I picked up this Suburban a couple of months ago and was going to redo her. This is the truck that's going to be hauling Fieros around to shows and stuff, so it needs to look good. We were just going to repair the rust with patch panels......but came across another idea.



After finding another option, which was a rust free body, we pulled the old body off of the frame...

Then, with a littel help from a tractor and some handywork, we pulled our new body off of it's old frame.....

We then lined it up and settled it onto it's new home.....

Then it's back to the house for painting and reassembly!



I'm hoping to have her back on the road by Christmas, but it won't be completely painted by then. We're painting the shell before reassemble and doing a complete job in spring.

It's a 1991 Chevy Suburban 4-wheel drive and the body came off of a '89 Suburban 2-wheel drive.

I hope I remember where all the bolts go.....

Mark the nut

Dude, that's one heavy body to go moving around like that!

Mine's a bit older and I used a crane for mine.

Good luck with the project.

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The 'burban ought to make a great tow vehicle, but how did your Jimmy like towing the 'burban?

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Raydar
88 3.4 coupe.

Coming soon...
88 Formula, presently under the knife.

quote Originally posted by Stinkin_V8: Mine's a bit older and I used a crane for mine. Good luck with the project.

Are you putting a 40's body onto a newer Blazer chassis? That'll be very cool!

Mark

Nice truck!

So, out of all that have you got a decent grill/trim assembly left? I could use the complete set of front pieces that make the grill/trim/headlights.

JazzMan

Now that is a BIG project for sure, makes any fiero mod look small in size.

Pete

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quote Originally posted by JazzMan: So, out of all that have you got a decent grill/trim assembly left? I could use the complete set of front pieces that make the grill/trim/headlights. JazzMan

I'm reusing the entire front clip and 3 out of the 4 original side doors, and the new body came with a set of cargo doors.

Mark

Not quite the same as unbolting and moving Fiero body panels around is it?

Good job on the swap, a nice restored older 'burbon should make a nice parts and tow vehicle for the little Fiero.

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'87GT Fully modded, 3" Drop on 17's 3800SC on the way....or a turbo
'92 LeBaron soft top, The Players car. :)

fieros only

This truck will most likely be traveling around the upper Midwest states returning valuable treasure and restorable vehicles to the Milwaukee area. My partner has been restoring a couple different vehicles over the past several years, and wants to get into it a little more.....purchase something nice, do a little fix-up, and resell. With the Suburban and trailer, it's a nice easy haul (just lots-o-gas). Plus, I can haul all kinds of crap up to the Wisconsin Dells for the Dells Run! (including fire extinguishers again)

Mark

I'm thinking of dumping my Ford E250 work van for my friend's 91 Suburban 4WD. I figure it will make a good work truck (satellite dish work), good on trips when I need more room and good for going up to the Sierra mountains in winter. A few questions:

How do they do in the snow (assuming proper tires)?

This one is an automatic. Are they well built for towing?

Anything I mechanically I should watch out for?

My Ford van (1987) has over 200,000 miles, I've beat the crap out of it, the transmission is getting noisy, the engine has a sort of tapping noise (diagnosed as a wrist pin), but it refuses to die. Very reliable, so it's difficult to part with it. How is the Suburban reliability?

I haven't had this Suburban very long, but this one has over 200,000 miles on her. The transmission was rebuilt, but the engine is original and runs strong, and the drive train has had springs replaced and axle seals replaced. The reason it was sold was the fuel pump went out (the original one) and the idiots at the repair shop the owner took it to broke the sending unit lines because of rust (not really their fault). We bought the truck, new fuel tank, and installed a used sending unit for a lot less than the quoted price. Other than normal maintenance, such as brakes and fluid changes, this truck is pretty much original. I have the entire history for it and it's been a very solid vehicle. We're replacing the body because of rust.....the rear sill plate and cargo doors were dissolving, and we got the new(er) body for less than the cost of all of the patch panels to fix her up. The new(er) body was a theft recovery vehicle that was sitting for about 8 years at a body shop rear yard and I caught work of it's existance. It's rust free and in excellent shape.....just stripped of everything.

I aven't had this one in snow yet, but other friends and family that have them just love them. As for towing, it's one of the best vehicles you can use because of the long wheelbase and stability. As for reliability, the 350 in mine is still running on the original engine and has been towing most of it's life. The transmission was rebuilt earlier this year, for the first time. It's been an outstanding truck for the previous owner, but with the rusted rear half of the vehicle, plus the $1200 quoted for the fuel tank/pump/sending unit/lines, he gave up. We spent $300 to put her back on the road, and the new body takes care of the rust issue.

As for anything to watch for on a used truck, basic maintenance records should give you an idea about how the truck has performed. How was she treated? What kind of shape? This thing is still old enough where I don't have to worry about a ton of eletronic crap going wrong ($4000 transmission) and parts are readily available. The 700R4 transmission is a very good unit.

Mark

quote Originally posted by Firefox: as brakes and fluid changes, this truck is pretty much original. I have the entire history for it and it's been a very solid vehicle. We're replacing the body because of rust.....the rear sill plate and cargo doors were dissolving, and we got the new(er) body for less than the cost of all of the patch panels to fix her up. The new(er) body was a theft recovery vehicle that was sitting for about 8 years at a body shop rear yard and I caught work of it's existance. It's rust free and in excellent shape.....just stripped of everything.

Man, we are so lucky out here in California not having to deal with the rust issues. My Ford van is a 1987, has had the crap beat out of it, the previous owners obviously didn't take great care of it, but any rust is negligable. If the engine and tranny weren't on the verge, I'd be able to drive that thing another 5 years.

