1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

This is my 1971 Chevy Suburban my dad bought in 1998 from my uncle who had it for a few years. The engine was rebuilt in the early 90's by a local shop in Graham and has about 154k miles on it now. The original transmission started slipping in 2012 and I replaced it with a JY TH350 at my work. That one died a very quick death and left me stranded one day. I had it rebuilt and got about 1000 miles until it died. I parked it in my backyard in 2013 and haven't touched it since. I bought and sold a 540iT this summer and made a huge profit off it so I decided to dump it all into the Suburban because I wanted a truck and fun toy.

Enough history. Now for the good stuff.

We decided we're gonna pull it out and swap the transmission. Then we wanted to pull the engine to refresh it. Then we also pulled the transfer case for a refresh as well. We promised ourselves it would not snowball. But that went out the window quick.

The BMW wagon I sold. Made a little over 330hp on the dyno at the wheel. Bigger intake manifold, nice exhaust, and a DUDMD stage 3 tune.

https://i.imgur.com/Hg2rQFh.jpg?1

My dad pressure washing it after pulling it out.

https://i.imgur.com/MHQWMFe.jpg?1

For the longest time, I had no idea this tunnel came off.

https://i.imgur.com/KG5XlnP.jpg?1

Found a 700R4 to rebuild with a short shaft and all the upgrades I can do.

https://i.imgur.com/8YmimIp.jpg?1

And after it came back from the shop. I had it rebuilt at TRC in Kent. Very helpful people and they asked the right questions.

https://i.imgur.com/95HL1l4.jpg?1

It leaked. A lot. From everywhere.

https://i.imgur.com/QSDbc6g.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/KIvQYN4.jpg?1

Started pulling, I unbolted the transmission from the transfer case and we pulled the engine and trans as an assembly.

https://i.imgur.com/njDmBIq.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/0m83W5z.jpg?1

Found that ticking noise!

https://i.imgur.com/pejvVrT.jpg?1

Started stacking up parts. We're reusing the Edelbrock Performer intake manifold my dad installed years ago, I bought an Edelbrock carb from my old boss and he threw in a Mallory Unilite distributor, coil, and wires.

https://i.imgur.com/VfJHinr.jpg?1

After discovering the tiny 1.72/1.50 valves I broke down and bought some Summit heads that came in a Dart Head box. 2.02/1.60 valves. :metal:

https://i.imgur.com/IFAIXvr.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/ClVcHzG.jpg?1

It's bored .030 over and the bottom end looks great. Still has cross hatch marks on the cylinder walls. I ran a rag over the tops of the pistons, hence the dirty looking tops.

https://i.imgur.com/Ce4L30p.jpg?1

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Transfer case needs a little care. She's been beat down.
https://i.imgur.com/ct045TB.jpg?1

That's much better. My dad spent this weekend cleaning and resealing it this weekend. The main reason my transmissions were going out was a little O-ring on the shaft was completely shot. Resealed and ready to slap back in. It's been rebuilt once before so I wasn't worried about the bearings.
https://i.imgur.com/T1CXrpv.jpg?1

I dipped the front driveshaft and T-case adapter in the ultrasonic cleaner while I sandblasted the headers to ceramic powdercoat them.
https://i.imgur.com/mn4vBKT.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/CYPEBuQ.jpg?1

I removed the fenders, seats, cluster, glovebox, heater, sound deadening, carpet and hacked up wiring harness today. No rat droppings luckily.

https://i.imgur.com/5Fa6Mxh.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/MkO6Qjq.jpg?1

Me and this old harness have had some bad times so I am glad to be rid of it.

https://i.imgur.com/4F6pWPq.jpg?1

That's about as far as we got. I'm trying to get my dad to sign up for an account on here so he can post about it too. I know he wants to do a write up on how to measure and drill the frame rails for a 700r4 install.

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Sounds like a cool build. Not sure if its just me, but I'm not seeing any pics.

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

I see the pictures on my home computer and on my phone if I use Chrome or Opera, but not on internet explorer. They're embedded from Google Photos.

Edit: Got the images working and resized.

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Here's a picture of the floor after I ripped the carpet out. Gonna be fun patching all this. Luckily, the front floor and the body panels is the extent of the rust. The rest of the floor is actually pretty good.

https://i.imgur.com/9CWgipp.jpg?1

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

You guys are moving right along on it. keep us posted on the progress.....

LockDoc

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Will do. Should pick up again this weekend. Gonna have the GF helping rough up the floor on Saturday in preparation for primer while I clean the underside to rust proof and paint that if the weather cooperates. One day I'll have a garage big enough for this thing.

