53 Surburban "Family Truckster"

[joedoh]

good night that is gorgeous!

[NorCalGal]

Some people have all the talent. That is a beautiful suburban.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by joedoh

good night that is gorgeous!

Thanks man. It is fun to see the vision I've have had for a while bouncing around I'm my head starting to come to fruition.

Originally Posted by NorCalGal

Some people have all the talent. That is a beautiful suburban.

Thank you very much, I'm humbled. It has been a fun project and so different in many ways from my last build.

Marc

[MiraclePieCo]

Outrageous! LOL, you're slightly behind your "couple of years" timetable in post #1 but it's been worth the wait!

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by MiraclePieCo

Outrageous! LOL, you're slightly behind your "couple of years" timetable in post #1 but it's been worth the wait!

Well my first build (48 truck) took 11 yrs, so the way I look at it I'm ahead of schedule..ha ha.

Marc

[youngrodder]

So tonight I lined up all of the body mounts so I could slip bolts into each hole. On suburbans there are (4) Wood block 2 5/8" in height the supports the rear wood floor. It takes up the space between the frame and the floor. Since I made my own custom sub floor I knew I would need to make my own blocks.

I used Derlin to make the blocks. Derlin is a high density plastic that is used in tool and die to make worm gears and stuff. I love using this stuff.
1 It comes in black (or white).
2 It's easy to drill, sand and cut
3 it's pretty cheap. I buy drops at Alro metal for a couple $ per Lb.
4 It's not effected by the elements so there's no chance for water damage or rot.

I used Derlin to make my trans and carrier bearing spacers as well.

I needed to locate the body mount hole, drill thru the sub floor structure and make the top hole large enough to drop the head of the 7/16" bolt thru and also be able to fit a socket. Once the wood floor is installed you wont see any of this.

I now have all of my body mounts ready to tighten down as soon as I pick up some 3.5" long 7/16" bolts.

Thanks
Marc

[youngrodder]

I really want to try to get the motor fired this spring. I have been focusing on items to help with that. One thing I noticed after I dropped the body on was my poor placement for the battery. I underestimated how buried it would be under the body. I have since ordered a drop down battery box. The bad part is removing the current one. It will be difficulty to get to the bolts that hold on the mount. I might have to cut it off unless I want to crib up the body some.

We had some friends over this weekend so I bolted the grill and core support cover to look a little more complete. I do like the look of the brushed grill.

Tonight's project, I made my custom vintage plug wires. For not really having the best crimping tools I made due. I like how they turned out. I just need to source some plug wire separators. I also double checked the wiring going into each coil to verify that I had the firing order correct (which I did...I was surprised) coming from the factory harness.

On Sunday I made a small bracket to mount the fuse block for the BPI harness. I'm pretty close to dropping it down the floor and plugging in stuff.

Thanks
Marc

[joedoh]

beaut work! delrin is some cool stuff. we have an aircraft surplus store here and they sell a composite wood substitute that is also listed as a sub for delrin!

Originally Posted by youngrodder

I really want to try to get the motor fired this spring.

7 months from now? or is your summer cooler and more pleasant haha

[mongocanfly]

Spring?...
Those plug wires are cool...never seen them befors..
And that grill....WOW...I really like the brushed look..

[reaper71]

Looks great Marc

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by joedoh

beaut work! delrin is some cool stuff. we have an aircraft surplus store here and they sell a composite wood substitute that is also listed as a sub for delrin!



7 months from now? or is your summer cooler and more pleasant haha

Typo ha ha...I meant fall. With this Covid crap it has felt like one long Spring.

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Spring?...
Those plug wires are cool...never seen them befors..
And that grill....WOW...I really like the brushed look..

Yeah I meant Fall. I got them off Ebay. They were the cheapest source. They offer a lot of different colors and the guy Tom will provide the ends (45's or 90's) That you need. Thxs I really like to grill as well. Glad I did it.

Originally Posted by reaper71

Looks great Marc

Thanks Mark

[ajgriffin]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Spring?...
Those plug wires are cool...never seen them befors..
And that grill....WOW...I really like the brushed look..

Yeah, spring...baseball just started.

[oldman3]

Really taking shape...Jim

[Tempest67]

Looks great, please post link for those wires, I love the look.

Nice work

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by oldman3

Really taking shape...Jim

Thanks Jim

Originally Posted by Tempest67

Looks great, please post link for those wires, I love the look.

Nice work

Thxs much appreciated.
Check out https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Clo...Cclp%3A2334524

He has many different colors in his various listings. I didn't pay that much, I think my color was discontinued. I bought them last winter.

Marc

[Tempest67]

Thanks....here I am wanting to replace my wire set and I haven't even started the brand new motor yet....but those look so good.

Thanks for the link

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by Tempest67

Thanks....here I am wanting to replace my wire set and I haven't even started the brand new motor yet....but those look so good.

Thanks for the link

I hear ya. I'm anxiously wanting to fire my motor as well after a complete tear down. I knew that I wanted these wires along time ago. I also purchased some simple black wire separators that I will add to better organize the wires

Marc

[mongocanfly]

Marc..couldnt get your Ebay link to work..
I did search it by using (Vintage Cloth Braided Spark Plug Wires) and found them

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Marc..couldnt get your Ebay link to work..
I did search it by using (Vintage Cloth Braided Spark Plug Wires) and found them

I just click on the link and it works for me. Tom's is the guy I bought from. If you want different ends just message him and he will set you up with what you need.

Marc

[mongocanfly]

It says.....
(We looked everywhere..Looks like this page is missing.)

But that is the one I saw...
Tons.performance

[_Ogre]

looking good! getting the body on is a big step

those plug wires look really good. post up a link if you have time

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

looking good! getting the body on is a big step

those plug wires look really good. post up a link if you have time

Thank you...Look up to post# 1340. I posted a link there...

Marc

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by youngrodder

Typo ha ha...I meant fall. With this Covid crap it has felt like one long Spring.

you arent kidding! my daughter is still home, since march!

[youngrodder]

So one item that surfaced when I dropped the body back on was how buried my battery was. The problems we're A. I couldn't easily unbolt the leads. B. it would be very difficult to remove the battery for replacement. I always want access or a way out on any serviceable item. An example of this is why my rear notch cover for the floor is bold (opposed to weld in) in to allow access to the rear mechanical's. The remedy was not pretty. Because the mounting bolts where hidden behind the battery I had to go mid evil and cut the battery box in 1/2. The solution was a drop down battery box. I love these things. I used one similar on my 48.

Oh...and there's this. My oldest son Cooper turns 16 in Nov. I have been looking for something for him to drive. For years I had driven past a mid 90's 2 door 4-wheel drive Blazer (last year of full size Blazer) sitting next to a barn at a farm by my moms. I stopped by last week to inquire. A deal was struck (For cheap) and we drag it home Friday. This should make a fun father/son project. I needs a fuel pump and some general stop and god stuff.

Thanks
Marc

[Khaus]

Awesome to see all the progress pics of your build!