With the sale of my Landcruiser Troopie I have been looking for something equally old school...

Here is my Black Friday Special, a 1970 C-20 4x4 Suburban with a 350 and a few interesting options.
http://oneleglance.smugmug.com/Projects/Suburban/i-NV5GvnM/0/O/suburban-11.jpg

The original owner was a gentleman who enjoyed desert prospecting and the rig reflects his needs/likes...and personally while I will of course make changes it is still pretty cool see how he set it up.
Part of his setup included being able to handle some heavy equipment. This must have made it alot easier.
http://oneleglance.smugmug.com/Projects/Suburban/i-CFQJdvt/0/O/suburban-42.jpg

Another cool bit of kit was this front bumper setup that he could attach something serious to.
http://oneleglance.smugmug.com/Projects/Suburban/i-tVTpZgv/0/O/suburban-10.jpg

The brake controler will be cool if it still works, I will be trying it out this week.
http://oneleglance.smugmug.com/Projects/Suburban/i-JrdCfD8/0/S/suburban-44-S.jpg

And for my audio enjoyment I get a functioning 8 track and a working Radio Shack CB, along with an old school antenna setup.
http://oneleglance.smugmug.com/Projects/Suburban/i-HSb6Jqd/0/S/suburban-45-S.jpg
http://oneleglance.smugmug.com/Projects/Suburban/i-37GgdkX/0/M/suburban-48-M.jpg

I won't know if they roof mount AC works until I convert it to R134 but it seems all there, plus I got an extra compressor setup out of the deal!
http://oneleglance.smugmug.com/Projects/Suburban/i-TQFPG2r/0/S/suburban-46-S.jpg

The shag carpet will go but at least it looks to have protected the orginal vinyl flooring which should look after I clean it up. And the seats will be one of the first things that gets changed out. I will be searching for 4 matching bucket seats this week....Anyone want an original back seat & third row seat?
http://oneleglance.smugmug.com/Projects/Suburban/i-4HTkqdC/0/M/suburban-47-M.jpg
http://oneleglance.smugmug.com/Projects/Suburban/i-TwKVMqQ/0/M/suburban-50-M.jpg

I am not sure why the original owner installed 2 hitch setups but the lower one is getting cut off in the next day or two.
http://oneleglance.smugmug.com/Projects/Suburban/i-LLBvnhJ/0/M/suburban-49-M.jpg

Also I gotta say installing Ford mirrors on a Chevy will get you strung up in some parts of the country but even I gotta say that 2 sets of mirrors is too much. I will more than likely take off both of these and install something factory.
http://oneleglance.smugmug.com/Projects/Suburban/i-QvLWr9q/0/M/suburban-51-M.jpg

I will post up more pics tomorrow as I clean up the underside, engine and such.
All thoughts welcome...and if anyone knows where I can source a factory rear view mirror and side mirrors I am listening.

Well with the help of my brother in law it was time to do a little deconstruction and return to original on the old burb.

I put Alex to work unbolting stuff while I started in on a weird starting issue I had....don't we all hate electrical gremlins?
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qMiKhqweLGs/TthPA0gA4uI/AAAAAAAAAbY/Nkz6t9xbl7c/s720/DSC_1735.JPG

He did a great job of pulling out one of those mile wide, multi-pane rear view mirrors and installing this pretty puppy...and I figured out it was my neutral safety switch that was bad...at least dropping the column on these things isn't tooo bad. Oh and I gotta say having Vintage Ford & Chevy/Socal so close to my house is nice for me and bad for my bank account :)
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5dhm3nIvngo/TthPBSGft1I/AAAAAAAAAbc/TBWUHD_Xx3I/s720/DSC_1737.JPG

Alex got back to the front end and just kept pulling pounds and pounds of steel off of it. My younger son is learning blacksmithing and really wants all this metal. I am thinking of buying a welder so he & I can learn to make all the bits we will want on this rig.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-u4IsIK6mwAw/TthPDP6EdSI/AAAAAAAAAbg/9fsDQUdOUWc/s720/DSC_1738.JPG

I am telling you the front of the rig was 1in taller after Alex was done shedding this stuff off the rig...I was not having fun under the dash.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Fr0LuepBLUI/TthPDcoNbPI/AAAAAAAAAbk/kGUemYYmjpk/s512/DSC_1739.JPG

Buy the time I had the switch on the column replaced he had already gotten rid of both side mirrors and put these originals one...much better.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X5vLwMHfuPE/TthPDzIPGrI/AAAAAAAAAbo/YD5Kah1hHa4/s720/DSC_1743.JPG

This is what we left on for frontal protection for now...I like it.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gxtcdexjHhM/TthPEEEiVwI/AAAAAAAAAbs/fqC1M7nym94/s720/DSC_1744.JPG

The windshield dude were finishing up as Alex & I started in on the nasty shag removal and figuring out how to get the big bad boom arm out.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6WDytzPXTTM/TthPEudvWhI/AAAAAAAAAbw/NPBPYU_Jt8k/s720/DSC_1747.JPG

The original vinyl flooring isn't too bad and will work till I gut the inside for sound deadening & insulation.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-zsXX20iQ1jg/TthPFWLiipI/AAAAAAAAAb0/B584YJNUc7M/s512/DSC_1748.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-qYijGSjhUo4/TthPF4i6RwI/AAAAAAAAAb4/Bn0y_3FCP6o/s512/DSC_1749.JPG

