53 Surburban "Family Truckster"

[youngrodder]

Well, I'm still alive and so is my project.

Youth football ended last Saturday. I couched my sons 3-4 grade team. We won our last game and the kids had a blast. It was a nail bitter 12-7. I have just a little bit of yard clean up and then I should have even more garage time. Porterbuilt completed the front core support bracket. I mounted it up. I like the simplicity of PB designs. On Friday I will receive my PB steering shaft bracket and carrier barring. Tonight I ordered up my (3) universal joints and steering shaft. To clear my headers I need to go with a 2 piece sheering shaft. I already purchased an Ididit column so I should have steering figured out.


Marc

[Advanced Design]

Good to see you back on the Burb Marc. The core support is very trick. PB has good looking parts!

[oldman3]

That's a sweet looking bracket...Jim

[RockinKees]

Looking good Mark!!

Looking forward to more build pics in your football off-season

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by RockinKees

Looking good Mark!!

Looking forward to more build pics in your football off-season

You and me both. I did get 90% of the steering column and shaft mocked up/figured out. I'm waiting on one more universal joint to complete the install.

I will get some pics this weekend.

Marc

[youngrodder]

Tonight I worked on finalizing my steering column mount. I couldn't totally complete it as I'm waiting on a universal joint and a drop column mount. I also threw the front grill on to see how it fit now that the core support is attached. The Porterbuilt carrier barring bracket worked slick.

I also started trying to figure out how I can run 22" wheels out back. The challenge with Suburban's is how the rear fenders attached to the body. It limits you on how much you can cut out of the rear body structure. I have an idea how I might make it work. I also started to figure out how much I need to narrow my rear end in order to run a decent offset on the rear rims.

It felt good to get back on it. Oh, I have also been dying to see how my Impala wheel looked. I stole this wheel (fugitively speaking) a few years earlier at a local swap meet. I like how it looks. I also mounted the floor steering column mount.

A couple other pictures of the Suburban laid out. The rear bumper is only about 1.25" off the ground.

That's all for now.

Thanks
Marc

[youngrodder]

More pics

[Advanced Design]

That lays right down Marc...looking good.

How close is the steering wheel to the seat? In the picture it looks very close.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

That lays right down Marc...looking good.

How close is the steering wheel to the seat? In the picture it looks very close.

Thanks Doug...Optical illusion with the wheel. It is not in the tilt position and there is still plenty of room when sliding in. I think I have more room in this than my 48...

Marc

[lower50's]

That looks so cool!!! Are you running those black rims? The whole steering setup looks good.

[oldman3]

Marc, looking sweet, I like it a lot...Jim

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by lower50's

That looks so cool!!! Are you running those black rims? The whole steering setup looks good.

The steering is getting there. I have had to reorder one of my universal joints 3 times to get the right one. No, the rims are junk 18" rollers. The offset is all wrong. I'm trying to figure out my wheel size. It will probably be 20's but I'm trying to layout over 22's.

Originally Posted by oldman3

Marc, looking sweet, I like it a lot...Jim

Thanks Jim

[reaper71]

Looking good Marc, glad to see to see you back on it.

Oh and...GO BLUE!!

Mark...

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by reaper71

Looking good Marc, glad to see to see you back on it.

Oh and...GO BLUE!!

Mark...

Yes, it was little progress but it felt great. I'm trying to buy a welder. I have always borrowed one in the past. Once I get my hands on one I plan to tackle the rear floor structure and inner tubs.

You got that right.. Go Blue!!

Marc

[99 to Life]

looks sweet.

[69CST-V]

Looks great!!

[Advanced Design]

Hopefully you will get a welder. What are you going to do with your rear inner wheel tubs?

