My 64 Suburban build

[Kiwi 64sub]

Hi.I bought this Suburban in Dec2011.The plan was to just getting it running and on the road quickly.As with all plans it went out the door.I went and fetched it about 200 miles away from me.We got a hire trailer and got there to find it was a bit to narrow. With alot of hassle we got it loaded,only problem was that all the weight was to the rear and we could not go more than about 50 mile an hour otherwise the trailer was all over the road.[ATTACH][/ATTACH]

[Kiwi 64sub]

This is what I had to start with.Damage to the r/rear panel,rust in both floors,damage to the roof,no glass,etc.It did have some new taillamp lenses and some other odds.[ATTACH][ATTACH][ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH]

[Kiwi 64sub]

I have to say that I got alot of info and ideas from all the builds on here,thanks alot. The first thing I just had to do was rip the springs out so I can see what it would look like.

[Kiwi 64sub]

Some pics of the rust.

[Kiwi 64sub]

Cut out all the rust.I got part of an A-pillar with the Sub and had to cut it up to fix both sides.

[Kiwi 64sub]

The next was taking the body off the chassis .I forgot about the r/rear panel.What we did is put a strap aroun the garage pillar and with a ratchet puller and some brackets welded to the body we started the pulling process.I had to cut out some of the inner panel to get some dollys it there and hammer and file the panel as best we could.It came out pretty good for a hillbilly type method.

[Kiwi 64sub]

I went and bought an import 350 motor and 700r4 trans.

[Kiwi 64sub]

I got all the bits off the motor,cleaned the motor and box and started fitting the motor and box after the chassis was cleaned and painted.Also made my own bolt in c notch as per pics seen here.Added some old Mickey Thompson rocker covers and a new aircleaner assembly.

[Kiwi 64sub]

I also came acros a 74 Suburban that was beyond repair.It was parked up for about 2 years standing outside in a field.It had a 350 and th400 that was good.The reason I bought it was to use all the suspension,diff,steering column,radiator,power steering,hydro boost brakes,etc.I used as much as I could to save money. I stripped it down in about 2 days and got the scrap metal guys to come and get the body off the chassis and take it away.I sold the motor,trans and all the other bits like windows ,etc for more than what I paid for the car and scored all the bits I needed .

[Kiwi 64sub]

Started putting the body back on,mount the steering column with the shifter,modify the brake and accelerator pedals as it was a manual trans before.Made a bracket for the steering box as per pics on the forum and mounted the hydro boost system.fitted the 74 Sub diff by making new mounts.Fitted all the fornt clip and got the big 74 radiator fitted.Fitted the front swaybar,got a new driveshaft made.Most of the work was done in the first 2 months as I had to move back to my own house as I was renting a big place for about a year with huge garaging and parking. Was moving back to a smaller working space and with a steep drive and had to get the Sub running and driving to get it up the driveway.Found out that the trans was stuffed,no reverse.At least it moved forward.Moved back to my place and then the work stopped for about 4 months sorting everything out around the house.

[60-66]

Looks like a real nice Burb, great job fixing the right rear quarter panel also ! Keep up the good work !!!!

[gostranger]

alot of work! great job! what are the end plans for this?

[Kiwi 64sub]

Hi,the plan from the beginning was to try and keep all the patina and match the other panels.After about 3 months I got some time to pull the trans out and send it to mate that has a trans shop.Well,the trans was completly scrap.He recons it must have been towed and with no oil going through the box it destroid everything inside.The trans was completely rebuilt and upgraded and also the convertor.I assembled everything and all was good.
I also fitted a Weiend intake and a 650 Holley,some ramshorn manifolds,etc.I got hold of some 20 inch wheels for a good price and a set of 275/40/20 tyres.

[Kiwi 64sub]

The next step was to start on the inside.I welded the sidepanel back in and made a cover for the trans. Had to fix some rust it the dash and started sanding.I just got some paint matched in rattle cans and painted the interior the original gold colour.Made new seatbelt mounts for the front and back.I was planning on fitting air bags but came accross some CPP lowering springs and shocks for a good price .I also got new 2.5 inch CPP drop spindles,recon all the brakes,new lines and hoses,pads,etc.I refurbed the speedo cluster and started on the big task of wiring.Got it all working after about 3 weeks on and off working on it.Had to make my own engine bay loom including wiring for all the lights.I ran relays everywhere and new headlamps,it works realy good.The Sub only came with front seats.I found some seats from a customer of mine that was out of a Toyota van.I used the rear seat with all the brackets modified to fit.The rear seat backrest can fold down and the seat can also fold forward.I took the front seats to the upholstery guy and told him to incorporate the material from the other seats.I cleaned and painted all the frames and the seats came out real good.Pics of the old seats.

