53 Surburban "Family Truckster"

[oldman3]

I'm not complaining, I enjoy all three builds, just wish I had one...Jim

[NEWFISHER]

Looking good Marc!

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by NEWFISHER

Looking good Marc!

Thanks man...It's getting there.

[youngrodder]

So my passenger side rear fender was involved in some type of accident in its life and it resulted in a very squared off curve at the bottom as well as unrepairable damage to the fender crease/body line. The rest of the fender is in good shape and these suburban fenders can be hard to come by. I decided to get a patch from a lower fender that was not in good shape and graphed on a new lower section.

Once I cut the old fender off and lined the new one up it became apparent how flat the original fender was from the damage and poor attempt at repairing it someone else did. They recreated the curve of the fender with bondo....In on order for the fender to match the curve of the patch I made relief cuts in the fender to help shape it to the patch. I have never attempted anything like this but is worked fairly well.

Also I worked on all of my rear door latches and linkage. With what I had and some parts I received from Alaskan Dragger I was able to get all my rear door hardware handled. This is cool because I was stressing about being able to make functioning rear doors. When I purchased the Suburban the rear doors were inoperable.

[youngrodder]

Continued....

I forgot to mention my original fender was maroon in color and the funny thing is the patch is also maroon in color....

[oldman3]

Marc, we know that the burb fender and truck fender are different, but with you having a truck you knew what it should look like. Nice job on the repair...Jim

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by oldman3

Marc, we know that the burb fender and truck fender are different, but with you having a truck you knew what it should look like. Nice job on the repair...Jim

Yes, and I did reference the drive side rear fender that I had as well. There was such a difference in the arch that at first I though that the patch I had was from a truck. But it was not it was just that my original fender was that much out of shape.

The other thing that I though is that these fenders are pretty narrow and you wont even see that much of my repaired area when all bolted up.

Marc

[Iceburgh]

Much better then plastic...good work.
I found a pair of NOS fenders.
Guy wants $1100..... these things must be made out of gold

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by Iceburgh

Much better then plastic...good work.
I found a pair of NOS fenders.
Guy wants $1100..... these things must be made out of gold

Thanks Iceburg. Yes, that is what gave me the idea to repair since most of the fender appears to be in good shape. Yes, $1,100 sounds crazy becuse then you would have another $300 in shipping unless you were road trippin..

Marc

[Advanced Design]

That came out very good Marc!

Iceburgh, are you buying the NOS rear fenders?

[Iceburgh]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

That came out very good Marc!

Iceburgh, are you buying the NOS rear fenders?

God no.... already to close to my budget and plenty left to do.
I can make mine work

[youngrodder]

I did manage to get my driver side cowl welded on.
Just need to do some finish grinding. I'm a better grinder than welder...

[oldman3]

Looking good Marc...Jim

[Advanced Design]

That is coming along very nicely Marc. I was thinking of your term "grelding" when i was doing my patch panel today.

[alaska gasser]

Looks good and not too much bondo in that fender. On my panel just ahead of the right rear fender the bondo was 2.5" thick.

[GEARBOXGARAGE]

Nice progress Marc!

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by GEARBOXGARAGE

Nice progress Marc!

Thanks Mike...

Marc

[49bourbon]

Youngrodder just went thru your build after getting the PM. Great job so far so keep grinding away. I have a 49 burb that had many of same rust issues you are tackling now. I didn't have $$ for complete chassis so cannibalized a 69 Nova front clip & rear, complete 100% boxed frame to get PS/PB & stuffed in a 1978 454 BB/ TH 400 fo go power. Put in Chevy leather interior from 2000 burb. Been on road now couple years in half primered multiple colored condition so starting to think about body work. However like you I would rather be able to not worry about fancy paint and be able to say to folks" what you mean it is already painted....." Good luck w the feat of the build.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by 49bourbon

Youngrodder just went thru your build after getting the PM. Great job so far so keep grinding away. I have a 49 burb that had many of same rust issues you are tackling now. I didn't have $$ for complete chassis so cannibalized a 69 Nova front clip & rear, complete 100% boxed frame to get PS/PB & stuffed in a 1978 454 BB/ TH 400 fo go power. Put in Chevy leather interior from 2000 burb. Been on road now couple years in half primered multiple colored condition so starting to think about body work. However like you I would rather be able to not worry about fancy paint and be able to say to folks" what you mean it is already painted....." Good luck w the feat of the build.

Thanks 49 bourbon...

I coach my youngest son in youth football and we start our season next Monday, so my Surburban progress will start to slow to a snails pace (hard to slow down more with as slow as I have been moving).

No worries though I will get back on it from time to time.

Marc

[NEWFISHER]

Originally Posted by youngrodder

Thanks 49 bourbon...

I coach my youngest son in youth football and we start our season next Monday, so my Surburban progress will start to slow to a snails pace (hard to slow down more with as slow as I have been moving).

No worries though I will get back on it from time to time.

Marc

At least you now have one....thats the biggest hurdle!

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by NEWFISHER

At least you now have one....thats the biggest hurdle!

Yes, now complete with all of the hard to find parts. That's the way I feel as well.....

Thanks
Marc

[oldman3]

Hey Marc, didn't know where to post this, so here it is. Congrats on getting in the November issue of Street Scene. Truck looks great as usual...Jim

[oldman3]

Back again Marc, after looking over the Nats North info I also see you got a Rep's pick, congrats again...Jim

[Advanced Design]

Saw that too...truck looks great Marc! Congrat's

Looked a bit chilly at Nat's North.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by oldman3

Back again Marc, after looking over the Nats North info I also see you got a Rep's pick, congrats again...Jim

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Saw that too...truck looks great Marc! Congrat's

Looked a bit chilly at Nat's North.

Jim-

Thanks for lookin out...the funny (sad) thing is I forgot to renew my NSRA membership so I did not receive this issue. I have since renewed and I'm hoping they send me this issue.

Ad - yes it was cold and rainy most of the weekend.

Now that my family life has slowed down some, I will get this thread updated. Not a lot of Burb progress but garage heat upgrade and a football update.

I just got back from a 10 days in Florida and I need to leave for Chicago in the AM. Why don't I get much done on the burb these days??? ha ha

Thanks guys
Marc