Adopting a Suburban Carryall, The Seahorse

[pimpston65]

Originally Posted by argonaut

I was investigating an issue I was having the the seats today. The floor has the cleat arrangement to be able to put the 2-person seat in the middle or the rear position. So I put the 3-person seat in the middle and stuck the 2-person seat in the back. I had pull the seat bottoms out to make the seats easier to maneuver. When I tried to fit the 2-person seat bottom back into the frame, in the rear position, I found that the left front corner was hitting the back of the inner fender and so I wouldn't fit down. I compared the seat bottom frames from the 3-person and the 2-person seats and found that the 3-person seat had tapered frame edges, whereas all the other seats are square. Looks like I'll have to cut and modify the seat bottom to fit. Seems kind of dumb for the seat to physically bolt in back there but then the seat bottom can't be installed...

it was during the 60's not saying the engineers were get'n high... well at leasts it bolts in, not too much fab work!!!

[argonaut]

Originally Posted by pimpston65

I may have a side mirror that matches your pass. side one free of course!!!

Alright then man! Send it on over!

[argonaut]

Picked up this little guy tonight. It'll go behind my other NV4500 in the Seahorse after I clean it up and swap in a short input. I was all ready to pick up an NP208 because I didn't want to pay a premium price for another round NP205, but then a buddy of mine found a guy who had four of them so he picked one up for me. You know what they say, its not what you know its who you know!

[pimpston65]

Originally Posted by argonaut

Alright then man! Send it on over!

holy crap i just saw your post, sure send me your address i'll get pic to make sure its the right one

[argonaut]

Oh mighty moderators,
Can you please move this thread to the 60-66 suburbans section?
Thanks!

[argonaut]

I haven't posted in a while but I have been making some very slow progress on the seahorse. Turns out that the old farmers did some funky stuff. What started out as me just wanting to swap in newer axles has turned into new brake equipment and lines, but I don't want to run the lines until I swap in some better engine, transmission and rear crossmembers, and swapping in new crossmembers forced me to redo the exhaust... so now I have my hands full again. Ugh.

I cleaned up the disk brake Dana 44 front axle and swapped it in. Put hub flanges on it and slapped on some stainless caps onto the wheels. I had also added some stainless mirrors, wipers and sill plates to attempt to "brighten" it up. I gave it a bath too, but you can hardly tell.



After putting the axle in I needed to redo the entire brake system to run with front disk and rear drum. I also couldn't use the remote mounted booster anymore. So I pulled all the old lines and booster and master cylinder off. What a pain in the neck that was! Then I picked up a late 70s 'vette master cylinder and married it with a bunch of other parts I had lying around like a CPP 8" dual diaphragm booster, 73 blazer brackets and CPP combo proportioning valve. The blazer booster brackets don't fit well on the firewall so I'm going to make a custom mount. Although I may just leave this and then swap over to hydroboost later on when funds allow. We'll see what happens.

Oh yeah, I had also swapped in an internally regulated 94 amp alternator a month or so ago. I modified the wiring but still need to clean it up and re-wrap it. You can also see the great welding job they did at some point. The black trails show the source of a really annoying exhaust leak.



Then it was time to run new brake hardlines. I'm kind of picky about how I run my lines so it started to bother me that the previous owner had installed some really funky plates and brackets and stuff when they did the 2wd-to-4wd conversion. I already picked up an engine and a transmission crossmember from a 72 blazer from another board member so I decided the next step would be to install the the engine crossmember. Well that opened up another can of worms, or two.

First the crossmember wouldn't fit because the exhaust has a Y-pipe that funs under the oil pan directly where the crossmember wants to go. So okay, cut that out and I'll figure out how to get it back in later.



Then I get the crossmember in and see that the holes don't line up in the side to side direction; the crossmember seems too narrow... Well the previous owner had removed the 2wd front crossmember and the old trans bellhousing crossmember leaving nothing to tie the two frame rails together all the way from the radiator support crossmember to the trailing arm pivot crossmember!!! Luckily by throwing couple ratcheting straps around the frame I was able to suck the frame rails together until the holes lined up with the crossmember, and bolt the sucker in. What an ordeal!

