Project "Mid Life Crisis Low Rider Burb"

[gemiii]

Ok Here is my first build thread. Its December 2009 and I bought the burb, my first, in the summer of 2008. I have a ton of pictures and I will be doin some catching up over the next couple of weeks. I can tell you it takes a bunch of $$$$ and a lot of time!!

Here is what I bought for $500 from New Hampshire. I should have waited and bought something a lot cleaner but what the heck, Im not much on patience. It was running and driving. Not roadworthy but it moved and stopped. The last picture is the 72 and the donor 89 burb that I got as a driver for $400 with a rebuilt 700R4. I told the PO that I was going to tear er apart and he didnt want to sell it to me?

[gemiii]

I forgot to mention that its a 2 wheel drive 3/4 ton automatic. 8 lug thats going to have to go. 2 Bench seats. I intend on painting it blue. My wife and I have one son (11 now) and we are into boating. We head out every weekend during the summer so progress will be slow during to summer. The burb will be our ride to get stuff (booze, ice and food) to the boat and back. hit the cruise nights and tow the dingy back and forth.
The 89 has a 350 4speed auto and a nice interior. Grey cloth buckets w/ a nice overhead console and between the seats console. I expect to swap out the rear ends wich will get me to 5 lug. It also has a rear heater that I would like to swap out as it can be cold here in CT.

[72BlckButy]

Great looking project gemiii, can't wait to see what's instore for the burb.

Keep us posted on your progress!

[Bus Ted Knuckle]

rule #1, don't ever tell a seller you want to use their vehicle for parts!

Great looking project!

[gemiii]

The first step and the fun one Tear Down. Little did I know how long this was going to take.

[1956cameo]

Cool project! Interested in seeing how this one goes; and looking forward to more pictures.

It looks as though you have cut off the whole drivers side of the suburban body! You really are tearing it down. I hope everything goes back together smoothly for you.

[gemiii]

When I said it Little did I know how long it would take I meant the whole project not the tear down. Taking it apart was fast and fun. The 89 burb is like a one car garage so everything I didnt need went in there. I blew a head gasket in the 89 so its done! That burb had lots of power so I figured I would use the complete drivetrain. It also has the serpentine belt so that will be different. Pulling all the guts out of the doors wasnt very fun and I sure hope I remember how they went! I zip locked bagged everything and labeled them. I cut all the window gaskets to get them out easier, I hope they make new ones.

[gemiii]

Lots of rust!!! All 3 rockers, inners, complete a pillars all the way to the top of the windshield, both rear 1/4s, under the drivers rear door if there was one, firewall, front floors, spare tire well is gone, hatch, front floors a little, front cab mounts, bottom of front fenders and this is before blasting.

I am out laid off now so I am working on it full time. I think its January 2008. I rented a tag a long compressor and a 300lb blasting pot and blasted everything I could. Its a long day! My help didnt show so that didnt help. Ever sandblast in the cold? The hood fogs up and you cant see anything. I ended up using a welding hood with just a clear lens. Boy does the rust, paint and gunk come off fast. Then everything goes in the garage for etching primer. Im shot!!! Now there even less burb than I had before blasting.
The last picture is a drivers 1/4 that I bought with a nice hatch for $300. It looks pretty good and it looks easy to swap out LOL. It wasnt that easy but its better than fixing the rust. There was even more rust under that rust.

[1956cameo]

My hat is off to you for fixing it up instead of junking it out. To answer your question about the weatherstripping, Yes; they reproduce all of that. I know you can get all of it from Classic parts. They are vendors on this site and very reasonable on their prices.

[gemiii]

I left the body on the chasis for the rust repair so it would maintain its shape. I forget who did the faq on doing your own inner rockers, sorry but I did just that and it went well. I bought a brake at Tractor Supply and some sheetmetal and bent up mine own just like the faq said. I included about 3 inches of the floor where it was bad. Its fun cutting out the old stuff. I did the inner under where the 4th door would be so I could get my 1/4 back on. Everything got POR 15 on it. The 1/4 went in good.

[gemiii]

More pics of the 1/4 going in.

[HITAMUDHOLE]

Coming along very nicely, hats off to ya on the hard work already done.
Now post a couple pics of my all time favorite car, that blue Camaro you teased with just a slight rear end pic of!

[gemiii]

Next is the inners on both the pass side doors. Rebuild the lower post in between the doors.

[gemiii]

Originally Posted by HITAMUDHOLE

Coming along very nicely, hats off to ya on the hard work already done.
Now post a couple pics of my all time favorite car, that blue Camaro you teased with just a slight rear end pic of!

Thanks. I have owned that 69 convt since 1983. 3 paint jobs and 3 motors. It just sat for 14 years and I just put the 427 in again and drove it this past summer. I got tired of working on cars. I am back in a big way again.

[gemiii]

Weld, grind, weld grind repeat. I am using a mig welder with flux core because the gas part wont work. It goes pretty good. If you dont get to good metal you will find out fast as the metals disappears as you weld. Now to the floors. They went good too. Weld grind repeat. The seam sealer is the best part of this process. When nit goes on your done. Off to more rust!

[gemiii]

Driver side floor is next. I was careful to maintain at least original 1 bolt hole for alignment on the front cab support. I got the floor painted in por 15. Next is the spare tire well. I got a real nice well from Tom Korinek, thanks and got it in.

[gemiii]

After the tire well went in I got the lower 1/4 in on the pass side.

[gemiii]

I had gotten a 30 ft beam from a job I was on so it was time to put it up so I could pull the body off of the chassis when the time came.

[gemiii]

Pics of the beam I had to build some forks for my tractor so I could carry the beam.

[gemiii]

Heres a picture of the pass 1/4 on. I got 2 complete a pillars from Tom Korinek. Thanks again. They went from the cab support to the roof gutter including the inner kick panel. I dont think I would do this again. Lots of cutting and grinding. The only easy part was the 3 bolts to the side of the dash. I used them for alignment. Will the doors ever fit again? Am I wasting my time? What have I started? I cant wait to work on the chassis this sucks! I am still laid off so I am working 10 hrs a day on this POS! When the a pillar is cut out I am thinking I have got a pile of junk now. They went back in not too bad. Everything gets sprayed with rust inhabiter before it goes back together.

[gemiii]

Some more pictures. After the a pillars were done I got to do the rockers. They fit real nice and I hung the doors to gap the bottoms. The doors fit!!!! Its not a pile of junk!

[thirdstreettito]

Great work so far man!

[gemiii]

Some more pictures

[gemiii]

The beam really helped with hanging the doors. Thank god the rust is done!!!!!!!


Now the fun pulling the chassis.

[gemiii]

More pictures of pulling the chassis. I hate welding and grinding!! Unfortunately its spring and its boating season so the burb sits in the garage taking up 2 parking spots. My wife reminds me every day! I am working again. I am a pipefitter/ welder. I think I might work on the burb after work but when I get home I find a good reason not to.