Now this is more like it and should give me a solid platform to start planning the inside buildout.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-LP2yrDQN4Qk/TthPGcdubPI/AAAAAAAAAb8/w1swGCmW8bM/s720/DSC_1750.JPG

Got some more work done over the weekend and it was very educational for my son...dirty but educational :)

First of all let me say that one of my favorite thing about older vehicles is that not only can you reach everything but you can also take things part & put them back together.
As an example my turn signal switch was sticking and felt "gummy", so we got in there and gave it all a good cleaning, some dielectric grease and all is better now. Great time showing how contacts works and how you track electrical problems.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jRGBYzfkKwg/Tt2wCVqms_I/AAAAAAAAAcc/_47YMSy_e2o/s500/suburban-72.jpg

Then is was time to talk about how heat kills (just like it does a good cigar....something he & I have talked about before :)....
So we added a water temp gauge with real numbers, an oil temp gauge & trans temp. The desert southwest getting stupid hot and I like to know when things are starting to cook. Now I have to be honest and say that we didn't install the temp senders for the oil & trans yet as that requires dropping the pans. But don't worry that will happen soon.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-CBVyuvv3d-8/Tt2wC0VT3rI/AAAAAAAAAcs/hl40bnETgQ4/s500/suburban-73.jpg

Since we had the steering apart I went ahead and stole the pretty new steering wheel off the 72 Chevy Truck that will be his in a few years....needless to say he wasn't happy about that but my rig runs and he can't drive yet...and I am paying for both so I win :)
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-PRSE2q0GWtk/Tt2wDCnuhZI/AAAAAAAAAc0/dW04y_GGbHA/s500/suburban-74.jpg

Plenty more to come...right now I am shopping for a used MIG setup as there is enough welding projects to do to make it worth it. Unless anyone wants to loan me a setup for a while.
Gotta make an aux battery tray, bucket seat frames for the front & back, rear bumper and some other goodies :)

sorry double post

Had a good time working with my son while we changed out the Edelbrock carb that was on the rig
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-VS1TVM1yVMg/TuF9SicNK5I/AAAAAAAAAdw/e326OZ2ICOI/s500/suburban-81.jpg

Over to this craigslist Holley Off Road Avenger
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3fObA796Ugo/TuF9S31tjxI/AAAAAAAAAd4/JUJR6e9tEcY/s500/suburban-82.jpg

The change over gave me a change to hook up a vacuum gauge and teach about how an engine makes vacuum & boost through the 4 stroke cycle and then to use the timing light to talk more about the 4 stroke cycle.

It is great how on these older engines you can actually see & understand how things work..
Of course since he is part of the youtube gen set I included some cool old movies
1935 movie on gasoline
http://www.archive.org/details/DowntheG1935

1937 Free Air (how air & fuel mix)
http://www.archive.org/details/FreeAir1937

Further plans call for dual batteries
ARB fridge
storage drawer/sleep platform
4 bucket seats on custom frames
Roof AC down and put under rear seats with custom center console ducting
larger fuel tank
on board air
tires
custom bumpers
skid plates
cb/ham radio
laptop stand (already run a laptop for nav)
all of the above in no particular order :)

looking good so far, and close to home

Damn that shag carpet was sweet!

Awesome rig. I look forward to seeing more progress. :smokin:

Very nice man good build!

Cool rig!

I like it! Cant wait to see where you take it!

Sweet project. I like where this is going. :smokin:

That A/C unit is the cats.. Why didn't you keep the crane? I'd love to have that in my pickup..

thanks guys for the comments..
Should be posting some new pics soon as the exhaust has been redone & the new tires/wheels are on.

The crane came out as we are going to build a storage draw/sleep platform in the back with an ARB 63qt low profile fridge.

Our next outing will be a Ghost Town run around between Christmas & New Years...start in Tombstone & circle some great ghost towns in that area, then over to Bisbee for the mine tour & museum then hit some other ghost towns & mine ruins down south towards the border.

NIce build Lance! I'm, sure the burb will look good next to Larry's K10 :D

Plenty more little stuff to come plus an epic story of breakdown & repair that consumed 24 long hours in Yuma :)
But for now I thought you guys would get a kick out of my new plate that honors my son who is almost completed his Eagle Scout rank and Chevy's safety mindset in 1970
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sy_8Dh5uqDo/TvkP4059ZjI/AAAAAAAAAe4/7cwLYimm_B4/s500/suburban-83.jpg

And I added some tall, skinny BFG Muds 255/85/16's...I like'em
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-q-XdpB9ReGQ/TvkSp2w9CxI/AAAAAAAAAfU/_1nkso4Lf6E/s500/suburban-85.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PsgkhVb-P2Y/TvkSrJwJvDI/AAAAAAAAAfU/qDDYvHY4KDY/s500/suburban-84.jpg

This thing is sweet! My 72 GMC K25 is an ongoing father/son resto-wheeler project, these trucks are badass. Lovin the roof mounted AC, that was probably ultra classy 42 years ago!

I am a bit behind on updates due to family, work and all that getting in the way but I will now catch up on the latest happenings...