[argonaut]

Apparently my dad (Raider Rudy) loves two barrel 2G carburetors. So he pulled this 283/327 four barrel intake and Edelbrock 1901 Quadrajet off his 68 GMC and gave it to me. Thanks, Dad!

My 327 actually runs pretty well with the 2G it has on it, but it leaks coolant from the intake manifold gasket so it has to come off anyway.



I also picked up some new taillight lenses from Truck Shop in Orange. They are exact replicas of the originals, even have the correct embossed text on them. At $50 a pair you get what you pay for. They also have replicas of the rear slider window latches for $65 a pair, in stainless steel. Hard to say how well that chinese stainless will hold up, but they're polished and look really nice.
Luckily for me, I don't need any. But others may be interested.







I know that these backup lights aren't in the correct location, lower down, but I'll probably leave them there.

[ChiefRocka]

Originally Posted by argonaut

Oh mighty moderators,
Can you please move this thread to the 60-66 suburbans section?
Thanks!

Will do ...

[MikeS.]

Well done Jason.

[Raider Rudy]

Jason! I just ran across the thread. Looks like you have alot if fans.You need to take your pop for a cruise in the seahorse,

[argonaut]

Baby steps... Today I pulled out this heap of metal parts:



And replaced them with a legit trans crossmember from a 72 Blazer. I noticed that the Blazer crossmember extends an inch or two lower than the 73 pickup crossmember that I used in my 66. I think it must be better for driveshaft angles on the shorter wheelbase.





I know it doesn't seem like much but for the little seahorse this is a significant upgrade. Maybe tomorrow I'll have time to swap in the used 47" front springs I have to pick the front up a bit. The springs that are on it now are so worn out that the axle is onlt about 1-1/2" off of the bump stops. I'm trying to decide whether or not to do a rear shackle flip and front 4" lift springs on this 'burb. I'll run 235/85R16 tires on it eventually, so only about 32" diameter.

I also need to find a crossmember from a 63-72 GMC 2wd with rear leaf springs. This will mount perfectly in place at the front hangers for the rear leaf springs, since this is originally a 2wd frame. if i can't find one soon I'll just end up fabricating one myself, but I'm hoping to avoid that. On another note I was surprised today to find out that my rear springs are 56" not 52". i didn't realize that a 69-70, which donated its suspension, would have 56" rear springs. i thought that was only and 80's thing.

[argonaut]

Thinking about swapping in 1/2 ton axles instead of the 3/4 ton. What do you think?

[RANDY COX]

That's what I did Jason when I got my truck I swapped from 3/4 4:56's to 1/2 ton 3:73's
I just wanted to build a good daily driver, 3/4 is nice if your going to go with big big tires and do some heavy haulin or wheelin, But just normal everyday driver then I would go with 1/2 ton you can still haul and run bigger tires. There's plenty of 1/2 ton stuff out there and fairly cheap... But only you can answer your own question...

[61K10]

snow-balling haha. I never ends-----------

[argonaut]

I picked up a pair of mid seventies 1/2 ton axles with 3.73 gears and some HE components, plus a sway bar and pair of 1/2 ton drive shafts for really cheap. The guy I bought them from has a cool hot rod and custom car shop called Hot Rod Harness. Awesome guys and they do cool hot rod work and fuel injected motor swaps.

Now I need to find some 16" diameter 4x4 wheels.

[mattbert56]

I like what COX. Said Makes a good point , half ton axles are perfect for a daily driver. And probably easier to find parts for

[argonaut]

The new plan is to weld some new perches on the 12 bolt, swap in both 1/2 ton axles and put it on a set of really ugly white wagon wheel rollers (free from my dad's vast stash of truck parts ) for now. Later on I may install a 3.73 ring and pinion in the 14bff and install the dana 44 3/4 ton outer components onto the 1/2 ton housing with the 3.73 gears.

