M1007 - CUCV Suburban Clone Build Thread

[Warthog]

Looks like the burb has a high lift kit. Amazing how much all the interior and door weight it down.

The doors came from a local truck that I ended up scrapping. No surprise that they had bondo. I was just testing your skills

I thought the color was going to be Jen's choice? I like the green.

 

[mkcoen]

I actually got a bit dizzy this afternoon so I took a cold shower and have been inside for a few hours.

Heat injuries can sneak up on you so be careful. I'm doing most of my stuff in the air conditioned shop instead of the driveway but that does make it kind of hard since I have 8' doors and the LMTV won't fit. I went out to check some spacing on the accessory box I'm doing for the dash and the temp probe we've been using on the ac work showed 115° in the cab with the windows cracked. I'm going to try and get up early enough in the morning to run the backup camera wire but when you start out at 80° at 7am you lose work time real quick.

 

[Barrman]

Joe, I have a distance from the ground to the hitch and will keep track of how far down it goes as stuff gets added. Jennifer was all for picking a color until she say the prices compared to several gallons of 383 we already have.

Mark, I found I have to wait until after 0830 or so this week for the humidity to burn off and the paint to act right. I got some more green shot today and all the jams and roof wet sanded. With my shop open and all fans on this afternoon it was 106° inside. I hope to shoot the roof, door jams and inside of the front doors in the morning before church.

 

[cucvrus]

Wet sanding. I have not wet sanded in 3 decades. I use the non sanding sealer and the primer is just a light dry sanding filler primer. No more wet sanding and squeegee here. when yo apply 383 flat paint you will never see any sand marks. about 180 grit us as low as I go on a CUCV. You are doing a great job. But wet sanding in 100 degree weather. You just need a piece of sand paper you can supply the water real fast. Good luck. It looks great thus far.

 

[Barrman]

My little bit of painting before church turned into 7 hours and more than 100 ounces of green sprayed. The roof is done and I don't want to even look at it again for a long, long time. All 6 door jams, the firewall and stupid spare wheel well are done as well.

Hopefully I can get the forward 4 doors mounted tonight and get everything wet sanded for maybe a final round of painting tomorrow. I figured out that the seal which goes on the outside of the barn doors at the hinge has to be installed before the door. However, my doors aren't painted on the outside yet. So instead of mounting them twice. I am going to paint the outside of the barn doors off the truck but at the same time as the rest of the body. Then only mount them once.

My wet sanding technique is to use a slow flowing hose and 400 grit. True 383 doesn't need it for looks. However I think it helps the top coat adhere better. That is why I do it.

The last picture is what the receiver measures from the ground with stock tires and pretty much everything else removed.

 

[Another Ahab]

That was time well-spent: because it sure looks good.

 

[mkcoen]

My little bit of painting before church turned into 7 hours and more than 100 ounces of green sprayed.

Looks awesome! Much better than blue.

 

[cucvrus]

Are you going to put an M1009 rear bumper and pintle hitch assembly on back?

 

[Barrman]

I test fit a M1009 rear bumper. The frame horn holes don't match up, but that is just a matter of marking and drilling new ones. However, the already pretty weak M1009 pintle would be even weaker on a suburban without a lot of work.

A m1008 bumper is even harder to fit. But, the stronger bumper to start with, a step, no interference with the receiver hitch, a place to sit or set stuff and different look make we want to try it. There have been several post about how people made them fit. I am going to do a detailed thread about how I worked it once I am done actually doing it. I also envision a swing away spare tire mount in the future and the step bumper to me is a better platform to do that with.

I got the rest of the truck painted this morning. It looks like I got done just in time. We got rain coming the next few days. Now I just need to put it all back together again. Along with the valence,hood and fenders still to be prepped and painted. But until the engine is in and all set up. I really don't want to put the front body on or have it sitting around being a scratch magnet.

 

[Barrman]

Mark, different Suburban. The Blue Bomber is a 2wd and in the background of the photos. I still drive it every day to work. It will get replaced by the Cowdog once it is finished though.

