53 Surburban "Family Truckster"

[8man]

Very nice work.

[Tempest67]

you metal work guys amaze me.

well done, looks great

[oldman3]

Marc, nice job on the cover...Jim

[lower50's]

I can't figure out where the cover will be compared to the 3rd seat but maybe you could put some cup holders in it, if it works out?

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by Tempest67

from what I see, I consider you one of those 'Metal Magicians' (this site has several)


You have all inspired me to try and make a rear roll pan this winter. It is low and behind the bumper, so if I mess it up, it wont be too noticeable, I hope.

also thinking about a metal piece below the dash to hold the radio


Great work, and thank you for the inspiration

Thank you for following along. I will be also making a lower dash to house my AC vents, controls as well as my wiper and light switches. I did that on my last build. That is also why I cut my dash flat across the bottom. For the lower dash, I'm going to enlist the help of one of my fabricator friends as he has better tooling. Mock it up in cardboard fist. That's what I did (covered in a post several pages above). The you can lay it flap and see all of the necessary bends and cuts. Then fold up the metal and weld it up. This applies to anything you are trying to build out of metal.

Originally Posted by oldman3

Marc, nice job on the cover...Jim

Thank you Jim

[mongocanfly]

That turned out great Marc..!!

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by lower50's

I can't figure out where the cover will be compared to the 3rd seat but maybe you could put some cup holders in it, if it works out?

Here this will help you visualize (pic is before I painted it black). No real room for cup holders as the subfloor structure runs under this notch cover. The small cover runs on the back side of this notch cover. The seat will run over the top of it. This is the only time it will be seen when I don't have a third row in.

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

That turned out great Marc..!!

Thanks man, I stated body working it last night. I have a handful of parts I need to get painted. This being one of them. The idea is to do them all at the same time.

Marc

[Dieselwrencher]

That's looking very nice. Going low sure has it's disadvantages but they look so cool down there.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

That's looking very nice. Going low sure has it's disadvantages but they look so cool down there.

Thanks Ryan...Going up also has its disadvantages and modifications that are needed. Its just part of the deal.

Marc

[ajgriffin]

Hey Marc, did you ever try to fire up the engine again? If so, how did it go?

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by ajgriffin

Hey Marc, did you ever try to fire up the engine again? If so, how did it go?

I did and the results were so, so. I decided to move onto other things. I think I contaminated my fuel source by not adequately flushing out the tank sfter several years of fab work. I ended up removing the tank and power washing it out, drying and reinstalling. I also got a new fuel pump and regulator and swapped those out as I didn't trust that they didn't have crud in them. I also blew out my lines. It did run (just not real great) prior to figuring out the fuel issue. I just decided not to add more fresh gas until closer to driving it...

Thanks
Marc

[youngrodder]

I worked on a few odds and end projects. I plan to run LED headlight bulbs and since they extend farther out of the back of the light I modified my stock headlight buckets.

I cut in a hole and then I will epoxy in the rubber boot to cove the hole and to allow for a wire pass thru.

On my 48 truck, the headlights and and poor adjustability (due to the frenched headlight kit) made night time driving a challenge. I set out to correct this on my Suburban. These LED lights should fit the bill..

Thank you
Marc

[layinrocker65]

Which arm is the new one?

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by layinrocker65

Which arm is the new one?

Passenger side, or 3rd and 4th pics..

Marc

[layinrocker65]

Originally Posted by youngrodder

Passenger side, or 3rd and 4th pics..

Marc

That's how you know its a good job lol

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by layinrocker65

That's how you know its a good job lol

Thanks, I learned a lot from all of the distressing of the body. It's all in the details. When you have age and distress everywhere you look it masks the fuax area's with the real rust areas. At least that's the hope. ha ha

Marc

[Tempest67]

your 'faux tina' painting is excellent.

I have tried to do it, and it is not that easy.


Thanks for the pics

[lower50's]

You sir are an artist.
I did something similar to fit my LED headlights so nice at night.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by lower50's

You sir are an artist.
I did something similar to fit my LED headlights so nice at night.

Thanks man. The headlights in my 48 sucked due to the hagen frenched headlight kit. There was no adjustment. I hated driving it at night due to the visibility. I'm excited about having much better visibility.

Marc

[Dieselwrencher]

That mirror arm looks old ad legit. Great work. I really like those gauges. I'd love to buy them for my 40 but geeze! Where does the money bleeding end?

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

That mirror arm looks old ad legit. Great work. I really like those gauges. I'd love to buy them for my 40 but geeze! Where does the money bleeding end?

Thanks man...Yes I hear you on the money..I going to pick up some of my seat from the upholster this weekend.

Marc

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Pretty sure I saw that mirror on the 'gram and couldn't tell which was which.

[slammed57]

gauges look soooo nice

[Dieselwrencher]

Do you have any tips for making things look that distressed? I've done some but yours looks way more legit than mine did.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by Dave_The_BMXER

Pretty sure I saw that mirror on the 'gram and couldn't tell which was which.

Thanks..

Originally Posted by slammed57

gauges look soooo nice

I appreciate it

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Do you have any tips for making things look that distressed? I've done some but yours looks way more legit than mine did.

It's about layers and textures. Keep playing with it until your happy with it. Be creative. For example I put the new mirror arm in a vice and tightened it down then twisted it to add nicks and scraps to it then I painted it, sanded and painted again. It jsut takes time an playing around.