And this part is called "Father gets to hang out in Yuma", or "I love old rigs because I can actually fix them" :)

So a fellow on the 67-72chevytrucks.com forum from San Diego posted up that he was tearing down a old burb to make a crew cab truck, and since Tom is such a cool guy he agreed to let me drive from Phoenix and raid a bunch of parts from him.
Roof Rack
Aux tanks
Original GM grill guard
bumper to go with it
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vME_SJJLjfQ/Tvlf6zLaLzI/AAAAAAAAAgc/Fe4SqHRNglg/s500/suburban-91.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-PLN2eG9PhwQ/Tvlf6OdCzBI/AAAAAAAAAgs/KPtKnjwV5d4/s500/suburban-92.jpg

And a bunch of little things I didn't get a pic of like 2 Spot lights for the A pillars, hand throttle, manual choke, hand e-brake (remember I am an amputee so the foot one sucks) and other little bits.

Well on the way back from San Diego to Phoenix I notched that the rig was slower to crank over at each gas stop and at Yuma the battery acted too low to crank her over.
Now my first thought as I am looking around the gas station for someone to give me a jump start is that I have been running alot of aux stuff over the last 24hrs like a laptop, ham radio, cell phone and such and maybe I just over did what the original 61amp alt could keep up with.

Well I get a jump start from a very nice older guy and get about 2 miles down the highway (unplugged all the aux power draws) when it dies on the road.
When I pop the hood the battery is hot and hissing...not good.
I remember an O'reilys autoparts just back a bit (ended up being a 2 mile walk) and head back to get a battery so I can get off the highway and figure things out.
A great older guy at the parts place takes a break to give me a ride and I slap the battery in but no go.

Now one thing I really like about older rigs is how simple they are. Air, Fuel, Spark....that is it. I have air, I can see fuel through the clear filter and when I pull a plug and do the "hold it near metal test" using my remote starter switch I see I got no spark.

Now you can see at the back of this pic that I have a Mallory distributor and what you can't see is the big red Mallory box on the inner fender well.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3fObA796Ugo/TuF9S31tjxI/AAAAAAAAAd4/JUJR6e9tEcY/s500/suburban-82.jpg

Ok so now I call a new buddy Nick from the chevy forum (and now he is here on expo) on a Sunday afternoon to pick his brain. We agree it must be that the external voltage reg went out which let the alt fry the electronic ign parts.

So now it is getting dark and I have 45min to get back 2 miles to O'rielys...as I (remember I am the 1 legged guy) start jogging down the frontage road I see a couple in a nice CJ5 jeep and wave them down, quick explanation to them and we are zooming off to get parts.

I buy a stock HEI setup, wires and figure I will drop in the distrib, get off the highway and grab a hotel for the night in order to replace the alt the next day.
The jeep owner Randy was cool enough to grab his Chevy 4x4 and strap tow me through the median and back to his house (less than 2 miles) AND give me access to his garage to do the repairs that night. Super cool Yuma Jeep owner!

After dropping in the distrib, changing the wires and a bit of tuning by ear I was running! And managed to get 2 miles back down the highway to the Micro-tel Hotel next to O'riely's.
Pizza, shower and checking the chevy forum for info on the alt change out rounded out my evening.

The next morning I hit the O'riely's and once again was happy to own a Chevy 350 as they are pretty much the most common motor out there.

I ditched the original burnt up 61amp alt for a replacement which they actually had in stock.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-LBlCVcK2Lmg/Tvlf6NHDZeI/AAAAAAAAAgo/l-HMLBFFOBE/s500/suburban-86.jpg

Put in another external voltage reg....I had read about the alternator upgrade but since they had the original parts in stock I wanted to just get back on the road.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-EKv1SuawRP8/Tvlf6HzQqfI/AAAAAAAAAgk/EKjSbwaDtQE/s500/suburban-87.jpg

Then since had drained the battery tuning/starting the rig I ask them to give it a top off charge. Of course this meant I had more time to kill so I replaced the belts...hey I was in there anyway doing the alt.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nn9TNv2J0K0/Tvlf6URQFdI/AAAAAAAAAgg/dDPkbXQ-9UA/s500/suburban-88.jpg

And then figured why not replace the spark plugs. I took out the AC 44TS and went with the 45TS I had read about on the forum...I think I am still a bit off on plugs. The nice thing was no plug looked oil fouled which makes me think the story about this being a recent crate motor is true. I also had the pleasure of remembering an old trick for reaching the back plugs which can be a pain. Just pull the PVC hose and use that.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nn9TNv2J0K0/Tvlf6URQFdI/AAAAAAAAAgg/dDPkbXQ-9UA/s500/suburban-88.jpg

Now my rig has no lift but I am running 33in tires and I ain't that tall. So I grabbed my Pelican tool case and put it to use. And this is why as much as I love the look of the Alum expedition cases I will more than likely stick to my Pelicans.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-dP2eEB3ubCo/Tvlf6v8lZyI/AAAAAAAAAgU/IoKo_0u4ChE/s500/suburban-89.jpg

The truck ran great coming home, has run great since. I returned the alt & extern volt reg and upgraded to a 94amp alt from a trans am and all seems well in the world.
Well I still need to jet down the Holley and change plug temps as I think I am too rich.

I am looking forward to getting more work done soon...big thanks to Tom for the parts which my son was super jazzed to see. Of the big stuff what we don't use will become welding practice and go into other parts. The spot lights are going to be great!

Good story so far! glad some people helped you out.

