The Story Of A Cummins Suburban (Lots Of Pics)

[1985-GMC]

Originally Posted by mosesburb

Hurry up!!

That stuff is way cool. It took me a long time and tons of trial cans to find something that has all of the properties you mention. It is an engine enamel made by Pioneer. Everything black on this truck was painted with that.

I will!

Cool! Im gonna have to order some of it.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by Coboyle04

nice work....what kind of MPGs do you get with that diesel

Filled up on the way home and got 20.79 over 451 miles.

[Coboyle04]

Sweet. Better than any new comparable rig! I'm hoping to get at least 25mpg with the 4cyl
Posted via Mobile Device

[mosesburb]

Just opened the Truck Of The Month thread HERE and realized that I qualify for it this time. Then I saw that jbclassix and a couple others had already nominated me. Thanks a bunch guys!!

[pickup67man]

I voted. Been reading all your adventures. I like built trucks that are driven.

[Mr Pops]

I voted for you too!

[jbclassix]

Funny thing... if you saw on my burb build thread the CUCV that I was working on? The guy who owns that sent me a link to your build thread on the diesel forum!

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by jbclassix

Funny thing... if you saw on my burb build thread the CUCV that I was working on? The guy who owns that sent me a link to your build thread on the diesel forum!

Was it on a diesel forum or was the link he sent to here??

[jbclassix]

a diesel forum

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by jbclassix

a diesel forum

Got a link to it??

[jbclassix]

sorry... it was coloradok5...

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=238207

[kikkegek]

Originally Posted by mosesburb

Just opened the Truck Of The Month thread HERE and realized that I qualify for it this time. Then I saw that jbclassix and a couple others had already nominated me. Thanks a bunch guys!!

voted for you! Love your K20 and pics you post....Burbs are the coolest!

[1leglance]

voted for ya...
how else am I gonna get any help with my rig?

[1985-GMC]

You know we are all going to vote for ya!

[mosesburb]

Ok, I am so far behind right now in posting pics of just about anything, that I need to post something to get a little closer to current.

So this trip was not finished yet. We actually had not gotten to camp yet so here we go. I had wanted to go up to a spot that I along with some friends of mine used to go to up by Flagstaff, but that area is full of elk and this was during elk season, so I decided that probably was not the best time to do a Flagstaff camping trip. I amended our plans and rolled through the Verde Valley over through Jerome and back down 413. On our way through the area we stopped at one of the scenic lookout points along the way and I noticed something that I had never noticed before.



At the top of the pic is a trestle setup that carries a pipe on it. I had never seen that before--kind of neat:



This is a look out toward the valley from the lookout:



So we head back into the hills and get a short glimpse of fall colors:



We got back into the area we were heading for and got camp setup and got to have a fire. This is the first time I have camped with my boy that there was not a fire restriction in the area we were camping.

Gratuitous truck shot in campfire lighting:



On the way out the next morning I noticed something odd. The power poles were very unique. I don't know if I have ever noticed them before, but if I did, it did not ring a bell with me.



I had actually seen some just like it yesterday, but did not realize it then.



Right in the service yard at Childs was another one. I was doing some research when we got back and I found out that the transportation guys were not able to get the wooden poles needed for the power transmission cables through the switchbacks and down to the plant (along with other areas that poles needed to go), so being the huge Erector Set transmission structures that crossed the west in the 60's and 70's were not invented yet, they came up with their own idea. The got with a company that made windmills and had them supply the windmill stands that could be transported as bits and pieces to the site and then get erected. The tower that is on the side of the road transported power from Childs to Jerome back in the day. Very cool.

We got back into Jerome the next day and did some aimless wandering. There is an old car dealership The New State Motor Company that has been transformed into a store on the street level and a museum like display on the lower levels.



The math kind of defeats the purpose:



We went on a walk that I can not admit to taking, but at the end of our walk I remembered this was down the street from where we were:

[mosesburb]

So we do some more wandering around town. I talked to a food service driver who did not get paid nearly enough money to drive a semi where he was driving it. I ran into a nice lady from the historical society and we had a fantastic chat about all kinds of topics related to Jerome and the surrounding area. She was very knowledgeable about the town and I really enjoyed talking with her. She realized that I knew a fair bit about the dirt roads leading to Jerome and was asking detailed questions about certain locations and points on the trails. It was really cool to be able to answer questions from someone in the historical society with information that I had learned while wheeling. Really cool. I got to help an old lady that decided to run her three wheeled electric scooter down a nasty road and put it over on its side. I did not see it happen, but I heard it and by the time I turned my head, she had already laid it over. My boy and I ran up the hill and another guy came down from the top. The old lady was mostly ok. We got her uprighted and I got the scooter uprighted then she sits down on it, swings her legs in and hits the "GO" switch--back down the hill she just dumped it over on!! WTF?!?!?! I run down the hill to get in front of her because I know if she puts it over again, she won't be as lucky. So I finally get her down to the bottom (no small task as she alone outweighed me by a fair bit, then add the scooter and the fact that she was giving it power to go down the hill...) Ugh.

