53 Surburban "Family Truckster"

[Dieselwrencher]

That's nice these are adjustable. That changes my mind a bit.

[youngrodder]

Since my contact where installed I went ahead and installed my 1950 Pontiac LED tail lights. I have 99% of the wires ran to the back. I think I just have license plate light wiring and a rear door jam switch left. I'm trying to concentrate on sections of the wiring. I find it easier to keep it organized.

Thanks
Marc

[lower50's]

That looks really cool! That's a good way to do the wiring, less chance of missing something.

[Dieselwrencher]

Those look really nice and period correct too. Very cool!

[youngrodder]

One of the final fab items I needed to figure out was creating a cover on the rear suspension notch for the Watts link. When the Suburban is fully laid out the top of the Watts link extends up higher that the notch cover. I was always aware of this but in an effort to keep the size of the notch cover as small as possible I figure it would be best to make a cover that provides enough room to cover the watts link.

I plan to body work and paint this cover the interior color. That way I can cover the rest of the notch with carpet and the bolt on this cover.

Keep in mind that this cover will be covered by the third row seat once in place. The only time it will be seen is when I don't run a third row seat.

The first step was to make a template to figure out where the watts link comes thru the floor at and to help determine the size. I made a template as it was easier than installing the large notch cover.

I think you can figure out the rest of the steps from the pics. I was pleases with how it turned out. Keep in mind this cover is only needed when fully aired out. it is not needed at normal ride height.

Marc

[youngrodder]

More pics

Happy Holidays!!

[8man]

Very nice work.

[Tempest67]

you metal work guys amaze me.

well done, looks great

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by 8man

Very nice work.

Thanks

Originally Posted by Tempest67

you metal work guys amaze me.

well done, looks great

Thank you, but don't confuse me with one of the metal magicians on this site. I'm not one of those. I did this with only a grinder with a cutoff wheel, straight edge, a welder and the flap disc on a grinder. No metal brake. I scored the folds with a cut off wheel and hand formed in vice. I did massage it with a hammer and dollar. The key is making a paper template.

Marc

[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

[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?

[mongocanfly]

That turned out great Marc..!!

[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

[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

[8man]

I'd like to see the finished product. It looks good so far.

[youngrodder]

I also installed my side view mirrors. One of the mirror arms came with the Suburban when I bought it. The other I had to add. I tried to age/distress the new arm to match with the original arm. I was pretty happy that it is not supper obvious which is the new arm.

I also treated the mirror heads to a brushed finish to match the rest of the trim on the Suburban.

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