1968 Suburban K20 Past & Present build

[vectorit]

Well, I feel like I should start a build thread for my Suburban. Even though I consider my restoration done for the most part, but like everyone else our projects are never really done.
Being that I often get questions on where is my "Build thread", and frequently asked questions being PM'd to me I figure I need to do something to further assist my fellow Suburban fanatics.

The thread is going to start out kind of shallow on content, but that is only so that I can create place holders for future updates on past projects during my restoration. I will try to post the most common questions, and my answers/experiences to those answers.

When it comes to vendors, and where I got everything.. I can tell you I started with a relatively complete Suburban, and what ever I needed was usually scrounged by word of mouth. Later, after I discovered this forum and became more savvy with online research. I basically do business with the same vendors all of you do business with.

Unfortunately I do not have many pictures of the early stages of my restoration, since when I started my project it was pre digital cameras so I was using Kodak 110 "insta-matic" and borrowed 35mm SLR cameras.

I really didn't even think about documenting my restoration for something like this, since I didn't even know about resources like this forum to share and learn from. Heck, I didn't even have a computer until 1996? Even then most everyone was on dial up AOL, and Google didn't even come around until 1998 for someone like me to do searches on for forums & parts resources. I was busy scrounging parts from salvage yards, Trader papers at 7-11, and phone calls to Brothers Trucks and Golden State when they were at their 1st locations.

Anyways.. You get the idea.

So as many of you already know, my Suburban was handed down to me by my Dad. I grew up in this truck, going on everything from camping trips in the Sierra Nevada to being picked up from school by my Mom. When I was driving age, I drove the Suburban to high school everyday and did small trips with it and friends. It still belonged to my Dad, so I had to treat it as such. Eventually I got my own cars & trucks, and my Dad used the truck off and on but eventually was parked and later in so much disrepair that it was no longer seen as an option for usefulness to my Dad.
I later became concerned that the Suburban was going to rot a slow death, and asked if I could barrow it to go on a road trip and camping trip. I got the green light, and began cleaning it up and repairing everything I could. I ended up putting a new exhaust system, suspension, and tires on it before going on my trip. When the trip was over, and I brought it back to Dad it was then he handed me the title and said that I could take better care of it than he could at the time.
So, it was at this time I continued to drive it on trips. I never realized that it was "cool", only that it meant a lot to me as a tough solid truck that was handed down to me. I didn't really realize what I had, until I was told by the guys at Golden State Trucks when they were in SoCal to enter it at their truck show at Magic Mountain. It was there I became hooked on the idea of doing a full restoration, seeing all of the other trucks and hearing everyone give me words of encouragement to restore my Suburban.

Once I did the rough math, and thought about what kind of commitment this restoration was going to be for me. I went about moving forward, and found a shop that would work on my old truck for body & paint.

I pulled the trigger around 1996 and started the disassembly, bagging, tagging, boxing, documenting, and sending the transmission and engine out to a professional builder. At this time in my life I am making less than 20k a year, and living in an apartment with my GF plus renting a storage unit for all of the boxes of truck parts.

Fast forward a bit, and the GF is gone and I am making even less money. I asked the shop to hold all work on the body until I figure out what to do, thankfully this was a busy shop and liked the idea of my truck being there for work when work slowed down. By this time is 2002ish and I have a new job making much better money, and the body work is all done but still not enough resources to be able to put everything together yet. So I moved to a larger storage unit big enough for the Suburban, it's parts, my tools, and all of the new parts I was buying and hoarding.

2005 The Suburban is starting to come together, little by little working in a storage unit and being told to close up at 5:00pm every time so the yard can close.
2007 I move to my own house with it's own garage, and I discovered this forum where my enthusiasm to finish my truck skyrocketed. This is where the project comes together, but I spend lots of time sorting through years of boxes, bags, and coffee cans of parts that I later learn were next to impossible to replace at this time.
2009 is when the Suburban started to get insured and registered.
2013 is when I started to show the Suburban, and the Brothers truck show was it's first official show.

