1972 3dr Suburban Build Thread

[19723DR]

Here are some pictures for all of you who missed the show.













The family had a good time on the 180 mile round trip. The burb stayed cool, but burned though a tank of gas. Money well spent!
What now? Put the burb on the back burner and move to the 71 Cheyenne.
To date the total cost of the build is a little over 7,000 including the burb. I feel lucky I have an understanding wife who puts up with all my crap.
Thanks for the support from everyone and I hope to see you next year.

[Frizzle Fry]

7K? Wow you've done quite well! Your own labor helps I know, but still, that's great!

[Clyde78]

Logan was awesome. The 'Burban is awesome. I am glad that we sold it to you because it would have probably ended bad in the hands of some random idiot. You RTFH

[nuke1]

looks great, just love how it turned out.

[abadsvt]

Looks Awesome!! Nice job!

Josh

[19723DR]

Originally Posted by Frizzle Fry

7K? Wow you've done quite well! Your own labor helps I know, but still, that's great!

Thanks a lot, one of my mottos is that it is not what you know it is who you know.
When I first bought the suburban, I saw a few nice ones in magazines but it didn't really give any detail on what was involved in building one. This site has been a wealth of information for me. As always, I look forward to seeing your progress on the tahoe.

Originally Posted by Clyde78

Logan was awesome. The 'Burban is awesome. I am glad that we sold it to you because it would have probably ended bad in the hands of some random idiot. You RTFH

The best thing about the random idiot you sold it too? You still can take it out for drives.

Originally Posted by usdabeef

Hey, thanks for dropping a line on my post. I'm glad you did, now i have this link to yours. Man, you did alot of work on that burb.....and it shows. That IS the nicest I have seen. Hope to catch up with you at another show soon. I really dont want to sell my truck if I dont have to. We'll just have to hang in there and make things work.
Take care,
John

I'm really glad you did post, when I spoke to you last I forgot your username and I couldn't find you. I understand the financial crunch, been there myself and I did sell my car and I've regretted it ever since. You gotta do what you gotta do. Hang in there, and I hope things get better for you. If you want to hang out someday, just give me a PM.

Originally Posted by nuke1

looks great, just love how it turned out.

Thanks, so do I.

Originally Posted by abadsvt

Looks Awesome!! Nice job!

Josh

Thanks, I almost painted it black, but that would have been too safe. Yellow trucks rock!

[19723DR]

I pulled the suburban out yesterday, I snapped a few pictures with the old steelies and beauty rings on it. I think they look pretty good.

[texanidiot25]

Needs more offset in rear. But does give it a good look for sure.

Absolutly an awesome truck. The interior is very clean, and not too over the top, which I like. Two toning the center consol really made it look right.

[38chevyhotrod]

Looks good, So you can sell me your other wheels.

[19723DR]

Originally Posted by texanidiot25

Needs more offset in rear. But does give it a good look for sure.

Absolutly an awesome truck. The interior is very clean, and not too over the top, which I like. Two toning the center consol really made it look right.

Thanks.
Yes, my tires are sucked in a bit in the back, I think a 1 1/2 spacer would solve that. All four rims have the same offset.

I still have a few more things to finish on the burb, but that will have to wait. I plan on having a lot of fun when I do the Cheyenne's interior, it will be similar to the Suburban's.

Originally Posted by 38chevyhotrod

Looks good, So you can sell me your other wheels.

Thanks. Which ones? I know. Anyway the shipping would be killer.
I love both sets of my rims, I honestly don't think I could part with them. You are doing a great job on your Suburban, keep us posted.

[19723DR]

Well it's been almost a year since I did any work to the 'burb. Last week I pulled it out from under the tarp. I washed a years worth of dirt off, what a mess.

This week I pulled the old windshield out and installed a new one. I picked it up from a local glass place for 130 bucks. This one has been a real beast to install, but I managed to not crack this one. I also put the wheel adapters on. I've needed them for some time now, my rear wheels rub the inner wells when I turn hard.




I also fixed the grill. I took some 1/4 plastic, blue was all I had. I shaped the piece with a coaping saw and an angled grinder, then used body filler to smooth it out.

[19723DR]

I took some pictures with the Suburban and the Cheyenne together.














Plans are to remove the front lower bag brackets with cups and make new rear brackets. I will also modify the inner fenders so the tires will tuck.
I also need to finish up the air system.

