CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
The Story Of A Cummins Suburban (Lots Of Pics)
- Thread starter mosesburb
- Start date
Thank you!!
Waytek does have some of the terminals and connectors, they have a great selection of the TXL/GXL wire, but when you order you have to watch out for their minimum quantities and/or dollar amounts. It can turn a good deal into a huge outlay real quick. For a few terminals here and there check out http://www.keefeperformance.com/. They will sell one terminal with one foot of wire if that is all you need.
I really wanted to run one of those, but I could not bring myself to spend that kind of dough on a part that I already had. That dash pad would also negate the use of center dash speakers. Sure does look cool though.
Cool, another link to add to my favorites. I wish there was one place where I could buy all my stuff instead of multiple places. Nice to know I could buy the fuse box blank. Now if I could find the bulkhead part for our style trucks.
Well, no new pics to show, but there is news here. I got it running last week!! I bled the injectors and tried cranking for oil pressure to no avail, so I turned the fuel on and it lit up like it had run yesterday--oil pressure came right up after it started. Sounds bitchin'!! Of course, that may have something to do with only having 12" of pipe hanging off of the turbo, but I'm diggin it nonetheless. My neighbors now have a complete understanding of what I have been doing under the hood of this thing for the past year now, hehehe.
I let it run for awhile, doing functional tests on components and everything seems cool. The only problems I had were a leaking coolant reservoir (new GM part) and no power steering/braking assist. I chased that monkey for about a week and a half until I finally found the problem in the pump. I got that straightened out and everything works great.
I got the NP205 torn down and cleaned up with the guts ready to go into my housing and started working on my NV4500 also. Everything looks good, just need to clean the parts and get it together. I'm looking forward to driving this thing now!!
So everything is going well until I was at my Mom's house last weekend doing some electrical work for her and managed to put myself out of comission for awhile.
The white diagonal line near the top of the thumb is NOT supposed to be there. I was cutting a piece of conduit with my 28V Sawzall (nowhere near as smooth as my corded Super Sawzall) and the material pinched the blade and was moving with the blade. Well, sometime in there my thumb somehow managed to get between the material and the shoe on the Sawzall and BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, etc. I ended up with a purple fingernail and lost a dime sized chunk of skin on the fingerprint side.
Now, I'm no stranger to the Band-Aid box (I carry my own stash at all times), but this had to rank in the top one or two most painful injuries in recent memory. I waited a couple days and went and got it checked out because it was hurting well below the injured area. Doc couldn't explain why it hurt where it hurt, but informed me that I had done more damage that I initially thought. Swell. Now I get to sit home and do basically nothing. No work (not good), no work in the shop, nothing. Grrr.
I'm really close, but I can't do a damn thing about it....
I let it run for awhile, doing functional tests on components and everything seems cool. The only problems I had were a leaking coolant reservoir (new GM part) and no power steering/braking assist. I chased that monkey for about a week and a half until I finally found the problem in the pump. I got that straightened out and everything works great.
I got the NP205 torn down and cleaned up with the guts ready to go into my housing and started working on my NV4500 also. Everything looks good, just need to clean the parts and get it together. I'm looking forward to driving this thing now!!
So everything is going well until I was at my Mom's house last weekend doing some electrical work for her and managed to put myself out of comission for awhile.
The white diagonal line near the top of the thumb is NOT supposed to be there. I was cutting a piece of conduit with my 28V Sawzall (nowhere near as smooth as my corded Super Sawzall) and the material pinched the blade and was moving with the blade. Well, sometime in there my thumb somehow managed to get between the material and the shoe on the Sawzall and BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, etc. I ended up with a purple fingernail and lost a dime sized chunk of skin on the fingerprint side.
Now, I'm no stranger to the Band-Aid box (I carry my own stash at all times), but this had to rank in the top one or two most painful injuries in recent memory. I waited a couple days and went and got it checked out because it was hurting well below the injured area. Doc couldn't explain why it hurt where it hurt, but informed me that I had done more damage that I initially thought. Swell. Now I get to sit home and do basically nothing. No work (not good), no work in the shop, nothing. Grrr.
I'm really close, but I can't do a damn thing about it....
ifeel your pain i mashed my thumb with a sledge being stupid a month ago. looked like i smashed a grape, felt like i had to pee for like 10 minutes it hurt so bad. my nail has separated every where but the tip which is annoying.
don't know if i have posted on your thread before, but i really appreciate your attention to detail. i have had this thread bookmarked for awhile in prep for my burb cummins swap. keep up the good work, once you can actually touch stuff with your thumb again!
don't know if i have posted on your thread before, but i really appreciate your attention to detail. i have had this thread bookmarked for awhile in prep for my burb cummins swap. keep up the good work, once you can actually touch stuff with your thumb again!
i think we need a video of this thing running 
Geez, even your booboo pic's are top notch. 