Now a days I am still working on "little projects" one at a time, all the while trying to keep the Suburban road worthy at a moments notice.

That's the basic story for those of you new to my Suburban. I will update the above as I remember details, but I wanted to start this with a brief history so everyone can understand what my history is with my Suburban.

[vectorit]

So, the next projects on the horizon for the Suburban is to swap the 4.57 gears for 4.10 gears and replace the wheels & tires with a better set.
The planned wheel & tire combo will be visually the same, just moving away from 16.5 wheels and a narrower tire.

I still have the original lock ring wheels that came with the Suburban, and I've had them sand blasted and rattle canned black. I don't think I will ever use them again, but I just can't get my self to throw anything away so they remain in storage.
The current wheels are 1969 vintage 16.5x10, they originally came on my neighbors 1969 Chevy long bed K20. He sold them to my Dad back in the 1970's, after he upgraded to Western slot mags and super swampers.
I have had them sand blasted, and powder coated satin black to resemble the clack lock ring wheels from a distance. But when I had the tires re installed, the shop could not balance them since all 4 are bent out of shape so much they are next to impossible to balance.
The plan now is to purchase all new 16" x 8" steel OE wheels, and then install a narrower BFG all terrain tire on them. Being manual steering, the wide tires do not do me and the steering gear any favors.

[vectorit]

As many know already, my restoration path has been to stay OE for 1968.
There are only a few things that are not as they would be in 1968, and those are the tires, wheels, suspension, and exhaust. Everything else is as it was, and I enjoy keeping it that way.
Though I do think about updating to disc brakes, and power steering from time to time. So much so, that I have all of the parts to do the conversions. I just can't get myself to deviate yet

[vectorit]

Here are couple pictures of where it stands today.
The side shot with the orange railing in back ground, was my first real truck show at Brothers 2013 I think.
The 2013 show, I did not have the interior done.

[vectorit]

Here is the quick and dirty on the drive train:
(I will clean this up as time permits).

The entire drive train is original to the Suburban.

Engine: Large journal 327, Q-jet
Transmission: SM-465
Transfer Case: Rockwell T-221
Front axle: Dana 44 closed knuckle, drum brakes
Rear axle: Eaton H052
Steering: manual
Exhaust system: Rams horn manifolds, twin pipes with H cross over, Flow Master 70 series mufflers.

[vectorit]

Since I was never of the mindset to "restore" the Suburban like I have grown to expect what a restoration actually is, I regret that the SPID was sanded off so I do not have any records of it. It was pretty faded, and took a lot to figure out what was on it. I do remember it having the "Custom" package, heavy duty radiator, and suspension, along with the 4.57 gear ratio.

Other than those things, the option list was pretty short.

Here are few pictures taken when body work was the subject of the day.

[72 Super]

That is a cool story and I'm glad you were able to keep the Suburban in the family. Your patients and the other set backs turned out to be in your favor as your restoration turned out great! I wouldn't change much myself.

Ray

[1968vetL-71]

I absolutely love this suburban!!! Several pics of this rig has been my screen saver off n on. lol

[vectorit]

The head liner project was a major PITA for me, being one guy with no help to hold up these floppy sheets try to get them to fit... ugh, I'm just glad it's over

[vectorit]

The side trim was all restored from the original pieces, all except for the front clip and the smallest piece in front of the 3rd door (that one sprouted legs, never to be seen again).

No one was reproducing the 67-68 side bright work, only the pick ups so I bought all new for the front clip.
It seems like Mar-K was making this trim for the 67-68 Suburban, but after recently looking at their online catalog. It appears they no longer stock it anymore, but I'd give them a call to see if they can still help if you are looking or 67-68 Suburban side trim.

The shop that did my bright work restoration was a tiny little shop in Burbank CA, and it was just two guys with trim pieces piled every where and two anvils in the middle of the shop. They basically hammered out every single ding & dent, then polished the metal to be smooth for the anodize process which was another shop. Pretty sure they are long gone now, but places like Mar-K are selling Suburban bright work now. Mar-K is where I got the little trim piece in front of the 3rd door.

