Adopting a Suburban Carryall, The Seahorse

[Kenfuzed]

Nice burb Jason, I'll be watching this one.

[Captainfab]

The 454 in my Suburban gets the same mpg whether empty or loaded pulling a trailer. I think it's kind of a big block thing.

Too bad about the gears. Good luck finding a 4.10 third member for the HO52/72. I still think you'd be way ahead to just find a 10.5" 14 bolt with 4.10's. Much easier to find.

[RANDY COX]

KOOL pixs Jason I'm sure that was a good feeling towing that Baby home, I finally got see to some pixs of where I sold my 70 Burb a few yrs back and it's been changed to 3/4 ton Diff's.. Don't do like I have in the past and have too many Irons in the fire and seem to never get anything done. But if you have a family then a Burb will more suited... can't wait to see the progress of this one, I know you've put a lot of hard work into your truck..
I will be checking in as I'm sure everyone else will be to... Oh and you know how we LIKE PIXS...

[pimpston65]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

The 454 in my Suburban gets the same mpg whether empty or loaded pulling a trailer. I think it's kind of a big block thing.

Too bad about the gears. Good luck finding a 4.10 third member for the HO52/72. I still think you'd be way ahead to just find a 10.5" 14 bolt with 4.10's. Much easier to find.

hope gas stays under $2. we can all drive more miles, and enjoy these vehicles and not get hosed and the hose!!!

[cooperhw]

Awesome score on the suburban. Looks really nice.
I just picked up a 68 longggggggggggggggg truck with the same 457 gearing. Not sure yet how I will address that. Pretty dang low.

[Baketown Scotty]

Congratulations! Wish I knew you were picking it up in Bakersfield, would have liked to look it over in person. Enjoy.

[duallyjams]

Really digging the burb, i need to find one.

[McMurphy]

Another nice save !!
Watching you and Bomp and Clemdaddy with your additional rigs has me pretty envious right now.

Wife and I hope to find a burb or a panel to restore.
Hope your Holidays are being fun !!

[argonaut]

You wouldn't be as envious if you saw the rust and dents!!! :P

Nah, I am glad I picked it up. Hoping that later today I can get that big winch bumper off and slap the chrome on one.

I'm also in the market for 67-72 K10 Engine and transmission crossmembers. They did some weird things when they swapped the powertrain

[61K10]

Jason--glad you made it home ok. that's a pretty big tow up over that mountain. will keep a eye out for a 4.10 up here.

And the fun begins again!------Kimble

[argonaut]

I did use it as an excuse to see how Big Ugly performed as a tow vehicle. And it did fine as long as I didn't expect to go over 40mph up the grade when loaded... And having the low 1st gear was nice and easy on the clutch and for maneuvering.

I would like to keep the eaton rear axle. I know that coporate 14 bolts are plentiful but I like the idea of having an axle from the same era as the carryall. So if I can locate a 4.10 ring and pinion set in good condition I'll keep it in.

I don't plan to put big tires on this one. Probably some 33x10.5 all terrains or a 235/85r16 all terrain. I want to keep the skinny, knobby style and function. I suppose I could easily find a cheap set of 1/2 ton axles with front disks to swap under it but I kind of like the idea of having common hardware and parts between Ugly and the Seahorse.

[argonaut]

Tried to get the winch bumper off last night in the remaining minutes of daylight after work. Score is bumper: 1, my busted knuckles: 0. Should have known better; just cut the dang bolts off!

[argonaut]

I couldn't stand going a whole week without tinkering on the new baby. So after work today I pull off this beast of a 200+ lb winch bumper and replaced it with an original chrome bumper. Don't be fooled by the shiny photo, it has scuffs and scratches but hey, its a driver!
Anyone want a free winch bumper/battering ram??? I doubt it'll even fetch $20 at the scrap yard.



I also pulled off an old school trailer brake controller, bled the brakes and got the remote vacuum booster working. I think I still need to adjust the drums all the way around because it has a vicious pull to the left when I get on the brakes. I haven't actually pulled the drums to check for worn pads or frozen or leaking wheel cylinders since it requires yanking all four hubs, which I'm way to lazy to do right now.