[Kiwi 64sub]

What the seats looks like after fitting.

[gostranger]

looking real good!
nice a/c and custom trim that is reasonably rare!!!!!

[Kiwi 64sub]

Hi,yes ,forgot to mension that it is a Custom with factory a/c.I am still undesided what to do with the a/c as all the engine compartment bits are missing.All the inside bits are there. I am trying to sort through all my pics and trying to remember what all was done on this build as I have forgotten half of it.I will try and sort all the other pics as I have done a couple of hundred miles with the Sub already.

[gostranger]

well if you decide to not use the a/c stuff inside i would love to buy the a/c vent from you!!
cant wait to see the progress!!!!!!and more pictures!!!

[Kiwi 64sub]

Time to gte back to do some of the bodywork.The rear tailgate and top hatch was the worst part,probably took about 2 days to get it to work.Luckily I had a spare set of hinges to play around with.I had to use a light coat of bondo on the rear panel to get it looking better,I will decide at a later stage if I want to re do the complete car.

[Kiwi 64sub]

I placed an order with Brothers Truck Parts for all the missing bits like all the wiper arms/blades,wiper mechanism,door handles,window felts and some interior bits.I am fairly pleased with the quility and fit of all the bits.I went to the local Pick A Part and got some gas stays to use for the bonnet and some door seals and other bits and pieces,not from a Suburban though as I only know of 3 others in New Zealand .I modified the inner guards aswell when I saw some pics on here what can be done.

[Kiwi 64sub]

Next up was getting the glass sorted. I decided to go with solid side glass as there was 4 slider windows in this Sub and some of the glass were gone and frames damaged and needed a comlete rebuild on all and where to get the window locks from?The glass ended up to be a big headache till today.The first front screen came broken out of the packaging,no one taking responsibility and it was another $600 and six weeks to get one.The side glass was custom cut and toughened and the glass company supplied the rubbers.All I can say is that I have not payed them for the job till they fix the problem as the rubbers looks horrible.This has been going on for the last 7 months trying to get them to fix it.

[Kiwi 64sub]

Next up was the exhaust.I had a 2.5inch system fitted with 3 chamber Flowmaster type mufflers.Got the wheel alignment sorted and of for the first test runs.Some problems I ran into with starting when hot.I replaced the alternator and also fitted a high torque starter,solved most of the issues.I had to get a carb spacer from Summit as I could not find anything here.The Holley is a spreadbore and no one here stocks any spacers.Funny thing is that the postage cost me more than the spacer but it solved the hot starting issue.Well I still have some work to do on the Sub but have lost some interest for now,maybe I should take it for a drive over the weekend again.Pics as it looks now.Still need to tint the windows whe the rubbers are sorted one day,carpets,tidy the engie compartment,etc.There are probably alot of things I have not mentioned what was done with the duild as I cannot remember most of it.I will add some as I go through the rest of my pics.

[Kiwi 64sub]

Forgot to mention that I was suprised with the ride,fairly soft,could maybe be abit stiffer in the rear.I changed the rear panhard to a watch link as I got better results if I want to put bags in.I found that with a panhard there are to much body movement when going up and down.With a watch link the body stays centre.I also made some angled lowering blocks for the rear aiding in getting the pinion angle right.

[69 chevy 1]

cool burb looks great nice work,with the lowering springs and drop spindles did your tires rub,also what dig you mount the hood struts to, very cool ideal

[Kiwi 64sub]

Hi,the ride as it is now do not rub at all.The back rubs a bit on the inside of the rear wheeltub when going at an angle or some corners.That is only because the backspace can do with about 10mm more to sort that.As for the gas struts,I saw it on another members build,user name 'coulter'.There are some good pics on his build tread.You can find heaps of cool ideas from this forum.Cheers