Let the fun (the real kind) continue. What is it with us, snakes and roads??



We headed down the hill, through Clarkdale, past the slag pile up toward Sycamore Canyon. Once around the bend you are greeted with the TAPCO power plant. It was an oil fired plant built to supply power to the smelter in Clarkdale when the power from Irving and Childs was not enough. It ran a fair bit more than just that, but it was not as significant to the mines as Childs and Irving were.



Coming back, this is the slag pile in Clarkdale from a lower view point:



So we head back up the hill, through Jerome and out the other side. Along the way I spot somethig that I had always wondered where it was. The Jerome Swimming pool:



It was fed by a spring at the far end of it. The water collected to the depth of the spillway at this end, then flowed into a trough that crossed the ditch and then into pipes for the ride into Jerome to become drinking water. Yup, swim in the drinking water. You can see the steps leading down to it on the right side of the pic and the spillway in about the center of the pic pointing at you. The spring still flows and still supplies Jerome with drinking water the same way it has for over a hundred years. I guess the only difference is you can't swim in it anymore.

So we head down the hill into Prescott Valley, get some fuel and keep on moving. Well, we get down to the Dewey Humboldt area and I can't resist taking a few pics. This area is very contaminated and is an EPA Superfund site. That is not good, but there is still a bunch of history around here.

This is the smelter in Humboldt:



It processed ore from the Iron King mine about a mile away. This is another structure on the smelter site:



These are foundations on the Iron King Mine site:



Old scale house:



Sign proving I am not making this up:



This is the mine dump from the Iron King Mine:



It has been "mined" recently. The product "Ironite" came from these piles of mine waste. IIRC, it was outlawed in Canada because of high levels of arsenic. I could be wrong (it has been a bunch of years, but it seems like it was something like that).

So we head out from that and look back at the mountains we just came out of and are greeted with this parting shot:

[justcuz]

The picture at the end of the block with the metal railing and poured concrete. Looks like a vehicle spring and other metal pieces thrown in the cement to use a "filler". Is that a poured concrete "door" to prevent access to something? Great pics by the way. I just ordered a book from Arizona Highways about some great drives around the state. Hoping to incorporate some off road stuff into these trips as well!

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by justcuz

The picture at the end of the block with the metal railing and poured concrete. Looks like a vehicle spring and other metal pieces thrown in the cement to use a "filler".

It is.

Originally Posted by justcuz

Is that a poured concrete "door" to prevent access to something?

I don't think so, but to be honest, I don't know as I ever really looked at the surrounding structure in great detail.

Originally Posted by justcuz

Great pics by the way. I just ordered a book from Arizona Highways about some great drives around the state. Hoping to incorporate some off road stuff into these trips as well!

Thanks!! If you make it over here and are going to wander around the state, let me know where you want to go and I'll let you know of the "must see" things in the area you are going. If you are heading out on dirt and want a guide or travel suggestions I can provide those as well.

[justcuz]

Sounds good! I will be in Prescott in July. I am picking up 2 other couples and we are taking our Suburban to Durango. I keep you updated on my dates. After our return from Durango maybe we can do a weekend trip soemwhere local in the higher country since it will be hot down your way.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by justcuz

Sounds good! I will be in Prescott in July. I am picking up 2 other couples and we are taking our Suburban to Durango. I keep you updated on my dates. After our return from Durango maybe we can do a weekend trip soemwhere local in the higher country since it will be hot down your way.

Give me a little heads-up of when you'll be here and we'll see what we can work out.

[mosesburb]

Ok, so I guess I am technically caught up to December now. They are a little out of chronological order, but meh. Anyways, around 01 Jan, I found myself in a parking lot in Casa Grande at 0900 to make an equipment purchase. That purchase took all of a few minutes, so here we are (my boy and I), in Casa Grande at 0915 and we do not have to be back in town until 1400 for a dentist appointment for my boy. Hmm what can we do?? We decide to head over to Florence to check out the Casa Grande ruins--yes, the Casa Grande ruins are not in Casa Grande <dunno>.

Now, a quick disclaimer--this run consists of no dirt. If this is an issue, you may want to skip the rest here. If you are still with us, here we go.

This is rolling in on the access road. The largest ruins are under that canopy:



So we get inside and pay our money and are allowed to go outside and look around. We silently "crash" a guided tour that had recently started. There was some interesting information being presented by a nice old lady.

Here is what we got to see:



The canopy was built in the late twenties or early thirties to protect the structure from erosion due to rain. Obviously we don't get that much rain, but still we get enough to warrant the canopy.

The site was on a stage coach line long ago that ran from Casa Grande to Florence. The stage would stop and let travelers roam around the site to check it out, steal artifacts and perform 19th century graffitti. My boy was elated to find his name in 19th century graffiti on the wall.



