1972 Suburban 4X4 3/4 Ton K20 "The Beast"

[BAD1916]

Great job on the rust repair. Looks like you’re moving right along!

[nsiti]

Metalwork and rust repair of the body is nearly finished (excluding some small imperfections) and we've prepped for filling. Featheredge and filler work to follow.

[nsiti]

I have a question or two maybe some of you can share your opinion on. The next daunting task is to remove the rear wooden floor, which has rotted, especially around the edges. The metal below has also disintegrated and will need to be repaired.

I understand from researching the matter that the wooden floor can be removed in two pieces, one large and one small (the front passenger side corner). Any tricks to ease the removal?

Once out I'm thinking to replicate the floor using a marine grade plywood, and epoxy coat it.

My dilemma afterwards is, do I cover the floor with insulation and carpeting, or put some veneer on top and leave the wood exposed (for aesthetic purposes)?

Cheers,
Nick

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by nsiti

I have a question or two maybe some of you can share your opinion on. The next daunting task is to remove the rear wooden floor, which has rotted, especially around the edges. The metal below has also disintegrated and will need to be repaired.

I understand from researching the matter that the wooden floor can be removed in two pieces, one large and one small (the front passenger side corner). Any tricks to ease the removal?

Once out I'm thinking to replicate the floor using a marine grade plywood, and epoxy coat it.

My dilemma afterwards is, do I cover the floor with insulation and carpeting, or put some veneer on top and leave the wood exposed (for aesthetic purposes)?

Cheers,
Nick

I haven't had to replace any wood floors. I know there are posts on it but I think most of them are buried in build threads. Maybe someone that follows the Suburban build threads will remember.

LockDoc

[nsiti]

Thanks Leon, I took your advice and found the following thread (posts):

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...698377&page=20

Page 20 (see post #489 - #496 for removal), through page 23 (for replacement).

[BAD1916]

First off, your suburban is coming out great and you’re making amazing progress..

“My dilemma afterwards is, do I cover the floor with insulation and carpeting, or put some veneer on top and leave the wood exposed (for aesthetic purposes)?”

Personally I think the exposed wood would look sexy. However if you plan on using it to haul anything I’m not sure about leaving it uncovered. If it has a third row even people getting in and out would mark it up.

[nsiti]

Originally Posted by BAD1916

First off, your suburban is coming out great and you’re making amazing progress..

“My dilemma afterwards is, do I cover the floor with insulation and carpeting, or put some veneer on top and leave the wood exposed (for aesthetic purposes)?”

Personally I think the exposed wood would look sexy. However if you plan on using it to haul anything I’m not sure about leaving it uncovered. If it has a third row even people getting in and out would mark it up.

Thank you! Good point about the potential for wear and tear. I'm inevitably going to use the space to move things and you're right that veneered wood would get roughed up.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by nsiti

Thanks Leon, I took your advice and found the following thread (posts):

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...698377&page=20

Page 20 (see post #489 - #496 for removal), through page 23 (for replacement).

Good deal!

LockDoc

[nsiti]

Some photos of the minor progress made since my last update. The summer was slow due to lots of other obligations.

The upper metal decor trim has been removed revealing the expected rusted and broken clips. My understanding is that the metal strips are not being reproduced, which means that they'll need some TLC to make them look nice again. Any advice as to where I can source clips to reattach them? Also, I assume the screws (visible in the photos) used to attach some some of the strips to the body are not original?

Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions!

Nick

[LockDoc]

-
My Suburban did not have the trim so I'm not much help on that.

You might try these suppliers.

https://www.classicindustries.com/sh...ips-fasteners/

https://www.auveco.com/moulding-clips-retainers

You have to scroll through the plastic ones to find the metal ones.....

A lot of them will interchange.

LockDoc

[nsiti]

Leon, thanks for the links, and good point on the interchangeability. From my initial search the molding clips are going to be a challenge. I'm still researching the matter and will post my findings when I figure out which ones work.

In the meantime, a coat of epoxy primer was applied, in preparation for a coat of surfacer, and body work.

[LockDoc]

-
Looking good! At least you aren't getting rain like we are here. No painting for me ....

LockDoc

[nsiti]

Hi Allen, thanks for the kind words.

I love reading that you've owned your Suburban for 52 years! And that you ordered it from the factory to boot.

I'm located in New York, which is unfortunately far from you. But I'm happy to chat and will send you a PM with my phone number. Happy to help in any way I can.

Adding a little color to my restoration, I've teamed up with a friend/colleague who specializes in restoring Jeep Willys and is generally an expert on repair and maintenance 4x4 vehicles (he also helped me refresh my classic Ford Bronco). I spent between 6 and 12 months (and still going) researching the specifications for the build, including the overall plan, parts and materials. My buddy is responsible for the workmanship and mechanicals. So far so good. I estimate we are at about the 20-25% mark.

