My 1984 Chevrolet Suburban K20 4x4 3/4 ton CUCV clone #2 - AKA: M1007 or M1029

[Crash_AF]

Lookin' good.

Word of warning on that tire carrier, heavy tires and especially adding a full fuel can can cause the sheetmetal to fatigue and if you let it swing freely it WILL kink the corner so be careful with it.

 

[K9Vic]

Weekend #7 (June 15/16)

I had the A/C charged last Tuesday and was working fine, however the truck started to get too hot with the A/C on; especially at idle. So I talked to my mechanic and he advised me to make sure the radiator and condenser is clear of any dirt and junk. So I first used compressed air and after that used some of the A/C condenser cleaner and spayed everything down with water. It cleaned out allot of junk, but to be sure it would still run cool I added an electric fan on the front of the condenser to run when the A/C is on. So I tested it out after everything was done and did not get too hot anymore, so looks like I got that issue resolved. The fan I used from from a Dodge Stratus with the short flat motor to fit behind the grille. It was a dual fan and one fan motor was the longer one, so I cut it down to only use one. It was a good fit and I used the center brace to hold the one side and made some brackets for the other side. It worked out well and looks good in there, but I did have to remove everything to install it, so that was a PITA.



I also completed the tire carrier install and found that there are two sizes for these trucks. The one on the Dante's Peak Burb is the longer one that would be able to take a tire and Jerry can. Sadly the one I have is the shorter one and will not take both, so just the tire. For now and most likely in the future I will just use the factory wheel and tire as the spare with maybe a cover. I also had it hang out for some time and held up well, but I would not hang from it. It works well, but was not an easy install with the bracket on the tail gate. Hard to access the other side with the glass and window regulator.




Here are a few additional pictures showing the lift and the front underside.




Before 05/05/13 and after on 06/16/13

 

[Skinny]

Looks awesome...makes me want to build one!

As far as the overheating or running hot goes, check to make sure your mechanical fan shroud is all there. Check to see if the mechanical clutch is working too when it heats up. A little bit of slippage will be bad with hot days and A/C heat load under the hood.

 

[K9Vic]

Looks awesome...makes me want to build one!

As far as the overheating or running hot goes, check to make sure your mechanical fan shroud is all there. Check to see if the mechanical clutch is working too when it heats up. A little bit of slippage will be bad with hot days and A/C heat load under the hood.

Thanks for the advise, I was going to replace the fan clutch as well but figured the more air flow the better. The shroud is all there and when I watched the mechanical fan spin at idle it was slightly wobbly, so that is why I am going to also replace it.

 

[millertim]

Keep up the good work man! I'm doing the same thing only with a 92 suburban.

 

[Warthog]

Just ordered a widescreen collectors copy of Dante's Peak from Wally World. Less the $8 to my door. I looked for a copy in the bargain bin but didn't find one.

 

[Skinny]

Why wait when you can watch the Suburban go across the river...I love the internet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bQQIy5TKZE&list=PLEF6FC8B925024280

 

[K9Vic]

Just ordered a widescreen collectors copy of Dante's Peak from Wally World. Less the $8 to my door. I looked for a copy in the bargain bin but didn't find one.

I do not think I have enough money anymore to buy that DVD even if it was in the bargain bin. I priced out all my expenses on this build and it was about $5200. I broke it down and just the mechanical repairs alone were $675 to fix everything that was wrong with it. But I am fussy and did repairs that were not really needed, but best to do long term. The lift, tires and any parts associated with it was only $1600 and that includes the install that was $200. That is a really good deal for a 4" lift with new tires & wheels installed. All the other accessories I bought like the seats, roof rack, tire carrier, LMC stuff, etc was about $800. To convert to look like a CUCV cost me about $400 with about $60 for all new grade 8 bolts. Finally the cost of the Burb with TT&L was $1650.

So that math comes to $5125 and I did not really want to go over $4000, but it happens when you get good deals on cool accessories & lift for cheap.

Well anyways, here are the extras I added today. I am going to make an attempt to get the roof rack installed this weekend.

 

[DriverSideImpact1008]

That is a really sweet looking Burb! Such an awesome job K9

 

[K9Vic]

That is a really sweet looking Burb! Such an awesome job K9

Thanks.

I installed the snorkel this morning and it was not too difficult, but worked out well for something this is not designed for the square body. It is a Totoya FJ 80 snorkel kit I got on eBay for about $150 shipped and is an exact clone of the Safari one, probably from the same Chinese factory. It came with all the parts to mount it and a template for the FJ80. But that would not work on these trucks so I just have to find the best place for the hole and measure where to drill all the screw holes. That was the hardest part, but after looking at pictures of other builds I was able to figure out where to make the main 80mm hole. I had to cut some of the metal inside the fender to install everything, but nothing too bad. After I had everything drilled and measured I repainted and let that dry before putting the snorkel on and tightening it all up.

Roof rack I will try tomorrow (Sunday), but that can wait if it gets too hot as it was 90 when I got done today with the snorkel.

Here was my reference on Pirate 4X4 for the snorkel.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/chevy/476841-stuck-snorkel-burb-weekend.html#post5555015

Here are the pictures.

 

[K9Vic]

Hooked up the snorkel to be functional today, but I need to seal it up better to make it more water tight. I do not have any plans to ever do any high water crossings, but still needs to be sealed well just in case. Except for the OE tube everything else was bought at Lowe's. The 4" to 3" rubber pipe adapter, 3" expandable drainage tube and some outdoor water resistant duct tape.


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Here are some pictures I took last weekend away from the house for a cleaner background look. This was previously where a US Boarder Patrol station was, but they have since moved.

 

[wallew]

I must tell you guys you are not getting the real impact of this rig.

I saw it up close last Friday. He brought it over to show to a friend of mine who lives in Denver and was in town. He has this type of suburban, only is going to swap in some one ton axles he has sitting around.

But until you can see this beast up close, it's hard to say anything but 'WOW, NICE RIDE'... When you do see it up close?

It is all that plus a bag of chips AND a case of beer.

As usual G, you went above and beyond. Love to see it when you decide you are done working on it.

 

[86m1028]

Burb looks good. I thought that building looked familiar... I bought a Tahoe from the FBI there awhile back.

 

[K9Vic]

Been a month since I last posted, in that time I sold my 1984 M1009 Zombie mobile taking all of my stuff off and out less the roof rack. I also swapped the brush guard from this Suburban so the new owner did not have 20 holes in it from all my accessories, plus I would not have to drill new ones. So this weekend I finally got the brush guard stripped, painted and installed on my Suburban from the M1009. I added all my Rigid LED lights and the dual 100watt speakers for my electronic air horn. I did not add the large Whelen 900 LED as I am not sure I want to install them as it blocks the NATO and Block out driving light.

I also changed out the AC compressor for an updated unit that is R134 friendly as my stock one died on me. I had to change out all the brackets, but I had them from the used on I got from the junk yard. It is the same compressor as my 1990 Burb had. So far it is working fine, but this hot Texas summer is not cooling that big inside well with the old junky vent system in these square bodies. But with the new compressor and flushing out the system the engine temp is no longer as hot as it was before with the AC on.

My M1009 I sold and swapped brush guards.



Installed on my Burb less the big amber LED lights. This is also not the same winch, I have two of them and the M1009 one went on my M1031.


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Yes I changed out the lightbar on the roof, but only because I will be needing a working lightbar and the bubble popper was not functional yet.


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The purpose of this was to have a nice tow rig for buying CUCV with highway speeds and AC, so in just a short time I will be putting that to use. Here is a teaser of the tow bar and a spare tire in my Burb ready for a CUCV recovery later this week. Also the reason I have the clear Whelen LED lightbar, but will return the bubble popper.



So pretty much until it cools down in a few months will I get back to finishing the interior and paint the door jams and such. I got the outside done and that is what people see, so for not I am happy.

 

[K9Vic]

Few updates to the Suburban, added more LED off road driving lights to the front. They are ECCO E92006 that are each 1365 lumens, about equal to one of my Rigid lights. I happen to have these and figured I would install them on an angle for better light output. I still have the LED lightbar on the truck and think I will leave it on there as it is functional.





I also installed a spin on filter as the original one was leaking. That seems to be part of why my fuel mileage just sucked at like 12-14mpg and not what I should be getting with a 700R4.
NAPA fuel filter base, pt#4309
WIX fuel filter/water separator pt#33123



Crazy as it may seem almost every time I am out driving this I get asked questions at stop lights about it. It is mostly by Jeep guys, but almost never fails that I either get a thumbs up or window roll down asking about my Suburban. I was out test driving it today and had a guy in a Toyota Tundra ask about it and if it was a real military truck. Of course I told him it was not, but a CUCV clone and said I did a good job. Really cool to get that after all the work I put into this.

Oh and I found this on Instagram from a car show I was in two weekends ago.


Last weekend I meet up with the local military vehicle club and we took this picture.

 

[K9Vic]

I dig this rig. Your faded red paint, stock steel wheels, and now brush guard remind me of the Suburban from the Dante's Peak movie. Although it was a gasser 1/2 ton and was pulled across the river, it was a cool movie truck.

View attachment 430572View attachment 430573View attachment 430574

Forget the Dante's Peak Suburban making a movie clone, why not make one for a movie and let people clone it!!

It was just a prop, but it was the center of attention as the actors all walked by it and looked inside for any Zombies. The idea was that it was abandoned at the police station where there are survivors after a mysterious plague has devastated the planet. My Suburban was a police type vehicle designed for the harsh times dealing with zombies, so they wanted it just as I had it setup. It is a low budget movie and I do not know if this will be mainstream or just to DVD. Hopefully main stream, but still even if it is DVD pretty cool to have my Suburban in a movie. There were also two 5-ton trucks used in the movie from our local military vehicle club. The one looking between the trailer and truck was a prop in the background and the one in front was where the actors ended up.

Daylight's End
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3007132/

Here are some pictures from on set. If you have Instagram or even just Google search #daylightsend for some videos from myself and others showing on set action.



Downtown Dallas looking north.



Back at home and got to clean my dirty truck. They did ask before they did this and was cool with it. Only issue was some of the liquid die they used was hard to get off well.

 

[Skinny]

You lucky bastard!

It is a sweet ride so rock it! Can you post up when the movie comes out so we can look for it? I want to see some Cuck Vee zombie apocalypse action

 

[Danger Ranger]

Well that was an awesome catch-up read! I can't believe I missed all that between now and May....

That thing is sick bud, and I am green with envy. You have once again succeeded in ruining my keyboard.
I am sorry to hear you sold the M1009, but the sweet Burb is an upgrade of sorts right? I may have to build my own someday...thank you for that.

Keep us posted on anymore work on it!

On a side note, I got my air horn/siren hooked up recently. Im running a Code3 3692L4 unit with a FedSig Dynamax MS100 speaker. Too much fun, and great for dealing with idiots on the road. Best way to keep a drunk college kid driving straight....hehehehe.
A lightbar would be nice, but its out of my price range.....for the moment.
I got to use the PA for announcing at the Iowa All Breeds Jeep Show this fall too. Sweet!

 

[Skinny]

When are you selling the Burb to me?

 

[Danger Ranger]

After he gives it to me! hahahaha!