1948 Suburban - finishing what dad started...

[oldman3]

Nice...Jim

[jbjburbs]

Another group Saturday on the 48 this weekend. We had about 5-6 guys come out in the snow and help us wrench. We were able to get the rear brake lines finished, fuel pump wired, tank and filler neck back in, installed window trim inside, reconfigured the door latches, and put in return springs for the bear claws.

The big win for the day was getting the motor and trans dropped into place. With that done we started piecing the front drive assembly together as well.

[Advanced Design]

Good progress guys.

[oldman3]

Nice...Jim

[jbjburbs]

So another work day today. Lots of sheet metal hung which makes you feel really good as it start to look like a truck again.

Rear bumper, running board, inner fenders, front fenders, core support, and grill made their way on. We did some wire routing and have a plan for cleaning up under the hood.

[jbjburbs]

We had a bit of a debate about the wheels, too. We need to have the rears painted and the black got us thinking. We're not going to run the Coy's but some of us like the black. Someone else felt the wheels should be silver, but others liked the purple. We popped the cap on to see how it looked.. we're all a little torn. Too much purple, black ties in tint and under the hood and grill, silver breaks up the purple... So I text mom since it's her truck; her call.

And purple it will be, for now.

[oldman3]

Really taking shape, looks good...Jim

[84blaze]

I love the colour transition on the firewall!

[MarKist]

cant wait to see this ol girl finished up! great story and kudos to the Club and you guys!

[joedoh]

purple would be my choice too! looks amazing!

[jbjburbs]

Hey Guys! Sorry it's been so long, but we've slowly been tinkering on the burb over the last year plus. After a couple Saturdays of little progress we decided to get the truck down to our oldest brother's shop. He recently started his own business building cars and has the most experience finishing up a street rod.

About 3 weeks ago we moved the burb to his shop. Tom (my brother) put in some serious time to get us over the hump. He finished wiring under the hood, got the AC plumbed, the trans hooked up, aligned the pulleys, finished the brakes, cleaned up/finished the wiring inside, and so much more. I helped him when I could and we had another Saturday with our car club friends wrenching away too. Rear glass installed, battery tie downs fabbed, more wiring inside, some engine troubleshooting and all the little things that kept us rolling.

Tom got the burb running last week and it's moving on it's own power now. The LT1 sounds pretty badass (I heard it for the first time today actually). We're waiting on few parts and have some small mechanical things as well as some shake down miles before it'll come to my house. The seats are mounted, so I'm going to work on some 'little things' inside the truck. We don't plan to finish the interior right away, but some insulation, door cards, speakers, etc might be nice. Either way we're so close to getting Dad's dream on the road. What a journey.

[jbjburbs]

A few more pics after a bath and more wrenching by Tom.
My boys approve and yes we broke the side glass. A new one is being made (one the few pieces missing).

[mongocanfly]

Yall have come a long way with it..congrats

[oldman3]

Congrats, nice to see that it will be hitting the road soon...Jim

[joedoh]

thats got aa great look, you should bbe very proud!

[slammed57]

very very nice, great stance! congrats

[MiraclePieCo]

I followed your progress early on, glad to see you're still progressing.

[youngrodder]

Nice work....Looks great.

[csmeutah]

I have very fond memories of a fleet of early Suburbans (the next gen) prowling the streets of LA selling Donuts and other baked goods for "Helms Bakery" They would open the rear doors and had drawers slide out with all the goodies to eat. https://bakingbites.com/2013/08/the-...ulver-city-ca/

Love your build and can't believe the amount of work but should be an awesome driver and a real looker.

[jbjburbs]

Thanks everyone!

Yesterday was a pretty awesome day for the burb. We have named it Barney for obvious reasons, but beyond that we FRICKEN DROVE IT! Yes, on the actual road like a real car and everything.

My brother got the last bit of glass installed, replaced the fuel pump, and did some other final mechanical work. He drove a couple miles for gas over the weekend, but last night I picked it up and brought it to my house. It's about 20 miles and the truck did great. Barney needs some tweaking which we knew and that's why it's at my house. Tom (my brother) was doing a ton of work for free the last few weeks and needed space for paying customers, so it's in my garage to tinker and tweak on. The big goal is driving it to Louisville in August, but I'm sure we'll have more 'shake down' drives in between.

[jbjburbs]

Oh and I got it home and was going to just park it since my kids wanted to go to the park. I'm not one to turn down family time, but at the park I text Mom and we cut that trip short. She has waited 28 years for this burb to hit the streets, so I couldn't resist getting it back out for quick drive with her. WORTH IT!

Before I forget a huge thank you to everyone that's helped along away whether it's just comments here or actually turning wrenches. It all mattered. A special thanks for Fort Street Car Classics club members - these guys were Dad's best friends and like true friends helped anytime we asked. From me personally, to my brothers for putting in the time to get here. Pretty special feeling and I know it means the world to Mom.

[youngrodder]

Very cool....your mom's smile says it all. Nice job by all involved.

Marc

[mongocanfly]

Ditto to what Marc said..!!

[Tempest67]

that is fantastic,

Thanks for sharing

[joedoh]

thats a great look!