53 Surburban "Family Truckster"

[youngrodder]

I got the gas tank all hooked back up an reinstalled. I moved on to another mundane project. I have had these body to running board seals for some time now. It was time to install them. They have (2) jobs. First, to hide the fame rails, air tanks and other components from being visible when staring thru the gap between the body and the running boards. Secondly, they will keep the road grim (dust/dirt) from colleting on the running boards.

I purchased these seals from Precision. They are nicely made.

Here you go (my winter to do list is getting smaller)

Marc

[mongocanfly]

Nicely done Marc...looks great.!..
On your headliner ,what holds it up? Just the tension from the bow or did you use some adhesive?

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Nicely done Marc...looks great.!..
On your headliner ,what holds it up? Just the tension from the bow or did you use some adhesive?

Thanks Greg,

On the headliner, tension holds the rear and sides of each section. The front is pinched between the roof structure and the headliner bow. This is also why you start from the back and work forward. The front edge of the front piece is tucked under the windshield trim.

Marc

[mongocanfly]

i was kinda wondering if there was any sag in the middle...i may try something similar on my travelall rather than the glue on headliner it has, that way i could add some insulation/heat shield to the roof

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

i was kinda wondering if there was any sag in the middle...i may try something similar on my travelall rather than the glue on headliner it has, that way i could add some insulation/heat shield to the roof

Greg-

No sag. ABS can be heated and formed. My thinking is if it did sag you could push it up and heat it and once it cooled it would keep its shape. I might go in and heat mine up to relax the areas with compound curves. It seems fine as is though and I don't want to screw anything up because it was a pain the first time around.

Marc

[lower50's]

Marc you could always just leave it out on a hot day and let the head liner sort it's self out.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by lower50's

Marc you could always just leave it out on a hot day and let the head liner sort it's self out.

Yeah that would just require a wait of about 4 - 5 months for the weather to straighten around...ha ha

Marc

[e015475]

Finding a lot of inspiration for my truck's interior in your Suburban project. I'm to the point on mine where I've done a re-think on some of the things I did in my build and want to consider some options as well as finish my interior. A few questions for you-

- Someone asked if the new filler neck on your tank was TIG'd on with silicon bronze rod - I didn't see your answer. I like the way yours turned out. I have a stock Gen 2 Camaro tank without a sump for EFI. Instead I have a kluge of a surge tank and an LP pump and I'd like to braze a sump to the tank instead. So TIG was used? Might be time for me to get some brazing rod and start practicing.

-Did you make all of the headliner or just the unique portions for the suburban? (or it's all unique?) Have any recommendations for a pre-fab'd headliner supplier? Lots of variation on price and it is all ABS. Any details on the headliner trim pieces you fab'd?

-Are you doing a full overlay on your door cards or just the original style? Any details?

-Can you show some more photos of the filler piece under your dash that contains your AC vents? Assume this is a custom piece? LS Fabrication has some fiberglass pieces that fit underneath the dash for vents, but at $300 or so a pair, I'd rather try fabricating something like yours.

-Your seats are impressive. Some of the nicest I've seen. If you don't mind I'll take a few copies of the details with me to my upholsterer this spring. How did you finish off the edges of the square weave carpet you used? Pics?

Sorry if you've already answered any of these questions - just point me to the post number

Thanks, Phil

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by e015475

Finding a lot of inspiration for my truck's interior in your Suburban project. I'm to the point on mine where I've done a re-think on some of the things I did in my build and want to consider some options as well as finish my interior. A few questions for you-

- Someone asked if the new filler neck on your tank was TIG'd on with silicon bronze rod - I didn't see your answer. I like the way yours turned out. I have a stock Gen 2 Camaro tank without a sump for EFI. Instead I have a kluge of a surge tank and an LP pump and I'd like to braze a sump to the tank instead. So TIG was used? Might be time for me to get some brazing rod and start practicing. My friend used brazing rod as it has less of a chance of air pockets which would cause pin hole leaks. Yeah I like the tank with the pump submerged. The original tank I used was not baffled and I didn't notice any issues. Since I decided to buy a new tank I figured I would get the correct baffled one.

-Did you make all of the headliner or just the unique portions for the suburban? (or it's all unique?) Have any recommendations for a pre-fab'd headliner supplier? Lots of variation on price and it is all ABS. Any details on the headliner trim pieces you fab'd? I make each of the 5 sections. On my previous build a 48 truck, I purchased a fiberglass headliner off eBay and I just added foam and vinyl.

-Are you doing a full overlay on your door cards or just the original style? Any details? On my doors I went with custom door cards. On my last build I made full door panels but the Suburban's doors where in such good shape I wanted to show them off. Also a different (more stock) look than my last build. My arm rests are stock but were recovered in the same chocolate brown leather as my seats.

-Can you show some more photos of the filler piece under your dash that contains your AC vents? Assume this is a custom piece? LS Fabrication has some fiberglass pieces that fit underneath the dash for vents, but at $300 or so a pair, I'd rather try fabricating something like yours. My dash panel is different as I cut the bottom of my dash flat across the bottom so the panel does not have the dip down in the middle. That is why LS Fab had to create it in (2) sections. I did the same thing on my last build. If you look a ways up on my build I documented that panel.

-Your seats are impressive. Some of the nicest I've seen. If you don't mind I'll take a few copies of the details with me to my upholsterer this spring. How did you finish off the edges of the square weave carpet you used? Pics?
I did not finish with edging on my carpet. Most is covered by door jam trim. I just redid my front carpet as I was not happy with my first attempt as I got it crooked and with the amount of cut outs, my only choice was to redo it. I'll snap some interior pics once I get it all back together.