Good story Lance! :)

The donor is home...
Huge thanks to one of the Copper State Cruiser guys Brian for the use of his truck & trailer to safely get this rig to my house.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iIhLhbRJNsg/Twk0Ggv3qwI/AAAAAAAAA2I/mShWh6JViZI/s640/suburban-93.jpg

I need to go through it and make sure what year it is, what is missing and what is there, get it running and then get the engine/turbo out and to the diesel shop my wife is the office manager for so they can go through it all (including injector pump & injectors)
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-r_IorHjYvv4/Twk0G73wWPI/AAAAAAAAA2c/o_3xg3BHtoY/s750/suburban-94.jpg

But because no story would be as fun with out a bit of drama...the previous owner had pulled the good back axle for his other rig. However he was cool enough to put something together to make this one a roller...and the back tires tried to roll right out of the axle like a cartoon as we loaded it up.
That meant to get it off the trailer we needed to push things a bit more toward center. However things didn't want to fit together and we quickly learned why
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-QO26ymnMrOU/Twk0G4MlwWI/AAAAAAAAA2M/602J1mduGeI/s750/suburban-95.jpg

And since this is a Father/Son project my son got to get the dirty, greasy one and get all the old junk out of the way so we could shove the axle shafts back in. However crafty kid that he is, it only took 2 seconds for him to ask me if he could have all the broken bits to forge/weld/scuplt something cool. How do you say no to that? Watch for a yard creature soon :)
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9iBSHB1BOyg/Twk0HCAMtGI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/NCZp7swN_iQ/s640/suburban-96.jpg

Tomorrow I will get up and look it over more closely by the light of day, hit is with degreaser & the power washer. Then start working on figuring out what I can use and not on the 70 burb...of course we will part out what we can to get some money back and scrap the rest.

Well today was a day to clean up and get an idea of what I am facing with this diesel swap.

This is my NP205 transfer case in the 1970 burb and it is one of the best transfer cases I could have. I was told when I bought the rig that the 350cu engine/Turbo400 trans/NP205 transfer case were all new or freshly rebuilt just a few years back.
Looking at the barcodes and stickers I think it is true.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1lSRjpqhV2M/Tw4bKkuPhYI/AAAAAAAAA54/Dfg6WG60AY0/s720/suburban-103.jpg

These two are what is currently behind the donor 6.2 diesel and part of me would like to keep them as overdrive would be nice for all the highway driving we do getting to & from the cool dirt tracks.
NPsomething transfer case & 700r4 overdrive trans
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ruTh-Al-_EU/Tw4bKvyqffI/AAAAAAAAA54/TjCA_pTW3sk/s640/suburban-104.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wJOg9bGGLJA/Tw4bKma4XdI/AAAAAAAAA54/nlLCTP98AyU/s750/suburban-105.jpg

So this is the hacked up mess I power washed and looked over. There are far too many wires unconnected, hoses & ports open and more mouse poop that I want to think about.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-To2XfhQlNzM/Tw4bLP55nWI/AAAAAAAAA54/croUmT2STT8/s750/suburban-106.jpg

Someone took the top off the injection pump, I was able to screw it back on but not sure now if everything is there and hooked up right.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dVhF3wBL9j0/Tw4bLAQMklI/AAAAAAAAA54/CBtni6IjSak/s720/suburban-107.jpg

I am not too happy with this hose routing. I will be looking into a better way to do things when I swap the engine over.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Kr5vHVvHM3Y/Tw4bLbv88pI/AAAAAAAAA54/iVvG2CBx46M/s640/suburban-108.jpg

Did I mention mouse poop?
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-t1pQ60VWw2Q/Tw4bMEuVmAI/AAAAAAAAA54/Hofc3Ktlq6k/s640/suburban-109.jpg

This side of the engine isn't as hacked up. But there are still some things to take care of.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-S0A4zXi4Db8/Tw4bMJ0KFfI/AAAAAAAAA54/zO7mMtScojg/s640/suburban-110.jpg

This is the hydroboost setup that will go into my old burb. Diesels don't make vacuum like a gasser so you get powersteering pump created hydraulic pressure for the brakes. Not sure about that rubber hose on the lines though?
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-24fWTw82VjQ/Tw4bMRNvAfI/AAAAAAAAA54/XEtqISps2U0/s750/suburban-111.jpg

I think this bit is called a CDR or CDL or something like that. But I think I am missing something?
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-grta4IRuKD0/Tw4bMS1qfGI/AAAAAAAAA54/ExV6tq75SBQ/s512/suburban-112.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-l7mBADBwPIs/Tw4bMuFLDgI/AAAAAAAAA54/zQVcP5GrABs/s512/suburban-113.jpg

Throttle cable is all busted up. And there is a bracket above the injector pump that is missing something that looks like it would connect down to the injector pump? Anyone know?
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Zkvexa40oxU/Tw4bNCdtt6I/AAAAAAAAA54/SmRp4AWFcYg/s640/suburban-114.jpg

Oh and since it was too cold first thing in the morning to powerwash I fired up the plasma cutter to free this factory grill guard from the massive bits of steel someone welded it too long ago.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-YUfmOf_WAok/Tw4bNG4Su_I/AAAAAAAAA54/QDtLlmX0_28/s640/suburban-115.jpg

And while I didn't get pics of the inside of the donor I did attack it with the shop vac. Other than the front seat belts there isn't much I will be using out of the inside. But there was about a 1/2 bale of hay in there and I wanted to see what was under it all in case I can part the rig out for any $$

the bracket above the IP is for the throttle cable. my K30 has the rubber hose on the hydro boost as well. the valve is called a CDR you should have two pipes one for each side of the intake. the top of the IP just holds the cold start silinoid (SP*) also the donor truck is missing the fuel filter housing and fuel filter on the fire wall. but they tend to leak a lot of the military guys convert it to a spin on filter anyways.

thanks for the pics to keep me motivated!

