Searching for My Dad's 1979 Chevy Suburban

[TheHoundsman]

Congratulations on the purchase, I bet you’re stoked to be moving forward now! Thanks for the backstory and the pics; that’s awesome! A few years ago, my dad gave me his electrician’s repair tool box, which I remember from my earliest days. Has zero earthly financial value, and it’s probably my most cherished possession, so I totally “get” the tackle box idea!

My Dad was an electrician and used to drag my brother and I around on all his job’s. You have never seen two kids better at holding a flashlight. This is my dad’s “pouch” his original eventually fell apart but he this one for the last 20 or so years.

 

[TheHoundsman]

These pics are so cool, your old Burb looks like our 79 except ours was a C10 Silverado. But color combo was the same! Glad to hear you found one to recreate it, that Burb looks good. I remember that color combo too, but in my recollection the dark brown and cream was more common.

Yeah the color itself is a nice combo but once all the bonds and body work are done it will need a paint job anyway so I’m going to go back to the dark brown and cream

 

[TheHoundsman]

Hah! My '78 C10 Silverado has almost all the same body dents. Good lookin' 'burb. Just on the surface, I'd ditch the hood pins and fix the exhaust. Get it where's it's a comfortable daily then do stuff incrementally so you can still enjoy it. I've had so many projects sit because they weren't "right". Then a lot of Roadkill and Freiburger's mantra "Don't get it right, just get it running" helped me a lot. Now I get to enjoy my toys.

I love that! That was exactly my thought check the engine check the transmission (I hate that tailpipe) and slowly move on from there. Additionally you are 100% right hood pins are definitely coming off!

 

[Truck82]

Congratulations! That looks like a nice find!

 

[Grit dog]

Yeah the color itself is a nice combo but once all the bonds and body work are done it will need a paint job anyway so I’m going to go back to the dark brown and cream

Congrats on finding one.
I know you don’t have to do a manual trans now, but fwiw, swapping the trans, all in, is far less expensive than paint and body work on that truck.
May want to sit down before you read the estimate for that, presuming you’re not diy. And be prepared first for what you actually want.
Color change on any vehicle if done properly is far more involved. Color change on a suburban is not only more involved but ALOT more paint, assuming the paint on the interior and firewall could be saved with a same color job.

 

[squaredeal91]

My Dad was an electrician and used to drag my brother and I around on all his job’s. You have never seen two kids better at holding a flashlight. This is my dad’s “pouch” his original eventually fell apart but he this one for the last 20 or so years.

My Grandpa practically raised me and was an electrician as well by trade. Graduated in 1951 from electricians school and got these then and Used them every day. Now I use them whenever I can. That soldering gun really works good and so does the wiggy. And his pouch there. Not his original pouch. He was not a mechanic but he was really good at repurposing and rigging things. He used to make me toys when I was little. Still have

 

[TheHoundsman]

Congrats on finding one.
I know you don’t have to do a manual trans now, but fwiw, swapping the trans, all in, is far less expensive than paint and body work on that truck.
May want to sit down before you read the estimate for that, presuming you’re not diy. And be prepared first for what you actually want.
Color change on any vehicle if done properly is far more involved. Color change on a suburban is not only more involved but ALOT more paint, assuming the paint on the interior and firewall could be saved with a same color job.

Thanks that is helpful. I am lucky that my daughters Father-in-law owns a body shop so a lot of it will be done at cost so that should help. But no doubt I will be careful.

 

[TheHoundsman]

My Grandpa practically raised me and was an electrician as well by trade. Graduated in 1951 from electricians school and got these then and Used them every day. Now I use them whenever I can. That soldering gun really works good and so does the wiggy. And his pouch there. Not his original pouch. He was not a mechanic but he was really good at repurposing and rigging things. He used to make me toys when I was little. Still have

I have the exact same soldering gun and a very similar voltage tester. Love the pics. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Grit dog]

Thanks that is helpful. I am lucky that my daughters Father-in-law owns a body shop so a lot of it will be done at cost so that should help. But no doubt I will be careful.

