y5mgisi
1 ton status
Is it the mounting tabs for the fans?
CK5
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The Story Of A Cummins Suburban (Lots Of Pics)
- Thread starter mosesburb
- Start date
Those are new, but I mentioned them with the pics.
You painted your firewall? 
y5mgisi
1 ton status
Dag Gummit! I bet thats it! It used to be green!
You painted your firewall?
Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!! Man, that sucked. I wish I had never painted it to begin with.
Bahahaha!! Dude, I thought for sure you would get it even if it was a wild-ass, crazy guess.
y5mgisi
1 ton status
Man! I was looking through the first 6 pages of the build(which was fun i might add) looking for what it might be! I even made mention to myself of the dang green firewall when you were playing with mounting the turbo! :facepalm:
Well, I guess I am caught up to about March. My buddy Lance (the owner of the blue-ish Suburban that we ran Swansea/Signal with) put together an Arizona Old Iron Run, but before it happened he decided to have a medical issue and had to pass on his own event. That sucked, but we went anyways. It was set up for running some trail in the Hualapai Mountains south of Kingman. We loaded up and headed that way. We got in Friday and did a little wandering around town. I had been through Kingman a few times, but I never really slowed down (at all) to look at anything. I knew the Kingman Army Air Field had a museum, so we headed over to the airport to check it out. Unfortunately, it was closed. We did a little wandering around looking at the buildings that were original to the time. The control tower is original and pretty cool:
We wandered around the airport area and I managed to get us on a dirt(!!) road back to town.
The next morning we made it to the meet-up point:
Its kind of funny. None of the vehicles would garner much attention to an untrained eye, but they were all equipped/outfitted in their own way and quite capable platforms. I think the Ford had the smoothest running FE motor I have ever seen. It is a very nice rig. I really like the camper shell he has. The two-tone (blue/grey) is set up to run with a TBI 454, 4L80E and 3/4T running gear. The interior creature comforts have not been addressed yet, but kudos to him for running the rig in its current form for the distance he did. Just knowing how the interior of my rig is, I can only imagine his was like a tin can with a handful of marbles inside. Very cool that he chose to run it.
This probably is not an ideal message to read on the way INTO the mountains:
I don't know where we were, but it looked really neat:
Cool vegetation:
More scenery from an unkown location:
Same here:
The owner of the Ford and our trail guide, Mike, brought some heavy-hitting guard dog protection:
Right after we left what would have been our camp (for those that haven't seen my truck, my hood normally does not shine):
We had enough elevation that, at times, we were at the same height as the clouds out there.
Boriana Mine: (it was raining pretty good at this point as the water spots on the lens attest)
Not a running board friendly trail: (shortly before this pic was a chunk of ground effect plastic laying on the side of the road)
Not a grille friendly trail either: (this was recovered and returned to its rightful owner) Everybody looked at me goofy when I exclaimed "Hey!! I know what that is!!" and jumped out of the truck in the rain to gather up the bits and pieces and put them in the back of my truck (it was from Bill's Suburban).
We wandered around the airport area and I managed to get us on a dirt(!!) road back to town.
The next morning we made it to the meet-up point:
Its kind of funny. None of the vehicles would garner much attention to an untrained eye, but they were all equipped/outfitted in their own way and quite capable platforms. I think the Ford had the smoothest running FE motor I have ever seen. It is a very nice rig. I really like the camper shell he has. The two-tone (blue/grey) is set up to run with a TBI 454, 4L80E and 3/4T running gear. The interior creature comforts have not been addressed yet, but kudos to him for running the rig in its current form for the distance he did. Just knowing how the interior of my rig is, I can only imagine his was like a tin can with a handful of marbles inside. Very cool that he chose to run it.
This probably is not an ideal message to read on the way INTO the mountains:
I don't know where we were, but it looked really neat:
Cool vegetation:
More scenery from an unkown location:
Same here:
The owner of the Ford and our trail guide, Mike, brought some heavy-hitting guard dog protection:
Right after we left what would have been our camp (for those that haven't seen my truck, my hood normally does not shine):
We had enough elevation that, at times, we were at the same height as the clouds out there.
