63 suburban newbie build first day

[jserrato714]

Originally Posted by kpc01

Sorry for the questions, but now you have me interested in doing mine....where did you get your paint for the primer, and did you spray it with the gun as well? My Burban is similar to that brown color already but needs a little work. Might give it a try with the HF gun, I'm just not in the know on the paints your using and where to get it.

No worries boss ask away.! So the primer is also from home depot and its rustoleum rusty metal. I sprayed it on the body after media blast. I only media blasted because the previous owner sanded down to the metal on some spots and it had bad surface rust. I have used this primer before and it goes on smooth and its great for blocking. I sprayed it after I reduced it about 5% with my hf gun at 40 psi. Then I blocked the body a bit with 220 grit also from hf and then shot the green. The color is hunter green satin from home depot as well. I reduced it 15% and sprayed it also at 40 psi... There is nothing to it you can do it as well just take your time and the end results can be impressive . I am building a rat road looking suburban and I have a tight budget. I am reusing everything on the truck minus the rust! LOL ..I like the look of rust/patina etc it gives the truck character.I have another post under body and paint with a bit more info if ya wanna check it out. You can also pm me . Thanks again for the comments.

Here are some pics of the rear with the og lenses and the bumpers a bit cleaned up.. The truck came with a parts box and I found the og plate sweet love the rust on it .Also notice that media blasted screwed up the back glass a bit ouchh

[jserrato714]

Painted the front clip today after I came back from the local junk yard today and to my amazement I came across a 65 suburban that was pretty complete.. minus doors and interior. I freaked out as I stared at the perfect side glass windows. I quickly jumped on the burb and scored 2 solid windows and 2 sliders as other lookie lous started peaking at the goods. I also scored a set of perches for my 350. All in all not a bad day as I spent under 60 bucks. Tomorrow I think I will start cleaning up the 350 and trans. I think I will keep it and buy one of those tbi to carb intakes I hear are available. Any confirmation on that will be appreciated. Thanks

[awbrown]

As far as the intake is concerned any intake with the center bolt holes at a different angle than the end ones should work .. Some people slot the holes , some cut the top out,that is if it is an earlier manifold , but if you can find one for the year of the engine (looks like 92 ish model year ) it should have the proper angle on the bolt holes....the intake I have on mine was a freebie and the center bolt holes were already slotted , so I threw it on ...

[jserrato714]

You have a pic of the proper manifold needed. I thought I needed a manifold with only 8 bolts instead of the usual 12? Or is that for vortec motors im just asking because some one said I had a vortec motor and I am pretty sure fortec motors came out around 95 ish. Maybe I thought that because of the valve covers having the center 4 bolts.

[gostranger]

hey got it thanks now i am only lacking one piece and i am set thanks again!!! any other good parts on the sub at the junk yard?

awesome progress!

[jserrato714]

Oh 1 piece nice..Then your set. The burban was a 65 um it had the dash,rear barn doors are mint, sheet metal was fairly straight,gauge cluster looked good,everything else was gone..Oh yeah it also had the interior window trim and head liner trim . I am going to try and put the solid windows today.

[awbrown]

Originally Posted by jserrato714

You have a pic of the proper manifold needed. I thought I needed a manifold with only 8 bolts instead of the usual 12? Or is that for vortec motors im just asking because some one said I had a vortec motor and I am pretty sure fortec motors came out around 95 ish. Maybe I thought that because of the valve covers having the center 4 bolts.

96 and up use the 8 bolt manifold ,the 95 and down should be a 12 bolt manifold........