Kind regards,
Nick

[allen71]

Nick,
For some reason PM doesn't work for me on this site.
Can you email me at aseengel@ca.rr.com?
Allen

[nsiti]

Starting the dreaded rear wooden bed removal and replacement process.

Removed the tank which will be replaced by a 40 gallon w/skidplate purchased from Aero Tank in CA. That's gonna be (insert expletive) expensive to fill, but will give a great range.

[allen71]

Fortunately the wood floor in my 71 Suburban is in fine shape, so no replacement needed. The spare tire well has a few rust holes on the bottom.

I replaced the factory 20 gallon gas tank with a 40 gallon tank made of 1/8" steel plate back in 1973 during the first Arab oil embargo. Back when gas shot up to 60 cents a gallon! I do need to drop the tank and replace the sender though.

Glad to see you're making progress!
Allen

[nsiti]

Originally Posted by allen71

Fortunately the wood floor in my 71 Suburban is in fine shape, so no replacement needed. The spare tire well has a few rust holes on the bottom.

I replaced the factory 20 gallon gas tank with a 40 gallon tank made of 1/8" steel plate back in 1973 during the first Arab oil embargo. Back when gas shot up to 60 cents a gallon! I do need to drop the tank and replace the sender though.

Glad to see you're making progress!
Allen

Thanks, and fifty years later the price of gas is 6x higher, and OPEC+ is still playing games with the prices. Inflation is stealthy.

PS - I haven't forgotten the photos I promised you!

[allen71]

When you can get to the photos, that would be great.

I wanted to ask you what you are going to use to control the 4L80E?

You may also want to drop the transfer case and replace all the seals, they likely leak. I did this some years ago, I'll try to find the source I purchased the seals from, all US made stuff, if you are interested.
Allen

PS. Gas here is almost $7.00 a gallon, almost 12X the price in 73. Back in 71 gas was less than 30 cents a gallon.

[nsiti]

Originally Posted by allen71

When you can get to the photos, that would be great.

I wanted to ask you what you are going to use to control the 4L80E?

You may also want to drop the transfer case and replace all the seals, they likely leak. I did this some years ago, I'll try to find the source I purchased the seals from, all US made stuff, if you are interested.
Allen

PS. Gas here is almost $7.00 a gallon, almost 12X the price in 73. Back in 71 gas was less than 30 cents a gallon.

I have purchased a Compushift transmission control module to mate the Edelbrock Pro Flo 4 with the 4L80E.

I have also purchased a transfer case rebuild kit from Advance Adapter. Definitely plan on taking advantage of dropping all this heavy equipment to do general preventive maintenance.

Looks like my inflation calculation was off by a factor of 2x and possibly 4x (I used the nationwide average for regular gasoline)! There is certainly a lot of price variance state-to-state affected by distance and taxation. But prices are rising out of hand. I'm glad I sourced all of the parts and materials for the restoration two years ago, before prices rocketed higher.

[nsiti]

A little more progress was made on the body work. Hoping to progress to the wood bed removal next week. Then again, that's what I said last week!

[nsiti]

Fairly boring photos, but I thought I would share. I foresee more action soon

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by nsiti

Fairly boring photos, but I thought I would share. I foresee more action soon

Not boring at all, it's good to see the progress. The delays are all part of the process. I have had plenty of them on my project too....

LockDoc

[Beach-Burban]

Wow Nick…impressive work! This is my first time seeing your build thread, so thanks for telling me about it!

As with you, it took me a long time to locate a Suburban that hit most everything on my checklist, and I was lucky when I found one that was only 80 miles from home…but now I feel a little guilty with the lack of body work mine needs compared to one from the East Coast! You are very skilled and dedicated…and I really appreciate the time you have taken to document your progress! Looking forward to your PF4 install!!!

Woody

[nsiti]

Originally Posted by Beach-Burban

Wow Nick…impressive work! This is my first time seeing your build thread, so thanks for telling me about it!

As with you, it took me a long time to locate a Suburban that hit most everything on my checklist, and I was lucky when I found one that was only 80 miles from home…but now I feel a little guilty with the lack of body work mine needs compared to one from the East Coast! You are very skilled and dedicated…and I really appreciate the time you have taken to document your progress! Looking forward to your PF4 install!!!

Woody

Woody, thanks for your kind and encouraging words.

I'll keep you posted!

Nick

[Dieselwrencher]

Very cool burb and great work on it! I have a 2wd one that needs mostly all this rust repair as well. I'm not looking forward to having to pay for new rear ac lines either. Keep up the great work on it!