76 Suburban Build

[TheLetterJ]

While you're at it... make sure the roof (starting at the B pillar) is slightly taller AND has the 4 raised ribs running front to back. I've never seen anyone do that on their conversion, but it would make a huge difference in appearance and accuracy.

 

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

While you're at it... make sure the roof (starting at the B pillar) is slightly taller AND has the 4 raised ribs running front to back. I've never seen anyone do that on their conversion, but it would make a huge difference in appearance and accuracy.

Yes sir, already planned that out as well.

Most over on SBG have the correct roof, and I believe the one XJ Machine did here has it as well.


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[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Tiny bit of progress on this rig in the past week or so..

I got the rear window enlarged to match the 1:1, but I’m not sure on how I’m going to do the weather stripping around the window. I’ve made many cuts with styrene but can’t keep them straight, so I’ll probably just 3D print them when the newly ordered CR10 gets here. I just don’t want to keep wasting the styrene. Same goes for the ribs in the roof. I’m not too good at keeping long narrow cuts straight lol.

And as far as body work, I went ahead and hit the front half with a quick coat of primer just to see it all in one color. I think the white styrene kept throwing me off and now I’m a little more confident in my work. Also took a page out of XJmachines book & got the rear wheel wells cut out and flipped around (Driver side on passenger side, and vise versa) didn’t get any pictures of the process though. Definitely not finished sanding yet either[emoji23]

I am back and forth on the rear door windows as well. They look a tad bit too small, what do you guys think?

Thanks for looking!

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[AK KRAWLER]

Man, That is really taking shape!!! Keep up the good work!

Sorry, I won't be much help on the window question, but there will likely be more Chebby guys to answer that one "thumbsup"

On another note regarding my comment and your question on the Centurion Build. I ended up working with the seller on those Bronco bodies and he gave me a little discount. Not much, but enough for me to bite, so I have two of them on the way to be modified once I figure out the actual project they will be used for :lmao:

 

[smc-93]

Tiny bit of progress on this rig in the past week or so..

I got the rear window enlarged to match the 1:1, but I’m not sure on how I’m going to do the weather stripping around the window. I’ve made many cuts with styrene but can’t keep them straight, so I’ll probably just 3D print them when the newly ordered CR10 gets here. I just don’t want to keep wasting the styrene. Same goes for the ribs in the roof. I’m not too good at keeping long narrow cuts straight lol.

And as far as body work, I went ahead and hit the front half with a quick coat of primer just to see it all in one color. I think the white styrene kept throwing me off and now I’m a little more confident in my work. Also took a page out of XJmachines book & got the rear wheel wells cut out and flipped around (Driver side on passenger side, and vise versa) didn’t get any pictures of the process though. Definitely not finished sanding yet either[emoji23]

I am back and forth on the rear door windows as well. They look a tad bit too small, what do you guys think?

Thanks for looking!

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As someone else (slowly) working on a suburban, I think the rear window need to be enlarged slightly.

I'm in the process of slightly shrinking the front windows and slight enlarging the rears.

Since I have to redo the door gaps and weather strips, I figured I might as well reshape the windows, too. To me, the windows on the 1:1 look closer in size, with the rears being slightly smaller, than the spliced blazer leaves you with.

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[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Well, I royally f-ed up…

I had just started on the ‘roof stage’ where I add the roof skins, ribs, etc and everything was going well until I realized the roof skin I glued down was way crooked. In my mind I thought I could just peel it off and sand off the remaining glue. I can tell you now that was a horrible idea. The styrene slurry I mixed up bonded so well It really ate up the roof. In an effort to try and save it, I took a flat blade a tried to peel the glue off and in the process ate up to roof surface even more. I tried patching/covering, it just made the roof bow more. So now I am here with a paper thin roof with a hole in it and no idea where to go next.

I’m tempted to just order two new Blazer bodies and a top and start over, but it’s very discouraging lol. I really want to make sure this body is sturdy and won’t break first rollover, so I don’t want to try and do a ‘quick fix’ and it not last.

With all that being said, this is more than likely going to be shelved for a little bit until I come up with a plan on where to go next.


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[AK KRAWLER]

With all that being said, this is more than likely going to be shelved for a little bit until I come up with a plan on where to go next.

Man, I am really sorry to hear about the struggles. That kind of crap happens to me often and I do exactly what you are doing. Shelve it for a bit, go drive one of my rigs that is up and running, work on a different rig for awhile and then finally get back to fixing the issue.

