Hello all.

[jeremy.farlow]

I've seen those... I also remember a product that was an intermediate device to show spark... basically let one test for good/bad plugs without having to pull the plug.

Thankfully, in the 21st century, we have digital tools!


That's a screenshot from my iPhone!

Advanced Tuning and Gauge Displays are where most of the action happens, Diagnostic Mode is go/no-go on the primary inputs. Injectors, TPI, O2 sensor, MAF, etc. Thankfully I haven't had to use the diagnostic mode features yet.

That said, as good as the Edelbrock system is, mine still seems to have a "ghost in the machine"... that ultimately makes initial startups, especially restarts... act like a poorly-tuned carburetor. More often on a warm/hot startup it will require one foot covering the throttle and one covering the brake, until **POOF** it clears out and runs like a dream.

I'm playing with a couple of things, but I think the system trends too much to over-rich. Taking initial startup fuel away seems to be working, but the system seems still to give too much fuel with the base settings for the  fuel map that works best overall. I also put one step hotter spark plug in, which also seems to be helping.

As soon as it's running good, the system runs GOOD!

Up to 50-60 not much keeps up, but the truck does not leave hard enough to keep up with a hellcat though. Ask me how I know.

Photo dump:









The handling needs some attention. I'm gonna start with some shocks, but I think new front springs will also be in short order. After that I imagine I'll be removing a leaf from the rear...

The fun never ends... until it comes time to fill the whale back up...




Be safe




Jeremy

[jeremy.farlow]

The details are in another thread under the suspension heading, but I took some time with the white whale today. New shocks, front springs and sway-bar bushings. I wound up having to replace the rotors as well. Apparently the brake pads I had for the Wilwood four-piston calipers I'm running are... **ahem** not suitable for the application...

So I've got more suitable pads on the way, but the truck handles. So. Much. Better!!

It doesn't fall into left turns anymore.

Compare this front-end picture to the one above:




The control arms are sitting at better angles and seem to be at the same angle as the other one is.

I wasn't able to get to the new transmission pan today, so I think that'll be a job for the weekend:



I'll let you guys know about my ATF bath when it happens...




Be safe



Jeremy

[jeremy.farlow]

Whelp... I managed to not take too much of an ATF bath today... I figured: screw it, I'm replacing the transmission pan, I'll just poke a hole in it. So I drilled an about a 1/4" hole and let the fluid drain out that way. The fluid looked really, really good. Used, but definitely not burnt. No chunks came out, nothing troubling at all and the transmission internals looked just as nice as before.

The increased capacity pan has a drain plug... which I'm sure I like right now. I'm thinking I'll make a transmission service part of a yearly thing from here out on the truck.

I will say this, if my truck were 4WD... and I planned on USING said 4WD regularly... I'm not sure I could recommend the bigger pan... it would definitely be the first thing to hit with a long wheelbase, like the suburban chassis. If I'm correct, this chassis would be the same as the C/K 20...

In place:


There isn't much need for pictures, but the new brake pads came in... the ones recommended by Wilwood as being far more appropriate for my application. There was NOTICEABLE wear on the rotors I put on Wednesday already, so hopefully the more appropriate pads eliminate that. They are surely not as noisy.

Lastly, I've had some emblems sitting around for a while. The vast expanse of white along the slab sides of the whale needed something to break it up. The 2500 emblems are an eBay special, the Chevrolet emblem is apparently NOT correct for my truck, but is what   sold me as correct. It took some modifications to make work and it won't surprise me if it falls off. I didn't skimp on 3M VHB tape, but only about an 1/8" around the perimeter of the emblem is actually doing anything.:





I also cleaned the front wheels... from the state of the old rotors I guess the grey nastiness to be almost equal parts brake pad dust and cast-iron rotor filings. Hopefully the wheels will stay a little cleaner with the more street oriented pad compound... here's the truck as I lock up and get ready to head home tonight:



This week has been one of the absolute best for me and my squarebody yet!!! I feel like I'm making some really great gains in drivability with a truck that's been super drivable!!! Hopefully I am running out of things to do in that regard. It's been a joy, and better with improvements like shocks and springs.



Be safe




Jeremy

[JohnnyPopper]

Looks nice and tight! Glad you're reward came through.

If she were my whale, I would take my buffer pad and have my way with her...

[Shifty]

I'll second the deep trans pan on a 4wd....I'm now running a stocker, after cracking the deep version.  I would run a skid-plate if ever putting the deep one back on.

