate recess and tube you posted up above has to take a few hours to complete.
Then there is all the planning and thinking that goes into it. I often laugh at people who just cannot plan and see the end product toward which they have to work, it has to be tough for them.

For the first time in 25 years working in the medical field, I have a manager who rides a motorbike and has changed engines before, knows how to change a flat wheel, so one who would understand the work you do. Often it is real difficult to try explain what goes on in my world, sharing this sort of thing, and mostly I have given up trying to explain to them. However, your last post will be shared as I am again so impressed. Reminded that these things don't just fall together over a weekend.

Looking good.

Thanks Rian. I'm pleased your job situation is working out so well. It's alwys nice to have coworkers that can understand the effort that you put into your hobby. You're definitely right that these projects don't fall together in a few days. The back of this truck has taken several weeks of work.



After a bunch of trimming and some POR15 we got the bottom sections of the upper gate ready to attach. We got the first one tacked in place to check the fit.

[Advanced Design]

Dale, the back end is looking really good. Imaginative design coupled with impressive fabrication skills is really fun to watch and learn from.

[65sub]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Dale, the back end is looking really good. Imaginative design coupled with impressive fabrication skills is really fun to watch and learn from.

Thanks Doug. I'm quite pleased with the progress so far and we're having fun building it too.



We installed the second half of the upper gate bottom then added some filler strips to fill in the gaps. There was one other adjustment that needed to be made. The striker on the lower wall no longer lined up so we shifted it over 11/16" and tacked it back in.

[Grizz1963]

And that striker Dale, is what it's all about.

Making stuff work just right.

Loving it.

[65sub]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

And that striker Dale, is what it's all about.

Making stuff work just right.

Loving it.

Thanks Rian.


I had an idea recently on how to modify the hood. We're going to try pie cutting it by slicing it on the body line on the side. so to start we drilled the spot welds at the front and removed the front brace and the front piece of the hood.

[lower50's]

Looking forward to seeing what you do with the hood!