Ok snapped a few pics of my own tonight and more questions..
This my donor tcase out of the 87 burb, looks like a 208 for sure
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kuGCLVWncUk/TxEbo-eMcrI/AAAAAAAAA6c/SZBssWNS0OY/s576/suburban-116.jpg

I don't really like how close that drivers side exhaust pipe is to the oil filter and oil pan. I will be adding some sort of heat wrap or shield or something.
It looks to me like there are lines coming out of the engine that might go to an oil cooler? I want to do an oil cooler and remote filter no matter what.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Paj5Boza-JE/TxEbo8I9XFI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/cJkxB_26CKU/s512/suburban-118.jpg

Here is a close up of those lines, and I found where the turbo gets it's oil.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2YFYeGhJwtk/TxEbpd6fZhI/AAAAAAAAA6k/t-E3a1GAsNE/s512/suburban-119.jpg

So if I keep this 208 or swap to a 241 I assume I will need to get this shifter linkage from my donor at least right?, That means I will have a different shift for the tcase in my floor than my current 205 correct?
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-txaFLquHrtc/TxEbqHOdViI/AAAAAAAAA64/oX7rthhl70g/s640/suburban-123.jpg

Now you can see the bracket that looks like it is missing something in this pic? Thoughts?
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-z2v3Bqanqiw/TxEbqe8jJNI/AAAAAAAAA68/lf8XvlDkJdo/s640/suburban-124.jpg

Another odd thing...it seems my CDR has a pipe that just leads to nothing...metal to rubber to the inner fender by the rad. I thought it was supposed to tie in somewhere before or after the turbo to create that positive crankcase ventilation?
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--2DxU6un0FU/TxEbq4oYunI/AAAAAAAAA7Q/nsWBtPCMg78/s512/suburban-127.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-y4v-Pd4Pm7Y/TxEbqz7Es4I/AAAAAAAAA7M/QJ2mbhj1qtE/s640/suburban-126.jpg

Again thanks for all the info guys, it is really helping.
At this point I should mention that my wife is the office manager of a shop that welds/machines diesel engine heads/blocks and can do it all short of complete assembly. I am really leaning towards pulling this engine, tearing it down, get it checked out and at least doing a ring/valve/gasket simple rebuild. Also I would get the injection pump looked over and new injectors. Gear driven timing set and few other goodies.

All thoughts welcome and keep the info coming.

The bracket looks like it might have held the cruz control ? the cdr should do what you said. might want to look on Steel soldiers a lot of the guys on there have civvy trucks also. the 205 is totally different shift set up.

Thanks on the cruise control thing...not going to replace that as I don't use them anyway.

I will pull the shift linkage and connected bits to use on my 70 burb.

I had surfed around steel soilders and thedieselpage, lots to read!

It looks to me like there are lines coming out of the engine that might go to an oil cooler? I want to do an oil cooler and remote filter no matter what.

Those lines *do* go to an oil cooler that is built into the radiator. My 90 Burb needed a new (and larger than the factory 2-core) radiator, so I got one without the oil cooler built in. Then I had extensions made for those two lines from their junction point on the fenderwell and ran them to a stacked plate cooler mounted in front of the A/C condenser.

Another odd thing...it seems my CDR has a pipe that just leads to nothing...metal to rubber to the inner fender by the rad. I thought it was supposed to tie in somewhere before or after the turbo to create that positive crankcase ventilation?

What lines are hooked to your CDR? Just the line from the oil fill tube and then the line running to outside air near the radiator? If so, then it is just venting crankcase pressure to outside. I *think* this is fine from everything but an emissions standpoint. Here is an explanation I found of what the CDR does: http://flashoffroad.com/Diesel/CDR/cdrvalve.htm

I don't know if the turbo kits tell you to vent crankcase pressure like that, or if the previous owner just thought it was better not to suck the oil vapor back into the engine?

My 90 Cummins (with stock turbo) came stock with a breather that just vents to atmostphere, not the intake.

Finally got the new bucket seats installed thanks to my new buddy Nick. Not enough that I have been hounding him for diesel install knowledge (sweet cummins setup in his 72 burb) but I also wanted some mentoring on welding and fab stuff.

So this last Sunday I took up most all his day and we had a good time.

Let's have the pics tell the story...