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Yeah, that's one thing about the Burbs it takes a little bigger garage to have room to work around it.....

LockDoc

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Progress has been moving steadily. Been doing some floor repair, sealing, drilling, welding, and cutting. I'll post some pictures tonight and remember to resize them.

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Been focused on getting it done I almost forgot to post. We started sanding and coating the floor in rust reformer

https://i.imgur.com/AmJNiPj.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/yAa878J.jpg?1

My girlfriend was under the hood getting that prepped. She fits in smaller places better than I do. :lol:

https://i.imgur.com/7bu9rMc.jpg?1

I got out the industrial RoundUp and went to work on this. I'll take another photo this weekend of it all cleaned up. Rain chased me inside. My dad started stripping the cowl and the metal underneath looks much better than I expected. Actually looks perfect for an original piece. I need to seal up the corners. They leak water into the cab.

https://i.imgur.com/c8plZnx.jpg?1

And the moment I've been excited for. The engine is fully assembled and ready to go back in.

https://i.imgur.com/ZxMX2zT.jpg?1

I ordered a new custom driveshaft and it's sitting in my garage right now. ready to go back in. It's gonna feel so nice with a whole new drivetrain. After it's back together I'll chop a hole in the firewall and put the new harness in. I might take a video of first start up and the tuning process on the Dynojet.

While this build hasn't been cheap, it's cheaper and cooler than a new truck. I'm anti car payment.

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

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Wow you have a mobile garden (almost)...:)

Looks like the girlfriend is doing a great job. Tell her to keep up the good work.

How is the rust reformer to work with. looks like it goes on pretty smooth.

Vroom, Vroom. You will be driving this thing before you know it.

LockDoc

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Kinda sucked to spread on to be honest. There are some thin spots because if the surface was too smooth it would act like water on a waxed car. Even with sanding and prep with lacquer thinner.


It's so close to being running but something keeps coming up that requires attention.

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Looking good, I'm subbing to follow along

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Currently battling blistering cold and rain. Lately we've been getting about 3 to 4 hours of usable sunshine on weekends. But there is still progress. I wanna hit the snow with this thing so bad.

We got the transmission bolted to the engine, torque converter installed.

https://i.imgur.com/SKSALwi.jpg

We measured everything before hand and even had the transfer case mount slid on the back of the transmission. Took measurement after measurement and we were still .20 off the mark. If only Advance Adapters made it just a little bit thicker. We ended up milling the shaft and everything went together as planned. The gap between the transmission and transfer case is exactly 1.875. I wish I would have put the starter on with the engine out to check the clearance.

https://i.imgur.com/YcbMjRi.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/CSHvMdc.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/QTfduxo.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/gTRZ6wn.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/BwdDm1v.jpg

Went to the local Amsoil dealer and picked up a bunch of various fluids. I'm just going to use BMW blue coolant and BMW DOT4 because it's cheap and I have a ton of it on hand. I use it in everything I build.

https://i.imgur.com/hV5Vhhm.jpg

Also, my dad is having trouble using his account. If there are any admins that can help, his username is Riff_Raff.

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

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Looking good.

I will see what I can find out on his account. Can you give me a heads up to what kind of problem he is having?

LockDoc

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Update is that we have it all installed, engine moved forward, front crossmember trimmed, headers fit perfect and look great with the ceramic on them, I'll never do the spacer from Advance Adapters again that was hell but I love all the room behind the engine.

The rain has not let us get much work done but this thread is not abandoned.

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Please make the rain stop lol

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Any updates on this

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Looks like 4/16/2020 was the last time he was on. He was moving along really good on it, I hope he has been able to work on it.....

LockDoc

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Yes he was, I was hoping he's been holding back on the updates. I hope all is well with him.

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

All is well, but I tell ya, 2020 has been hectic. Not just with the 'Rona, but rushing to finish projects, moving across the country, taking a few road trips. One of the road trips was to see my grandmother for the last time unfortunately, but she kept her sense of humor all the way until the end. I definitely got my humor and sarcasm from her. It has been quite the wild ride. I have some pictures to post of my most recent progress, moving my Suburban and Saturn in an enclosed hauler, building the Saturn itself, helping my friend build his Honda. If anything says "Car guy", it'll be this post.

https://i.imgur.com/x33FSKP.jpg?2

https://i.imgur.com/3MpwX6O.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/DUf3ACt.jpg?1

Went to the Grand Canyon with some friends. He is also the one who transported my cars in record time.
https://i.imgur.com/EA2HiFp.jpg?1

