One Piece at a Time: My 1985 Diesel Suburban

[campfire]

@AgDieseler, how many cycles have you accumulated on that new starter?

Mine is coming out again, and I'm not against upgrading. But only if it's actually better than what I have.

Time will tell, eh?

 

[AgDieseler]

A few hundred so far. I’m just back from Moab.

David

 

[AgDieseler]

Per usual, Moab was a blast.

We logged six consecutive 18-20 hour days, driving and shooting video from sunrise to sunset, getting back to the Airbnb to empty the cards, and waking up to do it all over again. Unlike a dedicated trail day where we run full trails and indulge in each obstacle, this trip was about showing the suspension doing work in a variety of conditions. From road tripping to crawling to crappy dirt roads to whoops at speed, we managed to get it all.

The adventure was not without its surprises. Specifically, wind and rain forced us to move the video from Flat Iron Mesa, but we ended up with an even better location on the exit road from Pritchett. I had some extra time budgeted, so no big deal. What I didn't plan on was my ignition switch plugs melting and making the truck go full dead stick. We lost 8 hours tracing, and ultimately building a temporary 30A harness from the battery to power all the ignition junk, brake lights, and instruments. It was kind of roadkill-ish.





I'm starting a full rewire on the truck next week. Here are a few quick snaps, because 1.5TB of content is still downloading.























Top 5 campsite for me right there. What a view.

David

 

[Greg72]

Nothing against Steel-It products but a "Moab Paintjob" is still the best looking way to coat newly installed ORD componentry!!!


-G

 

[AgDieseler]

Nothing against Steel-It products but a "Moab Paintjob" is still the best looking way to coat newly installed ORD componentry!!!

The accumulated scars looked correct for this video, and matched the K30 well. Also, I just flat ran out of time to paint junk.

David

 

[Babaganoosh]

Can't wait to see what you guys put together, what are you using to rewire the truck?

 

[AgDieseler]

Can't wait to see what you guys put together, what are you using to rewire the truck?

A painless fuse panel, a handful of harding connectors, and lots of wire. A friend of mine has wired a bunch of trans-am cars, and we're making our own harness. Every current-carrying piece of copper from 1985 is being replaced. Pigtails, too. This truck won't burn down for lack of a holistic approach.

We'll tie the vintage air, dakota digital gauges, TCU, radio, etc. all back to the panel, and use the switch pros for high current accessories. We'll keep it simple and intuitive.

David

 

[skunked]

Fun was had, I see a broken squarebody taillight and a campfire with friends enjoying cold beverages.

 

[AugustDiesel]

Oh Lawd, what a payoff. There’s nothing more satisfying than working on your truck for 12 straight nonstop months then taking it out west and seeing your work get put to work and function well. Really, words can’t describe it.

Congratulations dude.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with the wiring. I sense I may have a similar job in my future.

 

[AgDieseler]

That's around 9000 lbs of truck, gear, and people cruising at 35 mph. No kidneys were bruised.

View attachment KAM_2345.MP4

We ran this several times, and I learned a ton about driving through stuff at speed and trusting the suspension to work. I also banged it way too hard a time or two. More evidence that the loosest nut is behind the wheel.

David

 

[Babaganoosh]

A painless fuse panel, a handful of harding connectors, and lots of wire. A friend of mine has wired a bunch of trans-am cars, and we're making our own harness. Every current-carrying piece of copper from 1985 is being replaced. Pigtails, too. This truck won't burn down for lack of a holistic approach.

We'll tie the vintage air, dakota digital gauges, TCU, radio, etc. all back to the panel, and use the switch pros for high current accessories. We'll keep it simple and intuitive.

David

Very nice, I started with a ez harness and pretty much doing the same making it all my own. Very little will be factory.

 

[campfire]

Some great calendar shots, but this one takes the cake!

 

[campfire]

Some great calendar shots, but this one takes the cake!

And you're using just the top lights?

 

[AgDieseler]

And you're using just the top lights?

Driving headlights and the LP6 low beam.

David

 

[Babaganoosh]

David, what kind of PSI are you running in those bumps?

 

[AgDieseler]

David, what kind of PSI are you running in those bumps?

It’s either 150 or 200. When I go for a revalve, they’ll all get to 200.

David

 

[Babaganoosh]

It’s either 150 or 200. When I go for a revalve, they’ll all get to 200.

David

I put 200 into mine and it seemed perfect but I'm 4,000lbs lighter. What are you looking for during the revalve, I believe you can go up to 500?

 

[AgDieseler]

I put 200 into mine and it seemed perfect but I'm 4,000lbs lighter. What are you looking for during the revalve, I believe you can go up to 500?

Stephen took a few notes on the rear, since we had the clickers maxed out. I gather there are a handful of shims and a bleed that will change. Basically, the truck wallers at low speeds with the rear inboard shocks. I’ll eventually try to move them out, but packaging is tight. Playing with valving is easy right now.

David

 

[Babaganoosh]

Stephen took a few notes on the rear, since we had the clickers maxed out. I gather there are a handful of shims and a bleed that will change. Basically, the truck wallers at low speeds with the rear inboard shocks. I’ll eventually try to move them out, but packaging is tight. Playing with valving is easy right now.

David

Your bumps have clickers? I need to go back and review what you have going on.

 

[AgDieseler]

Your bumps have clickers? I need to go back and review what you have going on.

Clickers are on the remote resi’ shock.

David