My first 67-72! (68 Burb)

[Mr Pops]

Originally Posted by YBNORML

Anything new to report?

Still prepping the motor to reinstall. I think I might throw an Edelbrock intake on it while the distributor is out. I gotta get a puller to remove the balancer so I can do the timing chain too and paint the cover.
I bought some high heat primer today which will be followed by Chevy orange.
I'd like to use my solid smoothie valve covers from an old 283 I have. Anybody know the best way to vent the crankcase with no PCV valve/breather in the valve covers? Also need to be able to add oil.. might have to see if Edelbrock sells a 283 specific intake with the fill tube..?
My son was helping me with the dirty work with a wire wheel..

[Mr Pops]

Originally Posted by olblue60@aol.com

Nice ! Custom Cab. It looks really solid !

Hey thanks. Do you know if the Custom Cab was much better than a base model? More chrome maybe?

[Mr Pops]

Man, I should really stay off the Edelbrock site.. this is so cool! http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_...o-barrel.shtml

[olblue60@aol.com]

Custom Cab on suburbans was like the CST package on pickups. I'm not sure of all it included, but here are a few of the parts included. Stainless windshield and vent window trim,padded interior door panels, dash knobs with the aluminum centers,chrome bumpers, aluminum headlight and grille moldings, fender and hood surround. Mine has tinted glass, I dont know if it was part of the package. Mine has carpet, and doesn't appear to ever have had the body moldings. The no body moldings has always seemed odd to me. Perhaps there is someone that knows more

[Mr Pops]

Good info, thanks.

[Mr Pops]

Can board staff move this thread to the "Suburban Projects and Builds" section pls? Probably a better spot for it now..

[Mr Pops]

Well thanks to a couple of my favorite Burbs on this site (pictured below) and Dieselwrencher's 2wd to 4wd conversion thread, I was inspired to jump off the deep end and build this thing the way I actually want it to be.. 4x4!
I feel that this will not only look really sweet, but also be very useful as a versatile year round daily driver that will better suit my family/acreage lifestyle..

[Mr Pops]

Like Dieselwrencher's build, I'll be using a 73+ body style donor truck for springs, hangers, crossmember, steering box etc.. NOT A FRAME SWAP.
Here's my parts truck. It's a Frankenstein of the previous owners half done project. It's got a 1980 clip, doors and box, but the cab vin says it was built in 73.. Also, it's a 1 ton body with 10 bolt, 6 lug diffs. I'm hoping to find some 3/4 ton axles though.

[Mr Pops]

Don't worry, I won't be using the hillbilly lift kit that the PO installed..

[Mr Pops]

Not going to grab the rear axle stuff till I get the front end done, so I chained it to my "tow truck" to get er out of my driveway..

[Mr Pops]

Yoink! got the crossmember out this morning and "towed" it down to the field with my "tow truck"

[Mr Pops]

My son wandered into the garage, so I got him to bolt the leafs to the axle.. The 10 bolt diff from my donor truck was pretty crusty so I'm using a different 10 bolt I had kickin around from an 89 Suburban. (at least to mock everything up) I haven't checked to see what the gear ratio is yet, if I get lucky and it matches the rear, I might use this one till I find some 3/4 ton diffs.
I set the rad support in place to get an idea of the ride height. I realize it's going to sit higher right now with no drivetrain or front clip, but is it just me, or does it look like these leafs I used might have a few inches of lift??

[Mr Pops]

I test fit the steering box from the donor truck and it's a direct bolt in. Next on the list is to weld in some flat metal where the E-brake cut outs would conflict with the shackle hangers sitting flat on the frame. I'll also have to fab some gussets for the front spring hangers.
I haven't decided if I'm going to modify the donor trucks motor mounts/crossmember to fit, or modify the 2wd motor mounts to work with a custom crossmember.. Unless somebody local has a 4x4 crossmember they want to part with?

[olblue60@aol.com]

Did you buy new front leaf springs or go with the longer Squarebody leafs? What kind of lift?

[Mr Pops]

Originally Posted by olblue60@aol.com

Did you buy new front leaf springs or go with the longer Squarebody leafs? What kind of lift?

I used the leafs that came on the 73 donor truck. Not sure if they're stock or not. They have a slight positive arch and I've seen lots of stock 4x4's with slight negative arch (more saggy) so the donor truck might have had a slight lift but I'm not sure.

[YBNORML]

It's been awhile since I poked my head in here, big changes!!! I like it.

[Mr Pops]

Originally Posted by YBNORML

It's been awhile since I poked my head in here, big changes!!! I like it.

Thanks, I'm pretty motivated now that I found one of my favorite vehicles. I'm just hoping I don't get in over my head with this conversion. So far so good though, nothing's stumped me so far..

[Average Joe]

Cool! I like the 4x conversion builds. Have you looked at Dunenuts build? He recently did a 4x conversion on a C10 longbed and retained the rear coils. I think he also reused the crossmember from his donor 80's blazer with minimal fabrication. Woodright also has a conversion going utilizing a 2wd frame.

[Mr Pops]

Originally Posted by Average Joe

Cool! I like the 4x conversion builds. Have you looked at Dunenuts build? He recently did a 4x conversion on a C10 longbed and retained the rear coils. I think he also reused the crossmember from his donor 80's blazer with minimal fabrication. Woodright also has a conversion going utilizing a 2wd frame.

Good info, thanks. If you could post a few links for those builds, that would be awesome. I'm planning on doing leaf springs in the back too. I have an 84 2wd half ton that I might steel the leafs out of. Depending on what my ride height is compared to the front, I may take the two downward facing hangers off both of my parts trucks and do a shackle flip for the rear leafs in order to get the height I need to match the front.

[lolife99]

Chevy 67-68 fenders are different from the 69-72 chevy fenders.
The core support and hood are also different.

67-68 Chevy fenders are the same as 67-72 GMC fenders.

The only minor difference is that all 67 fenders have no side marker light.

[PHAT TONY]

As a 4x4 'Burb liker, this is very interesting!

[Average Joe]

Woodrights build:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=446024

Dunenutts build:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=444887

[Mr Pops]

Cool thanks for the links, they will be useful.

[Mr Pops]

Well I got sidetracked working on my Blazer and other stuff, but today I decided to start on some spring hanger gussets to replace the 73-87 style while not conflicting or moving the 68 style body mount. Spent about an hour in the garage before my little brother distracted me and we went out back to fire a 1918 Lee Enfield 303 that he hadn't fired since he bought it, and took it completely apart to clean.

[Mr Pops]

So my buddy bought brand new 68 fenders for his 72 Chevy not realizing they were different, so he sold them to me for $100 each!