That’s a great hookup for sure.
Something else to keepin mind, working under the assumption of a budget that is not limitless.
A great deal of work in autobody is parts removal/replacement and very basic semi-skilled prep. The labor to paint it is literally the cheapest part of the operation. Because even though more skill and specialized equipment is involved, it’s quick,relatively speaking.
Things you can do for free with basic hand tools and a lot of elbow grease:
Remove trim, windows, handles, bumpers and grille etc. easy and as long as you bag n tag the hardware, easy to reassemble.
Initial sanding or stripping. Time consuming but doesn’t get any easier. Just sand, scrape, strip etc.
Fixing small dents and dings. Anything that doesn’t need actual hammer and dolly type work or cutting and patching is literally a can of bondo a putty knife and the same sanding block or sander you already have from sanding the entire vehicle. And it’s easy. And if you mess it up, sand it down and mix up another $1 worth of bondo.
Replacing entire panels, a fender, a kinked hood etc. also easy, basic, and basic tools.
Priming and blocking. Of course it’s gonna require a compressor and gun, but it’s great practice. Because you as long as the prep is good, you can’t screw it up. Runs, sags, rough sports who cares. You’re sanding 80% of it back off anyways. Bugs, dust n dirt, painting in the driveway? If the weather is decent, again, doesn’t matter. It’s getting sanded.
point being, aside from technical bodywork, kinked panels, rust repair, etc, you can do the vast majority of the prep work yourself. And you have a bonus phone a friend for advice which will save time and rework.
Just a few thoughts and how I approach a project like this. Hell, I’d be money ahead to pay someone else to spray it too. Only reason I don’t is I enjoy doing it. (Even though I end up color sanding and cutting way more than if the paint came out of a pros gun!

 

[TheHoundsman]

That’s a great hookup for sure.
Something else to keepin mind, working under the assumption of a budget that is not limitless.
A great deal of work in autobody is parts removal/replacement and very basic semi-skilled prep. The labor to paint it is literally the cheapest part of the operation. Because even though more skill and specialized equipment is involved, it’s quick,relatively speaking.
Things you can do for free with basic hand tools and a lot of elbow grease:
Remove trim, windows, handles, bumpers and grille etc. easy and as long as you bag n tag the hardware, easy to reassemble.
Initial sanding or stripping. Time consuming but doesn’t get any easier. Just sand, scrape, strip etc.
Fixing small dents and dings. Anything that doesn’t need actual hammer and dolly type work or cutting and patching is literally a can of bondo a putty knife and the same sanding block or sander you already have from sanding the entire vehicle. And it’s easy. And if you mess it up, sand it down and mix up another $1 worth of bondo.
Replacing entire panels, a fender, a kinked hood etc. also easy, basic, and basic tools.
Priming and blocking. Of course it’s gonna require a compressor and gun, but it’s great practice. Because you as long as the prep is good, you can’t screw it up. Runs, sags, rough sports who cares. You’re sanding 80% of it back off anyways. Bugs, dust n dirt, painting in the driveway? If the weather is decent, again, doesn’t matter. It’s getting sanded.
point being, aside from technical bodywork, kinked panels, rust repair, etc, you can do the vast majority of the prep work yourself. And you have a bonus phone a friend for advice which will save time and rework.
Just a few thoughts and how I approach a project like this. Hell, I’d be money ahead to pay someone else to spray it too. Only reason I don’t is I enjoy doing it. (Even though I end up color sanding and cutting way more than if the paint came out of a pros gun!

Thanks that is fantastic advise. I am actually looking forward to doing lot of what you described starting with a really good interior clean up and trying to get a proper baseline for what needs to be done and moving on to what I would like to have done. I’m super excited to dig into it. Interior is rough but I knew that going in as well. Now I just need to get it here.

 

[TheHoundsman]

Interior

 

[TheHoundsman]

More interior

 

[Grit dog]

^ Pretty darn decent interior for a $3k running driving lifted 4x4 burb!
About 90% original and 60% saveable.
PS they make the little covers for the door pull straps with the filigree work on them to match the door trim….unbelievably.

 

[Strick]

I love that it has a bench up front and no console. That will make it easy to "cop a feel" on the Mrs. when shifting gears! There's a reason why it's called an "*****" seat... slide over baby!

HS

 

[TheHoundsman]

I love that it has a bench up front and no console. That will make it easy to "cop a feel" on the Mrs. when shifting gears! There's a reason why it's called an "*****" seat... slide over baby!

HS

Let’s not forget it was my Mom and Dad driving the original