Bossmanivy's Suburban build!!!

[bossmanivy]

I just acquired my first Suburban! It's a 1990 half ton 4x4. It is outfitted with a Zimmerman conversion package that I'm not very crazy about. It's a decent truck. The PO took pretty good care of it and showed receipts of a bunch of work he had done to it. I changed the oil and drove it from my home in St. Louis to where I work right now in Richmond VA. No issues, it does burn a little oil, I'm guessing valve stem seals because the motor runs quite strong with no signs of any other issues.

My wife thinks its obnoxious but took a pic for fb and my daughter loves it. She has affectionately named it the "Sweet Suburban"!!!

Step one! Get rid of some unnecessary body gear!

Next order of business is to make room for these

I ordered some parts for that project. Waiting on those to show up. I don't have a specific goal for this truck, but it is my DD. I want to have fun with it, and fix/improve things as I go. Let me know what you think, and thanks for checking it out

Chris

 

[Zane M]

Great potential in that one. Looking forward to the progress.

 

[Deuling]

Oh no..... Thorn birds

 

[454Sub]

Anything that can drive that far I would trust in a heart beat.

How big are the tires?

 

[bossmanivy]

Anything that can drive that far I would trust in a heart beat.

How big are the tires?

I appreciate that! The tires are 35x12.5/15. I have an 84 k5 that I bought these tires for like 6 or 7 years ago. I put maybe 500 miles on them and got this bright idea I was going to totally rebuild the k5. I got it all the way apart and that was about it. I tried to sell the tires with no luck and I wanted a 4wd that had room for a bigger family and those tires kept staring at me every time I was in the garage so that's why I bought the burb. We'll that and it's just freekin' cool. I'll get my money's worth out of the tires and hopefully upgrade to bigger axles and such. I bought thornbirds cuz at the time I didn't know jack about tires, I just thought they looked cool. Hers a pic of the very short lived fun I had when they were new. Oh and my little brother says he's going to resurrect the Jimmy......... We'll see!

I will NOT be dismantling the Suburban!!!!
Chris

 

[blazinzuk]

Thornbirds do look cool! Nice burb I have thought many times about swapping my blazer for a burb.probably never will but I do think about sometimes

 

[y5mgisi]

Subscribed!

 

[Greg Ducato]

Looking forward to the build!

 

[bossmanivy]

Well I've been excited about this weekend because of all the progress I was going to make. I ordered some part from DIY4Y and thought they would be here by now, but Mother Nature thought different. They'll get here here Monday. Oh well, I'll be installing the shackle flip n switch. I will also be installing some 2 inch lift springs in the front. They are rancho's that I had on my k5. This weekend I'll just be doing some prep work. I need to get rid of the hitch receiver, I was shocked but it is totally rusted through on 1 side. I'll remove the rear bumper and I want to clean and paint the frame where the gas tank is when I drop it to install the parts next weekend. I will use a wire wheel and a flap disc to clean the frame, but does anyone have any recommendation on paint. I was thinking of using VHT's chassis and roll bar paint. It's expensive but it seem to have what I'm looking for. My goal is to clean and remove the rust and protect the frame with paint. I was going to use rust bullet, but between the time it takes to dry and the money it costs. I don't have either. Let me know if there is a better product that will cover and protect my frame and last a couple of years. I'll post some pics tomorrow evening when I finish this weekends wrenching!

Chris

 

[y5mgisi]

Good luck!

 

[Greg Ducato]

Hard to beat NAPA "Chassis Black" for good coverage and durability. It isn't POR15 but it holds up well for the $$. The Aerosol cans spray as nice as a paint gun.

 

[bossmanivy]

Hard to beat NAPA "Chassis Black" for good coverage and durability. It isn't POR15 but it holds up well for the $$. The Aerosol cans spray as nice as a paint gun.

Thanks man! I'll definitely have to check that out. I was also looking at some rust oleum at advanced auto today. Seemed like it would do what I want.

Here's the update for today! I got to work today and put the burb on the scale.

Not a great pic, but I was shocked to see it weigh only 6100 pds. It's got 500 pds of tools in the back so it's less than 6k! I thought they weighed more. I wanted to lose the beyond rusted out receiver hitch.

I've never seen steel that thick rust through like that. The frame is rusty back there but is still solid steel, I don't know what to think. I went to drop the tank without putting a lot of thought into it because I just gassed up last night! I got the tank dropped down quite a bit and it slipped of the fork lift. I tried to remove the hitch, got one bolt out and the others, I just stripped the heads on. Put the tank back in with some help and called it a day. I haven't received my parts yet and I need to wait till I have a lot less gas in the tank. I do have some questions I'd like to ask and would appreciate some feedback on. My burb is tbi, can I disconnect the line on the tank or is this a highly pressurized fuel system. Would you guys replace the fuel pump just because the tank is out, it seems pretty easy to do(assuming you're not full of fuel) but is it worth spending the money now to avoid this chore down the road. That's about it for now, waiting on my parts and to burn through 30 some gallons of gas!!!

Chris

 

[82355]

You can disconnect the line. TBI runs at 9-13 psi. Fuel pumps are cheapish, so that's not a bad idea.

Martin

 

[magik235]

You can disconnect the line. TBI runs at 9-13 psi. Fuel pumps are cheapish, so that's not a bad idea.

.....I changed mine when I changed the tank. Make sure to get a new strainer as well.

 

[bossmanivy]

Thanks for the input fella's. Very helpful.
I need some help because this burb grew a third head in the form of some electrical issues. I was on my home from church and decided to hit the autozone for a headlight switch. The tail lights aren't working, but everything else does, I know brakes use the same ground so I went for the HL switch. It was very simple so I replaced it in the parking lot. The tail lights still don't work. As I was driving away I realized the brake light is on and the speedo is not working. The other gauges seem to be fine. When I went through the drive thru, I noticed none of the PW's worked, PL's are fine. Now I'm curious and as I'm checking stuff, the heater fan not playing ball either. I checked fuses, they check out, I checked wiring under the dash, it's been messed with a little, but not in bad shape. What is this

It's mounted under the steering column. All this happened because I replaced a HL switch. I swear that's all I did. I'm pretty decent with electrical, if I have the time and good reference material. Anyone got any diagrams, schematics, advice, magic potions!!!!! Anything would help, thanks.
Chris

 

[bossmanivy]

Anything? Nothing? Wow, thanks community!

 

[y5mgisi]

Pretty sure thats the delay wiper module.

 

[Greg Ducato]

That is a delay module, have you checked your battery to body ground, engine to body ground?

 

[bossmanivy]

I appreciate the help with the electrical issues. I'm still working on that. My work schedule limits what I can do to this thing. I did get a nice surprise today

This is killing me. I have to fix the electrical issues and wait to use the gas in the tank so I can get these bad boys installed and start running around on some good size meats! Oh FYI! I've plenty of packing peanuts if anyone needs some!

Chris

 

[Deuling]

The DIY4X shackle flip is definatley one of my favorite mods on my rig. So simple and easy, and to be honest, I think it made it ride better.