[nuke1]

gotta love the look of the two of them just sitting next to each other loving life and knowing they have a good home, awww family. well done

[capev86]

i like how you got that low rider look without butchering up a beautiful classic truck(no c-notch). a street truck is better looking than some hack job scraping on the ground anyway. air suspension is supposed to give good handling and you can make it sit up like a stock truck too. i think i would have gone with corvette yellow personally......keep it a little more true to gm, but still a beautiful show quality truck. keep the body mods and interior to a minimum. these trucks were just sooo sharp from the factory.

[19723DR]

Originally Posted by capev86

i like how you got that low rider look without butchering up a beautiful classic truck(no c-notch). a street truck is better looking than some hack job scraping on the ground anyway. air suspension is supposed to give good handling and you can make it sit up like a stock truck too. i think i would have gone with corvette yellow personally......keep it a little more true to gm, but still a beautiful show quality truck. keep the body mods and interior to a minimum. these trucks were just sooo sharp from the factory.

Thanks. My intentions were to make this build my way. I wanted to retain the classic style these trucks are known for. I was looking for a yellow that had a green tint similar to the original color, I had my paint shop custom mix a color for me. It seems like the corvette yellow is a common choice. I wanted to have a color no one else has.

I do have a bolt in C-notch. That is the only thing I've cut. Most people will say it doesn't devalue the truck. I am going to make a few improvements to the air system, like bag brackets. I did make the mistake of ordering the wrong kit--or should I say the kit from the wrong company. I am going to be replacing those parts with some that function more efficiently. This suburban has been in my friend's family for 26 years, hopefully it will be in mine for 26 more.

[19723DR]

Well I finally found some time to fix the air brackets. The old bracket that the original kit came with is for any coil spring application and not specifically designed for our type of trucks. Not to badmouth AIM industries, I started with the rear, cutting the bottom plate and then welding a four inch pipe to make the new one. I only gained a half inch so the next step will be to make some blocks.

[19723DR]

Over the winter I made some cups for the front. I took the top plate from the same bracket I made the rear cups from and a four inch rigid pipe. I also cut some of the bump stop bracket to clear the bag but still retain the steering stop.

Then I pulled out the inner fenders, which I'll mod latter. If you haven't been following this thread, my front brackets were two plates from AIM ind. I would not recommend using this kit. After I installed my cups, I gained an inch and a half. During the short drive to my brother's house I noticed the ride is much smoother both front and rear.

[Frizzle Fry]

Looking good! Why use a bracket in the rear at all? Mine are mounted right to the frame, no issues.

[38chevyhotrod]

That looks very simple to do, what type bags are using.

[19723DR]

Originally Posted by Frizzle Fry

Looking good! Why use a bracket in the rear at all? Mine are mounted right to the frame, no issues.

Aww come on, I spent all that time making those brackets for nothing? Thanks, I'm glad you're watching out for me.
Next week I'm going out to my father-in-laws shop to make some 1'' blocks. That should put me on the bump stops.

Originally Posted by 38chevyhotrod

That looks very simple to do, what type bags are using.

It took about 3 hours to make and install the brackets and a lot of that was waiting for paint to dry. My bags are Firestone 2600 front and rear.

[Frizzle Fry]

Originally Posted by 19723DR

Next week I'm going out to my father-in-laws shop to make some 1'' blocks. That should put me on the bump stops.

You'll be golden then. I just honestly don't see the need for the brackets. Unless you simply want to avoid more holes in the frame. Here's a thread that shows it done bracketless. Nice job on the brackets anyway.

[19723DR]

Originally Posted by Frizzle Fry

You'll be golden then. I just honestly don't see the need for the brackets. Unless you simply want to avoid more holes in the frame. Here's a thread that shows it done bracketless. Nice job on the brackets anyway.

Yeah you're right. The time and money spent on blocks and u-bolts would be worth it alone. Thank you for the link, I will probably end up doing that.

[Frizzle Fry]

Still looks super-nice. Those wheels work on there too.

[19723DR]

Originally Posted by babyblueoval

I like the wheels.

Truck still looks good too. lol

How is that carrier bearing holding up?

Thanks Jim. They ride 10X better, very smooth. Carrier bearing; there's no clunk when I take off, I guess its holding up.

Originally Posted by Frizzle Fry

Still looks super-nice. Those wheels work on there too.

Thanks Mike. I'm thinking of selling the wagon wheels and buying another set of MB's. If they start making a 20X10 I'm going for it.

[kyull67]

Those wheels look great!