70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project

[1leglance]

Thanks for the comments Larry....I was bummed to see Bill's Ram run away but we all gotta move on I guess...and I like the idea of Death Valley, top of my list for sure. So maybe I will start in Jan or Feb...much depends on my mentor Nick

So what are you doing with those old hatch struts??

Oh and Nick I figured the struts would go to you if you want them or Tom our parts buddy if you don't.

Lastly thanks Rot for the comment, I am loving the Burb tons...it is one of those rigs that make you smile when you walk out the door. And having it as a match set to go with my granddads 72 truck is a total bonus (we are building that as a street machine for my younger boy).

 

[chilliwak]

Lance, I love:Wow1: that old `Burb´! I dont even know if they were called suburbans back in the day. Can you still get a decent rig like yours at a reasonable price? I could see myself driving an old `Burb´or Blazer if I could get it at a good price. Matching numbers and all stock condition are of no concern to me..... Cheers, Chilli.....

 

[1leglance]

Hey Chili,
Yep they were sold as "Suburbans" starting in the late 50's I think.

There some of these around and can be had in the rust few southwest USA for $3000-$5000 USD....if you are willing to buy someone else's project then you can drop that price to $2000 range or less.
They can be had with a rear hatch/tailgate like mine or barn doors.

Also even if you find a 1/2 ton it is easy to swap out the running gear and turn it into a 3/4ton rig.

The best thing is that there is a huge supply of repo parts so anything you want to make pretty can be bought, plus on the 67-72chevytrucks.com forum there is an amazing supply of tech & used parts.

 

[SChandler]

The Suburban nameplate goes back to the 30's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Suburban

 

[mkitchen]

So what's up in March?

A mohave rd/Death Valley trip eh? Can others tag along?
Mikey

 

[Larry]

A mohave rd/Death Valley trip eh? Can others tag along?
Mikey

Yesiree Mikey! If you would like to tag along with us in late March I'll keep you posted as the dates get closer. It would be great to have you along.

 

[BBslider001]

I would love to tag along as well, but my burb is all stock, no winches, and the stock gov lock......oh well. I'll stay posted though!

 

[mkitchen]

Either or both?

"Yesiree Mikey! If you would like to tag along with us in late March I’ll keep you posted as the dates get closer. It would be great to have you along."


Your trip sounds good. Is your trip covering both or a choice of one or the other? Either way, keep me on your list if you have room.
Mikey

 

[chilliwak]

Hey Chili,
Yep they were sold as "Suburbans" starting in the late 50's I think.

There some of these around and can be had in the rust few southwest USA for $3000-$5000 USD....if you are willing to buy someone else's project then you can drop that price to $2000 range or less.
They can be had with a rear hatch/tailgate like mine or barn doors.

Also even if you find a 1/2 ton it is easy to swap out the running gear and turn it into a 3/4ton rig.

The best thing is that there is a huge supply of repo parts so anything you want to make pretty can be bought, plus on the 67-72chevytrucks.com forum there is an amazing supply of tech & used parts.

Lance, I might just have to take a trip over to your area and see what the possibilities are. Preferably I would be looking for a truck that is basicaly stock and somewhat original. But as I said matching numbers and paperwork that shows the truck to be in original condition is not a problem. I could see myself in an old K5 Jimmy/Blazer with the removeable roof option so that I can enjoy the great outdors. Cheers, Chilli..

 

[1leglance]

Well I guess we will all have to start pm'ing you killer craigslist deals we find.
If you come to Arizona you are welcome to stay at my house as I am very close to the Phoenix Airport.
I am sure any of the Socal Expo folks would host you as well.

It would be very cool to see more of this stuff kept alive.

 

[azcagiva]

Well I guess we will all have to start pm'ing you killer craigslist deals we find.
If you come to Arizona you are welcome to stay at my house as I am very close to the Phoenix Airport.
I am sure any of the Socal Expo folks would host you as well.

It would be very cool to see more of this stuff kept alive.

Hey Lance,

I met you at the NORRA race. I was the guy on the old red honda #888. You let me use your radio when I was looking for the missing mag 7 pit. I just saw the pics of your suburban and thought "hey I remember that rig". I also had the 89 suburban chase truck.

-John

 

[1leglance]

John, great to have your here on Expo and I hope to get back down there for the next Mex 1000

That was a crazy time trying to work out the pit in that area and all the rigs flying by.

Big Burbs are a ton of fun and I hope your chase one keeps on going forever.
Keep me posted if you need support in case the Bronco guys don't need me....my qualifications are:
ICU RN
Wilderness EMT
Fluent in Spanish (wife is from South America)
Big ol' burb to chase with
plenty of tools & experience
Ham radio setup for race channels
willing to run fast on little sleep

good luck!

 

[justcuz]

I don't know if I have posted this to you yet, but a re-curved HEI and a finely tuned quadrajet, would net you some pretty substantial mileage increases. If you have access to a copy of an old Chevy Power Catalogue, the curve is posted in there. Basically the centrifugal advance starts at 800 and is all in by 3200. I have done this to all my Chevys with vacuum advance distributors and is the single best modification you can do to these engines. It really brings them to life and pulls the power band down into a usable RPM range. Most speed shops still carry these curve kits and are pretty easy to install, I just use the springs with the stock flyweights. The old Rochester carb book by Doug Roe if I remember correctly, is a great resource for getting any type of Rochester carb to work properly. The HEI distributor is a great addition to any old engine since it fires the plugs with more energy and reduces emissions too. I had a 71 Chevelle wagon with a 350 that had a point distributor with worn bushings. It was causing point bounce and would not pass smog here in California. I went to the Pick a Part, got an HEI and installed it in the Chevelle. When I went back to technician said the engine ran as clean as a 91 engine.

 

[mkitchen]

How's the suburban coming along?

Haven't heard much from your project thread lately and was wondering how your suburban was coming along. There never seems to be enough money or time to get the things done that are on our lists but it's fun plugging away on them. Either that or I am too old to get things done as quickly as I used to. So anyhow, time for an update eh?
Mikey

 

[1leglance]

Well funny you should ask as things actually started to happen this weekend.
My oldest son did a great job stripping down the interior and giving it a solid cleaning.
Tomorrow he will hit a couple of rusty areas with POR-15, then goes the latex paint with ceramic spheres for sound/heat insulation.
After that goes in the FatMat.
Lastly the Reflectix alum/bubble wrap stuff.
And then some headliner cloth for the roof and hitting up a guy Nobin-Nick knows for the floor covering.
If I am seriously lucky all that will happen by the Old Iron Run, but more than likely we will only get as far as the FatMat

Mainly the delay has been for 2 reasons:
1) The Burb runs great and it has been hard to tear her down.
2) The hospital has been crazy busy and I have been working as many overtime hours as I can to stock up the cashpile to dump in the old rig.
Parts have been stacking up though:
Wil @ Sierra Expeditions hooked me up with 2 ARB lockers so front & rear will be switchable.
Nobin-Nick got me a deal on a Dana 44 front & 14 bolt rear axle that he went through end to end.
My 700r4 is built and ready to roll.
Extreme Outback On board air setup is waiting for install.

So plenty to do but no time...next weekend is a huge Boy Scout Camp and I work tons between now & the Old Iron Run. If it wasn't for my older boys help nothing would be happening.

Thanks for checking in with me Mikey, looking forward to a great time, even if I am running a bare interior, 1 seat bolted in, sleeping on a bare floor and eating canned beans it will be a fun time