1990 GMC Suburban ... Cummins Powered

[greguw]

I just finished cleaning and I applied POR 15 tot he underside of the body ... What a pain in the butt , considering it made it 21 year with no rust I figured this would preserve the truck another 20 ...the stuff is great .
I used a cheap pressure pot and I was able to spray up side down ... it was a cheap harbor freight pot and well worth the 40 bucks .
I just got the motor and trans ready to go in this weekend .

[walkerb]

Nice job.

How long will that take to dry?

[greguw]

Seems like Por 15 has more fillers in the black compared to the grey ... No need to thin it will spray right out of the can , I added some PPG fish eye eliminator ... Stuff seems to like to fish eye , my shop having silicone around dose not help ... but the eliminator works fine .
Stuff tacked in a 1/2 hr for a second coat , dry to the touch in 12 hrs , fully curred in 2 days .
Stuff is like concrete .

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice job. Do you know how well it will take rock chips? I'm looking to paint the under side of my 95 ford and haven't decided what to use yet.

[greguw]

Its pretty mean stuff ... As long as the surface is oil free the stuff is on for life . It was made to bond and seal rust . Works great on clean metal also . You have to watch getting it on your skin ... It does not come off once it drys you have to wear it off .

[68Timber]

Nice work, I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

[greguw]

Planning on dumping the engine , trans and transfer this weekend . This is some heavy parts ... I'll be using 2 forklifts and trans jack .
I'm actually going to position the powertrain in front of the truck and lift it straight up and push the truck into the powertrain then set the trans jack under and roll the truck in .

[DirtyLarry]

This is one well planned and executed project! Awesome!

[Dieselwrencher]

Looking very nice! I like the detail.

[greguw]

Had a nice long day today , I finally was able to get the drivetrain in ... The key was to just take your time ... Having heavy equipment did not hurt either .
Looks pretty good , even the clearance I left for the AC compressor worked out perfect .

[Dieselwrencher]

Looking good! Nice shop area too!

[greguw]

Thanks buddy ! Shop comes in handy and full machine shop does not hurt either . Just set drivershaft angle , thats also related to the cummins engine angle . I was happy with 5 1/2 degrees .
With the lift 8" lift and length of the rear shaft will put me about 15 degrees and that well with in the range of a 1410 u-joint .
Today I was just cleaning up and painting the stick pedal assembly and hydroboost unit . Got the firewall opened up to get ready to cut the hole for the clutch master .

[Dieselwrencher]

Looking sweet! Is your frame painted with POR-15? It looks great.

[greguw]

Thanks buddy , its coming a long . Yes the frame is also Por 15 ... its great stuff but is UV sensitive ... so it requires top coating other wise it will fade but will not break down .
I have a dodge with it on the underside of a truck and stuff has been on there for 5 yrs and looks great .

[Dieselwrencher]

I have used it on 2 different trucks and like you mentioned, it is UV sensitive. One of those trucks has had the hood up a lot at shows and the painted area on it has faded. I'm getting ready to paint the underside of a F-250 and I'm going to use POR-15 I believe. We'll see, that stuff can be a real mess.

[greguw]

As I said the pressure pot was the best choice for me . It just took for ever to get everything all cleaned and taped out ... it was worth it in the end .
Managed to get the stick pedal set up in place , just waiting for some under the dash parts before I put the column back in . Just received the new pitman arm for my crossover steering , looks like it will be perfect for my build , its clears the front crossmemer for the cummins .


Build is going to be slow for the next few weeks ... Turns out the axles need a little more than I planed .
Front dana 60 needs basiclly just about everything ... The gears are good and so is the carrier . I was trolling for a set of done axles but only thing I seem to find was other peoples junk ...LOL
So I ordered everything to rebuild my front ... hubs , spindles , Reid knuckles .bearings ...
Then the rear axle had some chips in the gears ... so I planed on swapping out the Detroit locker for a Posi ... I went with a Eaton unit ... I did not need to be tearing up tires . I also ordered a new set of Yukon 4.56 and bearings and install kit .
Found a good deal on tires and wheels so i picked them up also ... I went with Dick Cepek 20x12 wheels and 41" radial Iroks .

[greguw]

I have been been picking at the rears , I got the 14 bolt all stripped mounts , cleaned and just setup the new 4.56 gears . I took out the Detroit Locker and put in a Eaton Posi .
Rear gear pattern looks really good . I also just ordered a E-Locker for the front dana 60 ... will see how that goes , thats all new to me .

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice progress!

[greguw]

Managed to find a little time to install the ring and pinion in the front dana 60 , plus I also put in the E-locker , figured with weight of the cummins that would be a good choice encase the big girl gets stuck .
I also installed the 1410 front yoke , had Jess from High Angle build me my shafts .
I have the Reid knuckles , but I am debating on using the stock axles which are 35 spline .
Got the kingpins all done plus the Reid steering arms .

[greguw]

Found some time over the holiday to put the front axle together . Ended up with new Spicer inner and outer shafts . Had to do some machining to clearance the front cover , I am using ORF's 1.500 tierod , its a little thicker than the oem version .
Manged to get the hydro assist cylinder mounted up ... Looks pretty go and everything works together .

[Jonboy]

This truck is rediculous! I love it. Just out of curiousity, I wonder what it will weigh when it is finished.

[greguw]

Thanks buddy ... It should be around 10,000 lbs . I found a killer set of Ranch hand front and rear bumpers off a newer superduty ... I was planing on making a winch carriage so i will just adapt my rails to the carriage to the bumpers ... just the front bumper with winch will be in the 500lbs range .

[ARAMP1]

Looking good man! Can't wait to see a video of it on the road!

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice score on your bumpers!

[greguw]

Yeah 400 bucks for killer ranch hand bumpers was a deal ... they have to go on next so I can get the proper load on the rear so i can weld up my perches .
Got the track bar all fabbed ... what a time consuming project there ... i got over 10hrs in that , little more over kill than I planned but it just kind of took shape . Did not plan on welding to my nice POR15 paint but was the only option for the strength I was looking for .
Its the same length and angle as the drag link to avoid bump steer .
Managed to get the rear axle in place ... my stupid craftsman degree wheel just took a crap ... its a hand tool see if they replace it .
I was done for for the day any way , manged to get her on all fours ... small fours but sits nice a level , its a bout 1 inch higher in the rear ... will see how that works out with a load .
Heres a few pics .