Interior wall with holes for tree branch floor supports:



There are several other structures on the site:



Map of the site:



How they built it:



Ths pic was in the visitor center. It was an old pic of the site prior to the construction of the large canopy:



The ball court mentioned on one of the earlier information plaques is off in another area of the site. This is what they think it looked like:



What it looked like today:



So, no dirt, but we had fun anyways. We even made it back to town to deal with his dental appointment which went much better than the last one (and a whole lot cheaper...)

[El Campo]

Absolutely love this thread! Just found it this morning and read it the entire way through. My brother lives in Suprise and I come there about twice a year. I have taken a bunch of those drives that you have went on and are awesome!! Took that one above Lake Pleasant by Hells Canyon in my 2000 F350 last August and its intense but fabulously beautiful. 89A up through Sedona and onto Flag through Oak Creek Canyon is one of my favorites, rode the Harley up there.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by El Campo

Absolutely love this thread! Just found it this morning and read it the entire way through. My brother lives in Suprise and I come there about twice a year. I have taken a bunch of those drives that you have went on and are awesome!! Took that one above Lake Pleasant by Hells Canyon in my 2000 F350 last August and its intense but fabulously beautiful. 89A up through Sedona and onto Flag through Oak Creek Canyon is one of my favorites, rode the Harley up there.

I'm glad you like it. I have had some pretty amazing rides through Oak Creek Canyon myself. All in vehicles though and the best one was at night believe it or not (in my Nova, but I was not driving).

[mosesburb]

So during our exit from Fossil Creek, the last remaining piece of foam insulation between the hood and inner hood structure fell out and landed on the turbocharger. This was not an ideal place for flammable material to ride. I removed it and threw it in the back and tossed it when we got home. This created a problem. A loud, obnoxious problem. To say the hood would oil can would be a tremendous understatement. Holy cow. It is a Suburban with a straight piped Cummins in it and the hood could be heard oil-canning for a long way before the motor could be heard. Man, it was terrible.

So, what to do?? I thought about a replacement foam kit. I wasn't to keen on that one as it seems everything sold as replacement foam or rubber for these trucks is junk. No longevity whatsoever. Once again, if this falls out, it lands on the turbo and can start on fire. Underhood fire is bad, m'kay?? I figured out a way I could glue it, but I still wasn't sold on the idea that this is the best option. I kept pondering the subject and remembered back in my body shop days that a foam was used on new cars for this purpose. I did some research and found that SEM 39357 Flexible Urethane Foam was the product to use now. I did some more research and found that the stuff is not cheap. I also found that you need a special caulking-gun-type tool to apply the stuff. That thing is way expensive. More than double the price of the goo-in-a-tube. I started calling around and I found a place that would sell me the urethane foam and let me "borrow" the applicator device with a securing deposit. This was the best option for me as I don't need that gold-plated tool hanging on a hook gathering dust.

Product and dispenser:



So here we go. I tried applying the foam to the hood while it was on the truck. This did not end well and I don't recommend this method. I pulled the hood off and laid it upside down for the next attempt. This worked much better. This stuff has a very limited working time. If you stop to think while you are using it, it will go off in the mixing nozzle and no more material will pass at that point. Continuous movement is required. Get everything clean. Have some rags nearby.



The product comes out and takes a moment or two to go off. In this time the thought of not having put enough in the gap comes to mind. This can be a bad thought as too much stuff looks terrible. It is best to keep going and see what happens after it expands. I put too much in a couple areas and had to trim it off. It doesn't look as nice as the areas where it is just "as caulked". This stuff expands more that I thought it would.

Here is what I ended up with:



Not too bad--here. Some thoughts one the product. Easy to work with?? Not too bad, I have dealt with worse. Wear gloves!! Wear some gloves!! Put some gloves on!! Seriously. You don't want this stuff on you. Other than what is mentioned, it is not too bad.

Now, with all of that said, does it work?? Holy cow!! If someone would have told me the difference I would experience after installing this magic-goo, I would not have believed it. No way. Unbeliveable difference. I wish I would have done it sooner. On the trail the hood is silent. Around town the noise level in the vehicle is reduced dramatically. I never knew how much noise came from the hood itself. In the end it was worth every penny and the week after of picking that foam crap off of my hands. Wear gloves. Seriously.

[hgs_notes]

I didn't go back to that crappy hood pad stuff either. The body shop I went to uses a similar but different material to do this. It is less like foam and more like silicone. I had added a cross brace in my hood to push up the middle which had sagged over the years. What we did was use strips of cardboard to get the gap between the brace and sheetmetal. The cardboard went on one side of the brace, then used the silicone on te other. Once it was set, pulled out the cardboard and did the other side. You can see the middle brace was done like a stitch weld. and the shop also did across the back f the hood. And this stuff was also paintable so it blends in real nice.

I have the SEM gun, btw. Got it off ebay cheap, but those SEM and similar 3m products are not cheap. Worth it in my opinion, but no bargain.

Heres my hood...
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...&postcount=495