 

[mkcoen]

Mark, different Suburban. The Blue Bomber is a 2wd and in the background of the photos. I still drive it every day to work. It will get replaced by the Cowdog once it is finished though.

My mistake. Looked like the floor was blue.

 

[86m1028]

Burb is looking GREAT !!!

What seals & rubber products are you gonna use ?
Will you document that in this thread ?

 

[Another Ahab]

Burb is looking GREAT !!!

What seals & rubber products are you gonna use ?
Will you document that in this thread ?

That's the truth; that paint job sure looks good.

 

[Warthog]

My mistake. Looked like the floor was blue.

The truck was mainly rust colored. The original color was blue and gray.nSome good pics at the first of the thread.

 

[Barrman]

Mark, yes the floor and interior of this truck, Cowdog, is a light blue. I thought you were talking about the USAF dark blue you previewed for Joe and have seen me driving several time. Sorry for any confusion.

I haven't bought door and window molding/seals yet. I was planning to use lmc. I have installed their window channels and wipes on all 4 doors of the Blue Bomber. We also used them for everything on RED. All worked and continue working great.

However I did already buy the three seals for the barn doors from lmc some time ago. I went to install the top truck mounted seal today and it didn't want to. The little plastic push in things wouldn't go in without a hammer helping. I even drilled a few of the holes out a bit and it didn't work. I am going to buy some replacement plastic thing tomorrow to finish installing just that one seal. I will report how the rest fit.

I bought the the same three barn door seals for the Blue Bomber 5 years ago and it installed without a hitch. Maybe I got a bad one or maybe their quality went down.

 

[Barrman]

I only scratched the day old paint 10 or 15 times getting the passenger quarter panel glass in this morning. Maybe I will do better on the drivers side. Oh well, they won't be the last scratches this truck gets. One of the reasons for going 383. I plan to use the truck, not sit and stare at it. The paint is there for corrosion protection and for me to identify the vehicle when talking to someone only.

Colton and I got the barn doors mounted last night. Had them lined up perfect and operating with very little effort. I installed the seals this morning. Or, tried to. Several of the plastic push ins wouldn't stay on both doors. Then the ends of the drivers side door needs a pair of push ins that didn't come with the seal.

I will get those push ins when I get a replacement for the one that wouldn't work yesterday. Of course, once the seals were on neither door would come close to closing. I now have them all the way out on the hinges top and bottom and both sides of the hinges. It doesn't look right from the side with the doors out so far from the body. But, they operate very easily compared to the barn doors on the Blue Bomber. Maybe the seals will compress in a few days or weeks.

Since i have tried three lmc seals and had issues with all three. Anyone have another source they know by personal use they think is better?

 

[joshuak]

Here's a recent thread on the subject.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?156233-Which-Brand-of-Door-Glass-Weatherstrip-and-Seals

FWIW seals from 1aauto, were made by Precision.

 

[richingalveston]

Has anyone used the 1aauto for the vent windows. I have a set of lmc rubber for the vent windows sitting on the shelf but because of the bad reviews I have not put them on. The only new seals I need are the vent windows. I used lmc on everything else (blazer) TOP, doors, side windows, with no issues. Yes the windows are tight to go up and down but I added power windows so I have no problems.

I did have to re-glue the driver side glass back to the metal mount. It separated due to the tighter window.
since I have reglued it no issues and the windows have loosened up some with a little time.

your burb looks great. I am going to come that way and look at it when it is done. I am in college station now so it is not that far down the road. I want to look that engine over real good.

 

[joshuak]

For me, the two piece vent seal from 1aauto fit well on the passenger side. It opens and closes fine. Didn't need the drivers side.

X2 on the great looking M1007, great work.

 

[Barrman]

Rich, come on over. We are taking Colton to do a look at A&M Friday. The Cowdog will go back to my class Thursday. The GEP is there as well. No visitation though. I can only share pictures until it all comes home again.

I do hope to have the Cowdog done for the rally next March. If I can sell enough stuff to buy the parts I want that is.

Thanks for the link.