I smushed a thumb with a press brake last year, luckily not in the die set, but between the material coming up and a set screw for the upper die. It hurt so bad I eventually needed O2 in the first aid room to keep me from passing out.
Hope it heals quick!!
Rene
I smushed a thumb with a press brake last year, luckily not in the die set, but between the material coming up and a set screw for the upper die. It hurt so bad I eventually needed O2 in the first aid room to keep me from passing out.
Hope it heals quick!!
Rene
Smooth move exlax...lmao.
Did something of the sort last summer.
Of course i was supposed to be working...
and i was out hiking in the canyon...decided
a certain turtle shaped stone needed to come
with me. Barely fit in my gi day pack...down
hill...one miss step and i did a good impression
of jack coming down the hill without jill...my
downward momentum was stopped by a native
tree that ripped open a large chunk of skin on
the back side of my knee...the joint...the part
that has to move...so a painful reminder for a
moth and a half.
DW
Did something of the sort last summer.
Of course i was supposed to be working...
and i was out hiking in the canyon...decided
a certain turtle shaped stone needed to come
with me. Barely fit in my gi day pack...down
hill...one miss step and i did a good impression
of jack coming down the hill without jill...my
downward momentum was stopped by a native
tree that ripped open a large chunk of skin on
the back side of my knee...the joint...the part
that has to move...so a painful reminder for a
moth and a half.
DW
I have had a couple requests for information regarding my fuel tank installation and seeing as how I can't do much productive work with only one opposable thumb and all, I figured this was a good time to give a few details on the swap.
As was previously stated, I used a fuel tank from azblazer/K5NUTT's 79 K5. Now, we all realize that these tanks have the fuel fill pipe on the passenger side and our fill is on the driver's side. I remedied this by rotating the tank 180* front to back. The only problem I see with this is reduction of departure angle. This is something to consider, seeing as how Suburbans have an extremely horrible departure angle to start with. I decided to roll the dice and give it a shot anyways. That being said, if I were to do it again, I would take a good look at a similar vintage van. They had similar capacities and the fuel fill pipe is already on the driver's side. I am not sure if the dimensions work or not, but if they do and they have the taper at the rear, this may just be the hot ticket.
Now, I stated "similar vintage". There is a reason for this. Our trucks use what is now considered a tiny 1-3/8" fill pipe. Most newer vehicles use 1-1/2" or larger fill pipe. Up to at least 1979, the fill pipe diameter was still 1-3/8". There are ways around this if you opt to use a later model tank (i.e. late model with fuel injection sending unit and internal baffeling for F/I). I have done it. It is not real fun, but it can be done. It involves welding a "bushing" onto the end of the existing fill pipe that matches the diameter of the fill pipe on the tank. One benefit to doing this is it gets you into a larger diameter hose which is easier to find. Gates now makes fuel fill hose with 45* and 90* bends, but they do not make it in 1-3/8".
The nuts and bolts of the swap are pretty straightforward. In the back, I used a piece of 5/16" x 4" flat stock laid across and bolted to the top of the frame rails spaced up by a piece of 5/16 x 2" flat stock. In the front, I used a piece of 3/8" x 3" flat stock. This is what the top of the tank will be loaded against when installed. I used this strange combination of material to avoid using a channel type material to keep from running into interference with the body. After all was said and done, I realize this was not necessary as there was room to have support ribs, but what I made works, so there it stays. I made two crossmembers out of 2x2x.187 wall angle stock for the straps to mount to. For the straps, I used stock GM replacement straps for a '79 K5. They lend themselves well to adapting to a project like this because they have a hook on one end and a threaded stud on the other. For vibration isolation/abrasion resistance, I used 60lb roofing felt for the strap iinsulators and upper tank cushions. It works great and is readily available if you have recently replaced a roof.
I guess some pics are in order.
This is the rear upper mounting. The spcers under the plate can be seen.
This is the front upper mounting. It also illustrates the location of the front of the tank relative to the frame/body.
This is the forward crossmember for mounting the straps:
This is the rear crossmember:
So that shows the basic mounting of the tank. If I had it to do over, I would probably change a few things, but this is what I have for now. In my opinion, there are many advantages to doing this swap over a custom tank. One being cost. Finding a tank in a wrecking yard is cheap, the mounting steel is cheap, the straps from GM are not terribly cheap, but not too terribly expensive either.
