70 C-20 4x4 Suburban Father/Son project

[Larry]

Wow, lucky score to fine one with a factory tach! Any plans to modernize the engine with fuel injection? That would be a great upgrade for an off-roader especially in the off-camber situations we find ourselves in as well as the heat we play in. Carburetors have a special place in the scrap pile where they all belong. They drink too much fuel and are a hassle to deal with off-road. A simple TBI kit from Howell Engine Development would fit the bill nicely. Their kit is basically made up of all factory GM components, which are very durable.

TH400? You might want to double check that, as TH400’s didn’t appear in 4x4’s until the late 70’s. I bet you have a TH350 and NP205 tcase. Just by the looks of the tcase shifter, I can almost guarantee it is a 205 tcase.

I can’t wait to see your burb at the Expo!

 

[1leglance]

Larry I understand you thoughts on the fuel injection issue, I just pickup up a Holly Off Road Avenger carb from Craigslist and we will see how that goes. My concern is that I don't want much in the way of electronics on this beast. But if I get tons of hassles then I will be all about picking your brain

The trans pan really looks like the Turbo 400 and I am pretty sure when the previous owner dropped in the crate motor he upgraded the trans. I will snap a pic today of the underside today.

 

[Rot Box]

yep factory tach dash which is nice as I am working to keep it retro thus no big aftermarket tach.

Nice score! Those are few and far between :bike_rider:

 

[goin camping]

You now own my dream rig. Keep posting the pictures and be nice to it.

 

[1leglance]

Howdy Camping...
My son & I are having a blast with the rig..
I have new photos I need to post from the last few days work.
I hope to get more done this week and then get back out to play in the dirt soon.

 

[1leglance]

Got some more work done over the weekend and it was very educational for my son...dirty but educational

First of all let me say that one of my favorite thing about older vehicles is that not only can you reach everything but you can also take things part & put them back together.
As an example my turn signal switch was sticking and felt "gummy", so we got in there and gave it all a good cleaning, some dielectric grease and all is better now. Great time showing how contacts works and how you track electrical problems.

Then is was time to talk about how heat kills (just like it does a good cigar....something he & I have talked about before ....
So we added a water temp gauge with real numbers, an oil temp gauge & trans temp. The desert southwest getting stupid hot and I like to know when things are starting to cook. Now I have to be honest and say that we didn't install the temp senders for the oil & trans yet as that requires dropping the pans. But don't worry that will happen soon.

Since we had the steering apart I went ahead and stole the pretty new steering wheel off the 72 Chevy Truck that will be his in a few years....needless to say he wasn't happy about that but my rig runs and he can't drive yet...and I am paying for both so I win

Plenty more to come...right now I am shopping for a used MIG setup as there is enough welding projects to do to make it worth it. Unless anyone wants to loan me a setup for a while.
Gotta make an aux battery tray, bucket seat frames for the front & back, rear bumper and some other goodies

 

[locrwln]

Good looking rig. Have you thought about using the bucket seats out of a 99-10 gm truck/suv? They will mount to any flat surface with four mounting bolts and the three point seatbelt is built in. Very nice seats. Just a thought.

Jack

 

[1leglance]

I am currently seat shopping...
I would the back 2 to fold flat to help with storage & sleeping setups.
The front 2 is a mix between good support off road and comfort.
Thanks for the tip on the GM seats.
I am watching craigslist and local pick a part places....In my Troopie I used mini van take outs and they worked well. But I might go for a bit more comfort this time around.

 

[toddz69]

I am currently seat shopping...
I would the back 2 to fold flat to help with storage & sleeping setups.
The front 2 is a mix between good support off road and comfort.
Thanks for the tip on the GM seats.
I am watching craigslist and local pick a part places....In my Troopie I used mini van take outs and they worked well. But I might go for a bit more comfort this time around.

Lance: What color seats are you looking for? Do you want buckets? A friend from NM was in town a few months ago and we went and visited a guy in the Carefree/Cave Creek area that had a large number of takeout 2nd row bucket seats from Honda minivans, iirc. They were really nice seats - folded down flat, retractable headrests, low profile, arm rests (that were not intrusive if you kept them folded up, etc. My friend bought leather ones and I think he had some cloth ones as well. Pretty reasonably priced for brand new seats. Let me know if that's something that interests you and I could maybe find some photos and some contact info.

Todd Z.

 

[toddz69]

The front is going to be a Dana 44 while the rear will be the Eaton H052. Both are decent axles but your current front axle has drum brakes so that makes it a good axle candidate to be swapped out and taken to the scrap yard.

.

Couldn't this D44 be easily swapped to discs with junkyard parts like the same vintage 6 lug 44s? Or are the 8 luggers closed knuckle or some other combo that doesn't lend itself to an easy spindles-out swap?

There are plenty of 1/2 and 3/4 ton Chevys in the u-jerk-its here in Phoenix that could either donate the front brake bits or a complete front axle for a pretty low price.

Todd Z.

 

[Larry]

.