[jserrato714]

Here is a pic of the drop on the rear..I did 5 " cpp drop coils and kyb gr2 shocks. Ill do the front tomorrow. I got 3 " cpp drop coils for the front. I am thinking about staying with manual brakes to save a buck. Disc brakes would be nice but they are pricey. Also I am thinking of doing 17" and up steel wheels. I have a few in mind. There are some escalade steelies for 60 bucks but

[jserrato714]

Here is a pic of the drop on the rear..I did 5 " cpp drop coils and kyb gr2 shocks. Ill do the front tomorrow. I got 3 " cpp drop coils for the front. I am thinking about staying with manual brakes to save a buck. Disc brakes would be nice but they are pricey. Also I am thinking of doing 17" and up steel wheels. I have a few in mind. There are some 17 escalade steelies for sale , 60 bucks for all 4 but I like the toyota fj steelies which are over priced at around 100 per wheel. I do have the option of keeping the eagle alloys on there now but I would need to polish them and get some low pro tires maybe 255/50/15. Dunno I will keep ya posted

[Captainfab]

Disc brakes are only pricey if you buy the expensive aftermarket parts. You can have disc brakes fairly reasonable using factory parts.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=367260

[jserrato714]

Yeah cap'n I have done the math.. am really not saving much money by doing a junk yard set up..But the headache of looking for the parts etc. I am saving only like 50 bucks doing it that way. I can get a kit locally here that includes everything but the hard lines for 825 + tax.. The only way I can save some money is by doing a junk yard set up and actually using the the stock spindels from the donor however since I like my trucks slammed and can only lower about 3 inches max on stock arms and spindels thats where my problems start. Drop spindels is where I am over spending. What do you think boss

[gostranger]

i bought my complete front power steering box all the steering rods and ends spindles rotors brakes all at once and spent $150 at the yard when i first started my truck and it all went back in easy then spent 150 on the 3'' drop spindles i think all the stuff i bought was out of a 84 shevy truck easy and cheap i also had to get a perportioning valve another junk yard purchase like 5 bux!

[jserrato714]

Yeah stranger..unfortunate for me that I live in Comifornia. Everything is over priced. Also It will be a bit more because I want the stock 6 lug.....For the upper ball joints on my 63 arms. Do you grind the rivets holding down your upper ball joint? I suppose the 73-87 ball joints just bolt on? Thanks

[gostranger]

yes grind the rivits the new uppers bolt on

[jserrato714]

So yesterday I finished up the lowering up front by adding cpp 3" coils and decided to do power brakes(I was bored lol) so I got a set up from some local shop in Orange Ca called Abs Power Brakes. I ended up paying around 8 bills with 2 1/2 " drop spindels,rotors,6 lug discs,bearings,booster,master,pro valve,hard lines, fittings etc. I decided to go this route because of quality. I crunched the numbers plus labor and It would of saved me a few hundred bucks to do the junk yard set up, however I wanted to avoid the headache of tracking parts down . I used quality parts and the results are amazing. I have not yet driven the truck aviously because its still a roller but the kit is straight bolt on...did the whole swap in about 2 1/2 hours. Here are some pics of how I ran and split mi lines...Any questions, comments feel free

I ran the lines accordingly to what I saw on a post on this forum . I dont remember the member but thanks. I split the lines by using a connector to connect my rear line straight to the prop valve.(rear part of the prop) Then I plug of the original T where the rear Teed up with the front(passenger side). Now I removed the old front line from the T (driver side) and replace it with a new line that threaded in to the front of the prop valve. And that is all she wrote. I should of taken better pics..

[Captainfab]

In your post I replied to, you didn't say anything about spindles, and dropped control arms, you just said "Disc brakes would be nice but they are pricey"

So yeah, if you need dropped spindles and control arms, that is going to be a little pricey. But just upgrading to disc brakes, can be done on a budget using OEM parts.

Originally Posted by jserrato714

Here is a pic of the drop on the rear..I did 5 " cpp drop coils and kyb gr2 shocks. Ill do the front tomorrow. I got 3 " cpp drop coils for the front. I am thinking about staying with manual brakes to save a buck. Disc brakes would be nice but they are pricey. Also I am thinking of doing 17" and up steel wheels. I have a few in mind. There are some 17 escalade steelies for sale , 60 bucks for all 4 but I like the toyota fj steelies which are over priced at around 100 per wheel. I do have the option of keeping the eagle alloys on there now but I would need to polish them and get some low pro tires maybe 255/50/15. Dunno I will keep ya posted