[jeremy.farlow]

If she were my whale, I would take my buffer pad and have my way with her...

It wouldn't make it any better. It's about time for a wash, but the Raptor maybe wasn't my best idea. The finish is rougher than the worst paint, so the thing always looks dirty.

I also wish I had made any attempt to insulate/sound dampen things.

I imagine I'll rectify both transgressions, but not anytime soon.



Be safe


Jeremy

[JohnnyPopper]

You used Raptor on the exterior? How did I miss that, it looks smooth.

Well if you get a round tuit, stay away from Dynamat or it's cheesier product Hushmat when it comes to sound control.

They dry out and are rendered worthless. And to add insult to injury, they are glued to your surfaces.

Check out Second Skin for a quality  product.

[jeremy.farlow]

Yeah. I sprayed the Raptor-liner through an HVLP at moderate pressure. The finish is a lot smoother than it would have otherwise been... but paint... it is not.

It collects... all of it. Whatever it is.

I seem to like the shade that oak trees provide from the looks of things.

Back in 2020 I had the truck stripped bare. Doors, hood and tailgate off. I like the way that raptor went on the interior. Sprayed with their gun, using their instructions.

If I had it to do again I would still spray the whole stripped thing with a 2k primer. I would still spray all of the interior with the raptor, using their gun. After that, regular paint, sprayed via HVLP for the exterior and sound deadening inside of every single panel before I put it back together.

I've used Dynamat in the past. It's bloody expensive stuff, but works. I've also used Killzmat in the past and it seems to work just as well at roughly 30-40% the cost of the Dynamat.

If/when I pull the truck apart to repaint... because that will be the reason I strip it fully again...

Well... as part of that project I am gonna put cab lights on the roof and sound-dampening/insulation on all the sheet metal.

But yeah, long story short, the whole truck is painted in raptor liner and it isn't the greatest exterior treatment. It picks up all of the crap.



Be safe




Jeremy

[jeremy.farlow]

So I just took the longest "continuous" drive I've done in my suburban. 60 miles each way from my shop to my painters shop. Despite driving the truck 3-4 times per week for the last 4-5 months, most of my driving is 15-25 miles, combined freeway and surface streets. In combined driving I get an honest 10 mpg, and can eke it out closer to 11, provided I stay away from hammering the gas leaving a stop... which is something o have trouble doing. There's so much torque in this motor, it's hard to pussyfoot away from a stop.

I digress, I filled the tank before hitting the interstate, ran 75 mph into the wind heading out and ran closer to an indicated 80 with the wind at my back on the return trip. Just for fun I filled the tank up right before the shop and was AMAZED when the 118 miles I had traveled only required 8.64 gallons to bring back to full. That's better than 13.5 mpg!!!

Aside from some faulty wiring with the electric water pump the truck has been dead reliable an a lot of fun to drive. No one seems to expect such a large vehicle to be able to get away from traffic like this one can!!

Which is awesome, as I was ready for the project stage to be over, also means I can use the truck as I had originally hoped to, as kind of a 6500# business card. I am officially throwing out my own shingle this year. I am not certain of what kind of work will become my bread and butter, ideally I will be able to do high end, custom work like cars and trucks and top-flight home appointments, but I have a feeling there will be more fence and gate construction and repair as well as general repair in my future, while I build up to bigger, better and more prestigious work.

I've worked on a couple of signs that will be going up, hopefully by this weekend:





The letters were cut from a special steel called: "Cor-Ten". Cor-Ten was originally developed as an abrasion-resistant alloy, but has found its true calling for its antioxidant properties. Cor-ten will rust, but only on a surface level. It doesn't pot and should never rust through, and typically forms a very uniform, pleasant orange oxide layer. Unfortunately that takes forever, so I've been doing what I can to speed the process up:



There's plenty of fun examples of my work on my website as well as on my JF_Fabrication instagram page:



I don't foresee changing much to my suburban, at least there's nothing I can think of at the moment, so this post will likely slip down under other people's projects, but thanks to all of you for the support, kind words and suggestions you've all given getting me to this point. This community is awesome, and an incredible resource, thanks to the hosts, moderators and community as a whole. I'm quite happy to be able to just enjoy my squarebody, but would absolutely love to help anyone out there with theirs!



Be safe




Jeremy

[JohnnyPopper]

Wow, a thread that is just days under 5 years!

Congrats Jeremy! Your beast is a great example of sticking with it.