Sorry if you've already answered any of these questions - just point me to the post number

Thanks, Phil

If your on IG, I have more detail and videos of the Truckster there. I go by Greenfield_Speedshop on IG.

Thanks Marc..

[youngrodder]

Part of the winter to do list was to (re) bleed my brakes. I also wanted to repaint the calipers and upgrade to higher grade brake pads in the hopes that they create less dust. I got the rear done. The fronts are next.

While I was at it, I decided to really clean my rims (inside/out) followed by ceramic coating them. The idea all along was fully coated wheels to cut down on polishing time. I figure ceramic coating them takes that idea one step further. I like how smooth they feel.

Thank you
Marc

[youngrodder]

Another winter project was to redo the carpet in the front cab area. I failed on my first attempt for the following reasons:

1 - I have a frame mounted master cylinder which I had a hinged door to access. For this reason, I cut a slit in the carpet (in front of the seat riser) thinking I could unbolt the door thresh hold trim to flip the carpet forward to gain access to the hinged door. To solve this, I came up with a new cover/door for the floor (more on that later) that does not require flipping the carpet forward.

2- When gluing the carpet down initially, I trimmed it incorrectly and it was running at a slight angle. The angle is very obvious with German Box weave carpet. It drove me nuts even tho most people would not notice.

I got the new pad trimmed and glued down the other night. I will glue down the new carpet tonight. I have a little more trimming needed on the carpet once glued in.

Here is where we are currently. I'm excited to see the interior all back together with my kick panel speaker pods and all...

Marc

[oldman3]

Us home builders notice everything we did wrong. I'm like you, it bugs the crap out of you till is correct. Looking forward to more pics...Jim

[lower50's]

What product did you use for the ceramic on the wheels? I would love to do something to my wheels to make cleaning easier.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by oldman3

Us home builders notice everything we did wrong. I'm like you, it bugs the crap out of you till is correct. Looking forward to more pics...Jim

You've got that right...Ha ha.

Originally Posted by lower50's

What product did you use for the ceramic on the wheels? I would love to do something to my wheels to make cleaning easier.

I used Torque Detailing ceramic coating. You can google them. My painter friend bought a 4 pack for a better piece price so I bought one off of him. Its not cheap ($40). There are You tube videos on this stuff. You can also do glass with it. Since my paint is ****, I don't have to worry about coating that but I'm looking forward to doing the glass.

Marc

[youngrodder]

So I got the carpet laid down.

Here is a pic of the master cylinder access door. it is just a piece of plate steel that I wrapped in leather. I added Nutserts in the floor. My upholstery guy said that is how he handles this kind of thing. I should mention that I have a floor mat that covers this cover.

I'm not sure if this is common knowledge but in place of cutting the carpet and pad (which can be a challenge) for the bolt holes, I used this process.

Using a thin straight awl I punch thru the carpet/pad from the bottom as it is easier to locate the holes. Then, from the top side I knock the Awl back thru taking note of the location. I then use an old soldering gun (hot of course) to chase the hole to burn thru the carper and the pad. Lastly, while the carpet is very hot, I take a much larger awl and ream out the hole. What you are left with is a clean bolt hole that the carpet wont fray as the inside edges are melted.

Again, maybe everyone knows about this method. I find it works great.

Thank you
Marc

[6DoF]

just amazing attention to detail as always sir, very nice.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by 6DoF

just amazing attention to detail as always sir, very nice.

Thanks man...

Marc

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work! I used to fight bolts winding up the carpet until I learned that trick. Is it me, or is that carpet really thin? I need to find some of that style for my 40.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice work! I used to fight bolts winding up the carpet until I learned that trick. Is it me, or is that carpet really thin? I need to find some of that style for my 40.

Thank you. Yes is is pretty thin but super durable and sadly very expensive. I used this carpet on my last build too. I really like it. It is call German box (or square) weave. It comes in a variety of cool colors.

Thanks
Marc

[Dieselwrencher]

Ok thanks. Did you source it locally?

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Ok thanks. Did you source it locally?

Kinda. I got it from my Upholstery guy. He gets it a better price. I know Relicate carries it at $129.00 per yrd. Check out their website. They have a great selection of colors with good photos. A truck cab probably only requires 2 yrds (3 if you want extra for floor mats).

https://relicate.com/ - There are others but I knew they carried it an their pricing is not much more than I paid per Yrd.

Too make you feel better, I had to purchase 5 yrs for my Suburban. Then I bought more for my redo...

Marc

[youngrodder]

I have been working on getting my front cabin area 100% complete. I finished fitting and installing the carpet. I installed my custom kicker panel speaker enclosures. Before I mounted the speakers in the enclosures I filled the cavities with poly-fill (pillow stuffing) to help produce more dense sound.

I got all of my seatbelts bolted down.

A picture of my sill plate. None of my carpet has edging (only by necessity as I don't sew and I didn't want to run back to the upholstery shop) but it is all hidden by sill plates. speaker enclosures.

Overall I'm pretty happy with how it looks and sounds. The stereo is so good. I can't wait to get this back on the road and rack up some miles with the stereo rocking.

Marc

[8man]

That is some well thought nice work on that interior.

[oldman3]

Marc, nice job, everything looks great...Jim

[Tempest67]

wow, very nicely done.

Won't be too long now before us northerners can get out in our trucks.(hopefully)