1972 Suburban 4X4 3/4 Ton K20 "The Beast"

[allen71]

Fortunately the wood floor in my 71 Suburban is in fine shape, so no replacement needed. The spare tire well has a few rust holes on the bottom.

I replaced the factory 20 gallon gas tank with a 40 gallon tank made of 1/8" steel plate back in 1973 during the first Arab oil embargo. Back when gas shot up to 60 cents a gallon! I do need to drop the tank and replace the sender though.

Glad to see you're making progress!
Allen

[nsiti]

Originally Posted by allen71

Fortunately the wood floor in my 71 Suburban is in fine shape, so no replacement needed. The spare tire well has a few rust holes on the bottom.

I replaced the factory 20 gallon gas tank with a 40 gallon tank made of 1/8" steel plate back in 1973 during the first Arab oil embargo. Back when gas shot up to 60 cents a gallon! I do need to drop the tank and replace the sender though.

Glad to see you're making progress!
Allen

Thanks, and fifty years later the price of gas is 6x higher, and OPEC+ is still playing games with the prices. Inflation is stealthy.

PS - I haven't forgotten the photos I promised you!

[allen71]

When you can get to the photos, that would be great.

I wanted to ask you what you are going to use to control the 4L80E?

You may also want to drop the transfer case and replace all the seals, they likely leak. I did this some years ago, I'll try to find the source I purchased the seals from, all US made stuff, if you are interested.
Allen

PS. Gas here is almost $7.00 a gallon, almost 12X the price in 73. Back in 71 gas was less than 30 cents a gallon.

[nsiti]

Originally Posted by allen71

When you can get to the photos, that would be great.

I wanted to ask you what you are going to use to control the 4L80E?

You may also want to drop the transfer case and replace all the seals, they likely leak. I did this some years ago, I'll try to find the source I purchased the seals from, all US made stuff, if you are interested.
Allen

PS. Gas here is almost $7.00 a gallon, almost 12X the price in 73. Back in 71 gas was less than 30 cents a gallon.

I have purchased a Compushift transmission control module to mate the Edelbrock Pro Flo 4 with the 4L80E.

I have also purchased a transfer case rebuild kit from Advance Adapter. Definitely plan on taking advantage of dropping all this heavy equipment to do general preventive maintenance.

Looks like my inflation calculation was off by a factor of 2x and possibly 4x (I used the nationwide average for regular gasoline)! There is certainly a lot of price variance state-to-state affected by distance and taxation. But prices are rising out of hand. I'm glad I sourced all of the parts and materials for the restoration two years ago, before prices rocketed higher.

[HO455]

I just found your thread this morning and it's been a good read. You're doing good work reviving that Burban.

I clicked the link in post #39 interested in reading someone's floor replacement thread. It turned out to be less interesting than I hoped. Kinda like watching reruns.

Keep up the good work and if you have any questions on the floor replacement contact me.

[nsiti]

Originally Posted by HO455

I just found your thread this morning and it's been a good read. You're doing good work reviving that Burban.

I clicked the link in post #39 interested in reading someone's floor replacement thread. It turned out to be less interesting than I hoped. Kinda like watching reruns.

Keep up the good work and if you have any questions on the floor replacement contact me.

Hi, and thanks for your kind words, they are much appreciated.

And thank you for posting such a detailed build thread, which as been most helpful to myself and others.

I'll keep you posted on my floor replacement, which I'm sure will go more smoothly and look much better thanks to your effort to machine the bolts for our beloved Suburbans.

Kind regards,
Nick

[nsiti]

A little more progress was made on the body work. Hoping to progress to the wood bed removal next week. Then again, that's what I said last week!

[nsiti]

Fairly boring photos, but I thought I would share. I foresee more action soon

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by nsiti

Fairly boring photos, but I thought I would share. I foresee more action soon

Not boring at all, it's good to see the progress. The delays are all part of the process. I have had plenty of them on my project too....

LockDoc

[Beach-Burban]

Wow Nick…impressive work! This is my first time seeing your build thread, so thanks for telling me about it!

