Our "What are we going to do?" 66 Suburban Build

[C@rnut001]

The wheels and tires are looking great, as is your new booster/master cylinder unit. Keep up the great progress. It is awesome to see so many of these great trucks in one family! I must say that I liked reading about your son's progress on his extended cab 4X4 today too. Keep us posted on how you are doing on this suburban.

[duallyjams]

Where did you pic up the booster from?

[RockTonka]

Originally Posted by duallyjams

Where did you pic up the booster from?

O'Reilly's Auto Parts $140 w/$40 core charge - $100 all said and done for master/booster.

[chevyrestoguy]

Great job! You guys are masters for making things nice for very little cash outlay. I always look forward to seeing what you guys are doing next.

[RockTonka]

Originally Posted by chevyrestoguy

Great job! You guys are masters for making things nice for very little cash outlay. I always look forward to seeing what you guys are doing next.

Did you just call us cheap??

These trucks are one of the least expensive forms of family therapy we could find, so...keeps us from going


Seriously, Thank you.

[jbclassix]

Subscribing... to all four of your family builds now...

[mr48chev]

I'm liking the way you are going with this one. I'd be willing to bet that it gets to do a lot of whole family ice cream runs when it warms up a bit.

[RockTonka]

Started in on the brakes today knowing that the pass front was non-existent, so tore into it first. We kinda fiqured the wheel cylinder was the problem and it was, inner seal was leaking too. So tore it down and cleaned all the parts up, had the drums turned (minor grooves), and picked up new shoes, seals, and hoses.
When we bought my boy's 66 GMC it had wheel cylinder kits in the glove box that had never been installed...check out the date on the boxes...1989 , they were still pliable and in perfect shape so we used them!

[RockTonka]

Now in this first pic I've got something wrong...can you tell what it is??

I went back and fixed it though Replaced the shocks while we were at it.

So we've got good brakes across the front now, will try bleeding the rear and see if they need rebuilding also but ran out of time today.

Maybe try to get some exhaust this week...thinking dual Flowmaster 50s dumping right in front of the rear tires??? Could do Magnaflows for the same $$ ???

[C@rnut001]

Looks good and is such an important part of any build...Great job!

[chevyrestoguy]

Originally Posted by RockTonka

...Maybe try to get some exhaust this week...thinking dual Flowmaster 50s dumping right in front of the rear tires??? Could do Magnaflows for the same $$ ???

Go with Magnaflows. The Flowmasters have an annoying drone at highway speeds and after awhile, it'll get on your nerves. Magnaflows sound mellow at idle and at highway speeds, and then come alive when you romp the throttle. Plus, they are stainless, polish up nice, and are a packed muffler that won't have that metallic "ping" at idle like a Flowmaster. I like Flowmasters on a radical street machine, not on a stocker.

[Captainfab]

Looks to me like you had the shoes right the first time?

Were the self adjusters not there to begin with?

[RockTonka]

Alright chevyrestoguy, I'm scheduled for dual Magnaflows thurs afternoon

Captainfab, no self adjusters on this set-up...and the shoes were wrong! I had both primarys on the pass side in that pic

Got it out and put a good 20 or so miles on it after work this afternoon around town...hit the freeway, cruised a couple miles at 65+...still smoking, more on deceleration. Took a couple pics at a park hanging out...

[Captainfab]

'66 was the first year for self adjusters on the brakes. I wonder if someone left them off during a previous brake job?

I guess I misread what you were saying. I was referring to this pic


I see what happened in the other pic. I think we've all done that at least once

Originally Posted by RockTonka

Alright chevyrestoguy, I'm scheduled for dual Magnaflows thurs afternoon

Captainfab, no self adjusters on this set-up...and the shoes were wrong! I had both primarys on the pass side in that pic

Got it out and put a good 20 or so miles on it after work this afternoon around town...hit the freeway, cruised a couple miles at 65+...still smoking, more on deceleration. Took a couple pics at a park hanging out...

[hemifalcon]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

'66 was the first year for self adjusters on the brakes. I wonder if someone left them off during a previous brake job?

I guess I misread what you were saying. I was referring to this pic


I see what happened in the other pic. I think we've all done that at least once

Captain-- Was it 65 or 66 that was the first year for auto-adjusters?? I've got them on my '65 Sub..

[RockTonka]

Eitherway I should've had them on this burb...dang it. I don't see myself chasing down the parts to make it right though, probably just end up manually adjusting when necessary.

We went ahead and got the exhaust done today (supposed to rain tomorrow). We deleted the passenger side heat riser with a delete block and ran 2 1/4 tubing into Magnaflows outside the frame rail and dumped in front of the rear tires on both sides...sounds pretty cool

[Captainfab]

I was thinking it was '66

Originally Posted by hemifalcon

Captain-- Was it 65 or 66 that was the first year for auto-adjusters?? I've got them on my '65 Sub..

[RockTonka]

We've made the decision to replace the drivetrain (motor/tranny) with something more entertaining.
We want to pull the 283/PG in it's entirety and keep it, in case we (or somebody) wants to restore the burb to its original glory.

So...thinking a carbed 383/700R4 combo. I tend to get caught up in the excitement of it all , and picked up a built 700R4 today.
It's a fresh built late model 30 spline unit from a local racing tranny shop (Wilson's) here in OKC.
Now I'm a bit fuzzy on the specifics, but here's kinda what I got...7 pac clutch, electric band (?), .500 boost, vette servo, full time & lube kit, WRT shift kit, monster sun shell, 2200 stall converter...more I'm forgetting, but should be set for AC down the road and a little bit of a lumpy cam (300-400HP)

[RockTonka]

Not much to add, we've been driving it all around town putting a few hundred miles on it...even got the wife and daughter to spend some time behind the wheel. They got a big kick out of it and were surprised at how easy it was to drive
We still have a fair amount of blow-by, wet-stacking the exhaust and getting oil drops/mist on the tires/wheels.
I've spent some time looking at engine options and keep coming back to a ZZ4 from GM Performance as the best option for us...just waiting for the boss's approval. (could be a long wait)
Also picked up a set of super clean ralleys for cheap off of Craigs List...don't know if they will find their way onto the burb, but maybe??

[RockTonka]

We just couldn't leave well enough alone and had to pick up some 275/60R15's to try on for size...we like the look alot more. We'll probably pick up some 255/60R15s for the front to finish it off...check the classified section for the new tires and stock wheels/hubcaps that are coming off

[RockTonka]

My son and daughter got together and picked up a RestoSound radio and a DVC dash speaker for my birthday and the boy dropped them in last night...sounds pretty damn good!

[C@rnut001]

I love the look of the rally wheels and the new tires...also that is awesome that you have the new radio. I think it is so great that your whole family gets in on this burb!

[RockTonka]

Thanks C@rnut, it's not worth it if we all don't get something out of it

[Captainfab]

Yep, I do like those tires and wheels better....of course I'm a little partial, since that is what I run on my Burb. I had 255's on the front for a while, but IMO they were a little too small. So now I have 275's all the way around.

Man I miss driving my Burb......hopefully soon.

[RockTonka]

Hmmm, any pics?? I was going to pick up some 255s this week but now you've got me thinking. Since you were running 275s in front, I assume you had no fitment issues with the ralleys?? Stock suspension or any drop? We were considering dropping the front a few inches.