First we needed to get an idea of where to put the seat...oh and some of those wood blocks were what the previous owner had holding his seats in place!
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yJzkAv2Uo0Y/TxgyDWk3DPI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/nAZU2yKBRjU/s640/suburban-128.jpg

Nick had his mad fabricator hat on and was all about the details. Which was a good lesson for me as I am often all about the "good enough"
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HUGouBA_Feg/TxgyDYK1psI/AAAAAAAAA8E/k6jK8E7ftOY/s576/suburban-129.jpg

Tacking the bits in place was an interesting thing to learn about. At least that is what Nick said he was doing to my seat :)
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9oc87Z95HiA/TxgyEa1kKlI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/htuz_UG_NYc/s576/suburban-131.jpg

Old guy who owned the rig before either needed a few attempts to get the seat in the right spot or a few beers before getting the drill out.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_mJ3yMZDl0A/TxgyFUAYEMI/AAAAAAAAA8g/V3RK3Wvxm8k/s512/suburban-132.jpg

Next phase was figuring out where the rear seats needed to be for my relocation of the AC stuff.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Y3p9OPMu5K4/TxgyFpxm96I/AAAAAAAAA8k/xmjRoCpr6h4/s512/suburban-133.jpg

Yeah we worked into the dark. And still didn't finish, but that is ok as I learned a ton and got to share a couple of meals with Nicks very cool family.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-XRY6sQy8gTw/TxgyFjILaoI/AAAAAAAAA8o/pj58llTV3WM/s512/suburban-134.jpg

Monday was MLK Day and instead of working on the seat frames it was more fun to spend the day with my younger son and my nephew. While my kid is a gun/knife nut (to the point of forging his own knives), my nephew had never shot before. Well that is no longer true (oh and we did clean up all our brass & target debris)
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LbGA3PxVJXs/TxgyHFDultI/AAAAAAAAA9I/NTMqxj7fpUo/s576/suburban-137.jpg

Here is the rear seat frame after I got done with my welds and fab'ing..not as pretty as Nicks work but seems plenty strong. This will get enclosed in metal & wood to blow the cold air up the center console through vents to the driver & passengers.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--LfX40k_EqM/TxgyH17Va8I/AAAAAAAAA9Q/zu5nemUykF0/s512/suburban-138.jpg


Plenty of room under here to build some enclosed storage space...maybe a drawer, maybe just a locking box.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tmV081nX3wE/TxgyIFCeVkI/AAAAAAAAA9g/B4xSSNu30Ek/s640/suburban-139.jpg

Front and rear done enough to test next weekend on a 2 day camping trip. If all works well then I will pull everything for paint.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3mxgyigYEvA/TxgyIXsUzZI/AAAAAAAAA9U/9XcnWQ3T5lE/s512/suburban-140.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-DIHr0hQUVxk/TxgyJOYRMgI/AAAAAAAAA9o/_j86toscmSQ/s640/suburban-141.jpg

Happy wife, happy life. She would not even sit in the nasty old man seats that were in there before.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ijV-qoTpY1c/TxgyJ6lOGVI/AAAAAAAAA9w/m0JXqME5VPk/s512/suburban-142.jpg

No grouchy teenager here, plenty of leg room for him.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ejGLGaI1u-s/TxgyJ7YYjZI/AAAAAAAAA90/8PxFasg2SUk/s512/suburban-143.jpg

where did you get those seats? Thanks nice build.

The seats are from a Town & Country mini-van, there are a couple of people here in Phoenix that have them on craiglist all the time. The prices range from $40-$60 for clothe and a bit more for leather.
This is the second project I have used them on and since they are brand new there is no cleanup hassle like junkyard seats.
Also the flat slider base makes them easy to mod.
The only thing I will do is keep my eye out for early Monteros & Isuzu Troopers as they had a suspension seat base that would be nice to have.

So I had some time over the last few days to start tearing down the donor rig...
And thanks once again to Nick my new diesel guru for tips on extra stuff to get from the donor!

This is what I started with. Lots more rust than I first thought which has made the tear down process harder as things don't want to come apart. We are so spoiled here in the desert to be pretty much rust free. Not sure where this rig spent most of it's life?
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-R4DhDaynDjs/Txz4oX1zE7I/AAAAAAAAA-U/zJ52ZWVTzkw/s750/suburban-144.jpg

I am so not happy with the way the previous folks did the hose work. All I can think of is to print this pic and tape it to the 70 burb with a note "Don't do this!"
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0Z9TMdAKMwg/Txz4oD5bqiI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/9VBbEu4wBSQ/s640/suburban-145.jpg

The old radiator tells a real horror story...clearly it was a leaker, and the oil coil or lines or something was also letting a bit go. It does have metal tanks which I like. I plan to take it by my fav rad shop and talk to them about repair vs replacement, I just don't want plastic tanks.
I am also debating getting the trannie & oil coolers out of the rad...thoughts? I don't do much cold weather stuff (hate the cold) so not too worried about that.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-c8BCDXynHg8/Txz4oRAye7I/AAAAAAAAA-Y/mH80-1TMi8c/s750/suburban-146.jpg

I was finally happy to get to this point which is much closer to pulling the engine. Don't worry I was taking plenty more pics of how all the tubing & wiring went.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-j8M9j_PEyCU/Txz4o6meNEI/AAAAAAAAA-o/g_N6OC00t9g/s640/suburban-147.jpg

A better view of the turbo setup. Nick thinks it is a Banks & ATS combo hack job. Maybe put together with craigs & fleabay parts?
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-v2Wf6Lq1mto/Txz4pCMcbaI/AAAAAAAAA_A/CQTJWoHkoH4/s640/suburban-148.jpg

