1952 GMC Suburban/S10 Swap

[99 to Life]

looks good, I was about to try por15 real soon. I'v always used chassis saver. Is the metal prep necessary or they just "recommend" it. trying to sell more product. Seems to me that the POR15 itself would just adhere right over the original surface rust, as long as it was somewhat clean and dry.

[pokerpossum]

Hi Marc,
You can get free shipping from West Coast Coatings if you order on the web. You might like the six-pack of POR-15. Nice small cans that cover a lot of area. This stuff will go bad if not resealed properly, it's activated by moisture. You will need the prep products, too. Not cheap, but good quality. Just my 2 cents... http://www.westcoastcoating.com

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by pokerpossum

Hi Marc,
You can get free shipping from West Coast Coatings if you order on the web. You might like the six-pack of POR-15. Nice small cans that cover a lot of area. This stuff will go bad if not resealed properly, it's activated by moisture. You will need the prep products, too. Not cheap, but good quality. Just my 2 cents... http://www.westcoastcoating.com

Thanks for the tip and link. yes, I have experience using the stuff. We normally make a small hole in the lid of the pint cans and use a screw to seal it. Otherwise you end up wasting a lot of the stuff by it hardening in the can. I like the idea of smaller cans....That might be the only time I have ever thought that...Ha ha ha

Marc

[pokerpossum]

With the body mounts tack welded together, I bolted them to the body and decided to test fit everything. I raised up the body using a cherry picker and one end of the rotisserie.

Then I rolled the frame under the body and lined up the two so the were in the right place (hopefully). I then clamped the mounts to the frame so I could make small adjustments as necessary. At this point I only had the front 2 mounts and the rear 2 mounts in place so that I could easily check and change and move the body. I needed to make sure I was centered in the wheel wells and be sure the body wasn't "crabbing" and was centered on the frame. See photos.

It's been quite a while since the front clip has been attached. With all the cowl metal replacement, I was a little nervous about how it would all line up.

[pokerpossum]

EVERYTHING FITS!!!!

After putting on the front clip, there was really very little adjustments necessary. The main one was dropping the front body mounts a bit, but overall, the fit was great.

Even with the hood and grille on, all the margins are going to be very manageable.

Of course, the next day I tore it all apart again......but I know that the next (hopefully last) time it will all line up. Yippee!!!

[youngrodder]

Looks good Possum. Nice progress. Careful when you lower the front mounts because that will change how the hood fits the fenders. You will want to bolt up the front sheet metal again once you lower your mounts. Just my 2 cents, you know what your doing.

Marc

[99 to Life]

sick man, looking great. such a relief getting everything lined up. I just put my front clip on for moch up last weekend. Getting cab mounts done then rad support and the projects really pick up speed. Once piece of advise if you haven't and you seem attentive enough, is the front clip can twist some on moch up. I measure from the ground to the bottom of the front fenders and make sure they are even there. also use a level across the fenders. Its easy to miss those things, not saying you did. but you mentioned crabbing on the cab so I'm sure you're on point with the clip. This is seriously two of my dreams in one. GMC and Suburban, lucky man!

[pokerpossum]

Thanks Marc and 99,

Marc, I had already lowered the front mounts before I put the front clip on, so shouldn't be an issue, but thanks for the warning.

99, the only measurement that threw me fits was that my drivers side wheel was 3/8 farther in than the passenger side. I knew the clip was centered....I was scratching my head so I called my neighbor Eddie over to pick his brain. What we finally realized is that the drivers fender had been involved in an accident, and the person doing the body work had not kept true with the original lines of the fender. Running your hands over it made that pretty obvious. I'll fix that during the bodywork phase.

Thanks to you guys for all your comments and support.

[Iceburgh]

Looks good.....what is the vent on the roof?

[pokerpossum]

The vent on the roof was ordered by the U.S. Army, I assume. I don't know if it was to bring in fresh air, or let out tobacco smoke as those were the heyday of cigarette smoking and socially acceptable even if they were taking you to the hospital!

A few weeks ago I was surfing the web on one of the truck sites and saw another Burb with the same vent. I was in a hurry and told myself to go back later and email the owner and find out if his Suburban was a Gov't vehicle, too.
Of course, I got sidetracked and can't find it again....oh well.

The photos show the vent, and the inside has a wooden framework. When the headliner is in, it's covered up, with an adjustable vent opener to control the air flow.

If anyone happens to see that photo of the other Suburban with the same vent, let me know where to find it on the web, Thanks

[Root2812]

A quick search found this:
http://www.bangshift.com/forum/forum...3-gmc-suburban

This was an army ambulance too.