Many miles and smiles from here on out...

[jeremy.farlow]

Hi guys.

Am I the only one looking back on the good old days five years ago exactly???

I'm finally driving my truck. It's real good.

2020 gas prices wouldn't make it worse, that's for sure. The truck gets a really honest 10 mpg. Better even on long freeway jaunts, with plenty of "legs"... it cruises at 80 real good. With five people!!!

I reread this entire post last week. Crazy. Just under 1/8 of my life. Beyond just me finally getting a squarebody suburban running, so much stuff has happened.

We all lived through a pandemic!! Once in a lifetime stuff, let's hope.

I bought a Ford.



I got married.
(Snack bar and marriage certificates were in the came hallway, you can see which one is more important)

The missus bought a Porsche last weekend and I am here for that as well:


I've been daily-driving the suburban since last October or so. It hasn't left me stranded yet, but we came close last Monday:


Current job has me going from OTP East Atlanta to distant OTP on the west side. The picture was on the return trip. The truck backfired a couple of times and lost engine power entirely.

At the junction of the Eisenhower Interstate East-West road and the perimeter Interstate road. Not the place to attempt a tow... or getting back across traffic to continue east.

After the first projected $300 tow I decided to collect myself and consider what was happening. Why did the truck backfire through the exhaust?!? We've got GDOT HERO trucks here. One showed up and gave me an excuse to stop being mad at the situation and collect myself. Why the backfires?!?  Timing... hopefully ignition.


Yeah. Thankfully I had some superglue in the console, as well as a bit of stovepipe wire. I caught a break in traffic just after I made my repair. Despite the issues I've had with Summit Racing, detailed in this very thread, they had me a replacement 14 hours later. I have yet to install it. I think my ad hoc repair will last for a bit.

What a wild, strange trip.




Be Safe



Jeremy

[zieg85]

I had one a few years back.  I couldn't get past the 8-10 mpg with the 460 but it sure was pretty nice for being a former farm truck.  The biggest reason was the plastics, namely door panels, were rattling and shy of running a pole barn screw in it there wasn't any affordable options.  The tabs that held the plastic clips where brittle and most were broken.

[JohnnyPopper]

I have an older motor head friend, 80's or more, who stated that by advancing the timing chain by one tooth you will increase your mileage by better than the 8-10 mpg so common with the venerable 460.

Not a Ford guy, but have no reason to doubt him.

[zieg85]

I have an older motor head friend, 80's or more, who stated that by advancing the timing chain by one tooth you will increase your mileage by better than the 8-10 mpg so common with the venerable 460.

Not a Ford guy, but have no reason to doubt him.

I sold it and bought Chevy with a 8.1 6 speed.  It got horrible mileage as well but nothing rattled inside.  Rode really nice for being a 2500HD

[jeremy.farlow]

I love my brown truck. I'm the second owner and know the whole story. It's a good truck, but I had no preconceptions about economy with it. I was able to get fairly consistent 10 mpg... and even as high as 12 on a roadtrip. That was the truck bone stock, save aluminum wheels with effectively 31.5" tires.

I made myself an exhaust and put 33" tires (285/75r16) on the truck and haven't been able to get much better than 9... also the tripmeter doesn't work anymore, so it's all an estimate. It's probably not as good as 9 a lot these days.

My suburban has the same tires, with 3:73 gears to the Ford's 4:10's. Best to keep the Ford under 70 to even manage 9 mpg. The suburban still gets not quite 11 mpg, which is honestly better than I could have ever hoped when I started the project. As with the Ford... I knew what it was.

Truthfully I never expected to like the Ford as much as I do. Initially I bought it for my now-wife as a replacement for her truck. I was driving hers and got t-boned. She used the brown Ford for her truck needs (horses) while we put her truck back together.

And I made the brown truck mine. I'm still seething a bit at the moment. I came back to my shop the other day to discover someone had stolen my ammo can with my straps in it out of the back of the truck:

I guess I should be glad they didn't take my oil as well. Or the funnel... or the antifreeze bottle full of water.
All of it has been back there so long I guess I just figured no one would ever take it. I've had a jug of oil disappear probably...
Somehow I just don't see the person willing to steal an ammo can full of ratchet straps ever having need of either. Definitely not the straps.

I've got some new ammo cans on the way.

And plenty of straps.

And now I'll have to bolt the stupid ammo can to the thing already bolted to the truck bed. Thanks dumbass thieves.



Jeremy