Boriana Mine: (it was raining pretty good at this point as the water spots on the lens attest)
Not a running board friendly trail: (shortly before this pic was a chunk of ground effect plastic laying on the side of the road)
Not a grille friendly trail either: (this was recovered and returned to its rightful owner) Everybody looked at me goofy when I exclaimed "Hey!! I know what that is!!" and jumped out of the truck in the rain to gather up the bits and pieces and put them in the back of my truck (it was from Bill's Suburban).
On our way back into town from the trail, we passed some interesting things like the golf ball:
We got back into town and had a nice dinner together. We got a room right next door to the restaurant and after repairing the toilet, heater and faucet (I did not feel like fixing the exhaust fan in the bathroom, but it did need help too), we settled in and decided what we were doing for the return trip. We could go back the way we came or go across I-40 to Ashfork or Flagstaff, or we could roll across the longest remaining continuous stretch of old Route 66. I/we opted to go this route. I thought it would be cool as I had only run it in the dark at very high speed years ago and my wife and my boy had never seen it at all. In past years he watched the Cars Movie daily so I was explaining to him that Radiator Springs was based on this stretch of road (grab a teachable moment in any form whenever possible, right??) So we got up the next morning and looked at the snow on the mountains we ran yesterday, loaded up and headed out on the Mother Road.
The old Cozy Corner:
An old 76 Station:
Cool looking finger mesas with snow near Truxton:
The Frontier Motel:
Main Street in Peach Springs:
I explained to my boy that this was a huge gas station back in its day because it had two rows of pumps:
We started getting into more snow on the ground at this point. The roads were clear, but there was definitely more snow on the ground.
Grand Canyon Caverns:
At this point the road ahead of us is looking pretty dark even though it is not 0930 yet. But before we got there we got to see a snow covered Aubrey Valley: (pictures do not convey the beauty of this area in snow--the grand views with a visually sanitizing layer of white accentuating the beyond-grand scale views--absolutely amazing)
We hit snow about twenty miles out of Peach Springs: (visibility was not quite as good as the picture makes it out to be)
My wife wanted to stop and get something Route 66 from the trinket shop: (they don't use spell check on buildings there)
We drove in this from Seligman, through Ashfork, Paulden, Chino Valley, Prescott/Valley down into Mayer. We stopped somewhere along the way for some lunch and I snapped this pic:
We stopped at Sunset Point so I could grab a drink out of the fridge and I couldn't resist taking some pics of the clouds hanging over the valley:
So we get down to the bottom of the mountain and I figure we are done with weather. The roads are drying out, all is well. Well, not quite. About a mile from home we get absolutely drilled with hail. We had been through wind, rain, snow and sleet, so I guess hail was the next logical weather to expect:
It definitely proved the all-weather capability of the equipment. All in all it was a great time other than not actually camping. I think we made up for that in the extra-curricular travels we had and the other cool stuff we got to see. Fun stuff.
We got back into town and had a nice dinner together. We got a room right next door to the restaurant and after repairing the toilet, heater and faucet (I did not feel like fixing the exhaust fan in the bathroom, but it did need help too), we settled in and decided what we were doing for the return trip. We could go back the way we came or go across I-40 to Ashfork or Flagstaff, or we could roll across the longest remaining continuous stretch of old Route 66. I/we opted to go this route. I thought it would be cool as I had only run it in the dark at very high speed years ago and my wife and my boy had never seen it at all. In past years he watched the Cars Movie daily so I was explaining to him that Radiator Springs was based on this stretch of road (grab a teachable moment in any form whenever possible, right??) So we got up the next morning and looked at the snow on the mountains we ran yesterday, loaded up and headed out on the Mother Road.
The old Cozy Corner:
An old 76 Station:
Cool looking finger mesas with snow near Truxton:
The Frontier Motel:
Main Street in Peach Springs:
I explained to my boy that this was a huge gas station back in its day because it had two rows of pumps:
We started getting into more snow on the ground at this point. The roads were clear, but there was definitely more snow on the ground.
