53 Surburban "Family Truckster"

[youngrodder]

Just about have the exhaust finished up. We really just have the tail pipes and rear hanger/mounts to figure out. My friend Josh that is the fabricator at my friends rod shop is so incredible talented. No way this exhaust turns out 1/2 as nice without Josh...Pics are deceiving, My air lines are no where close to the pipes. I added 90 degree air fittings and rerouted the lines to the top of the frame rail to offer more clearance. Tomorrow I will bolt up the front section of the exhaust for the last time. I had to drill and tap the tranny mount as we we have some clean mounts the bolt up to that.

I also repainted the body. As I mentioned after seeing how my doors turned out I didn't like the body. It looked too fake to me. I added more air brush work the second time around. I'm much happier with it. Pics on that later.

Here is where we are with the exhaust.

Marc

[mongocanfly]

Marc...that's looking great..!!...love the look of the countersink fender bolts..!!
What radiator are you running?.. I'm to lazy to go back and look..haha

[joedoh]

sooooo clean

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Marc...that's looking great..!!...love the look of the countersink fender bolts..!!
What radiator are you running?.. I'm to lazy to go back and look..haha

Thanks, I used them on my 48 truck I build. I really liked how they looked in the bed for the bolts to hold the rear fenders on. They look good and server a function of keeping the metal flat so its a win win. I'm using a Champion 4 core that I painted in epoxy black.

Originally Posted by joedoh

sooooo clean

Thanks man..

Marc

[youngrodder]

Sat....So I found I already had more flex hose so I finished making/installing my tranny lines. My friend came back and we are just about done with the exhaust. I also worked on pre assembling the vintage air set up.

Here are a couple pics of the brushed grill. I also installed my turn signals while I was at it. The more I can pre assemble now the quicker the final install will go.

Thanks
Marc

[mongocanfly]

Oh man....that grill looks sooooooo good...

[oldman3]

Marc, nice job on the grill...Jim

[84blaze]

Marc, what's the process you're using to acheive the brushed look on your grill? I really like the look and I'm taking notes...

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Oh man....that grill looks sooooooo good...

Thanks I'm digging it..

Originally Posted by oldman3

Marc, nice job on the grill...Jim

Thanks Jim

Originally Posted by 84blaze

Marc, what's the process you're using to acheive the brushed look on your grill? I really like the look and I'm taking notes...

Just take a red scotch bright pad. I apply a little penetrating spray to the pad then use elbow grease. The key is to go the same direction with your strokes and keep the even lines. If you don't the grain of the metal will be messed up.I suggest starting on a junk piece first and practice. That's what I did.

Marc

[youngrodder]

We the exhaust got pretty much wrapped up this weekend. My fabricator friend had 31 hrs into this exhaust. keep in mind he would haul the pieces back to the shop to cut/fit/weld. All we have left is to add a hanger to the ends. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. It's not quite a full system but longer than a shorty system that ends under the body.

The body will go back on for good In about a week.

Thank you
Marc

[oldman3]

That's looking great, can't wait to see body on (I know you can't either)...Jim

[mongocanfly]

Exhaust looks great..!....I'm ready for the body to go on to...!

[8man]

That's one good looking frame!

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by oldman3

That's looking great, can't wait to see body on (I know you can't either)...Jim

You know it Jim...ha ha. I have done a fair amount of pre-assmebly so I think it will go together swiftly.

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Exhaust looks great..!....I'm ready for the body to go on to...!

Thanks, me too...

Originally Posted by 8man

That's one good looking frame!

Thank you, it needs a good detailing before I drop the body back on.

Marc

[ajgriffin]

Coming together real nice Marc!

[joedoh]

beautiful attention to detail

[youngrodder]

Here's where were at. The exhaust is complete and fully bolted in (O2 sensors and all). This Sunday some buddies are coming over to help me drop the body on the chassis for the last time. I still need to detail/clean the frame before Sunday

In an effort to gain more radiator clearance I need about 5/8". Modifications were needed to the radiator and core support to gain some room. I use cooling components fans for a couple reasons. 1. they are a 2 speed fan that move some serious CFM's. 2. They come with a shroud. 3. They are quiet. They are not cheap but on my 48 it solved my overheating issues.

http://coolingcomponentsinc.us.com/p...ucts/cci-1770/

I did a similar modification on my 48 but this time around it was better executed. I notched the flange on the top of the core support to move the radiator forward. I then broke loose the welds and I will realign the mounting flange to be vertical. As you know they have a slant from the factory to lean the radiator back. My fabricator friend Josh will weld it back together. These mods should create the space I need.

While I was looking at things it became apparent that the top of the factory core support was ugly the way the ends terminated. So I trimmed them back some and capped them off...

Now for the bad news. Both my radiator and core support were already painted. Some touch up will be needed here.

Marc

[youngrodder]

More pics....

You can see from the exposed aluminum where the brackets used to be aligned. This is a few pics of the capped core support.

Marc

[oldman3]

Looking good Marc...Jim

[84blaze]

I've never liked how the radiators stick up past the factory shroud on these trucks. Since I'm on a S10 chassis the front frame horns and steering box rerally limit the depth of my radiator and made my Champion 4 core stick up way too much. I've since sold it since it wasnt working for me. I would like to find a rad that can fit within my dimensions and sit below this little sheet metal shroud I have.

Untitled by Spencer Wiedeman, on Flickr

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by oldman3

Looking good Marc...Jim

Thanks Jim

Originally Posted by 84blaze

I've never liked how the radiators stick up past the factory shroud on these trucks. Since I'm on a S10 chassis the front frame horns and steering box rerally limit the depth of my radiator and made my Champion 4 core stick up way too much. I've since sold it since it wasnt working for me. I would like to find a rad that can fit within my dimensions and sit below this little sheet metal shroud I have.

Untitled by Spencer Wiedeman, on Flickr

On my 48 I used a G-body front clip which is petty much the same as a S-10. I lost 4" in radiator height because of the steering box. I used a Champion 4 core from a mid 60's mustang. it will still stick up some otherwise your radiator will be so small it wont offer adequate cooling.


The hose outlets even lined up for my LT1 (which I think are the same as an LS). Since you are running a shorter radiator you will need a good "sucker" electric fan (see my recommendation in my previous post) and build a shroud at the bottom of your core support to direct air up into your radiator. Before I did that my 48 always ran hotter than I would have liked.

Thanks

Marc

[reaper71]

Looking great Marc.

I saw your post on "bickle" about your door seals from steele.
Have you looked at Soffseal? really nice products


Mark

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by reaper71

Looking great Marc.

I saw your post on "bickle" about your door seals from steele.
Have you looked at Soffseal? really nice products


Mark

Thanks Mark...I'm good on door seals. I used universal ones. I did the same on my 48 and they worked great. I need to get front and rear door window seals. ordered. I'm having all of my glass cut locally and it should be done in a week or so....thanks for the suggestion.


Marc

[youngrodder]

Ok, so I hit a major milestone this weekend. I asked a few buddies over to help drop the body back on. A few areas I was worried about as far as clearances go was the following: The coil clearance to the firewall. The shifter clearance coming thru the floor. Everything turned out better than expected. The only exception was the floor by the tranny. I had to cut more of the floor than I wanted/intended. The thing that changed between mock ups was the drive line angle and the height of the tranny mount. I will just come up with a trans tunnel..

Overall I was stoked with the outcome. Keep in mind that these rims are 20's. I plan to run 22's.

Considering that I painted the body panels separate from each other I was pleased how they look next to each other.

Here are a bunch of pics.

[8man]

That is looking great.