[49bourbon]

Possum Great work on the burb. I have a 49 that I put a Nova subframe in and used remainder of chassis. The original chassis is flat so how did you handle the kick up in the rear of the S10 frame? Any pictures would be great as may want to do another one in the future.

[pokerpossum]

Hey Bourbon,

I thought the same as you are when I first wondered how this would work. Actually, I found that I was looking at the kick-up in the wrong way. When you compare the height at the kick-up on the S10 to the center line of its rear axle, it is almost the same as the 47-54 Suburbans, from the top of the ladder frame to the center line of the rear axle.

So, you really have to look at the S10 frame as a kick-down frame in the front. I have included a photo to show you just how tall (around 5 inches as I recall) the new front mounts are. It's really very easy once you visualize it.

In addition, the S10 frame is narrower, so the Suburban can set down a little lower because your mounts are offset to the outside of the frame. In the second photo you can see that the mounts are actually lower that the kick-up....are you confused yet?

Hope this helps

[Advanced Design]

Pokerpossum,

That is a great looking Suburban and I've been enjoying the build.

Wondering about the fuel tank in one of the photo's....is that from an S10?

Thank you!

[pokerpossum]

Hi Advance Design,

Yes, that is the stock s10 fuel tank. It only holds 13 gallons but it is very clean inside so I will use it. This is definitely a low budget build so I save wherever I can.

Have a great day,

Possum

[NotAverageJoe]

Great job on the Burb. I am new to the site and have a 50 GMC Burb, original frame with a Mustang II.
I noticed in an earlier post that you wanted an Escalade interior. Here is a pic of my interior. Still have quite a bit of work to do to get it on the road. Not sure yet if the front seat will move forward enough to allow access to the back. Also found a Property of USN logo on the firewall. Looks like many of these were government vehicles.
Sorry for the sideways pic, I am a newbie at this.

[pokerpossum]

Well, I finally got out to my shop to work on the Burb. Kodiak 53 has been doing so much on his build that I felt I better start catching up.

I installed a new water pump and serpentine belt. I finished installing the engine mounts. Since this brought my engine rearward 4 inches, I moved the transmission bracket 4 inches and also the carrier bearing cross member.

Then I took the driveshaft to Stockton Driveline and had them shorten and balance the driveshaft. Got all those reinstalled.

Last weekend my buddy Joe came by and welded the body brackets to the frame. Tomorrow I will POR-15 the brackets and any other areas on the frame that need it.

After that comes bodywork....uugghhhh!

Here's some photos.

[Advanced Design]

Looks good! Looking forward to more updates.

[99 to Life]

glad to see you back on it, looking good.

[49bourbon]

Poker possum thanks for explanation on kick up on s10. After rethinking issue it makes sense. Do you have dimensions on the body mounts that you made as I'd like to have for future build. Keep up the good work.

[pokerpossum]

Thanks for all the kind words of encouragement.

49 bourbon--I will do a reply on how I built the mounts in a day or so....

Spent the last couple of days reinstalling the exhaust system. The only part that showed any wear was the muffler, so for $35.00 I picked up a new one and some clamps at O'rielly. I POR-15'd all the brackets and painted the exhaust with VHT aluminum colored paint.

Since the rear end was from a 2000 S10 Blazer, the emergency brake cables were not the same design. After some studying of the differences, some welding and fab work, I was able to use the pedal mechanism from the S10 instead of the old, clunky 1952 version. Probably lightened the gross weight by 15 pounds!

I'm thinking about using a bed liner product to undercoat the body, paint the inside floor and firewall area, and the engine compartment. Any ideas, or thoughts on this from you guys?

Here's some photos.

[Advanced Design]

Looking really good Pokerpossum! 99 to life recommended Herculiner for a coating and used it in his project build post 337 http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...594874&page=14

[99 to Life]

49 beat me to it. Yeah I used Herculiner, just brushed it on. I really can't give any comparison to others as I'v not tried them. But I'v hear good things from Upol raptor liner as well. I got a gallon of the herc liner for close to $80 I think shipped. Its normally up towards 100. The upol you can get with individual cans that hook up to the gun, and the gun is included. Its a two part system.

One thing I don't really see is the heat capabilities of these. I'd like to know cause I'm gonna be jacked if my exhaust melts this stuff!

[Iceburgh]

I used Raptor on my underbody...great kit and cheap on amazon. Lays nice and comes with a gun to spray. Firewall I used quiet ride

[Layedoutsonoma91]

Used raptor liner on mt underside and firewall, looks great and holds up well if you prep well.



it comes with 4 bottles the sprayer and hardener. Only took 2 bottles to do the underside and firewall. Would def recommend it.