For now I need to finish the brakes and find or fab a crossmember at the rear spring hangers, pull out the big old 2wd trailing arm crossmember, then build an exhaust. Just want to get it back on the road so I can switch the focus to cosmetics.

[Average Joe]

Cool Burb!

[argonaut]

Just a few crappy pics of parts destined for the seahorse.

Half ton Dana 44 with 3.73s and a few Hickey parts. Wish I could find some HE diff covers for the Dana 44 and the 12 Bolt. I'm going to see if I can get these axles in tomorrow.


Some ugly white wagon wheels to roll this thing around on after I put the half ton axles in and before I buy the wheels I want.


I'm thinking some 16x8 Black Rock Yumas like these.


The theme of this suburban is going to be "light weight". That's why I decided on the half ton axles. I also picked up a passenger drop NP241C to bolt up to the NV4500. Its amazing how much lighter the NP241 is than an NP205, not to mention the low range gearing.

[argonaut]

Once I get this thing back on the road I can focus on the body and the interior.

Time to learn sheet metal welding and body work.

Wish me luck!

[jjzepplin]

Dang you guys in Cali! I've been looking for 8 lug steelies with those caps for years. Sometimes I wish I never left. Nice build and some really nice finds.

[argonaut]

True to form I changed my mind again this week

I put the 1/2 ton front axle in and mounted the wagon wheels last weekend. But when I stepped back and looked at it the ugly wagon wheels scared me so badly that I decided to put the 3/4 ton axles back in. Plus I really like the look of the steelies and stainless caps.

So I put the front axle back in then moved around back. Cut the spring perches and damper mounts off and relocated the perches in to the 40" separation to match the truck's suspension. Got it all welded up and bolted back in. Dang! I forgot how heavy the stinking 14BFF is! It kept flopping all over the place when I was trying to muscle it back up under the burb. But it is in and the wheels are back on.

Next I need to get some 235/85R16 all terrains mounted up so I can judge how much to lift it. I'm thinking 2" right now. Though I'm also giving some thought to putting my spare set of 56" springs up front and a shackle flip in the rear. For a 4-5" lift. But unless I can locate a good set of 255/85R16 all terrains I think the 235s (32" diameter) will be too small for a 4" lift.

What do ya'll think?

[Raider Rudy]

I knew you would not like those wheels! Lets see some pics!

[mattbert56]

Originally Posted by argonaut

True to form I changed my mind again this week

I put the 1/2 ton front axle in and mounted the wagon wheels last weekend. But when I stepped back and looked at it the ugly wagon wheels scared me so badly that I decided to put the 3/4 ton axles back in. Plus I really like the look of the steelies and stainless caps.

So I put the front axle back in then moved around back. Cut the spring perches and damper mounts off and relocated the perches in to the 40" separation to match the truck's suspension. Got it all welded up and bolted back in. Dang! I forgot how heavy the stinking 14BFF is! It kept flopping all over the place when I was trying to muscle it back up under the burb. But it is in and the wheels are back on.

Next I need to get some 235/85R16 all terrains mounted up so I can judge how much to lift it. I'm thinking 2" right now. Though I'm also giving some thought to putting my spare set of 56" springs up front and a shackle flip in the rear. For a 4-5" lift. But unless I can locate a good set of 255/85R16 all terrains I think the 235s (32" diameter) will be too small for a 4" lift.

What do ya'll think?

I think with the 235s on a 4 inch lift it would give it a some what high boy look. IMHO I think that's a good look for trucks. Tires to big that fill a fender well look a little odd Especially on classics. Don't mean to offend anyone though. Sorry if I may have. Builds looking Good. Love both of your builds so far

[argonaut]

Originally Posted by Raider Rudy

I knew you would not like those wheels! Lets see some pics!

Pop, here's a pic. But it doesn't really look much different. The only different is the front is about an inch higher because i built some 6" front shackles to replace the bent 4 inchers.

In the pic you can see the wicked negative arch on the front springs. I wonder if new stock type springs would be any less negatively arched?