Another advantage is it is all GM. Go to the parts store and get a sending unit or a tank seal or a sending unit strainer etc--readily available cheap parts. The sending unit, whether you use an old tank or a fuel injection tank will be the same 0-90 ohm range as your original gauge--not some aftermarket only range that renders your oe gauge useless. I feel it is also a clean swap. The tank looks like it belongs in the truck. It is not an angular, welded unit. It is a clean, smooth, radiused unit. Maybe that's not worth much, but I think it keeps the clean look going on.
So there you have it. This is how I did mine. I am sure there are many other ways to obtain the same end result, but I wanted to show how I did mine to hopefully answer some questions of give a visual or two on what one way to do it is.
Man, typing with only one thumb in an interesting endeavour. It doesn't seem like it should make much difference, but it sure takes alot longer.
As was previously stated, I used a fuel tank from azblazer/K5NUTT's 79 K5. Now, we all realize that these tanks have the fuel fill pipe on the passenger side and our fill is on the driver's side. I remedied this by rotating the tank 180* front to back. The only problem I see with this is reduction of departure angle. This is something to consider, seeing as how Suburbans have an extremely horrible departure angle to start with. I decided to roll the dice and give it a shot anyways. That being said, if I were to do it again, I would take a good look at a similar vintage van. They had similar capacities and the fuel fill pipe is already on the driver's side. I am not sure if the dimensions work or not, but if they do and they have the taper at the rear, this may just be the hot ticket.
Now, I stated "similar vintage". There is a reason for this. Our trucks use what is now considered a tiny 1-3/8" fill pipe. Most newer vehicles use 1-1/2" or larger fill pipe. Up to at least 1979, the fill pipe diameter was still 1-3/8". There are ways around this if you opt to use a later model tank (i.e. late model with fuel injection sending unit and internal baffeling for F/I). I have done it. It is not real fun, but it can be done. It involves welding a "bushing" onto the end of the existing fill pipe that matches the diameter of the fill pipe on the tank. One benefit to doing this is it gets you into a larger diameter hose which is easier to find. Gates now makes fuel fill hose with 45* and 90* bends, but they do not make it in 1-3/8".
The nuts and bolts of the swap are pretty straightforward. In the back, I used a piece of 5/16" x 4" flat stock laid across and bolted to the top of the frame rails spaced up by a piece of 5/16 x 2" flat stock. In the front, I used a piece of 3/8" x 3" flat stock. This is what the top of the tank will be loaded against when installed. I used this strange combination of material to avoid using a channel type material to keep from running into interference with the body. After all was said and done, I realize this was not necessary as there was room to have support ribs, but what I made works, so there it stays. I made two crossmembers out of 2x2x.187 wall angle stock for the straps to mount to. For the straps, I used stock GM replacement straps for a '79 K5. They lend themselves well to adapting to a project like this because they have a hook on one end and a threaded stud on the other. For vibration isolation/abrasion resistance, I used 60lb roofing felt for the strap iinsulators and upper tank cushions. It works great and is readily available if you have recently replaced a roof.
I guess some pics are in order.
This is the rear upper mounting. The spcers under the plate can be seen.
This is the front upper mounting. It also illustrates the location of the front of the tank relative to the frame/body.
This is the forward crossmember for mounting the straps:
This is the rear crossmember:
So that shows the basic mounting of the tank. If I had it to do over, I would probably change a few things, but this is what I have for now. In my opinion, there are many advantages to doing this swap over a custom tank. One being cost. Finding a tank in a wrecking yard is cheap, the mounting steel is cheap, the straps from GM are not terribly cheap, but not too terribly expensive either.
Another advantage is it is all GM. Go to the parts store and get a sending unit or a tank seal or a sending unit strainer etc--readily available cheap parts. The sending unit, whether you use an old tank or a fuel injection tank will be the same 0-90 ohm range as your original gauge--not some aftermarket only range that renders your oe gauge useless. I feel it is also a clean swap. The tank looks like it belongs in the truck. It is not an angular, welded unit. It is a clean, smooth, radiused unit. Maybe that's not worth much, but I think it keeps the clean look going on.
So there you have it. This is how I did mine. I am sure there are many other ways to obtain the same end result, but I wanted to show how I did mine to hopefully answer some questions of give a visual or two on what one way to do it is.
Man, typing with only one thumb in an interesting endeavour. It doesn't seem like it should make much difference, but it sure takes alot longer.
So, technically I am released to go back to work tomorrow night. I figured I should take the structure off of my thumb and see what I can actually do with it. May as well do something on the Sub right??
I decide the project of the day will be bending up some 1-1/4" x .187" flat stock to serve as a support for the air filter/intake plumbing. Good thing to do with a questionable thumb I figure. So I get to bending the flat stock up and things are going pretty good. Every once in awhile I get a friendly reminder through my central nervous system that I have an injured thumb, but not as often as I thought I would. So I get the bracket made (had to use a Sawzall twice) and get it painted. In the mean time I clean up my "hose connectors" and prepare them for installation. Around now, my wife comes out and says she's going somewhere to meet up with one of her friends to shop, eat, something.
