Suburban 400 Find in Florida

[Racinbob 11,030]

This will be it for working on this thing until we get back from Indiana. I’m happy with the way it turned out considering my limited resources I have now. Stealing the idea from other members here I’ll be fabricating a gas tank stand when we get back. With some luck I may not have to extend the filler neck. I need to grind the straps off the hood and do a mock up to get the right dimensions. 

I learned a little thing. I noticed that the grease zerk holes weren’t tapped all the way through. So I went ahead and ran a tap through them. Oh oh! Even the shortest of zerks are too long and become a set screw on the shafts. I think they were tapped short for a reason. I said to myself “No problem, I’ll just grind a little bit off themâ€.  Yet another not so bright idea. I did manage to find the little ball and spring though. ….not that I needed them. So a little stainless washer and some Loctite 271 saved the day. I’m not doing the upper steering shaft hole yet. I’m using that hole to pin the shaft in place in case I need to remove the stand again but I don’t think I’ll need to.

 

The gas tank, fenders and tool box cleaned up nicely in the e-tank. I just hit them with some primer to keep the rust away until I can get back on them. They'd rust quickly in this 4 gazillion percent humidity.

[km3h 543]

You are looking very good.

[Racinbob 11,030]

Back home from the beautiful Indiana weather. I've got my plan for a frame mounted gas tank stand in my little head. One thing bugs me. Once I mount the stand and tank what about taking the hood off and on? It has to move to the rear to run up the steering column. I'm thinking maybe I can turn it to the side and get it off that way. Dunno. I'm going to build a mock-up and try it out. Here's the hood straps. I was hoping to grind them off today but a couple other projects came up. The rear strap looks like it's got some JB Weld on it and it's cracked loose. From the top I'd say I've got a lot better hood to work with than a lot of folks. There's some bondo on it and one small drilled hole has been patched. I'll know more once it's stripped. Even with my limited body work abilities I think I can get this looking nice. When taking the pictures I started having second thoughts about needing a tank stand. I kinda want to build one (fun) but that rear strap could be saved and I might be better off.

[stevasaurus 22,678]

Welcome back Bob.  I kind of like the tank stand idea...because of what you stated.  You would be wearing a jacket today up here.    It is a day like we get at Scott's M&G in October.

[19richie66 17,497]

Welcome back to the sweat box, Bob. Tractors looking great. If you need the strap rewelded to the hood, offer still stands. Bring it down and ill zap it for you , unless you got somewhere closer to you that would do it. I learned something new today. Didnt know they were attached to the hood.

[Racinbob 11,030]

Thanks Steve. I did see where it was a lot cooler today. We got lucky going the week we did.

 

Richie, I appreciate that. If I decide to use the straps I'll take you up on it. I want to get down your way anyways. I haven't had a welded since we moved here but even if I did I'm not sure I'd trust myself on that thin metal. If, after doing a mock up, I find that I can still finagle the hood off I'm likely going that route. I used up a lot of brain cells thinking about how I want to do it and I don't have many left to waste.

[Racinbob 11,030]

I did some grinding on the hood this morning. The PO must have been pretty good with bondo, not JB Weld like I first thought. The bondo was the only thing hiding this damage. I knew the bottom of the hood was cracked where it attaches to the frame but I didn't know about the big hole. I'm amazed it held as well as it did. I think the 1/4" paint helped The plan right now is to meet up with Richie and watch his magic.

[19richie66 17,497]

I don't know about magic, but we are going to try and get you fixed up. I have some sheet metal if we need to patch that big hole in the bottom. A little plasma,lil bit of electricity and some finger crossing.....we should be good.

[Racinbob 11,030]

A big        to Richie (19richie66) for his work on my hood yesterday. We had tried to get together several times but issues kept coming up that had to take priority. I’m as happy as a squirrel in a nut house with the results. The repairs look great and are very solid only requiring minimal work once I get the thing completely stripped. It sure feels good having it done right. Without Richies help I would have had to resort to JB Weld and cross my fingers hoping it would hold. The stripping will begin today and I’m thinking within a month I should be able to slap some paint on it since it should be getting cooler and dryer outside. I also got to see Richie’s other projects including his Ratitude build. There’s some great engineering and fabrication on that tractor and it’s going to be really cool. Hopefully it will make it to the big show next June .