Couldn't this D44 be easily swapped to discs with junkyard parts like the same vintage 6 lug 44s? Or are the 8 luggers closed knuckle or some other combo that doesn't lend itself to an easy spindles-out swap?

There are plenty of 1/2 and 3/4 ton Chevys in the u-jerk-its here in Phoenix that could either donate the front brake bits or a complete front axle for a pretty low price.

Todd Z.

Yeah, that would work too but more times than not the junk yards around here don’t like you disassembling an axle, as they would rather sell you the entire thing. We have a yard here that sells parts by a menu price. Axles are a flat $80, doesn’t matter if it is a D60, 14 bolt ff, or a little S10 axle…they are all $80. Problem is you need to be at this yard every day like it is black Friday being all the good stuff goes quickly.

Heck, maybe the previous owner already swapped on front disks?? Have you check that Lance? What about gear ratio, have you checked that yet? If they are 3:73’s you might as well go with a pair of axles (D44 and Corp 14 bolt FF) with 4:10’s.

 

[toddz69]

Yeah, that would work too but more times than not the junk yards around here don’t like you disassembling an axle, as they would rather sell you the entire thing. We have a yard here that sells parts by a menu price. Axles are a flat $80, doesn’t matter if it is a D60, 14 bolt ff, or a little S10 axle…they are all $80. Problem is you need to be at this yard every day like it is black Friday being all the good stuff goes quickly.

10-4. We're blessed with a lot of pickies here where we can disassemble and pick out bits at will. They also have the flat charges for engines, transmissions, axles, as well. Many of our yards look like WWIII if the vehicles are there for any length of time.

A few years ago I took a friend along with me to get some parts for an 8 lug conversion for his Blazer. I tend to work rather quickly with the stuff I'm familiar with - use my Milwaukee impact for the nuts and bolts, etc. My friend came back to work and told everyone I looked like a cat with a bird - feathers and body parts flying until I got down to the little piece of meat I wanted. I suppose it's an apt comparison .

Todd Z.

 

[NOIBN]

Yeah, that would work too but more times than not the junk yards around here don’t like you disassembling an axle, as they would rather sell you the entire thing. We have a yard here that sells parts by a menu price. Axles are a flat $80, doesn’t matter if it is a D60, 14 bolt ff, or a little S10 axle…they are all $80. Problem is you need to be at this yard every day like it is black Friday being all the good stuff goes quickly.

Heck, maybe the previous owner already swapped on front disks?? Have you check that Lance? What about gear ratio, have you checked that yet? If they are 3:73’s you might as well go with a pair of axles (D44 and Corp 14 bolt FF) with 4:10’s.

Around here at the U-Steal-It yards, you can tear apart a truck starting from the front to get to a rear license plate lamp--nobody cares. In 1970 that should be an open knuckle front diff and being a Dana, it *may* still have a tag on one of the diff cover bolts stating the ratio. The HO52/HO72 only came with 4.10, 4.56 and 5.13 gears, so it has to be one of those ratios--most likely, being a Suburban, it has a 4.10, but 4.56's are a remote possibility. Back to the front diff, being open knuckle any 8-lug discs from a D44 or a 10B will work. Get everything from the spindles out and you'll be good. The HO52 is bombproof. The weakest link in it is the 17 spline side gears, but if those are a concern (really shouldn't be with a SBC and a NP205), they can be swapped out with 14FF side gears (or a Detroit) and run 30 spline 14FF axle shafts.

I've seen those seats from the Hondas. They look nice and a couple people I know that are running them seem to like them well enough.

 

[matt s]

Hey Lance could you post up a couple of photos of the new side mirrors you put on. I have the "sport" mirrors on my 71 blazer and while they look cool function wise they leave quite a bit to be desired. Those might be a good option.

 

[1leglance]

Great info flying around this thread!
Glad to see another Burb on here, especially that wicked Cummins monster!

No idea the ratio yet, gotta reach back into the brain on how to figure it out. I will check for a tag.
Drums all the way around are actually working ok right now....but I am sure I will want to switch as soon as I do a brake job, I hate working on drums

Matt, I got the mirrors from Socal Vintage Ford & Chevy which I could ride a bicycle to from my house. The only issue right now is I have a vibration (tires maybe) and they are pretty worthless since that long stalk hangs them out there. Once I get rid of the vibration I will see if the mirrors improve. If not then I will replace them and ship them your way to play with

Hey since I want to buy a welder and my son is working on blacksmithing maybe I will have him make use some cool heavy duty but stylish mirrors!

I got my Holley Off Road Avenger dialed in and fly through emissions.
Tomorrow it goes in to have ram horns installed & new exhaust and kiss the headers & low hanging pipes good bye.

Oh and I bought the seats I used in my Troopie from that Cave Creek guy and they are great. I plan to visit with him again for the back 2 buckets for sure...and the fronts if I can't find the full size GM seats that were mentioned by someone (I like the built in seatbelt idea). His price of $65 for a new take out seat is pretty good.