So, I put some RTV that I got from the International Truck store in the ends of the tubes and install the connectors. I wanted to use this RTV because it has weapons grade strength--unbelievable stuff--it is like ten part epoxy or something. I get it in there and install the connectors and put clamps on. I put the filter on and the pre-filter cover also. I look at it, liking what I see, and decide I need to run the motor--just to make sure everything is good-to-go of course.
Well, my boy likes to push the button on the remote starter under the hood and make the engine run, so I locate him in the front yard and invite him over to make it run. He comes over and hits the switch and it rattles to life with no effort at all. I set the manual throttle to 1200rpm and let it run. Well, the one thing i did not realize was that the front door on the house was open. The screen door was closed, but the inside door was wide open. I came in after it had been running for around 15min and whoa, my house had the heavenly aroma of pre-burned diesel fuel. Oh noez!! I have the silly suspicion that my wife is not going to have the same appreciation for the scent of the air inside the house as I do.
Sooo, as I sit here typing this I have all the doors open with my cooler running in warp drive trying to clear the air before she gets home.
I hope I am successful......
If I make no future posts here, you will know the answer.
I decide the project of the day will be bending up some 1-1/4" x .187" flat stock to serve as a support for the air filter/intake plumbing. Good thing to do with a questionable thumb I figure. So I get to bending the flat stock up and things are going pretty good. Every once in awhile I get a friendly reminder through my central nervous system that I have an injured thumb, but not as often as I thought I would. So I get the bracket made (had to use a Sawzall twice) and get it painted. In the mean time I clean up my "hose connectors" and prepare them for installation. Around now, my wife comes out and says she's going somewhere to meet up with one of her friends to shop, eat, something.
So, I put some RTV that I got from the International Truck store in the ends of the tubes and install the connectors. I wanted to use this RTV because it has weapons grade strength--unbelievable stuff--it is like ten part epoxy or something. I get it in there and install the connectors and put clamps on. I put the filter on and the pre-filter cover also. I look at it, liking what I see, and decide I need to run the motor--just to make sure everything is good-to-go of course.
Well, my boy likes to push the button on the remote starter under the hood and make the engine run, so I locate him in the front yard and invite him over to make it run. He comes over and hits the switch and it rattles to life with no effort at all. I set the manual throttle to 1200rpm and let it run. Well, the one thing i did not realize was that the front door on the house was open. The screen door was closed, but the inside door was wide open. I came in after it had been running for around 15min and whoa, my house had the heavenly aroma of pre-burned diesel fuel. Oh noez!! I have the silly suspicion that my wife is not going to have the same appreciation for the scent of the air inside the house as I do.
Sooo, as I sit here typing this I have all the doors open with my cooler running in warp drive trying to clear the air before she gets home.
I hope I am successful......
If I make no future posts here, you will know the answer.
glad you're getting some use out of it again. i was waiting for the part where you smashed it again after removing structure from thumb. so suspenseful
Well, I pulled it off. Got the house cleared out before she got home. I did tell her about it because I knew what was going to happen today. Sure enough, I hear my boy throwing me under the bus explaining what went on while she was away. He did take some undeserved blame in telling her that HE had forgotten to close the door, so good on him for that one.
Anyways, I realized that I had not posted any overview pics of the engine bay since I finished it up. So, without further delay, here are a couple:
And:
Anyways, I realized that I had not posted any overview pics of the engine bay since I finished it up. So, without further delay, here are a couple:
And:
Pure badass 
I want a diesel sooo bad
I want a diesel sooo bad
y5mgisi
1 ton status
If anyone wondered what "clean" is, There you go! That would pretty much be the definition of clean if you ask me.
jimbug
1/2 ton status
GAWD! that is sexy shiat! SOOOOOOOOO mines next right?
We could start a 72' suburban Cummins gang! how fun would that be?
BTW sorry about the digit.... sounds painful!
We could start a 72' suburban Cummins gang! how fun would that be?
BTW sorry about the digit.... sounds painful!
jimbug
1/2 ton status
just looked at the engine pic again.... STILL sexy!!!! even the green serp belt you hated so much does'nt look bad!
Yukon Jack
1/2 ton status
Those pics just put the whole thing in perspective - IMPRESSIVE!
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2004
- Posts
- 2,647
- Reaction score
- 1,043
'll bet that burb will torque over anything. NICE!
RudyO
1/2 ton status
Not a diesel fan, but this is impressive. Hilarious also!! 
Did you do your exhaust yet? I want to see how you plan to put a big pipe around the transfer case.