[reaper71]

If your looking for a mig the Miller Matic series are really awesome!
You set the welder to "auto" select the size wire (I use .023) so it does not ball up on you and leaves flatter welds. select the metal gauge and your welding!
They also have the option to go manual so you can play around with your own settings.
Just one Man's opinion!
As for a welding Helmet if your looking for one the Optrel Helmet is a really nice hood I bought one awhile back they are the lightest in the industry and have an HD viewing lens the grind mode is on the outside so you dont have to take the hood off to change.

Again just my Opinion, I do a ton of welding and have used numerous hoods over the years and wouldn't go back to a different kind.

Mark...

[reaper71]

The Optrel.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by 99 to Life

looks sweet.

Thanks 99

Originally Posted by 69CST-V

Looks great!!

Thank you

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Hopefully you will get a welder. What are you going to do with your rear inner wheel tubs?

Doug - I'm planning on trimming off where they mount to the sides and add metal back to reshape. this will allow me to raise them up as well to create more room for 22's. I have an idea on the body wheel wheel how to create more room to layout over 22's but more planning is needed to determine if this will work before I share with you. 😁

Originally Posted by reaper71

If your looking for a mig the Miller Matic series are really awesome!
You set the welder to "auto" select the size wire (I use .023) so it does not ball up on you and leaves flatter welds. select the metal gauge and your welding!
They also have the option to go manual so you can play around with your own settings.
Just one Man's opinion!
As for a welding Helmet if your looking for one the Optrel Helmet is a really nice hood I bought one awhile back they are the lightest in the industry and have an HD viewing lens the grind mode is on the outside so you dont have to take the hood off to change.

Again just my Opinion, I do a ton of welding and have used numerous hoods over the years and wouldn't go back to a different kind.

Mark...

Thanks Mark, opinions are always welcome. I borrowed a Millermatic for years from a friend. I'm not the best at welding so any tools that help would be great.. which size would you recommend for a home shop. I have 220. I will use it for body work and light frame work but I want one to handle bigger stuff as my skills improve but nothing too crazy....

Originally Posted by reaper71

The Optrel.

I have a decent helmet. The one pictured looks cool, like something from Starwars....

Thanks everyone!!

[reaper71]

The Miller I use here is just the 140 (now called the 141) It is more than enough for what a small home shop will use it can weld up to 1/2"
The downside to a 220 is it is a bit harder to weld the 20-22 gauge sheet metal as it gets to hot and will blow through and 18g takes some getting used to.
The 140 I use here has built numerous frames,suspensions etc and 0 problems and the price is much lower.

Mark...

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by reaper71

The Miller I use here is just the 140 (now called the 141) It is more than enough for what a small home shop will use it can weld up to 1/2"
The downside to a 220 is it is a bit harder to weld the 20-22 gauge sheet metal as it gets to hot and will blow through and 18g takes some getting used to.
The 140 I use here has built numerous frames,suspensions etc and 0 problems and the price is much lower.

Mark...

Thanks Mark, that's why I was asking. I was thinking I needed a bigger machine like a 252. I was looking for a used one, but I bet a new 141 would be in my budget..And yes, blowing/burning through is an issue.

Thanks for your input.

Marc

[reaper71]

Cyberweld has them right now for $755.00 with upto $ 250.00 rebate from miller (mail in to miller)

[Advanced Design]

Originally Posted by reaper71

Cyberweld has them right now for $755.00 with upto $ 250.00 rebate from miller (mail in to miller)

I've been very happy with my Miller machines. This sounds like a really good deal.

[99 to Life]

helmet seems nice, been wanting a better one esp with the grinding feature. Welder note, I bought a used hobart 175 and it is awesome. I paid 350 for it. Equivalent to the 190 of today which is about a grand or less. I too agree a 140ish welder would suite all your needs and very affordable too. I been in your shoes and got so sick of CL not throwing me a bone when I needed one, so I put bought an EWood 175 onsale. Didn't want to but I had no choice. I wouldn't recommend them even though it is a good welder. I'd go with hobart, miller, licoln and I'm personally thinking of trying esab next.