 

I have made a little progress on the frame. A few more parts are installed. The tool box and fenders are primed and waiting on final painting. I need to get busy on the front axle and wheels so I can get it rolling.

[Molon_Labe 731]

Lookin' good Bob!

[jackhammer 546]

Your doing a fine job Bob

[19richie66 17,497]

Pleasure to finally meet you Bob. Glad you are happy with the results. As soon as you left, heaven opened up and it rained the rest of the day. I wasnt feeling too good so I went and took a nap. Think the heat got to me. Cant wait to see this one done.

[stevasaurus 22,678]

That weld job looks fantastic.  Glad you guys finally got together...wish I could have been there for that. 

[Racinbob 11,030]

I wish you could have been too Steve. The best thing about doing this rebuild is all the help, discussion and meeting some of the members here either via technology or in person.

 

It was a pleasure meeting you too Richie. The first thing Nancy asked me when she walked in the door last night was if I got the hood done. Then I had to take her back out to the garage to show her. She said to thank you again for the pot. She likes. It will make a great addition out on our pool deck. I've got it all cleaned up and will get it painted this week. I'll post a pic when it's done. We much prefer unique items rather than mass produced. I hear you about the heat. I came home, showered and laid down to relax a bit. It won't be too much longer and we'll get some relief.

[stevasaurus 22,678]

You mean to say that you did not have the hood on the dinning room table waiting for her to see it??? 

[wrightorchid 261]

I like your workbench/stand.  

[Racinbob 11,030]

I must be slipping. I never thought of that cuz I would have done it. It never ceases to amaze folks how long I've survived after some of the stunts I've pulled.

I like your workbench/stand.  

It's high tech. Furniture dolly and some scrap wood that I had laying around.

[km3h 543]

Ritchie is a master craftsman. Wish he lived somewhere around here. You are doing a great job on that restoration. I also like the assembly bench. Neat idea. Now will it fit the next Wheel Horse you restore. One is never enough.

[19richie66 17,497]

I dont know about the master craftsman title. I like building things and try to do the best I can with what I have. I like things right, at least as right as I can get it. Thanks though.

[Racinbob 11,030]

I finally got the hood stripped so I could get the full picture of what was needed. I think I'm in really good shape. The biggest challenge will be getting the top nice and flat. You can see the situation by the angle of the picture. My son in law has a lot of body tools so I'll be raiding his tool chest. I also have a new repop belt guard on the way.

 

The spiffy pot in the background is something Richie makes. He recycles spent freon tanks and makes various things. My wife bought a fresh pineapple yesterday and made some white chocolate covered chunks. I'm in the process of rooting the top and if I'm successful it will find a home in this pot.

[Geno 1,929]

Nice work you're doing there Bob. 

[19richie66 17,497]

Hood looks good Bob. That brown thing in the back looks familiar, too

[Racinbob 11,030]

Thanks guys. Fortunately I didn't discover any more surprises when I got the excessively thick paint off. It looked like the PO used Rusty red oxide primer under the red and that was pretty tough. Richie, as we already knew, your welds will only require minor touch up and there's a couple other small dings that will be easy to fix. I hope my wife likes it because it's sitting in the computer room right now to protect the bare metal. The blue barrel worked great by doing it in stages.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Racinbob

[Racinbob 11,030]

Not much to add right now. Other things have kept me too busy. I did get the tool box and seat spring installed as well as the front end parts painted. I'll post pics when I get a little more done. This came in the mail today. Purchased direct rather than Ebay which saved a little. He has both styles for Suburbans as well as RJ's. Also RJ 25/35 pulleys and reverse disks. I'm real happy with the guard. I don't know if I'll have to do any mods to it so I'll wait to paint it until I get to that point.

[AMC RULES 37,124]

Bob, did the belt guard come from Norm's toys?

http://www.normstoys.com/decalsandmanuals.htm