The Wanderers build

[superbuickguy]

first step, cut out the patch material

believe it or not this dirt is still wet...

and cut the other side out

then figure out where the metal is good enough to leave.

then fit the piece in the hole

tack then weld

then spray the areas with etch primer

haven't decided whether or not this bugs me enough to fix it

I'm likely going to epoxy the pieces down - that will seal it forever from dirt getting slammed into it from the wheels and prevent future rust. Think GM at some point started foaming these to prevent this from happening

 

[superbuickguy]

more holes patched - love these clamps... makes it easier to get everything flat before welding

I'll let you decide whether or not I used the piece from yesterday

blurry but mostly welded

and I cleaned the lens - that's the difference between yesterday's pictures and todays... ah well, it's a floor. maybe I should take advantage of this and do shoddy work? probably lose the shop if I do - or worse, end up with a MTOD show.

 

[superbuickguy]

after sundown, I got a little more done
had to use my trick to get the bolt out

pretty sure GM didn't weld these bolts down, and pretty sure that's the cause of the rust

this bolt came out fairly easily

so here's what I think. Someone felt the need to weld the bolts down (whether to solve a rattle or they removed the bolt - and that burned the paint off the underside... with predictable results. I've never seen these welded down before, but also not sure I've ever looked...

in the world of chinese junk, this one is really pretty good.

tomorrow I should finish patching and have some new bolts to replace the bad ones...

then - the plan is to get this up on the 4 post lift outside then seriously wash the floorboard so I can undercoat it. But we will see, that's a lot of stuff that has to happen in a limited amount of time

 

[superbuickguy]

last holes (on the inside)

of course, that means making bigger holes

getting the doors apart was its normal pain

pieces made

patch 1 - there's an under piece that strengthens the area as the body mounts are right here

patch 2
lots of fitting them

then primer the area that's going to be unseen

and drill the holes for the mounts

started the grinding process

 

[superbuickguy]

well, patching on the inside is done... next up is clean the undercarriage and undercoat it then paint the frame..

sealed and screwed in the gas filler cover

probably didn't need to seal it because it's going to be sound deadened and then raptor lined (or Durabak).

and now it gets kind of put off to the side.
SEMA is in 2 weeks (unbelievable), and I will use it to get ideas on what the inside is going to look like. I also am probably (and internally fighting this) going to rewire the truck. It has substantial electrical gremlins and a lot of corrosion... not to mention I'm adding a lot of circuits for the camper portion of this build.... but that's another thing to review at SEMA.
in the meantime, I'm going to get as far as I can with the Corvette so I can get questions and such answered while there.


and in amongst this, I'll finish the welder because the Corvette and the FJ40 both are mostly wiring projects (which is why they're now next to each other)

 

[superbuickguy]

time to use the lift for one of its main purposes

then I moved it around the building to what I think is a better spot

disassembled the tailgate

then clean the glass - I made a mess of it when I cleaned the floor of the tar

I got another door so I can fix the speaker holes

it's rough and rusty - so I didn't feel bad at all about chopping it up

now it's scrap

should be enough to fix both doors

cleaner

still a bit to go on the engine compartment

 

[superbuickguy]

In other news, this is progressing

 

[superbuickguy]

Kinsey is thrilled the Suburban is back

Luigi likes his balls

Suburban story time.
It wasn't running right - it would act like the fuel was being cut off. I dropped the tank to check for a plugged sock, replaced the injection pump, did a bunch of wiring checks and repairs.... nothing.
Finally gave up and took it to a friend who is a former GM tech. He found the problem - and I never, ever would have found it. I'd have scrapped it.
What was it? a relay. the computer relay would run at full voltage for a bit, but as you drove the vehicle, it'd start dropping voltage until it got to the point where the computer would shut down. Never, in a million years, would I have figured that one out.

 

[ITTOG]

Kinsey is thrilled the Suburban is back

Luigi likes his balls

Suburban story time.
It wasn't running right - it would act like the fuel was being cut off. I dropped the tank to check for a plugged sock, replaced the injection pump, did a bunch of wiring checks and repairs.... nothing.
Finally gave up and took it to a friend who is a former GM tech. He found the problem - and I never, ever would have found it. I'd have scrapped it.
What was it? a relay. the computer relay would run at full voltage for a bit, but as you drove the vehicle, it'd start dropping voltage until it got to the point where the computer would shut down. Never, in a million years, would I have figured that one out.

Yeah that would have got me too. I have never seen a relay fade like that.

 

[Mekcanix]

I had a similar situation with a XJ would start and then die. This happened at 1am in a heavy thunder storm. Turned out to be the fuel pump resistor which I did not know existed.
Learned later it was a common issue

 

[superbuickguy]

I had a similar situation with a XJ would start and then die. This happened at 1am in a heavy thunder storm. Turned out to be the fuel pump resistor which I did not know existed.
Learned later it was a common issue

Don't you just love being that guy to who they say "Well, I've never seen that before" a normal problem is all I ask. smh.

Yeah that would have got me too. I have never seen a relay fade like that.

It sure makes sense once I saw it, I can't give that mechanic enough kudos for what he did. Hasn't charged me for it either... but that is coming, still... when he gets his own shop, I'll post up his specifics.

I drove it a couple hundred miles tonight - there are still 2 issues: 1) the CEL comes on if you run WOT for any length of time - doesn't detune, but that's still there, and 2) if you're going down a hill, the throttle will hunt a bit if you either hold the pedal steady or you're running on cruise control... still, I'm back to trusting it - would like to figure the CEL because part of me would rather use this truck to tow my racecar (so I can camp on the way to running and save some bux).... and as a further trip down that rabbit hole, the Blazer is supposed to be the next tow truck (won't happen because I'll never leave it stock enough).... some people suffer from ADD, I enjoy every minute

 

[superbuickguy]

well, last Sunday, before my falling into the abyss, I aligned and centered the flares. Need to roll it outside for a final long look then start cutting.

poor Don, he's still in the abyss.... what I had wasn't contagious, but in his apartment complex, I guess all the residents are coming down with the crud.... pretty rotten that the world is trying to take out Santa.

 

[superbuickguy]

IF YOU LIVE IN RUST COUNTRY, THIS POST WILL BE BOTH GRAPHIC AND UNSETTLING.

it's time. time cut up up perfect factory fenders

figured I'd just pull off the bandaid as it were..... pick yourselves up, we continue
deciding where to cut was a challenge - the front axle moved foward and I needed to decide how much I wanted to modify the right rear for the tank door

as seen here

chopped happened... looks okay

need to do a lot of bracing and work underneath but they're on

 

[superbuickguy]

Had to move stuff around, so got a couple pics .... lots more work to do with the flares...

and it's actually just the rear flares that are most troublesome

 

[superbuickguy]

onward with simple....

a bit of grinding to knock the top off.... keep in mind I'm going to ceramic insulate this so it doesn't need much

same story, right side

then etch primer, once it dries I'll seam seal

I'm still not convinced I should save this