Had to start throwing this engine together to get my 99 SC2 White Hot running. There's a build thread for it over at Sixthsphere.com if anyone is interested.
https://i.imgur.com/zmBFzbN.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/KUD6HVx.jpg?2

I cut too much from the firewall and had to make this nifty plate. I'm kinda glad I did this because the fusebox feels much sturdier than the stock one did.

https://i.imgur.com/Q1y4vUM.jpg?1

Oh no, what will I do about a heater? ;)
https://i.imgur.com/7iitB06.jpg?1

There was so much wiring going into this thing. I went with the most connections I could get from Painless. It wasn't difficult, just time consuming.
https://i.imgur.com/cMm1asm.jpg?1

My dad and I planned on retrofitting a clutch fan, but I was on Amazon and ordered this fan shroud from Mishimoto. They're hooked up to turn on when the engine hits something like 190 degrees with a kit from Painless.
https://i.imgur.com/rnPeJRM.jpg?1

I wanted to use the column shifter really bad. My dad didn't. We compromised and I lost.
https://i.imgur.com/978kU0T.jpg?1

I ordered what I thought was a set of LED headlights and only got one. I also refurbished the turn signal buckets and got some white lenses. I was going to order a new egg crate grill, but just couldn't see dropping that much on a piece of plastic. Threw the old one back in the best I could along with the foglights to fill in the previous owners holes in the grill.
https://i.imgur.com/uaAiOAh.jpg?1

I was driving through the Nevada desert with my birds and nothing around for miles. No trees to pee on, nothing. I found this beef jerky store just outside of Rachel, NV, used the bathroom and bought some awesome jerky from the nicest gal.
https://i.imgur.com/6D4Z0qn.jpg?1

Roadtripped back up to Washington from AZ to help my friend with his Honda. Plus I was homesick. Still a little homesick.
https://i.imgur.com/UxZ0hLe.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/ZByrtTZ.jpg?1

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Oh, and a video of first start up and a little bit of the cam break in. Timing was way off, but it ran. You should be able to view this even without a FB account.

https://www.facebook.com/555513664/v...8310326198665/

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Still sounds pretty good. Glad to see you posting again. Sounds like you have been busy for sure....

LockDoc

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Wow! You have been busy. Welcome back!

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

These projects may have been fueled by margaritas. It's what you do lol.
https://i.imgur.com/inyMljn.jpg?1

Nobody asked, but I'm too proud of it. My 99 SC2 White Hot High Comp. 1 of 250. Full restoration.
https://i.imgur.com/XuxWRGa.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/NYyNzqC.jpg?1

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

I saw you mention it. I don't know much about Saturns. It looks nice. Is it fast?

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

It made 220hp on the dyno and smacks Volkswagen GTIs. It does pretty well for itself. Especially for being N/A.

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

I finally got around to pulling my Suburban out of storage. Fresh battery, dumping a can of fuel in it and a little down the carb and it fired right up. It ran out of fuel as we were pulling it out of the trailer and into the unit. It was leftover leaded race gas anyway.

https://i.imgur.com/THECTuOl.jpg

I pulled it out back in January or February and put a few gallons in it. That wasn't enough. I ran out of fuel pulling out of storage. It is still over 100 degrees in Phoenix right now. Glad my dad followed me, he grabbed the gas can and picked up 5 gallons for me.

https://i.imgur.com/rYUu4jcl.jpg?1

Took it to work this morning. This was the longest drive it's taken in about 7 years. 21 miles. Performed perfect, shifted through the gears, plunked down into overdrive at exactly 50mph, but maaaaan I need to look into the brakes. I think the booster is shot or the hoses swell when I brake. I'm thinking of picking up a hydroboost assembly from a late model and bigger discs for the front, discs for the rear and braided brake hoses. I've always hated the one inch of pedal travel in these trucks and that giant ugly booster. Looking at my 2008 Duramax (Remember at the beginning when I said I wouldn't buy a new truck? *rolls eyes*) the systems haven't changed much. The booster mounting looks similar, the power steering pump is practically the same. It should go in with relative ease. I wouldn't be against any input in that department.

Before anything else, I'm gonna be fixing a small fuel leak from the fuel filler, a timing cover leak, double check the TV cable adjustment, and installing my seats from a 2015 BMW X5.