As with you, it took me a long time to locate a Suburban that hit most everything on my checklist, and I was lucky when I found one that was only 80 miles from home…but now I feel a little guilty with the lack of body work mine needs compared to one from the East Coast! You are very skilled and dedicated…and I really appreciate the time you have taken to document your progress! Looking forward to your PF4 install!!!

Woody

[Dieselwrencher]

Very cool burb and great work on it! I have a 2wd one that needs mostly all this rust repair as well. I'm not looking forward to having to pay for new rear ac lines either. Keep up the great work on it!

[nsiti]

Originally Posted by Beach-Burban

Wow Nick…impressive work! This is my first time seeing your build thread, so thanks for telling me about it!

As with you, it took me a long time to locate a Suburban that hit most everything on my checklist, and I was lucky when I found one that was only 80 miles from home…but now I feel a little guilty with the lack of body work mine needs compared to one from the East Coast! You are very skilled and dedicated…and I really appreciate the time you have taken to document your progress! Looking forward to your PF4 install!!!

Woody

Woody, thanks for your kind and encouraging words.

I'll keep you posted!

Nick

[nsiti]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Very cool burb and great work on it! I have a 2wd one that needs mostly all this rust repair as well. I'm not looking forward to having to pay for new rear ac lines either. Keep up the great work on it!

Hey Ryan, thanks for your words of encouragement and following along.

I don't recall the rear AC lines, which I bought from Old Air Products, being too high a cost. However, they weren't terminated properly for our trucks, which required some additional work. But I've gotten used to bumps along the way!

Regards,
Nick

[nsiti]

Small steps forward. Planning a run into year-end!

[jerry moss]

awesome job you are doing . what are the wheels on the beast ? i'm trying to make up my mind on wheels for my 69 3/4 ton 4x4- i have a set of oe 16.5 x 8.25 steel wheels but tires are expensive and hard to find, i have a set of 16 x 7 ford e-350 wheels and a set of old 16 x 8 white spoke wheels but i'm not real sure about any of them. my poor old suburban has been sitting about 8 or 9 years since i installed a rebuilt motor, 4 speed trans, 205 t-case, 14 bolt rear, dana 44 hd front, 4 inch all spring lift rear spring hangers off a 72, changed the entire dash, etc. but a major back operation a double knee replacement has kicked my ass. i've started slowly getting back into it and now i can't find all the parts i took off to do the inside--yeah i have a lot of crap around here, been looking for the steering column for weeks now and can't find it, LOL.

[nsiti]

Originally Posted by jerry moss

awesome job you are doing . what are the wheels on the beast ? i'm trying to make up my mind on wheels for my 69 3/4 ton 4x4- i have a set of oe 16.5 x 8.25 steel wheels but tires are expensive and hard to find, i have a set of 16 x 7 ford e-350 wheels and a set of old 16 x 8 white spoke wheels but i'm not real sure about any of them. my poor old suburban has been sitting about 8 or 9 years since i installed a rebuilt motor, 4 speed trans, 205 t-case, 14 bolt rear, dana 44 hd front, 4 inch all spring lift rear spring hangers off a 72, changed the entire dash, etc. but a major back operation a double knee replacement has kicked my ass. i've started slowly getting back into it and now i can't find all the parts i took off to do the inside--yeah i have a lot of crap around here, been looking for the steering column for weeks now and can't find it, LOL.

Hi Jerry and thanks for your nice feedback.

Regarding the wheels, here are the specs:

Wheels Detroit Steel Wheel Co. Delray $315.00 X4= $1,260.00 18" x 9" (8x6.5") 4.5" backspace (you can customize the specs depending on which tire you want).

I had them powder coated in metallic silver which I figured would go with the dark olive metallic body paint I'm going to go with.

Tires Mickey Thomson Baja Boss AT $350.00 X4= $1,400.00 LT295/70R18

I chose these tires because they were the narrowest I could find in this size, while being newly engineered hybrid all terrains that are 3 peak snow rated.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your build, which sounds great. I hope you persevere!

Regards,
Nick

[jerry moss]

Originally Posted by nsiti

Hi Jerry and thanks for your nice feedback.

Regarding the wheels, here are the specs:

Wheels Detroit Steel Wheel Co. Delray $315.00 X4= $1,260.00 18" x 9" (8x6.5") 4.5" backspace (you can customize the specs depending on which tire you want).

