[Beelzeburb]

Originally Posted by low'n slow

Real cool story. Don't keep us in suspense for 2 long.

Thanks. I'm trying to keep sort of a controlled flow. Not an overwhelming deluge of info at once, but not too spartan either. If anyone has any questions about any of the modifications I've made the the Suburban feel free to ask and I'll see if I can remember what I did.


Okay, back to 2007.
I worked Thanksgiving that year in order to get Christmas time off. Winter break of '07 I had a wiring diagram and computer pinout in my hands. Thus began the long and boring process of picking through each of the wires from both the computer and body harnesses of my grandfather's old truck. My dad had stripped out everything that might potentially be useful down the road. We still had the gauge cluster, A/C condenser, cruise control module, aluminum radiator, fuel tank complete with sender plus lots of other bits and bobs. Laboriously I removed every system and wire that wouldn't be needed.

Parking lamps? Don't need 'em.
Wires leading to the heater? Toss 'em.
Fuel pump relay? Don't cut that sucker.
Windshield wiper switch? Goodbye.

So on and so forth, ad infinitum. I picked through every fusebox connection one by one, eliminating circuits that wouldn't be used and unhooking the ones that would. I had purchased an American Autowire '69-'72 Classic Update “Deluxe” 18 circuit system that would be forming the basis of my power distribution system.

Replacing this:


With this:

Every vital connection on the old harness was tagged in case they would need to be used for reference later.

At some point in time years earlier I had temporarily removed the Suburban's dash cluster and I remember vividly having to deal with the mess from disconnecting that oil pressure gauge. “I wonder what's up with this funny copper tube? Oh well, it's just going to a gauge, must be some special kind of wire sheath.” I also learned that the shift indicator was fiber optic cable only after chopping it in half with wire cutters. I guess 17 was old enough to start learning to read directions before tearing into something. From this point on though, everything I had taken apart and heaped in various storage areas would be cleaned, modified if need be and then reassembled.

There were still plenty of other small things on the Suburban that needed taking care of. For a birthday my dad bought me a COMPUSHIFT controller with optional LCD readout for my 4L80E. I didn't know then just how expensive and vital a piece it was or I would have thanked him more profusely.

I had figured out what order the radiator support mounting hardware should be assembled in, and it was properly secured to the frame. A junkyard sourced battery tray was sandblasted then POR-15 coated and installed next. I bought an original style big block radiator shroud from Brothers Trucks but they sent me the wrong one. After shipping it back at my own expense I later got the right piece and it fit beautifully after reinstalling my 4 core heavy duty radiator with some new HD rubber insulators. The fan even sat perfectly half in half out of the shroud. After securing the top of the shroud in place it became a mystery of sorts how the bottom half of the radiator shroud would be held in place. In the mean time I thew some zip-ties on to keep it from moving around too much.

The list of tasks yet to accomplish was still pretty large. I didn't have an oil filter in place, there were no driveshafts, no transmission cooler, the wiring was somewhat sorted but by no means close to being hooked up to anything yet. The fuel line fittings needed tightened and the vent line routed, the brake booster and master cylinder weren't hooked up to anything, I needed radiator hoses, hadn't figured out what to do for a serpentine belt after deleting the A.I.R. Pump, didn't have a throttle cable, no power steering lines, the longer springs my dad had put in the front of the Suburban now hit the frame with the weight of the body on it, I didn't have flexible brake lines, axle vent hoses, no shock absorbers, no steering stabilizer, no exhaust, no A/C system, the fuel filler neck wasn't connected to anything, the parking brake cables were too short, the engine, transmission and t-case didn't have any fluid in them yet, the engine hadn't been primed (again, no oil), no starter, no flywheel cover, the passenger side header hit the rear spring shackle bolt, and I needed to figure out what to do for an O2 sensor among other needs and wants.