This crossover pipe will be done differently no matter what it takes. I can't stand the way it runs along the oil pan, way too close to the belts and looks like it must cook the harmonic balancer.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-bqcgeMAYMKo/Txz4pUfnIDI/AAAAAAAAA-w/uuvqFqzrPT0/s640/suburban-149.jpg

Always fun to find cooked wires that the previous owner just did hack jobs to get around.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-fsMAAfrPWEw/Txz4pePn_1I/AAAAAAAAA-0/_GPrkCmnS_I/s640/suburban-150.jpg

But on a note of joy I will say that having a wife who is an office manager of a diesel machine shop is nice when you need a part cleaned. This is the junkyard J code manifold that is ready for install.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OCxTM1ea7nk/Txz4qFqC6yI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/LJhZsMbn4wA/s512/suburban-151.jpg

Oh joy, power door locks will be in my future. I like the looks of the old iron but some modern stuff is nice :)
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-qpO5sh_PpzU/Txz4qJoh5YI/AAAAAAAAA_E/L23gEva0Gtw/s750/suburban-152.jpg

The previous owner already hacked past the glow plug controller, which is fine by me as I plan a full manual setup anyway. I would rather a stealthy glow button as a theft prevention measure.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JFYKdoWroxk/Txz4qr1SeLI/AAAAAAAAA_U/gBCfllspLkM/s640/suburban-153.jpg

And there are still a few bits I want like the 40gal tank & skid plate. I also got the rear aux heater, rear AC, receiver hitch, a bunch of wire, connectors and I need to try to get out the front shoulder belts since they are blue!
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ermjpSXZdPg/Txz4qkMljBI/AAAAAAAAA_g/Iouts5GEF7g/s750/suburban-154.jpg

Monday should be "pull the engine day" and then I can get the donor carcus out of the way and pour some concrete for a new workshop to be ready for the transplant surgery.

My plan with the engine/trans/tcase goes like this:
Take heads & block to my wifes shop, have them look for cracks and tell me if it all is any good.
If all is well then I will ring/bearing/gasket it and reassemble.

Take the turbo to a company we know very well and have them check it out.

Take the IP in for a rebuild with top parts so I can run junk fuel in Baja and maybe some bio. New injectors of course.

Take the trans into a shop for a look over and make sure it is ready to continue life behind a oil burner :)

Combine my tcase with a Dodge one off of craigs to get one that has fixed yokes.
Check into the clocking rig and see if I can make that work.

Any and all thoughts welcome!

Make sure the rubber in the harmonic balancer and crank pulley have no cracks. This is a common point of failure on 6.2s that will lead to crank failure. They especially need checking because of the crossover pipe running right beside them, as you noted. On my 90 Burb, they both had cracks when I bought it right at 100k miles.

When I replaced my radiator, I mounted both a trans cooler and oil cooler in front of the radiator and a/c condenser. I had enough room to mount them on pieces of flat bar running across the core support, rather than using those zip-tie mounting things that go through the radiator or condenser. The oil cooler is now totally separate from the radiator. The trans fluid goes through the external cooler first, and then through the one that is integrated into the radiator.

Dude that turbo is a mess! I would take all of it off and look for a 6.5 turbo set up. the J code intake is awesome. I run one on my 6.2

Dude that turbo is a mess! I would take all of it off and look for a 6.5 turbo set up. the J code intake is awesome. I run one on my 6.2

I would say the same except he wants to use A/C which isn't possible with 6.5 set up on the older stuff. I would plan to redo a lot of that plumbing to/from turbo, and maybe add a charge air cooler somewhere. Might have room for an OEM CAC in front of the radiator.

Edit: OEM charge air cooler out of something else obviously. Early Dodge maybe?

If the turbo shop says there is anything wrong with my unit then I might consider a switch to something off a 6.5.
I will be getting rid of the heater core and all that stuff in the way and going to a Summit Mojave heater which is all inside the dash, that will clear up some space.

And no matter what I plan to redo the turbo tubing to add a snorkle and make it a cleaner setup.

So I got the engine out & torn down last night and all the bits off to their shops today.
Figured I better post some pics and get some thoughts from everyone...

Some of these lines are pretty bent up...I think I will look into either a new set or a partial to replace the bent ones.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-C50raA4OKcI/Tx9R_e27fCI/AAAAAAAABAE/kALOojiT-Og/s640/suburban-155.jpg

Here is the passenger side head...nothing scary to my naked eye. The gasket looked good and although I am no expert I didn't see anything that jumped out at me.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-k6qfWx7SpyQ/Tx9R_MAgPWI/AAAAAAAAA_8/rPJ37DzQork/s750/suburban-156.jpg

Drivers side head...also nothing bad to the naked, untrained eye of mine. Also the block deck looked good.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7E6yxtDAizE/Tx9R_dqaQLI/AAAAAAAABAA/2k4zJhump6c/s750/suburban-157.jpg

This was stamped on the pistons....no idea what it means. But I am sure I will hear from my wifes shop if things are way out of wack.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-m7bljV6fTQ0/Tx9SAdoFNSI/AAAAAAAABAU/JFY1pjbNKTg/s640/suburban-158.jpg

This turbo oil return will get redone with a welded bung. The leaking must have been a real pain.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XMLN5yQKcjk/Tx9SA5OR1UI/AAAAAAAABAc/fgOUGHRH_tg/s512/suburban-159.jpg

