86 Burb 'The Strugglebus' (Pic heft)

[Captain Morgan]

Captain Morgan submitted a new Build:

86 Burb 'The Strugglebus' (Pic heft)

Hey guys, so I've been daily driving this burban I scored off craigslist for about a year and a half. I have some plans to turn it into an overland rig that I can essentially be self sufficient from(minus fuel and food of course).
Here is when I bought it:

After multiple tire failures and some fun poked by friends, the strugglebus label was officially applied.

I began with the interior, fully striped and painted in 3 days.

Apparently, with all of the foam and vinyl removed, the factory dash actually is pretty cool!

Then began work on the exterior. Being from Arizona, the rust was limited to the two Ohio winters she experienced. But her previous life left her ding and scratch ridden. Here's a rough view of the bodywork/prime/paint process.

A little emblem spruce up.

On the road as I moved to Georgia. Added a roofrack from an old twin bunk bed frame. Sis's '75 van in the back drop.

The future holds a fresh 3" lift and bumpers, drawer system, lighting and solar, RTT/awning, fridge, onboard air and of course some other goodies.

View attachment 230282

Read more about this build here...

 

[yellowK20]

I like the dash, I did the similar thing on one of my old blazers in NM , I filled most of the holes and then bedlinered it

 

[Captain Morgan]

I like the dash, I did the similar thing on one of my old blazers in NM , I filled most of the holes and then bedlinered it

It's a pretty decent route to go! No worries of future cracks! I am regretting painting the top surface a semi-glossy paint, it will come out soon for a flat finish.

 

[yellowK20]

Yeah Im sure the gloss really does some funky stuff at night

 

[Captain Morgan]

The worst is really during the day, the sun reflects and I end up driving looking through the reflections of the dash holes in the window. No issues at night, even with the marker lights on.

 

[yellowK20]

Huh , well that makes sense too haha

 

[nutt7]

I wanna see where this goes. More dash pics?? Looks kinda cool.

 

[Captain Morgan]

My current bare floor(I will be insulating and poly mating this as the heat is pretty rediculous from the exhaust/trans under there) setup with a 1,000W inverter the lower dash just spray painted with hammered rustoleum.

A little rough cut on the diamond plate but it was recycled scraps and the look has really grown on me. Vents function almost as good as factory

Had a radio in that bracket but it didnt work, so it happened to hold the cupholders from the center console snuggly. Temporary I think but quite functional.

 

[Captain Morgan]

Made a little trip back home, removed the running boards, they looked nice but don't fit the trucks plan. With her clearance back we took a short jog out to the bush. Removed the rest of the rear AC(Never worked and will be getting an aftermarket unit). Got my gear storage figured much better with plenty of room for sleeping and the second row seats.

Converted my lights to LEDs as well, much better especially the clickless flasher relay I got.

 

[Truckman4life]

I like the two tone paint job. Where'd you get your led bulbs?

 

[blazinzuk]

How do you like the led bulbs?

 

[Big Ray]

That paint job is unbelievable! You did that in 3 days?

Fine looking 'burb!

 

[F.S.F.W]

The dash looks awesome!!! Definitely doing that to mine!

 

[Captain Morgan]

I like the two tone paint job. Where'd you get your led bulbs?

How do you like the led bulbs?

I ordered all the LED bulbs(even dome lights) and flasher relay from:
www.superbrightleds.com
Recommended, great website, good prices, excellent products.
I also got new lenses and housings from classic industries that were a bit cheap but really make the LEDs shine. They are very bright now.

That paint job is unbelievable! You did that in 3 days?

Fine looking 'burb!

Thanks! No, I redid the interior in 3 days(but that was just brushing and spray painting wildly - which has held up impressively). The repaint took about a month and quite a bit of beer to get done. It's a heavy coat of CRE-321 primer and single stage urethane. Indian silver on the bottom and a mix of Indian silver and gunmetal gray for the top, the center of the roof is white to keep cooler in the sun.
Not bad for a $35 spray gun though.

 

[JoshHefnerX]

Dude if you repainted that truck in 3 days you need to come to my house. I got a few things you could help me catch up on!!

Seriously though your paint came out pretty good.

 

[Captain Morgan]

Well yet again adulting took hold and the build was put aside as the tuck had been daily driven. But now it is time, some off road abuse had taken its toll on the old axles, the rear end started humming and vibrating at freeway speeds. I decided, why rebuild them when my dream has always been to go one ton? Craigslist sourced me a perfect donor. An 86 k30, 14bff, Dana 60, NP205, TH400, 454 all freshly built with 2k miles since.

So I plan to swap the axles, inboarding the rear shocks since they won't be bolt up as is, 4inch shackle flip. Front end I want to do the 52in spring swap. Then I'll just trade drivetrains as well.

 

[nedceifus]

Do it!

 

[Big Ray]

Killer truck bump!

 

[Captain Morgan]

So over the course of the past few weeks I had been slowly stripping the K30 of its glory.


After I had stolen everything I needed, the wildness begins



With the factory 10 bolt removed, everything was cleaned and painted, I did the diy4x b52 kit and the ORD front shackle hangar and shackle kit.


With everything finally back in place and running like a top it is time to tackle the rear, shackle flip keeping factory 56" rear springs. At the moment the shackle flip is installed and the springs are hung, updates to come on the rear.

 

[AbramJ]

Another cool Suburban build, love it. Keep it up