I had them powder coated in metallic silver which I figured would go with the dark olive metallic body paint I'm going to go with.

Tires Mickey Thomson Baja Boss AT $350.00 X4= $1,400.00 LT295/70R18

I chose these tires because they were the narrowest I could find in this size, while being newly engineered hybrid all terrains that are 3 peak snow rated.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your build, which sounds great. I hope you persevere!

Regards,
Nick

thanks Nick, i appreciate the fast response. again, awesome build you are doing, HAPPY NEW YEAR

[nsiti]

After an unacceptably long time, we finally found the time to remove the rear wood bed.

Sourced a perfectly sized, high quality, piece of marine wood, which we will soon shape.

Also took the opportunity to test-fit the 40 gallon Aero Tanks gas tank. The rear crossmember will be moved to a spot to provide proper front clearance and allow for a straight fuel line.

Hopefully now that the weather is improving, the project will move along at a faster pace!

[LockDoc]

-
Looking good. Glad to see you working on it again. Keep us updated.
.

[Beach-Burban]

Originally Posted by nsiti

After an unacceptably long time, we finally found the time to remove the rear wood bed.

Sourced a perfectly sized, high quality, piece of marine wood, which we will soon shape.

Also took the opportunity to test-fit the 40 gallon Aero Tanks gas tank. The rear crossmember will be moved to a spot to provide proper front clearance and allow for a straight fuel line.

Hopefully now that the weather is improving, the project will move along at a faster pace!

Nice fitting tank, Nick…you’ll enjoy the range you get from carrying 40 gallons! Make sure to replace your body mount cushions BEFORE filling the tank…the back four on mine were inaccessible without dropping my 45 gallon tank, and full it weighed around 400lbs! What a pain it was!!! Keep up the good work!

Woody

[CDA 455]

Originally Posted by Beach-Burban

Nice fitting tank, Nick…you’ll enjoy the range you get from carrying 40 gallons! Make sure to replace your body mount cushions BEFORE filling the tank…the back four on mine were inaccessible without dropping my 45 gallon tank, and full it weighed around 400lbs! What a pain it was!!! Keep up the good work!

Woody

Basically;
Water weighs 8lb per gallon
Gas weighs 6lbs per gallon.

[HO455]

Good job!

I didn't know the fuel lines for the vents attached to the floor on the later trucks. Thanks for posting the photos. Learning more every day. I'm planning on putting a vent line on mine and going to an unvented cap along with some other updates in the next month or so. Nice and timely for me.

[nsiti]

Originally Posted by Beach-Burban

Nice fitting tank, Nick…you’ll enjoy the range you get from carrying 40 gallons! Make sure to replace your body mount cushions BEFORE filling the tank…the back four on mine were inaccessible without dropping my 45 gallon tank, and full it weighed around 400lbs! What a pain it was!!! Keep up the good work!

Woody

Woody, thanks for mentioning the replacement of the body mounts. I bought a kit made of rubber from GMC Paul's, and installing them is one of the next few items on the list. I think your estimate of 400 lbs is spot on. I can only imagine what a struggle that must have been.

Cheers,
Nick

[nsiti]

Originally Posted by HO455

Good job!

I didn't know the fuel lines for the vents attached to the floor on the later trucks. Thanks for posting the photos. Learning more every day. I'm planning on putting a vent line on mine and going to an unvented cap along with some other updates in the next month or so. Nice and timely for me.

Thanks and happy to help.

We moved the gas tank rearward, to a spot where some existing holes in the frame can fasten the rear cross member. I'm attaching some more photos in the next post.

I'm also going with a vent line and an unvented gas tank cap. I have purchased a roll-over valve and plan to install a fuel vapor reducer from iiMuch. Note: I ordered in February and have yet to receive the item! Apparently, there is a new version which is coming out in a month.

https://www.iimuch.com/collections/f...ion-p-n-200024

I'm not sure where one can install it on a Suburban. It should be on the outside of the cabin, above the tank. Any suggestions?

[nsiti]

Some fine tuning of the placement of the gas tank.