1972 C20 build and adventure thread

[FLYNAVY30]

On Day 7 and 8, we took our time and made our way back to Norfolk via back roads, with an overnight in Charlotte. We worked in some more vineyards to keep the girls entertained, which resulted in some pretty solid back road driving.

[68bowtie]

What a cool trip! The burb looks great, nice work.

[LockDoc]

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Very interesting. Looks like you guys had a GOOD TIME!

LockDoc

[68panelman]

Indeed a super cool trip, awesome build, and a particular wine glass that I love

[FLYNAVY30]

Following the rally, I pulled all the decals off the truck, and used it mostly as a daily driver for the rest of the summer/fall of 2017. We also drove it to Maine and back to visit friends for about two weeks with no issues. Unfortunately, I deployed to the Middle East in December of 2017, so the truck would sit in storage for the next 7 months.

[FLYNAVY30]

Following my deployment, I got the truck out of storage, and back on the road in July of 2018. I was pleasantly surprised when I reconnected the battery, and she fired up on the first try. I drove the truck as my daily driver for the majority of the summer, hitting the local cars and coffee, going to the beach, etc. Unfortunately, I started having an over heating problem early in the fall, and found that my fancy Entropy radiator was leaking for the core. Turns out, its completely my fault as I neglected to install a radiator zinc in the drain hole when I initially installed it and the aluminum welds inside the core had eroded away after 5 years of use.

[FLYNAVY30]

So that brings this thread up to May of 2019. The poor Suburban has been sitting in my storage unit, awaiting a radiator swap since the end of last summer. Unfortunately our condo only has a 1 car garage, and my recently acquired 1964 Corvette project has been taking up the garage. I should have that back on the road in the next two weeks, and be able to get the Suburban back in the garage for some work. In addition to the radiator swap, I have some different valve covers to install, some engine bay wiring to clean up, headers to send out for blasting and re-coat, new stainless exhaust, and a few other small bits to take care of. I'll also start the headliner replacement project that I've been putting off for years. I will update this thread with pics and details about each project as they get completed so stay tuned!

[Beach-Burban]

Great thread, Greg...I will certainly be watching for more installments! That is an incredibly clean Corvette...have fun with that! Not that I can handle two project vehicles, but I have just located my actual '69 Camaro that I sold in the early 80's (because it was too hard to get the "baby seats" in and out of the backseat). It is a disassembled long-term project belonging to the owner of the tire shop I frequent, and he's not ready to sell! I would only be able to afford it in its current condition...so it's a "Catch-22" situation? Below is a picture of how it looked when I sold it.
Woody

[FLYNAVY30]

Oh man, that's cool!!! If you can pry it out of his hands, I'd definitely get it back! I really wish I could go back to 2006 and find/buy back the '69 Corvette that I purchased after my first deployment, but then sold. It needed a bunch of work that I didn't have the skills/time/money/space to complete at the time, but could certainly do now. That being said, a Europen influenced C2 build has always been at the very top of my list of cars to build/own, so I'm very thankful I found this one.

[Beach-Burban]

Originally Posted by FLYNAVY30

Oh man, that's cool!!! If you can pry it out of his hands, I'd definitely get it back! I really wish I could go back to 2006 and find/buy back the '69 Corvette that I purchased after my first deployment, but then sold. It needed a bunch of work that I didn't have the skills/time/money/space to complete at the time, but could certainly do now. That being said, a Europen influenced C2 build has always been at the very top of my list of cars to build/own, so I'm very thankful I found this one.

Yeah...I've talked to him about it regularly over the last year or so. It has "permanent residency" on one of his lifts...and not much is being done to complete the project at this time...what a waste! Although, it would probably sit in my garage for a while, too! I still have the original "window sticker" belonging to it!
Woody

[Ol Blue K20]

Cool thread!! I'm in to watch the updates.

[FLYNAVY30]

This is a little bit off topic, but still fairly relative...

Theres a small, one man clothing brand I've been a fan of for years called "Scotch & Iron" out of FT Lauderdale FL. He makes automotive and motorcycle themed t-shirts and hats mostly. Unfortunately, the owner of the brand has recently been getting harassed by a European brand called "Scotch & Soda", claiming that his "similar brand" has taken from their market share....despite the fact that their lines are nothing even remotely similar. In an effort to help fund his legal battle to retain the rights to his designs, Russ has started doing custom art work of customer's rides. I was fortunate enough to be the first "customer". He's now going to start offering a package deal as well where you get the custom drawing in digital format so that you can reuse/reprint it however you like, a printed canvas, and 5 custom Scotch & Iron t-shirts. He even sent me a cropped version of the artwork that is perfect for iPhone wallpaper. Ill post again when my shirts and canvas arrive, but in the mean time, take a look at the artwork below, and I highly encourage you to check out his site (although, at the moment, his inventory is very low as he hasn't released his newest collection in the event that he loses the legal battle, he doesn't want that inventory or designs to become property of the other company).