Originally Posted by jserrato714

Yeah cap'n I have done the math.. am really not saving much money by doing a junk yard set up..But the headache of looking for the parts etc. I am saving only like 50 bucks doing it that way. I can get a kit locally here that includes everything but the hard lines for 825 + tax.. The only way I can save some money is by doing a junk yard set up and actually using the the stock spindels from the donor however since I like my trucks slammed and can only lower about 3 inches max on stock arms and spindels thats where my problems start. Drop spindels is where I am over spending. What do you think boss

[jserrato714]

Hey cap'n I decided to use the 89 suburban 350..I took it apart and it looks like its in great shape...Ok so I decided to keep it old school looking and removed the serpentine set up with all the crap attached to it like ac pump,power pump etc. Could I run just a alternator and water pump pulley from an older style setup , what years bolt on,what water pump year should or can I use. Is the damper compatible or do I have to swap everything else..I plan on using a power steering pump that I already have of a 78 c10. Also I thought these blocks 87-92 sbc 350 were not ported for a manual fuel pump. Too my surprise it has a cover plate where the pump should go? Thanks

[str8axle55]

Nice build so far, nice to have rust free stuff. Save the serp belt stuff, the guys on the 73+ board might be interested. The plate is there for the fuel pump, prob no push rod though, and the cam prob doesn`t have the lobe to drive the rod.

[jserrato714]

I am finishing up the block today..Painted most of the parts. I wanted a crazy color something that I am sure no one has so I picked this green from rustoleum. So I started with a running motor from an 89 suburban and trans that was given to me. I replaced all the seals and gaskets,resurfaced the heads,new oil pump,water pump. And for those that are going from tbi to carb and serpentine to v belt its all straight bolt on.. All the assessories I picked from a 77 c10 1/2...I also got the water pump for that year , as well as the alternator, power steering pump and gear box and brackets. Everything is plug and play. For the tbi to carb swap I picked up a edelbrock manifold that is in decent shape for 30 bucks on craigslist. The manifold was for 86 and older sbc heads. I followed the advice of others on this forum and I widend the 4 center bolts(2 on either side) with a drill bit. Now everything bolts up perfectly. All it needs is a coat of fresh paint and its all good. I thinks its easier and cheaper just to get a older style manifold than the specialty one from edelbrock performer 2104 for 87-95 sbc heads that costs over $170 . I am on a real tight budget and I decided to save myself over a hundred bucks. !!!!

[KIC]

Wow..that is green ! Nice job !

[65burban]

Check out DLOE65 engine. When you think your the first one BBBAAAMMMMM!!!

[jserrato714]

Lol So I am not the first..but maybe the second.

[jserrato714]

Hey there forum. So I tackled the engine and trans by myself and let me tell ya. My back Hurts!!!!!Lol...So the engine and trans are in...remember I used motor mount perches off a 68 c10 and like Cap'n said , the engine is about 3 1/2 inches forward, I am using the front 2 holes on the frame...Is that ok? I can tell you that I have all kinds of room now behind the distributor... I had to move my trans cross member forward about 3 1/2 inches I hope that is ok.. I measured The drive shaft length and if i measured correctly I need something around 63-65 " long.Anything out there that I can used with that length? I can afford a custom one.. Also this weekend I came up on a radiator from a 65 c10... Now that the motor is forward a bit...I am pretty certain my fan blade will hit.. Any Ideas as to how to fix that problem? Electric fan? Move the radiator cross member a bit forward?
Since I moved my cross member a bit forward, now my hand brake needs work... Do they sell a shorter cable out there?(cable from hand lever to cross member bracket)? Than

[Captainfab]

Since you are running the long water pump, you would have been better off with the engine in the stock location. All trucks '72 and older ran the short water pumps on both small blocks and big blocks. It looks like you are going to have to run electric fan(s) for cooling.

[jserrato714]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

Since you are running the long water pump, you would have been better off with the engine in the stock location. All trucks '72 and older ran the short water pumps on both small blocks and big blocks. It looks like you are going to have to run electric fan(s) for cooling.

There you are Cap'n..Thats what I was thinking to, Pushing the motor back to the rear holes.However I dont have the og mounts... I went to buy the tubular ones at chevy car and truck and They fit the front holes as well. What year can I get them off of? There is a 65 c20 at the jyard..and it looks like a v8 to me. Would that work?