Update!

I'm still expecting to have her at the Dells hauling a beautiful Fiero....

Mark the Fiero Fanatic

Well, she didn't make it to the Dells. We've had a few projects get in the way, and we really didn't want to rush this thing, so it's been a while since we've seen significant progress. But, an update:

We actually have black paint on the beast! Door jambs are done.......

Hopefully this week the rest of the body gets painted, and the reassembly begins.

Where do all those bolts go?

Mark

[This message has been edited by Firefox (edited 06-13-2004).]

The entire truck is going to be painted black first, then the second color after she's done.

quote Originally posted by Firefox: ...We've had a few projects get in the way, and we really didn't want to rush this thing, so it's been a while since we've seen significant progress.

Projects in the way? What could you possibly be referring to? Is that a similar suburban I see behind that funky green thing?

...yep - that's definitely the one!

Glad to see you making some progress... looking forward to seeing more pics soon!

What's the deal with bugs? Are they attracted to fresh paint????

Most of the truck is painted, but it seems every time I go to take pictures, it's too dark out! I'll have to post something this weekend.

Mark

Your truck is looking good and has come a long way. Get some pictures up so we can all appreciate the work you have done on it so far.

Ok.....here we go....

The sides and rear cargo doors are painted, and we reassembled the front clip, and tomorrow we paint the roof. The front clip gets done after that, and once the entire truck is one color, then we paint the second color......

The upper sections of the doors and quarters are wet sanded and got it's first polish, but the lower half hasn't been done yet. Since I need to spray the second color yet, I'm not going to waste time polishing the sides below the body line, and the very bottoms of the doors and rocker panels, which will remain black, will be chip-guarded so polishing them won't do any good.

The thing really looks pretty rough now, but once the front and roof are painted, it'll all come together.

We also installed the new exhaust today, and it we fired it up for the first time in 2 months.....new transmission and all. We had a pretty good exhaust leak when we first fired it up, but quickly realized that a missing oxygen sensor will do that. Duh!

Slowly but surely.....it's getting there.

I miss driving it!

Thanks for the interest.

Mark

I dig done up pre 1990 suburbans ,there is a guy selling a 89 all stock ,black, lowered (sits about 4 inches off the ground for 7500.Very nice.

I'm keeping mine stock. I tow a car trailer that regularly hauls Fieros and other classic vehicles, and I plow with this thing. A low rider Suburban around here is only owned by certain groups of individuals.....and I'm not in those groups.

Besides......my suspension is stiff enough as it is.....

Mark

Update!

The truck is mostly assembled and painted. I still need to do the front clip and the second color, but the doors are all reassembled, undercoated, and ready to go. The privacy glass is installed, and the upper sections are pretty much polished up. The lower parts of the truck are going to be painted Black Cherry Pearl, so I didn't buff those out. The very bottom is going to be chip guarded, so no buffing is necessary.

The new exhaust is in, the transmission is shifting beautifully (I took it around the block looking like this), and the interior is still a disaster!



Tomorrow I'm going to install the new mirrors and finish off a little body work on the driver's fender, and Friday after work the front will get painted.

Once that's done, then we can paint the Black Cherry Pearl.

More this weekend.

Mark

Sweet! Glad to see it looking "together" again

Its come a long way Mark. Can't wait to see it completed. Great job....

Thanks, guys. I'm painting the clip tomorrow, and heading up to Iola for the day. They have a pretty good size car show/swap meet, and Sunday is a wetsand/polish day. We'll see if I can get the second color on Monday.

Mark

very nice! comming along good ,although i personally would have ditched the barn doors for a electric rear window/tail gate but thats just me.

FireFox, that looks great. My friend wants to do his 86 Chevy Beauville Van... he'll get it done in an few years... it also has an 6.2L diesel.. and it pulls and drives like an dream... If u found an suburban with the 6.2L in it or an 454. then u have two good engines for pulling...

Keep up the good work!

Soaper

I didn't have a choice when it came to the read doors, and I'd rather have a window that opened. But, the doors are still nice to have.

As for the engine choice, I'd love to find a nice 454 for this thing.....it's just screaming for one! It does run very well and have the power to pull my house off of the foundation (no, it's not a trailer home), but I'd love to drop the larger engine in there.

I painted the front clip tongiht, so tomorrow I'll see if I can get a shot.

Mark

Nice work Mark!
I have a 1969 Suburban for 2 years now, but I only drove it for a few months though ....the first 350 killed some rod bearings+crank after a 10 hour long 90mph trip (lack of oil, my stupid) . I replaced it with a used 77 Caprice 350 but that engine appeared so dirty inside (although I changed filter+ oil 3 times within the first 50 miles) at the first long trip this one killed some bearings too....So I will replace it with a new or rebuilt 350 when I get time for it. I stay away from used engines right now! But I really like those trucks, you can transport anything with them! This one was taken just before I pulled the first engine:

I painted the Burban with Hammerite and a roller It feels like Burban's drive better when they're fully loaded!
good luck with the project.