I should figure out a way to cheaply ship cars and frames back east. I'm sure you folks could use them. I have a dealer's license, so I'd have a leg up on getting stuff cheap. If you easterners can figure out a way to make this work I'd be glad to help.

quote As for anything to watch for on a used truck, basic maintenance records should give you an idea about how the truck has performed. How was she treated? What kind of shape? This thing is still old enough where I don't have to worry about a ton of eletronic crap going wrong ($4000 transmission) and parts are readily available. The 700R4 transmission is a very good unit. Mark

We got this one from the Manheim auction, so it's a crapshoot. My friend (also business partner) bought it for his dad, and ended up not wanting it. We wants around $3300, has 200k miles, changed transmission and supposed to have a replaced engine.

OK, that's enough about my truck situation. Thanks for the info, much appreciated. Now back to your regularly scheduled thread...

We have several dealerships in the area that sell cars from southern states, but the cars that they have brought up aren't that old. I bought a 1986 Olds Cutlass Supreme from a dealer here in 1991, and it was as perfect of a car as I could have found. No rust anywhere, and nothing even showing any wear. I found a pen in the trunk well down at the bottom of the quarter panel and it had an address from Montgomery, Alabama. The salesman at that point said that the car may have come from down south, but wasn't sure until he got the history on the car. Yes, it was brought up to sell in Wisconsin.

There are several places here in the Milwaukee area that will go out and look for a certain kind of car for you.....kind of like taking an order, and then going down south or out west and find that kind of car. We also have parts ordering places that do the same thing. I bought 2 doors for a 1983 Pontiac Grand Prix that were purchased down in Texas and brought back here to me. Not cheap, but we can order rust-free used parts.

Mark

quote Originally posted by Firefox: ...and the new body came with a set of cargo doors... Mark

rustproof the heck out of those things, they're tough to find anymore
They're not made aftermarket.

As soon as the truck is painted, it's going into the dealership that I used to work at and getting a full undercoating and rustproofing. I've got a lot of miles on her, but I want to have her last for a while.

Mark

It's getting there......

wires and more wires.......




and a pile of stuff to bolt in....

We've been installing a lot of stuff the last couple of days, and she'll be running tomorrow. Hopefully, she'll be finished except for paint, by the 1st of the year.

Thanks for looking.

Mark

Hey, man, looks like you need a bigger garage.

Fortunately I don't have a luggage rack. That would keep it out on the driveway.

This is the remains of the original body. There was rust in places I didn't know existed!



The body goes to the scrap yard tomorrow.

This is the truck as it sits today. It's ready for the road.....just looks ugly until I can get some body work done. It's going to depend on the weather.

Now that it's out of the garage, it's Fiero painting time!

Mark

The Suburban is on the road. It needs a little more stuff bolted inside, but it's ready to tow the trailer. Now, if the Fiero would just show up, I can paint it!

Mark

Congrats. That had to have been quite an undertaking. You have more ambition than I.

You did all that in less than a month? Wow!

Thanks!

The window of opportunity for getting this body was small, so I was kind of forced into this if I wanted the new body. This is my winter truck (I have a plow to install on it) and I'm still in a race with the snow. We haven't had anything significant yet, so my luck is holding out. I've got a bit more to do, but things are going well. The only problem we had was that the new body was from a 2-wheel drive truck and mine is 4-wheel drive, and the transmission tunnel between the footwells in front is a different height for the shift lever. We had to cut out the new trans tunnel and weld in the old one. That actually went extremely well, with the help of a plasma cutter. That is a wonderful tool for cutting!

I've actually started a little body work yesterday, with our weather holding yet, but it's not going to get painted until spring. Then, with a nice black/charcoal paint job, she'll look respectable pulling a nice Fiero on a car trailer.

Thanks for looking and I appreciate the nice comments.

Mark

Looks good! Nice work!

What happened to the guys' legs in this picture??!!

He's kneeling...

JazzMan

He's praying it all fits right..............

Well, it's all coming together. We've been really humping to get this thing put together before the snow flies so we can use it for plowing. Yesterday the plow was mounted and wired, and today, after the Packer game, the plow lights were installed (just in time....it had started to snow). So....the beast is on the road!




We got about 4 inches here in Milwaukee and it's going to snow for a bit yet. Not too much, but I got to play with the plow tonight and everything seems to be working. Now to get the light bar installed......

Mark

Thanks for looking

[This message has been edited by Firefox (edited 01-04-2004).]

i bet that you could fit your fiero in that giant thing if you tried hard enough you wouldnt even need a trailer

I finally was able to pick up one of the last additions to the truck yesterday. It's going to look very nice when it's in place.....



It's looking more and more like a truck......and the Fieros might just fit in the back with some ramps!

Mark

Update time.

The Suburban has a new transmission in it. The old one decided to grenade itself and make me spend some money. So, while the trans was out, we decided to repair the rust on the doors. New sheet metal was welded in place of the rusted stuff, and it's going back together slowly. She's going to be painted soon, and will be making an appearance at the Dells Run the first weekend in June......and she will be towing a Fiero to the show.

I just happened to leave the camera at the other house, so I'll post a couple of pics tomorrow.

Mark

Wow, that was a big job !! Let us know when you get more photo's of the finished project.

I love my Suburban, it tows like a dream.

Still in the sanding stages, and still have to reattach the rear side doors. It's slowly getting there....

I'm fully expecting the finished project to be at the Dells Run.

Mark

Looks like you'll have quite a showcase of your work at the Dells Run this year! Looking forward to it myself!

I'm going to need a seperate lot for all of my work. I think I'll be at 6 vehicles that I have painted....maybe 7.

Mark