Grand Canyon Caverns:
At this point the road ahead of us is looking pretty dark even though it is not 0930 yet. But before we got there we got to see a snow covered Aubrey Valley: (pictures do not convey the beauty of this area in snow--the grand views with a visually sanitizing layer of white accentuating the beyond-grand scale views--absolutely amazing)
We hit snow about twenty miles out of Peach Springs: (visibility was not quite as good as the picture makes it out to be)
My wife wanted to stop and get something Route 66 from the trinket shop: (they don't use spell check on buildings there)
We drove in this from Seligman, through Ashfork, Paulden, Chino Valley, Prescott/Valley down into Mayer. We stopped somewhere along the way for some lunch and I snapped this pic:
We stopped at Sunset Point so I could grab a drink out of the fridge and I couldn't resist taking some pics of the clouds hanging over the valley:
So we get down to the bottom of the mountain and I figure we are done with weather. The roads are drying out, all is well. Well, not quite. About a mile from home we get absolutely drilled with hail. We had been through wind, rain, snow and sleet, so I guess hail was the next logical weather to expect:
It definitely proved the all-weather capability of the equipment. All in all it was a great time other than not actually camping. I think we made up for that in the extra-curricular travels we had and the other cool stuff we got to see. Fun stuff.
Great up date...love the subs and the vintage Ford.
Looks like a awesome time!
Looks like a awesome time!
Great up date...love the subs and the vintage Ford.
Looks like a awesome time!
It really was a great trip. Even though we did not camp, I think we made up for it in total fun.
I have actually been doing a bunch of work to this thing lately. I was wiped out when I got home from work last night, so rather than go out and put another 4-5 hours in on this, I figured I'd update the thread a bit. I have more to post, but I need to load the pics to PB (who has been sending me hat mail for not buying whatever they are selling), so we'll see how that goes. Just came in to cool off for a few and scarf some lunch down before going back out.
79rustyk10
3/4 ton status
Stunning scenery.
I really need to get on seeing some more of our country.
I really need to get on seeing some more of our country.
I just got done reading this whole thread and wow! I love it! The Cummins Suburban,the cool fab and exploring Arizona. Awesome!
Eat Soot
1/2 ton status
Wow, it doesn't get much better than that! Looks like a great trip...too bad I will not have the testical fortitude to put my mine on the trail after all the scrubbing, cleaning and grinding! Please keep em' coming!
I highly recommend it!!
Thanks!! It is a fun machine.
Wuss. They can be washed/waxed/polished back to shine/whatever. It's funny you mention being clean as after this trip it was time to do a 30k service and the first thing I was going to do was wash the underside before starting. When we got back to the house and the truck dried the underside was spotless--like I painted the parts yesterday. I did my service and it has since slowly returned to its proper coating of trail dust etc.
As always, great pics, cool adventures and one awesome old Suburban
Thanks man!!
I love this thread...I spent a few months in Phoenix after High Screwel, I'd forgotten how beautiful AZ is...
love your truck too...
love your truck too...
I love this thread...I spent a few months in Phoenix after High Screwel, I'd forgotten how beautiful AZ is...
love your truck too...
Thanks!! Yeah, lots of good stuff to see in AZ. I tell people who come to visit that the best scenery in AZ can ONLY be viewed from dirt.
I decided that a better power source was needed for my fridge and navigation laptop. My main charging system consisting of the 130/140A(??) alternator and the two yellow top Optimas was sufficient under normal circumstances, but for extended periods of time not running or running the fridge in hotter weather, more piece of mind would be had with an auxilliary battery that could be isolated from the main charging system. What to do?? Where to put it?? What to use?? Meh, I'll figure something out.
A little history; I have always carried two spare tires. Now, mind you, I have never needed one, much less two, but I always had the second. Well, that second tire takes up quite a bit of valuable real estate. I was convinced by my buddy Lance that I only need one. It was not an easy convincing, but with the purchase of one of these at the Overland Expo, I was able to let the security blanket of that second tire go.