That's a gorgeous truck! When you have her back out of the garage, put up some more pics for us. I'd love to have one of the older Suburbans, but trying to find one around here that's in decent shape isn't the easiest or cheapest thing to do. As of today, with everything we've done including the paint, I have just over $3000.00 into mine. But, it's a pretty much rust free truck until it sees the first snow, then we'll see how bad she dissolves.

Good luck with her, and keep us posted!

Mark

Ok! I finally got a few pics of the truck with the new paint job, and it's still being assembled.

The color came out beautifully on the truck, and when the rest of the trim is reattached it'll set it off really nice. We installed the factory privacy glass so it's blacked out nicely, but I still need to tint the rear cargo door windows to match. I haven't been able to find the factory privacy glass with the rear deffoger on it, as the defogger cargo doors were only available in '91(this body style). So, a little tinting and she'll match.

She's getting the wheel opening mouldings, the factory side moulding, and the double factory stripe at the body line. A few more evenings and she'll be looking a little more 'finished'.

Thanks for taking a look.

Mark

[This message has been edited by Firefox (edited 07-28-2004).]

Looks awsome ,get some pipe running boards and that will make it!

Thanks.

I do want to do something with running boards, but I'd really like to get a set of the fiberglass painted running boards that run from the front bumper all the way back to the rear bumper, painted black to match the truck. But, they are hard to find. The black 'pipes' you mentioned are the second choice, with the full black flat aluminum (lighted, of course) running up third.

I do need to put mud flaps on this thing to help protect it from the crap during winter.

Looks great!
You gotta put some tire wet on the tires though!

What are the mirrors off of? Peterbilt? Kenworth? Maybe it's just the angle but those mirrors look HUGE! Beautiful Burb! Great work.

Dave

The mirrors are west coast mirrors that were available from GM. They were made by a company called Lo-Mar, since out of business, and I found them on E-Bay. They came white from the factory, which I didn't like, so I painted them silver.....which is better, but I'd rather have stainless or chrome. But, they only came in white for this style. I've been thinking of sending them out for chroming.

They do fold in a little more, but yeah, they are pretty big. I wanted a set of them for towing the car trailer and the visibility behind is great. Maybe I should mount a couple of CB antennas up there!

The tires do need to be cleaned up, but these are the 'painting' tires....I have a brand new set sitting in the garage with repainted rims ready to go on the truck.

Thanks again.

Mark

[This message has been edited by Firefox (edited 07-29-2004).]

That looks great Mark, can't wait to see it in person. Have you checked with DMC Customs for the running boards you need? They may have them or know where you can get them. WHen the one on my dogde got munched by my wife, they were able to find a replacement for me.

Just a thought.

Kelin

Yeah, I stopped by them one day and they didn't have a listing for it anymore. They changed body styles in '92, and there aren't that many out there anymore. Custom Craft is out of business. I'll find some sooner or later.....hopefully after the vehicle cash reserves replenish. This truck took a lot of painting!

Mark

Sweet! Looks good to see it all together and nearly finished!

And to think that I was hoping to have this thing at the Dells Run back in June!

We've put a few more things together, and it now has a little definition around the body line and the wheel openings. A few more things and I can call it done.....but not just yet.

I should have it at Fierorama next month, if something doesn't fall off of it.

I found a couple of pics from early on.....when I first aquired ownership......what a change.

Mark

[This message has been edited by Firefox (edited 08-29-2004).]

Any updates?

Bump with some more pics of mine (because you said you liked it)


I plan to spend some cash$ on a completely rebuild 350 before the winter, it is about time to get it running again!!
Sitting outside for a year wasn't good for the body so last week I had to do some rust-repairs before it gets really out of hand. I wish it was made of fiberglass.

Here's a pic from this morning.



She's ready to go for winter! We've done a little suspension work, and she's getting new tires next week. She's been running excellent and feels very tight on the road.

I love that '69 Suburban above. Catch that rust before it gets anywhere! I was toying with the idea of trying to find a '68-'72 Blazer, but I have way too many projects going. Take care of that Suburban!

Um....where did the back doors go? ( And why didn't I notice that before? )

Mark

Firefox, those subs are lovingly referred to as 3-door suburbans. The driver's side had no rear door, only the passenger side.

BTW, love what you have done with yours.

Thank you. The more I drive her, the more I like her. ( the truck.....I already love my wife )

I never knew about the 3 door setup. It kind of looks like the door was welded up. I went back in the thread to the other picture of the truck in the shop, and sure enough, it's for a rear passenger door! That's wild.....

Learn something new every day. Thanks for the explaination.

Mark

bump for a family member....

...almost lost this thread
Yeah the 3door is a bit strange, maybe it was preventing kids getting out of the car at the"wrong/dangerous" side...From the inside it looks even more like a door is welded in! It has the same shape and doorpanels like the rest of the doors! I could snap a pic if you want...

Your Suburban turned out great!

It needs rims..... Otherwise its awsome!

Bling Bling กก!!

Very nice its looking bettern every update! Although I like my burbs a tad lower

quote Originally posted by Fie Ro: Your Suburban turned out great!

Thanks! Still working on the interior. Got headliner material off of E-Bay, and once that's back in I can reinstall the rest of the interior....

Little by little!

Mark