[Beach-Burban]

Very cool, Greg! I've been looking for a vendor that does this kind of work...just been looking in the wrong place, I guess? One can never have too many Tee-shirts!!!
Woody

[cornerstone]

You sir have great taste in vehicles. Love the Suburban and love the adventure! Please keep us posted as often as you can. Brian

[FLYNAVY30]

Thanks guys. The Corvette is back on the ground and all I've got left is to do the alignment. That should be done this week and I'll get back to working on the Suburban.

[Bigblueburban]

I was just reading your thread this week and then saw his post about the Iphone backgrounds i did not realize that was your truck. very cool. Killer build.

[CG]

Ridiculous there is a suit over the name ... So now no one on the planet can have the name Scotch with another name attached. Zero sense in my peanut sized brain haha.

[HO455]

I see this 63 all the time parked on the top deck of a local parking garage. Today was the first time a photo opportunity to include my Burban with it occurred. It seemed like folks on this thread might appreciate it. I hope no one is upset with me posting it here. If so I will remove it. Its not often one sees a vintage Vette used as a daily driver.

[FLYNAVY30]

Thanks guys. It is insane how easy it is for these big corporations to prey on the little companies, and essentially railroad them into submission. Russ is a super talented dude, and even if his brand goes away I have no doubt something just as good will surface in its place.

[FLYNAVY30]

Originally Posted by HO455

I see this 63 all the time parked on the top deck of a local parking garage. Today was the first time a photo opportunity to include my Burban with it occurred. It seemed like folks on this thread might appreciate it. I hope no one is upset with me posting it here. If so I will remove it. Its not often one sees a vintage Vette used as a daily driver.

Thats super cool, thanks for posting! I still don't have a picture of my suburban and vette next to each other....need to rectify that this summer!

[FLYNAVY30]

Wow....long time no progress...

This past week, I FINALLY got the Vette on the road. I still need to re-bleed the brakes this weekend as they still aren't performing as they should, but everything else looks good. Please excuse the dirty car and the bad light...and the ride height. It should drop another inch as it hasn't been on the suspension in about 18 months.



The Suburban is still unfortunately locked away in the storage unit....



That being said, I've started the hunt for a '67-'72 K20 Suburban chassis. I very much want to swap this truck onto a 4wd chassis, so if anyone has a line on one, please let me know. I'm not interested in a full truck at this point, as I don't have the room to pull the body, etc. But if you know of as little as a K20 frame, up to a rolling chassis, please let me know.

Thanks.

Greg
585-746-9022
GPaules03@gmail.com

[FLYNAVY30]

Officially declaring the Corvette done (for now). I absolutely love the way this car drives....it still feels like an old Corvette, but everything is tighter, and more precise.







Now that the Corvette is up and running, it was time to get the Suburban out of hibernation and get it back on the road as well. One of the welds in the aluminum radiator gave up almost two years ago and I just never got around to changing it out since all of my free garage time was spent on the Corvette.



If you're running an LS in the C10 chassis, you cant do better than the set up from Entropy Radiator out of Chicago. You'll note the integrated transmission cooler (using a stand alone in my application) on the driver side with the coolant pipe fittings both on the passenger side. The three other ports on the drivers side are set up for the LS steam vent on the top, a temp sensor in the middle, and the replaceable zinc on the bottom. Theres also a fitting under the cap for an overflow tank.

I already have the dual fan set up from my previous radiator that will bolt right up to this unit. In 5 years with the last unit, the truck never got north of 210 degrees....including sitting in Atlanta traffic in the middle of August. The last one eventually failed due to my own negligence. I never replaced the drain with a consumable zinc. In their new models, Entropy has since included a separate fitting for the zinc while retaining the drain on the lower driver side.

Anyway, after about two hours of tinkering, the truck was up and running....spent a few minutes cleaning it off and headed out for a test drive....all is well!

[HO455]

The Vette looks great!

[FLYNAVY30]

Originally Posted by HO455

The Vette looks great!

Thanks....I'm very excited to finally have it finished. That car has been a dream of mine for over a decade...kind of the middle ground between the day-two look and pro touring. Lots of little details in that build that make it handle, steer, and stop significantly better than stock, without going full $100K+ billet pro touring build....and some subtle interior touches that make the Vette purists cringe:



Now, back to the Suburban...

[HO455]

Sounds cool! And I'm digging the plaid seats.


I just ran across this.

https://richmond.craigslist.org/pts/...102851173.html