Keep after it, at least in your mind :lmao:

 

[Goro Majima]

That sucks bro. I'd say get the parts you need again and start over fresh. It sucks to do that and feels like you're throwing money away but at least you know what to do and not to do. If it takes you to start on another build you have and completing it, perhaps that will get the ball rolling on starting this project up again.

 

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

I have decided to at least try and salvage this body before I order two new ones, so here we go.

First task was sanding the roof. Out came the hand sander with 100 grit paper. Doing it by hand was going to take all weekend lol.

And here’s the sanded-ish roof. I’m going to skim the entire roof with the thinnest layer of body filler possible today and go from there. It really shouldn’t need to be any thicker than 1/8”. also going to fill some other areas on the sides while I have it mixed up. You can also see where the hole is the roof was, now patched from the backside for filling.

It’s definitely not an elegant process, but imo it’s at least worth a shot.

Wish me luck!


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[Goro Majima]

It's a start!

 

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

I’m finally to a point on the roof where I’m happy with it! I think it’s came out good and I think it will hold up fine. I don’t plan on bashing this rig so it won’t see a lot of roll overs/high speed crashes.

Next step is some filling/sanding in some spots on the sides and primer. Should have some free time this weekend. My goal is to get the whole body primed Sunday.

Wow, yesterday was 3 months on the body alone!? Man I’m at a snails pace[emoji23]

 

[Gula]

Great build, and progress! Curious though, why didn't you use the rest of the A pillar for the rear window frame/water deflector, not really sure what it's called.

 

[twade984]

This thing is giving me flash backs to doing drywall. Never again.

Good progress!


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[smc-93]

This thing is giving me flash backs to doing drywall. Never again.

Good progress!


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I'm one of those weirdos that doesn't mind doing drywall.

However, as someone else who's started a similar double Blazer Suburban, the amount of body work required quickly got overwhelming to me. I ended up going with a printed '89 instead.

My RC4WD Suburban is currently tucked away under my workbench to be finished at a later date. Whenever I do finish it, I'll end up using it on a different chassis. "Stock" 2wd IFS maybe? Or maybe something else nobodies (likely) done before.

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[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Okay finally some progress on the old Burban. Sorry everyone that was following along!

Not too long after the last update I got the windows sanded and the window trim installed. I also got the roof ribs installed. Not perfectly round on the corners but it’ll do. I also got the seams filled/sanded along with the rest of the body.

And then I decided to start on the chassis. Using a TRX6 chassis rail with K44s, I fabbed up some rear leaf mounts and skid out of sheet metal. Once I assembled it I didn’t like it, it felt too clunky.

I had zero hope for it due to the leaf mounts that I wasn’t happy with and then I thought about driveshaft angles and mounting things, so I decided to make my own chassis rail out of 1 1/2” x 1/16” thick aluminum stock.

Much better. Perfect shackle angles and just a tiny bit of upward angle will help with the driveshaft clearance & angles. This chassis rail also doesn’t stick down below the body like the TRX6 rail would have, so I’m pretty happy with it especially being my first time messing with aluminum. Do I have a custom build now? Lol.

Now I just have to cut out the other rail, spend way too much time sanding/shaping and prime/paint them. I was going to try to leave them raw but the finish on the faces aren’t great so I’ll go ahead and paint them. Hopefully I can get to the other rail next weekend.

 

[twade984]

Coming along nicely!


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[high plains drifter]

Man, that body has been thru hell and hasn't even hit the trail yet! I think it looks damn good.. I know it's a ton of work but it's really coming along. Impressive that you've been able to successfully save it.

Nice work on the rails too. Custom? I'd say so.

 

[Goro Majima]

Coming along nicely. Doing your own rails looks like it'll pay off well. Can't wait til this long thing is done [emoji16]

 

[B-MOW71]

This is the first that I've seen this thread. Looking good SLN!

Following along to see the progress. Your chassis looks like it will work out better than the Traxxas.

 

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Man, that body has been thru hell and hasn't even hit the trail yet! I think it looks damn good.. I know it's a ton of work but it's really coming along. Impressive that you've been able to successfully save it.

Nice work on the rails too. Custom? I'd say so.

Thank you HPD, means a lot. Definitely a lot of work but worth it imo.

This is the first that I've seen this thread. Looking good SLN!



Following along to see the progress. Your chassis looks like it will work out better than the Traxxas.

Thanks for following along B-MOW. I sure hope it does!

Coming along nicely!


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Thanks buddy!

Coming along nicely. Doing your own rails looks like it'll pay off well. Can't wait til this long thing is done [emoji16]

Let’s hope so lol. I think with a coat of black I’ll be happier with them. I can’t wait either! I’m excited to start assembling the chassis.