[61K10]

Kinda looks like mine, but mine is welded on and the frame horns were cut off. so it's staid. I don't know, might have been a good thing on the freeway down there lol!

[McMurphy]

If you were not 2,000 miles away I would come get it. I have a perfect use for it.

[duallyjams]

Does the front sit higher now.

[argonaut]

Originally Posted by 61K10

Kinda looks like mine, but mine is welded on and the frame horns were cut off. so it's staid. I don't know, might have been a good thing on the freeway down there lol!

Yeah, luckily they were pretty careful when they installed the bumper+skidplate. They simply cut a 1/4" slot in the bottom front edge of each frame horn and slid it in. They even left the original side brackets mounted to the frame so I was able to use four of the six bolts to mount the bumper. I still need to rebuild the lower edge of the front frame horns but luckily I cut off and saved a set from an old bent frame my dad had.

Originally Posted by McMurphy

If you were not 2,000 miles away I would come get it. I have a perfect use for it.

I wish i could give it to you. Save me a trip to the scrapper. I hate to throw away useful items.

Originally Posted by duallyjams

Does the front sit higher now.

It sits slightly higher. The front springs have only two leafs and are worn out. The front axle is barely 1" from the bump stops and about 2" from hitting the oil pan. It only came up about 1/4" to 1/2". Now I'm not sure if I should go with new stock height springs for the front, or 2" lift springs for front and rear. I'm going to run 235/85R16 tires which are only about 32" OD. I don't want a big lift, just enough to clear the tires (tall and skinny) and look good!



So I drove an hour to pick up a set of 3/4 ton axles, Dana 44 + 14 bolt, that supposedly had 3.73 gearing. Pulled the covers and turns out they are 4.09/4.10. Not ideal but not the en of the world.



The ring and pinion looked great on both and the price was good so I loaded them up into Big Ugly. The front is date stamped '74 and has the external hubs with hub flanges already mounted. Which is perfect because I was planning on buying another set. I also already have another new pair of front calipers in the garage. The 14 BFF is '89 so has the extra ribs on the case. I debating whether or not to convert it to disks or leave the drums on.

[ChiefRocka]

Great score MAN !!

This is gonna be a great build

[rusty76]

I'm in on this. Cool ride.

[argonaut]

Too wet outside to get any work done on the axle swap. Plus I'm fresh out of funds this month and I still need to pick up a whole bunch of brake parts, new front springs, rear spring hangers, bushings, etc.

I did slap on an aluminum grill and some 2" beauty rings in an attempt to "spruce" it up a bit.

The seam in the drip rail at the two front corners of the cab, right above the A-pillars, is letting water leak through. I'm going to have to find someone with a non-rusty cab roof willing to cut out those whole corners for me so I can cut the rust out and put patches in.

[RANDY COX]

Lookin Good Jason.. The weather has me held up un mine too...

[pimpston65]

I may have a side mirror that matches your pass. side one free of course!!!

[rook13pdx]

Wow man. These builds are unreal. Big Ugly was awesome, this is a rig I've been thinking about for a while and now you're doing it. Thanks man.

[61K10]

Jason---you have way less dents and rust than mine did. you can handle it!

[argonaut]

I was investigating an issue I was having the the seats today. The floor has the cleat arrangement to be able to put the 2-person seat in the middle or the rear position. So I put the 3-person seat in the middle and stuck the 2-person seat in the back. I had pull the seat bottoms out to make the seats easier to maneuver. When I tried to fit the 2-person seat bottom back into the frame, in the rear position, I found that the left front corner was hitting the back of the inner fender and so I wouldn't fit down. I compared the seat bottom frames from the 3-person and the 2-person seats and found that the 3-person seat had tapered frame edges, whereas all the other seats are square. Looks like I'll have to cut and modify the seat bottom to fit. Seems kind of dumb for the seat to physically bolt in back there but then the seat bottom can't be installed...