My suburban's Twisted Little Sister

[Advanced Design]

Nice work 65sub!

[65sub]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Nice work 65sub!

Thanks A.D.

I got a little busy this week but we did manage to get some work done. First we tacked the inner fenders in place then finish welded the top section

[65sub]

We also got the frame painted with POR 15

[rusty76]

The work here just blows my mind.

[65sub]

Originally Posted by rusty76

The work here just blows my mind.

Thanks rusty I'm glad you're enjoying it.


On friday we decided it would be easier to weld the bottom of the inner fenders with the truck flipped on its end. So we cut the top of the door frame since it will have to cut soon anyway. Mother Nature had already separated the rocker panels and the floor. Then we lifted off the firewall and windshield and set the back section on its end

[65sub]

Once we got the back section on its end we started making pieces to connect the inner fender. We also pushed the old frame out to the junk pile that will go for scrap.

[65sub]

I have a bunch of pictures to upload so this will take a few posts. First are some shots of the top of the windshield frame in the corners. Also a picture of flipping the frame up to paint the bottom.

[65sub]

This post shows the body going on the frame and then being levelled

[pimpston65]

my daily crack!!! keep it coming...

[65sub]

Originally Posted by pimpston65

my daily crack!!! keep it coming...

First time's free! Lots more coming


Well we got so tired of moving the huge roof around that we decided to skip ahead and chop the top so we can put the roof back on. We started by carefully measuring 4" on all the pillars. Then after careful study we decided it wasn't enough and marked them again at 5". Then there's nothing left but the cutting.

[65sub]

I also included pictures of the inside structure of the A, B and C pillars.

[jonzcustomshop]

looking cool!
when I chopped the top on my 61 I removed the inner trim panel so that I could access the center part of the pillar to weld that up

[jonzcustomshop]

.. and when I put a new cowl on my 64 sub I did it like this:

[65sub]

Thanks for the pictures Jon. I will be cutting access holes on all 6 pillars to allow welding of the inner structure. After the pillars get welded all of the cross bracing will have to be extended. Then comes cutting the roof to fit. We sure are using up a pile of cutting and sanding disks.

[65sub]

Today we started fitting the top half of the pillars. the last two pictures show the alignment issues with the C pillar

[65sub]

We took a break from the project today to change the valve seals on the 409 in my daily driver plus a couple of other small repairs.

[65sub]

We took another short break to repair a leaking lower rad hose on my suburban today. Then we started tacking the tops on the pillars. First the outside of the B pillar then on the inside we removed the top of the inner panel for access. The rear pillar needs so much modification that there are only a few places to tack. Aligning the window frame required a small relief cut before we could start tacking.

[Captainfab]

Interesting....a 409 with dual TBI....is this in the red Suburban?

Originally Posted by 65sub

We took a break from the project today to change the valve seals on the 409 in my daily driver plus a couple of other small repairs.

[Advanced Design]

Wow, very nice 409 set up! Nice work on the B and C pillars.

[1963c-10]

65sub....very glad to see another "w" engine truck. I'm in the middle of two projects, but my 2nd is a 63 short fleet with a 348. What exhaust manifolds and mounts did you use on your 409?

I've got plenty of clearance with the engine mocked in. Will be using the POL mounts like I used on my other big block build, but interested to see what you did on your build. Thanks in advance. Jon.

[65sub]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

Thanks for the extra pics and the info. It sounds like a sweet running engine.

Every time I see a 409, I have to once again kick myself for passing up an original 425/409 dual quad engine for $500

I think we all have stories like that. Mine was a 68 RS/SS Camaro for $300.

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Wow, very nice 409 set up! Nice work on the B and C pillars.

Thanks A.D.

Originally Posted by 1963c-10

65sub....very glad to see another "w" engine truck. I'm in the middle of two projects, but my 2nd is a 63 short fleet with a 348. What exhaust manifolds and mounts did you use on your 409?

I've got plenty of clearance with the engine mocked in. Will be using the POL mounts like I used on my other big block build, but interested to see what you did on your build. Thanks in advance. Jon.

Hi Jon. I used stock hi horse 409 manifolds on mine. They are ceramic coated which has held up really well. They are a tight fit between the frame rails. My motor mounts are mid 80's clam shell style only because I had a urethane set left over. The frame perches I made myself. I see by your picture you moved your motor forward, I did the same. One issue I ran into was clearance at the front. Picture 2 is the battery to ac compressor and picture 3 is water pump pulley to electric fan. They are close but they clear.

[65sub]

Todays we worked on the A pillars. We got them fit and tacked and some of the out side welded.

[1963c-10]

Originally Posted by 65sub

I think we all have stories like that. Mine was a 68 RS/SS Camaro for $300.



Thanks A.D.



Hi Jon. I used stock hi horse 409 manifolds on mine. They are ceramic coated which has held up really well. They are a tight fit between the frame rails. My motor mounts are mid 80's clam shell style only because I had a urethane set left over. The frame perches I made myself. I see by your picture you moved your motor forward, I did the same. One issue I ran into was clearance at the front. Picture 2 is the battery to ac compressor and picture 3 is water pump pulley to electric fan. They are close but they clear.

Thanks for the response and pics. I have the factory 348 manifolds which are 2" manifolds. At some point someone did some work on my engine. Block was cast in 58 @250hp, but the heads are 61 @315hp, so its nice to have the upgraded heads. The 348-409 forum guys recommend that I go with the 2.5" manifolds from the 409 which I've been watching for a year on ebay and they are not cheap.

I'll continue to keep my eyes peeled though.

I have test fit with a fan blade and full shroud in place and it looks like I'm ok on clearance. I'll let you know how it goes once I get back into it. I'm on the down side to getting my stepside done right now, but I'm sure I'll have more questions down the road.

Great job on your builds....caught up on the whole thread yesterday. Outstanding work!!!!

Be sure to check out the 348/409 truck thread we have going also. Link: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=630055

[Free Candy Inside]

Love this thing. Are you planning a giant door like Bomp or it looks like to me maybe a regular door with a small suicide door like a modern cab? Either way it'll be cool

[RustyBurb]

That's an unbelievable build! I can't wait to see the finished product.