My 1965 Suburban

[tincan1966]

Wanted one for so long. Overall it's not as bad as it looks, mostly sheet metal exterior,normal floor issues in front-more damaged caused by galvanized metal and pop rivets than rust. Underneath solid, all mounts intact. I am sure I could have found one better, but this was 20 miles from home and cheap! Also there alot of these trucks in this area for parts. Will post as this projects moves- working on chassis/suspension now and it is going slow, as designing new parts as we go. Some of the parts going in:

Painless chassis, efi and phantom key systems,shaved handles,full air ride,GMC hood and custom grile. Power side sliding windows.
Power rack and pinion(designed by me) front crossmember moved 1" forward. Alumarad radiator module/support.468cid EFI BBC w/700R4.

Plan on being at All Truck Nationals in KC 2012

[Corts60]

Whew boy, looks like you got your work cut out for you there! These are usually the trucks have the most amazing before and after pics. Can't wait to see them!

[tincan1966]

i really don't think it's that bad,(you should see the one I seaid "no" to!) only cosmetics. the calico paint job makes it look rougher than it is. Went with this one because it was very complete when I got it.

[gostranger]

The suburban looks like a decent start i cant wait to see all the stuff unfold that you want to do to it! keep me in mind if you have any questions i feellikei have been through almost every thing
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[shiny]

Lets see some detail pics of that front x-member and rack.
Looks like a great start!

-Shiny

[tincan1966]

A few pics of progress over the last few days. Not going as fast as I'd like,got alot of finishin welding and stiffening to add, yet. should have everything "tidy" by the weekend and the firewall"cap" in placeso MAYBE can assemble one last time. Engine is about ready to go, also, got it cleaned up, waiting on paint. Wiring has been mapped out and locations planned. Sheet metal should arrive in a few days, so will be a huge difference to see new quarters on it!. More updates later.

[tincan1966]

I have a correction- changed the plan and went with a more reasonable 5.7 iter TBI from a 1994 Suburban instead of the 468. Decided we wanted it a little more mild mannered.

[tincan1966]

Made a little progress on rust repair and firewall smoothing. All A/C is going under dash and moving master cylinder to frame so hopefully will have blank firewall.

[tincan1966]

Days 2,3 and 4 of rust repair! LOL! Drivers' side firewall now smooth-moving mastercylinder to frame with thru-floor pedal, same for gas pedal. Should have those mocked up and pics by end of the week. Waiting on steering column to build mounts. Figured I roughly have 28 weeks to get it going. We have shows on Labor day weekend and also the Midwest Truck Nationals the following weekend.

[Jeff La]

You got alot of work ahead of you, will keep checking back. Evnetually I want to get a burb.

[tincan1966]

Brake pedal mount done today. Made a matching throttle pedal assy also that is thru floor, as well to keep everything off the firewall. Spent a few minutes and made my GMC front turn signals into LED lights. Worked real well. Will post pics of all this stuff on Friday. Had help today, so got the top half of quarters sanded down and luckily no surprises. Also started removing glass. Wire channel on firewall filled in also. Engine went to machine shop to have a couple broken bolts removed, then will get resealed and painted. Should have the chassis ready for it by the time I get it back. it's a feverish pace, but really want to be rolling this thing out by summer time.

[Corts60]

great progress man! Way to dive in!

[tincan1966]

Update 2/10 Changed plans again and we are definately going with the big block again. Will only need slight mods to motor mounts, and will hopefully find a TBI assy before too long. Decided no substitution for cubic inches! And besides it was the Ms' idea! Of coarse she never fails to mention her "little Ford" has the 488 cubic inch big block blue oval! LOL! Promise to post some pics of the latest fabbed pieces. Working on building the new radiator support and hood hinge set up and it's not going well. Research and developement left out a few pages of the plans when transferred to production department!

[C@rnut001]

Keep it up. Looks like you are making good progress so far and it is great to see another one being redone. I wish I had an old '65 or '66 Suburban 4X4. Keep us updated on your progress, as we really like seeing how you are doing.

[tincan1966]

Been a few days since I updated here. Spent Monday at a local salvage yard picking up some new parts and pieces. Finally got the new front style motor mounts done for the big block-no real reason for this style, just liked the look. Set fenders and original radiator support on to check radiator clearance. Will be making my own radiator support, since it will also be the base for the front opening hood. Also working on her '59 F-100- got the driveshaft in, made a shifter, mounted the new seats and also shortened a GM tilt column 5 1/2". should be test driving hers this weekend and installing exhaust,then it's off for body and paint(which only means moving to a different area, here) LOL! Pulling 'Burb back apart and removing body next week, to finish chassis.
I do sincerely appreciate the kind comments and encouragement on this project. There are alot of very talented people here, I am amazed at some of the work being done.

[tincan1966]

Back on the 'Burb all this week. Today I made the new core support and hood opening support to go into the hood. Worked out the technical part and have hinge arms being made, should have them tomorrow. With any luck, the hood idea to open forward and down over the grile will work. Made a few adjustments to the front air bag location and mocked up front and rear disc brakes to make the caliper brackets. If all goes as envisioned, will pass along the info. Absolutely nothing against any of the kits available for these conversion, I just want to see if my ideas work. Will get some pics tomorrow after I get the master cyl/booster mounted on the frame.

[tincan1966]

OK first look at my forward opening hood. Not showing any details yet, as still in the fab stage and the hinges are UGLY right now-final design will be made from aluminum. it works good and gives the look I wanted. Some adjustment and when open the hood should have the same angle as the windshield or "A" pillar posts.

[RockTonka]

Moving right along, looks good!

[c.brown]

nice progress i like the tilt hood i thought of doing that but i need to stop somewhere

[tincan1966]

I know it's been a while. FINALLY got the body from the blasters-and now know why it took so long-apparently they dropped the body while moving it. Damaged the passenger side rocker area but it is repairable-just a set back. Moving very slowly, as we opened up the shop as a full time business now and been busy installing A/C units. Throwing in some random pics of chassis progress.

Still tweeking the front air bag mounts and upper control arm mounts. Pics show frame mount M/C and pedal. Mounted the air tank, flipped the trailing arm crossmember,removed unnecessary brackets from frame and bolted in new trans crossmember.

[tincan1966]

Ok finally a little bit of progress. Slowly gettingback into the shop, but with consistant 100 degree heat, it's a slow process. Feeling good and passed all my heart stress tests. No major, long term damage. Sticking to diet and getting healthier. Thanks everyone for the support. here's a couple pics taken today as we got it on all fours again and rolled outside. Still got alot of clean up and "make pretty" things to do.

[tincan1966]

Body back on, the stance is right and starting to get bodywork done. Ended up not having body blasted after they dropped it! Going to strip it myself, as I go.

[MikeS.]

You had a heart attack? Sorry to hear that. Glad to see you back here and making progress on the Burb. It's looking real good. I like the changes you are making.

[tincan1966]

Finally some work that shows progress. Managed to get a couple of the patch panels on the 'Burb today. Fit is decent. It's nice to see a forward progression again! LOL.

Using panels from Top Banana- so far, pretty pleased with the quality and fit.

[c.brown]

nice progress looking good