The Camp 4x4 Bus - 1973 Suburban 8.1 Swap & Build
- Thread starter camp4x4
- Start date
chilliwak
Expedition Leader
Ask and thou,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Cool truck, me like!:wings:
camp4x4
Adventurer
Big progress day!
First off, wanna thank zoomad75 for the hook up on the gauges! These are gonna be great! And thanks so much for packing them so well and including an extra lens! With the wiring diagram I have it should be easy to label each lead from the plugs you included. Super excited about that. I also found an overdrive gear indicator that showed up the same day, so of course I had to put them together real qu
Good guy zoomad75 - pro pack job AND a spare lense!
Overdrive gear indicator installed
My buddy Rodney came over for a few hours yesterday to help me split the frame from the body. That was pretty straight forward. We dropped the tow bar, fuel tank skid plate and the fuel tank because we thought there might be a bolt in the body mount next to the tank. There wasn't. But dropping those definitely made the frame lighter and easier to handle getting it out from under the body. That was a bit of a trick without a lift, but we managed without any mishaps.
Frame out and about
Look ma no frame!
After that I got out the pressure washer and went at the frame to strip off what I could. For the most part the frame was pretty clean but there were a few places around the transfer case and transmission that had some pretty caked on crud. I think I got it all. Today I'm going to be taking off the pieces that are being swapped out for something else before I get to painting: the engine cross member, rear shackle hangers and front upper shackle hanger. All of those are gonna get ORD replacement upgrades. I should also be able to get at least the first coat of rust converting primer on. Unfortunately it has a 24 hour top coat time, so I won't be getting the oil primer on... painting is clearly going to be the limiting factor in timeline at this point.
First off, wanna thank zoomad75 for the hook up on the gauges! These are gonna be great! And thanks so much for packing them so well and including an extra lens! With the wiring diagram I have it should be easy to label each lead from the plugs you included. Super excited about that. I also found an overdrive gear indicator that showed up the same day, so of course I had to put them together real qu
Good guy zoomad75 - pro pack job AND a spare lense!
Overdrive gear indicator installed
My buddy Rodney came over for a few hours yesterday to help me split the frame from the body. That was pretty straight forward. We dropped the tow bar, fuel tank skid plate and the fuel tank because we thought there might be a bolt in the body mount next to the tank. There wasn't. But dropping those definitely made the frame lighter and easier to handle getting it out from under the body. That was a bit of a trick without a lift, but we managed without any mishaps.
Frame out and about
Look ma no frame!
After that I got out the pressure washer and went at the frame to strip off what I could. For the most part the frame was pretty clean but there were a few places around the transfer case and transmission that had some pretty caked on crud. I think I got it all. Today I'm going to be taking off the pieces that are being swapped out for something else before I get to painting: the engine cross member, rear shackle hangers and front upper shackle hanger. All of those are gonna get ORD replacement upgrades. I should also be able to get at least the first coat of rust converting primer on. Unfortunately it has a 24 hour top coat time, so I won't be getting the oil primer on... painting is clearly going to be the limiting factor in timeline at this point.
FBJR
Adventurer
Nice work, will make things much easier. Maybe just prep this week and paint next weekend when you have the time?
Heck, throw a couple HF dolly's under there and move it anywhere!
I may need to do the same when the cummins goes in. I can see a lot of reinforcement and the best way for that is a bare frame.
Heck, throw a couple HF dolly's under there and move it anywhere!
I may need to do the same when the cummins goes in. I can see a lot of reinforcement and the best way for that is a bare frame.
zoomad75
K5 Camper guy
I'm glad the cluster came in undamaged. I got lucky we had a spare box with foam on a recent radio we had come in. I was worried about the second lens getting smashed as tight as everything was.
Good progress. Would have been fun having out on the trail with us next week. Get it done so next year is a go!
Good progress. Would have been fun having out on the trail with us next week. Get it done so next year is a go!
Oilbrnr
Active member
Um, another tire option, which I'm testing out, is the Goodyear Duratracs. Power Wagon came with them. Very quite yet aggressive and siped. Both the manager and assistant mgr at the store next to corp run them on their trucks. From the reviews I've read they last a long time. They did very well in the snow and ice in Flag, and down here, seem to handle the sand very well. We'll see how they do in UT next week. I sold the 33's and got 35's. I've got KO2's on the 80 series and they are fine. BFG muds on the K5 (noisy) and Hankook ATMs on the '80 K20. BFGs are predictable, but tend to wear faster on heavier trucks. Personally, I think some wide period correct white steelies would look cool given the white bottom on the body.
camp4x4
Adventurer
Sadly the DuraTracs don't come in 37's. :-/ They do look pretty sweet.
The nice thing with the steelies is they're easy enough to strip and paint or powdercoat in whatever color ya want.
White might be interesting...I dropped into 4Wheel Parts today and ended up going with the Toyo Open Country R/T's in 37x13.5R17... Yeah, went wide with 13.5! The guy I was talking to there said he's got a buddy who runs them and does Rubicon, Slickrock (CA, not UT) and other pretty gnarly trails and likes them just fine. Ultimately I have to admit that I do a lot of road driving, and that I'd prefer to have a smooth, quiet rolling tire on the road, and let the lockers do their job if the tires don't claw quite as well as the M/T's would.
As for the build, I got the Corroseal on Sunday. I really like what this stuff did! The frame looks and feels like I painted it with a clear epoxy! It is rock hard and super smooth. The areas where there was some significant rust left have kind of "scabbed" over. Very cool... I'm working on getting the Majic Oil Enamel Primer on now. I got it 3/4 done yesterday but it was going really slow and I ran out of time. Gonna finish up the final 1/4 tonight, then 2 top coats tomorrow and Thursday. Trying to get it back in this weekend, but unfortunately my usual assistants are busy elsewhere, so I may have to wait and do other things to make progress this weekend.
Before...
After...
FBJR
Adventurer
With a 1500 it is very common with oversize tires. Perfect time for a brace or box it up.
Building a brace for mine now. To cheap for the $130 brace when it is so easy to make.
camp4x4
Adventurer
Nope! Good to go! And with the hydro assist most of the pressure should be off the box, but I'm gonna put in an ORD brace none the less.
LandCruiserPhil
Expedition Leader
I like that you address potential problems at this stage for trouble free use down the road.
Love this build as you keep diving in deeper and deeper. I for one look forward to the end results.
Love this build as you keep diving in deeper and deeper. I for one look forward to the end results.
camp4x4
Adventurer
Yeah, that's definitely turned into the approach. The body is actually going to remained untouched for now other than the underbody treatment. Once the frame and drivetrain are bullet proof then I can try and deal with anything else. Gotta have the foundation right!