You can see the repair that was done to one piece of trim by the little shop, it is basically a weld to fill in a hole/tear that was in the trim piece. They told me that the repairs like this would not take an anodize finish too well, but I don't care because it reminds me of where this damage came from and the skilled craftsman that repaired it.

The picture of the fastener... My current nemesis. I don't care who is reproducing this clips to fit 67-68 trim pieces, I have purchased them all and I can tell you that they are garbage and don't waist your money. I go to swap meets with this stupid clip in my pocket, just to find NOS versions of it... Clips like this, are common in the Suburban. Clips that are no longer made, or the new ones do not work. I have to say, since this is a current quest of mine, I do not even think about mickey mousing clips to "work". They either snap fit like the OE version, or they are a waste of my time and money (kinda sensitive about this dang part right now).

[vectorit]

The suspension is the original, all four corners of spring packs were re arched. The front spring packs have an additional leaf added to give it an approximate 2" lift.

The original front spring packs were of the negative arch type, which made the truck ride pretty stiff in the rough roads. Once the positive arch was put in with an additional leaf, the truck raised up a bit and gave it more travel on the rough roads. The shocks are just generic off road rated shocks, since I had planned to paint them black I didn't want to spend a lot of money on them being high end models. Really, there isn't much to dampen so a plain HD style shock absorber is fine.

[nastety92]

Very nice build. That was a lot of work and your a good man for staying with it all the time. What was the interior color suppose to be? I thought the exterior and interior colors were the same?

[LockDoc]

-
Thanks for the thread Chris. A lot of good info that will help some folks with their projects......

LockDoc

[Dieselwrencher]

Chris, very nice burb! I've always liked seeing pics of it when you shared them. Great job on a very nice restoration. That is awesome that it was handed down and it made it all those years in your family too.

[justcuz]

To add to the info I posted above about the HO52, a 14 bolt Detroit Locker can be used in the HO52 carrier and you use 14 bolt axles.
Also 14 bolt drum brakes can be installed on the HO52 which is nice because I believe brake parts for these old axles, especially drums are hard to get.
Jeremy, Jbclassix has a nice write up about the brake drum swap.

[Hart_Rod]

Great Thread Chris!!!

[vectorit]

I was able to get the most annoying electrical gremlins resolved this last Friday but I will not lie, I threw in the towel and hired my neighbor who is an electrician to seek out the problems I have been trying to resolve myself for way too long. He loves to work on our trucks, and even has a K5 that is sitting on a 2002 truck chassis with a 6 liter engine.

As expected, most of the problems were ground related. I apparently just did not remove enough paint where the bolts would go through to get a proper ground for the tail light buckets, as for the front lights and the gauge panel lighting both turn indicators when clicking the turn signal switch. That was because I used single filament bulbs in the front running light buckets! Once the bulbs were swapped with dual filament bulbs, the turn signals and gauge panel began to work normally..

My windshield wiper motor is working again, this was because of a missing mounting bolt. This one the one bolt used by the motor to get ground from the firewall, and it must have worked itself loose and fell out (I later found it under the front seat).

My gauges all work now. I never could seem to get the AMP and TEMP gauges to work right, and found out that both of the little 4 amp fuses in the front harness were defective and not working. The TEMP sending unit, this turned out to be a defective new part as well.

The original OE AM radio is working now, this too was not working because of a missing ground to the radio.

As a bonus, a secret kill switch was added.

The total cost was minimal, and I was ecstatic getting that last remaining thorn in my side of nagging troubles with my truck fixed. I even went back and gave my neighbor a large cash tip, since he was so good at getting these problems resolved and explaining everything he did.

So, if you need an automotive electrician for your truck. This guy will get it resolved quick.

www.ejwireworks.com

He is a mobile technician, or you can drive to his house to do the work.
Money well spent for me.

[Benjamin]

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