They're from a 3-row optioned X5 so the backseat has real brackets, tilt forward, and fold flat. They're heated, cooled, and fully electric. What comes with fully electric is the CANbus issue. When they receive power they will work for about 10 minutes until power is removed and reapplied. I'd prefer to adjust the seats as needed without cycling the key. I'll figure that out, probably with a Raspberry Pi. I was brainstorming and thinking about using a Raspberry Pi to monitor vitals like temps, pressures, A/C, fans, lights, etc. I'm just not sure yet. Maybe a Holley EFI will do CAN signals.

https://i.imgur.com/BLXHfCFl.jpg?1

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

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Glad to see it back on the road. Yeah, sitting is really hard on the brake systems.

Here are some threads on hydroboost installs. It will cover all years so you will have to sort that out....

https://www.google.com/search?domain...D%3A1%3B&hl=en

I have one I am thinking about installing in my latest project.

LockDoc
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Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Got it up on the lift and started tinkering and seeing what I need. Right caliper is seized, booster is indeed bad, the rod is misadjusted, the brake and fuel lines are downright scary, and the steering gear needs to be resealed.

Kicking myself for not getting a steering gear from RedHead steering gear when I worked literally next door :banghead:

https://i.imgur.com/vL8Q62jl.jpg

I pulled the fuel tank and found that the float in the brand new sender is sunk. I've been having issues with the fuel gauge since I did the wiring, double checked the resistance of the gauge (thanks to this thread https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=640615) and confirmed my suspicion.

https://i.imgur.com/aqElk2Tl.jpg

A little discouraged, I stuffed the tank back up there, forced the caliper piston in and put it back together for now. Sprayed it down with simple green and washed underneath so it will be clean and dry next time I work on it. Spent so much time on the mods and overengineering, I forgot to do anything about the basics :lol:.

Fun fact, Neither me, my dad, or my uncle changed the front brakes on this. Those front pads have plenty of life left on them. They must have over 100k miles on them for how much we drove this in the past 30-some years. I daily drove this truck 60+ miles a day in college 10 years ago. The driver's side rotor still has the factory machined groove in it. I think I'll go ahead and check that proportioning valve while I'm at it.

https://i.imgur.com/Me3z0jSl.jpg

I also found some pictures I failed to post.

Roller Rockers.

https://i.imgur.com/PkI5Borl.jpg

The new seats.

https://i.imgur.com/EjGg5tVl.jpg

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

After pricing out DIY kits, parts, and everything; I went ahead and ordered a CPP hydroboost kit with lines from Summit, a couple calipers, brake hoses, and a reman 3-turn steering gear. Gotta find some new brake lines, I really hate bending and flaring them myself. It seems every company caters to 2WD far too much with all that. I saw some Wilwood calipers but I held back for now. Good thing I'm single, my wife/GF would be pissed. :lol::burnout:

https://i.imgur.com/sB9iqTwl.jpg

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

It's Here!!! :two::two::bowtie: ...Still waiting on the calipers.

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Started on it today and snapped a brake line removing a hose. Didn't even take photos. Just packed tossed the wheel back on, packed up my toys and went home. I was so disappointed. I didn't want to do the lines juuuuust yet. :mad:

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Bending brake lines isn't too tough. Here are some things I've learned over the years. It just takes some patience and pre-planning of your moves.

Get a 25 foot roll of 3/16" nickel/copper brake tubing. If you're unfamiliar with Nicopp line the interweb has lots of information. You don't want nickel/steel tubing. Although some trucks used 3/16 for the front lines and then 1/4" for the run to the rear brake hose and then 3/16 on the axle so you may need only 15' of 3/16" and then 15' of 1/4".

Get a quality tubing bender. I like Imperial benders. They will do 180 degree bends.

Get a 8 foot long piece of #6 solid uninsulated copper wire. #6 is slightly smaller than 3/16" tubing. Then you can make practice pieces with the copper wire before trying it on the tubing.

I like to start on smaller easy to access lines like the ones on the rear axle to start. Then once I've got my MOJO going then I move on to the longer, harder to access lines.

Some of the frustration with bending new lines come when you're replacing ones on an assembled vehicle. GM designed the lines to be installed on unassembled vehicles. So sometimes you have no choice but to put an extra coupling in the line.

I also like to take pictures of all the fittings before I start so I can make a shopping list of those if I'm going with all new fittings. GM has a habit of using different sizes. I believe they did it to keep the folks on the assembly line from assembling things incorrectly.

I hope this helps. Looking forward to more updates on your Burban!

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Lots of good work here. Quite a story and a journey. Thanks for mentioning the transmission place in Kent. Never knew they were there, and a 700R4 is probably in my future.

Re: 1971 Suburban 4x4 build "The Big Ugly"
 

Any updates?:cool: