Showing the Burban some love...

I finally got around to fabbing some bumpers for my trusty ole 99 Suburban. Started with cardboard and figured out the mounting plates. I cut them from 1/4" and put some slots in them for adjusting the final piece. Next I moved on to the main shell...cut from 3/16". I wanted to form it on a press but, I couldn't get any shops to mess with it...so I stick-built it myself. First I transferred the cardboard to steel and cut out each plate with the plasma. Then I welded it up and ground the seams smooth. Lastly, I frenched a recess into it for the license plate. I'm also going to add some military shackle mounts to it...



The front bumper is another story. More on that later.

Looks a lot like the T bumper!

I digg it!

looks good!

I like it

Looks better than any aftermarket bumper I've seen on GM full-size trucks. Can't wait to see the install.

Nice.

BTW: I think I have the same light you have stuck on the side of your fridge.

:wink:

The ole Suburban is starting to show some age. 176,000 miles and it still runs great...however, the front suspension is totally worn-out. It needs a complete diff rebuild...CV shafts, steering linkage, ball joints, hubs, brakes, bushings, yada yada. It actually might be cheaper to put a solid axle under it. Given the success I've had with the SAS H3...I think I'm goin solid on it.

I really really really really want to toy around with a Cummins 6BT conversion. This video gets my juices flowin...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjgQ0AxnWGQ

looks ****in amazing!

Nice job...

I think you should do some cut outs for LED reverse lights - a nice wake up call to those tailgaters. Though it would be hard to cut up that nice bumper!

Great idea on the lights Alrock...I hadn't thought of that but, now is the time.

I've been chattin with a diesel conversion guy (maybe MaxPF will chime in), and he suggested a common rail Cummins with a NV4500 stickshift tranny, NP205 drivers-side drop t-case. He uses a painless wiring kit to make the electronics simple. I would need a pedal assembly, clutch kit, hydraulic clutch rig, new drive shafts, steering column, gauge pods & gauges, radiator, intercooler, battery, custom motor mounts, and all the wiring. He quoted me $12,250 turn-key, out-the-door for all this (including labor). That actually doesn't sound half bad...especially since I know nothing about diesels.

He said a 4" lift would be needed for hood-to-motor and oil pan-to-motor clearance. That can be done with a D60 SAS and a shackle flip on the rear. Given all the work...I would probably consider buying a smashed Dodge 2500 and swapping the entire drivetrain over, rather than piecing all this stuff together. Not sure I want to take on a project like this...at least not anytime in the near future.

It was probably at least eight years ago when my K1500 had 150K miles that I replaced the front hubs, half shafts, brakes, idler arm, and outer tie rods. It's affordable if you do the work yourself and it adds many more miles to the life of your truck. This past year I also rebuilt the drivetrain by replacing the 190K mile engine with a spare roller-cammed engine I had along with a rebuilt 700R4, and new U-joints on the driveshaft. It all started when I replaced the back axles, brake rotors, and seals on the back axle. It just kept going from there to where it is now. I'm happy to have the old truck back on the road.

IMO...the 92-99 full-size GM trucks are the last models that you can do this type of "backyard fresh-up" work to. You can actually take components apart...buy all the small individual parts...rebuild it...and be good for another 100K miles. All the later stuff is "component-ized" and instead of rebuilding...you just replace stuff (steering racks, struts, etc.). I got no problem doing the IFS re-build myself but, its really not that much more work to go solid in the front. Several companies make simple kits to do this and its a very popular mod on this 92-99 body style.

My biggest concern is keeping the ride-height low. Most of the SA 92-99 full size trucks I've seen are jacked way up and rolling on 35"s. I already got one jacked-up monster and I want to keep my Burban stock-ish. So I'm researching to find out how low I can keep it, while still running a solid front axle. Its got 4.10 gearing already, and that works good with the 33" Duellers (robbed from my H3). I really don't want to go any more hardcore than that. I'm thinking more like a military "forestry service" type build and not a mega-lifted 8,000lb off-roader. I've never seen a CUCV Suburban...but thats what I want it to be.

I actually think it would be cool to do a retro-style build and make the 99 look like the old 70s-era Burbans. I'de put white steel wheels & bumpers on it...dog-dish caps...white roof, etc. Of course I'de have to paint it "Dijon Mustard" (always loved that color on Suburbans)...

Yellow with the fake paneling. Like the old Jeep Wagoner.

TAPADROID

Don't laugh. I have a buddy that restored an Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser (a great big early 70s station wagon). He is super picky and couldn't find the correct looking stuff he was looking for. So he had a guy custom print new wood grain stuff for the sides of it. Unfortunately he had to buy a 100-foot roll of it...so I know where to get some!...

One of the auto shows on TV had a similar wagon that was a total sleeper. Lots of room for a big engine and big tires there.

Thats funny. We had that wagon. Went all over the country. I sat in the rear facing back seat. I never got to see where we were going only where we had been.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

For what its worth, your buddy did a great job.

I have respect for very car guy/gal that puts their OWN blood, sweat & tears into building something for themselves!

Its a very cool machine. He is an avid Olds collector and full-time picker...so he has barns full of rare Olds parts. The motor is an 455 Olds with a built 200R4 tranny. He swapped-in all the factory parts so it looks like a factory 442-Vista (even thought they never made such a beast)...complete with ram-air hood, air cleaner, buckets, console, gauges, etc. He bought it back in the 90s and drove it home from Arizona...completely rust-free.

Back to the Burban...Front bumper looks like this (I did not make the front):


The guy I got it from also hooked me up with some matching shackle mounts for the rear bumper (which I did make)....


I might do some mods on the front to get it to fit the body tighter. I don't like my bumpers sticking out, and if need be I'll trim it so the bumper stops short of the body. Its raining like mad today...so the test fit will have to wait until the weekend.

Looks fantastic!

Tried the front bumper on for size...

It actually fit nice & tight against the body. It does have "arrestor hooks" at the fender openings but, I have decided to leave them alone. I could chop these to a 45-degree but, I don't think I could finish off the ends to make them look good. So...I can live with them. However I can't live with the shackle mounts. For some reason the builder installed them at an angle, and no matter how hard I tried to let it go...I could not. They looked dumb as hell so....out came the grinder! It really pained me to cut into this perfect weld. I don't think my fix will look this pretty...

It just personal taste but, I think the shackles should hang 90-degrees to the length of the truck. I don't like them pointing off at obtuse angles. I realize why the builder did this...it was easy. The location he chose was perfect but, it was on an angled and sloping face of the bumper. Rather than take the time to grind the shackle mount to fit the slope...he just stuck em on flat. Not cool. I have some mounts left over from a previous project, and I plan to install them true to the vehicle centerline. They are a different type of mount, and I will cut small windows in the skin, insert the mounts, and weld them up on the backside, rather than simply welding them to the surface. This is alot of work but, I'm hoping to avoid answering "Why did you weld those on at an angle?" fifty times over the next year.

looks good, I like how its fairly low profile... I agree with you about the angle he put those shackle mounts, just took the easy way out... your extra effort will be worth it in the end!

dude the front bumper looks sick!! i want to build one for are suburban now!:thumbs:

Thanks. It looks even more sick (dead?) after I put some new shackle mounts on it. Now they hang straight forward like they should have in the first place. Here's a couple shots of the front (upside down) and also the rear showing the shackle mounts and the bung I added for the trailer socket...



I dropped these off at the powder-coater today. Should be back on the truck in 7-10 days.

Coated...mounted...time for a winch...


Years ago I bought a roll of "industrial stick-on non-skid stuff", and its been sitting around in my shop collecting dust. I kept thinking I would try it out on a Hummer bumper but I never got around to it. So, I stuck some on this rear bumper...it sticks really well, not your average skateboard type stuff. I'm impressed. I will probably put some more on the top of the front bumper...makes for a good "step". Bare powder-coat can be super slippery when wet.

I backed out of the reverse lights...couldn't find any that I liked. I left the stock hitch in place...this thing can pull the moon out of its orbit.