So, with one tire gone, what to do now?? I got rid of the stock size tire that I carried in the spare tire well. My other spare rides under the sleeping platform. I decided that since the larger spare would not fit in the spare tire well, that would be a good place to start renovations.
I pulled the spare tire well out and cut the back half of the radius out.
I wanted to do the front of the well, but that part of the well forms the lower part of the fenderwell for the right rear tire and I thought it would look goofy. It's all about the looks. I then welded some filler pieces to the sides of the open radii.
I then took some sheetmetal and made a piece to fit in the bottom and in the rear area:
Now it is fully enclosed. I then went and jacked the battery out of my Nova figuring if I am somewhere needing this power, I can't be driving the Nova simultaneously, so I decided to share its AGM Deka battery. I got some high amperage disconnects and made some cables out of super-fine strand 1/0 welding cable with the military battery lugs. This pic is a final test-fit of the goods--not a final assembly)
I have it wired so everything that is hooked to it can be used whether the battery is there or not. That way if we are doing a quick overnighter, I don't need to have a battery in there and everything will still pull off the main charging system, but if we are going on a longer run, I can drop the battery in and everything will run off of it. So, for that to happen I need soe sort of an isolator.
I looked at various styles and decided they were either too much money or not enough quality. I have never been a real fan of automatic units--not syaing there are not some decent ones out there, I just don't particularly care for them. I decided to use an old, dumb, battery master switch. Yep, clunk, on and clunk, off. It doesn't get much simpler than that. I do not have to worry about whether it is connected or disconnected when it should or should not be. Stupid simple. My favorite kind of part. I mounted it at the base of the driver seat.
I also put a junk drawer under the seat. It is a nice addition as sometimes the stuff under the seat would come out under braking while going down hill. Not a good stiuation.
A little history; I have always carried two spare tires. Now, mind you, I have never needed one, much less two, but I always had the second. Well, that second tire takes up quite a bit of valuable real estate. I was convinced by my buddy Lance that I only need one. It was not an easy convincing, but with the purchase of one of these at the Overland Expo, I was able to let the security blanket of that second tire go.
So, with one tire gone, what to do now?? I got rid of the stock size tire that I carried in the spare tire well. My other spare rides under the sleeping platform. I decided that since the larger spare would not fit in the spare tire well, that would be a good place to start renovations.
I pulled the spare tire well out and cut the back half of the radius out.
I wanted to do the front of the well, but that part of the well forms the lower part of the fenderwell for the right rear tire and I thought it would look goofy. It's all about the looks. I then welded some filler pieces to the sides of the open radii.
I then took some sheetmetal and made a piece to fit in the bottom and in the rear area:
Now it is fully enclosed. I then went and jacked the battery out of my Nova figuring if I am somewhere needing this power, I can't be driving the Nova simultaneously, so I decided to share its AGM Deka battery. I got some high amperage disconnects and made some cables out of super-fine strand 1/0 welding cable with the military battery lugs. This pic is a final test-fit of the goods--not a final assembly)
I have it wired so everything that is hooked to it can be used whether the battery is there or not. That way if we are doing a quick overnighter, I don't need to have a battery in there and everything will still pull off the main charging system, but if we are going on a longer run, I can drop the battery in and everything will run off of it. So, for that to happen I need soe sort of an isolator.
I looked at various styles and decided they were either too much money or not enough quality. I have never been a real fan of automatic units--not syaing there are not some decent ones out there, I just don't particularly care for them. I decided to use an old, dumb, battery master switch. Yep, clunk, on and clunk, off. It doesn't get much simpler than that. I do not have to worry about whether it is connected or disconnected when it should or should not be. Stupid simple. My favorite kind of part. I mounted it at the base of the driver seat.
I also put a junk drawer under the seat. It is a nice addition as sometimes the stuff under the seat would come out under braking while going down hill. Not a good stiuation.
more awesome work man! I don't think I ever saw the inside of your truck before... looks great!