No idea what all this means but I didn't see any cracked bits and all looked good.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-SoxAXDvDySU/Tx9SBKpNPzI/AAAAAAAABAk/2WKlJkzBoyY/s640/suburban-160.jpg

Well almost all...the timing chain had some slack in it. I plan to run a gear drive setup so I won't have to worry about chains any more.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-deAYyb5Qwrg/Tx9SCJbfMaI/AAAAAAAABAs/SEZi5ZfyDgc/s512/suburban-161.jpg

This looked a little strange but the more I looked at the seal the more I figured it might be ok. Of course the machine shop will be happy to tell me if all isn't well.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DmzxAOCdlpo/Tx9SChU1abI/AAAAAAAABA0/WptO9b7oEYE/s720/suburban-163.jpg

I think this means the crank & rods have not been messed with before. Or at least not ground down.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-MTrIzeog9n0/Tx9SDuBQaDI/AAAAAAAABBA/0daWGX0vQhM/s512/suburban-164.jpg

This was a bit weird...when I went to pull the fuel pump pushrod only 1/2 came out. Who knows if it had been run like this. The cam looked ok and the fuel pump also so I don't think it was run for long, if at all.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ap-7pGPfCZw/Tx9SEIXB_JI/AAAAAAAABBE/s3fi5vkC43s/s640/suburban-165.jpg

A little more turbo info for anyone in the know...I don't know and thus why I post the pics :)
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-2zwYezCwyuw/Tx9SElUWL1I/AAAAAAAABBQ/Q5dgeknxVOg/s640/suburban-166.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kEgCiGgSQsA/Tx9SE2RQpAI/AAAAAAAABBU/dJ-K8Z-qa5A/s640/suburban-167.jpg

Where are you going to get a Gear drive for the 6.2/6.5 motor? I want one!

I'd recommended doing the feed the beast mod to the FFM while your at it..

http://www.thetruckstop.us/forum/showthread.php?572-Feed-The-Beast-Part-I-amp-Part-II-Improve-fuel-to-IP

Gear set..

http://www.kennedydiesel.com/detail.cfm?ID=45

Yep Kennedy for the gear drive and a few other goodies :)

Thanks for the link on the IP mods...lots to read and process there

TY. I replaced my fuel filter with a spin on kit.

What about on the IP side??

Yep Kennedy for the gear drive and a few other goodies :)

Thanks for the link on the IP mods...lots to read and process there

No problem, and yep its now the GO TO site for anything 6.2/ 5 related..

The teeth on the flex plate are pretty worn....anything better than factory for that part? I actually prefer factory parts when possible.

I know the later engines used a gear reduction starter..and thing better than factory on that? Will I need a different tailhook bit?

Any good source for the timing cover (the lower part)...mine has a big ol' crack in it.

Anyone ever run a hard metal line to bring oil to the turbo? The owner of the shop I took the turbo too recommended the idea instead of the braided steel/rubber line I have now.

updates?

Nice burbs!

Well one of the shop guys came in and told my wife that the block has cracks (she is the office manager of a diesel engine machine shop).
She went out and snapped these pics with her phone and sent them to me.
I have not spoken to the owner who runs the shop to see if he is willing to try & fix it. I do know that he wasn't real excited about working on a 6.2 in the first place :)
So I think I will start the hunt for a 6.2 block or complete engine in case he won't work on it, if anyone has leads.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_AKN5YuQ7io/T0R_ZzH4dnI/AAAAAAAABM4/dX12EuuQuAs/s640/IMG_0202.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PkwYgRDO4d4/T0R_aMeCNPI/AAAAAAAABM8/0xzNQUOyvLI/s640/IMG_0203.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-HQFKzZ_beUo/T0R_Zy9GV1I/AAAAAAAABNE/BIuBQxWIOaA/s512/IMG_0210.jpg

http://www.thetruckstop.us/forum/showthread.php?34152-6-5-929-block

Sweet, thanks for the link..
I will have to see about swapping over to a 6.5 engine since everything I have is 6.2...
time to go learn more!

Everything will swap out between the two; I'm (slowly) putting a 6.2 db2 pump on my '94 k2500..

You can always try here. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=6.5+diesel+block&_sacat=0&_odkw=6.5+diesel&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

I work at a diesel engine repair shop and the 6.2 and 6.5s are all broke it actually got to the point that we will not put them together anymore because the blocks crack so easily. i think we can get brand new heads for around $200 there usually cracked to. im not sure about the blocks though.

You might want to consider a higher mileage chevy express drivetrain with the non-intercooled Duramax/4L85e combination

I hear all ya'll.....

Lots to ponder...but since it is been a while since I posted and pics I figured it would be good to let everything know the rig is getting used on a daily basis.
I did a quick overnighter to help a buddy test out his new trailer
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-V_hsMGzUdZ0/T0411fkJNPI/AAAAAAAABQM/HbZDQ-TPUSU/s500/DSC_3458.jpg

Oh and this is my current rear setup...
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JEh9UBd9OBk/T0411UH9nQI/AAAAAAAABQQ/7DcW78su5fg/s500/DSC_3454.jpg
I used 2 pads as I was solo and could be comfy.
The 3 pelicans are kitchen, dry food, recovery/tools.
I put the pads on top of the cases to test how sleeping on a platform (with a drawer) would be. Worked great with still enough room to sit up and put my leg on.
Also the flat folding seats are nice for getting in & out of the side door.