The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Archived Journals 1967 GMC Suburban "the Kogai"

I found this gem on the "Market Place" a couple weeks ago (Nov 2019). Mrs. Rod said "NO WAY" are you bringing that piece of junk to our house. I was somewhat dejected, since I've been hankering to get a new project. The PO sent me a message a week later saying he dropped the price to $2000.
I asked Mrs. Rod if I could get it, and after a bit of hemming and hawing, it is now in my driveway. Mrs. Rod is Japanese, so I figured that I better give it a Japanese name. Kogai means suburban in Japanese. The Kogai started its life as one of 120, 3/4 Ton K20 4x4 Suburban's built in 1967. The PO replaced the body with an apparent 1968 body tub and absconded with the right front fender, inner fender and hood hinge.

Condition as bought on November 24, 2019.
Not currently running. Engine turns by hand (and a strap wrench).
Rusty quarter panels. two flat tires. Rusty front floors.
Many loose parts; seat, steering column, the entire body, hood. Front bumper is (bent) and off the truck. One rear hatch support is loose. Cowl off. Wipers off. Right exhaust manifold is off. Drivers door hangs down a bit (along with the wonky latch).
Missing parts: Right front inner and out fenders, one hood hinge, rear seats, jack and handle, air cleaner lid wing nut, rear bumper, gas tank, ignition switch. Door locks. keys.
Broken parts: Both front door latches and handles are wonky. Left rear window broken. Windshield cracked.

Components:
Trim level: It looks pretty basic, no extra chrome on the sides, metal inside door panels.
Engine: Is out of a 68 Nova or Chevelle 275HP 327. The engine suffix is T??09EE Vin code next to suffix is 1???09230 (it's hard to see because I'm afraid the loose hood will fall on my head). Casting number 3914660.
Heads: Camel hump 8917291 GM4.
Transmission: 4 speed Manual SM420.
Transfer Case: (According to PO) is a Rockwell T-221. (See picture).
Rear End: Eaton ?? Bolts.
Front Differential: Unknown.

Replacement parts:
24 Nov 2019 -- 68 Right front fender, two door handles, door hinges, this came with a w/spare 68 left front fender, cowl, another bent front bumper, a grill, and a bucket of loose parts.
Door Locks.
Key.
Emblems.

25 Nov 2019 -- Inner fender (wheel house).

27 Nov 2019 -- 72 bed trailer w/ 3/4 ton axle, two nice tires and a rear bumper.
I found that my radiator support is missing quite a bit of metal under the battery box. I'll be using the one I got with the 68 front clip.
I found a set of 2004 Chevy alloy rims tonight and will pick them up in the AM.

A friend of mines mother had a '68 Caprice with a 327. Another friends dad had a '68 Suburban with a 307. That was back in the mid seventies. Looks like a fun project.

John

And you told me you were a Marine now I am wondering.

November 27, 2019. I dusted off 15 inches of snow, pulled back the tarp and did a bit of exploring.

The engine suffix code is definitely "EE". I can't get to the block part number to verify if it's a 327 or 350.
I found the radiator support is bent and rusted out under the battery box. I'll be doing a minor repair and paint to the spare I got with the 68 front clip.
I poked the exhaust manifold back where it belongs after chasing the threads. I need to acquire a set of studs before I put the final install on it.
The starter to battery wire was missing, so I bought a new one.
I thought I lucked out when I found an ignition switch key under the radiator support, but it no worky.
I wasted two cans of cheap paint on the previously blue, then orange and now white right front fender. I'll pound out a few dents whilst waiting for the replacement wheel house to arrive.

I picked up the 72 bed trailer this evening. It is beat up a bit which is to be expected. It has some gnarly tires on it though. It has the 16.5 inch split rims. I'll use them to roll the Kogai around on until I get it running in a satisfactory manner, then put on a set of mid 2000's alloy rims that I just bought.

Hi Ron, I AM a Marine!

November 28 - 30, 2019.

I picked up the 04+ wheels this morning and test fit them on the rear. The offset appears to be a bit different than the wheels (not stock) that were on it).

29th. The new wheel house appeared on my front porch. It is made in taiwan, but feels pretty good. I'll test fit it in a few daze.

30th. The new key switch came in yesterday and I installed it today. I got under the dash. OMG!... what a mess. There are NO fuses in the fuse box. There are connectors hanging all over the place.

I installed the battery cable and the solenoid wire to the starter. Re-wired the distributor (it's an HEI), I had to hot wire from the ignition switch to the distributor battery connection. My spare battery was run down, but it did kick the starter. I'll let the battery charge at 2 amps all night and see what happens in the morning.

December 1, 2019.

I finished bolting the exhaust pipe back to the manifold, which has one hole stripped out. I put in a longer fresh stud with a nut on top.
The engine starts and runs! I had to "borrow" a fresh battery and used my Jeep to jump it.

December 2, 2019.

I changed a couple of the hard cracked fuel hoses and plumbed in a temporary "fuel cell". The engine cranks right up and purrs like a kitten, an angry kitten.
A coupe lbs of mouse nest and poop came out of the exhaust pipes! There was another nest inside the bell housing.

I was able to make it drive forward and then in reverse under its own power. I almost rammed my jeep! The brakes no worky.

December 3, 2019.

I flushed and bled the front brakes. There was a lot of black goop in the master cylinder. I used half a bottle of fluid before it started coming out somewhat clean. Apparently, I'll be replacing the master cylinder and brake cylinders before it's on the road. I have a set of new hoses inbound as well, since they definitely need to be changed. The front brake shoes look nearly new.

I found that the clutch linkage was missing the half round doo-hickey that fits into the end of the clutch arm. I popped in a suitably sized nut until I can locate the proper piece. The clutch seems to work just fine. The disk looks fairly new. (Update: I found the doo-hickey for the clutch arm in the box of parts 8 Dec).

I spent about an hour in class today drafting up a "to do" list, since the instructor was just reviewing the semester (non-testable information at that). The list is almost three pages long and I'm not done yet.

December 4, 2019.

The new brake hoses came in right on time. I got the rear hose replaced with no problems, then bled out all the nastiness inside the rear portion of the brake system.

Glad to hear you got it running. 68' was the last year for the 327, it would be great if that were the engine you have. I have always liked the 3 door Burbs and really like the 67' and 68' front end. Lots of work ahead of you, I'll be following.

December 5-10, 2019.

I am striving to work on The Kogai at least 15 minutes every day. I've been sanding scratches and beating the dents out of the replacement (1968) right front fender. It's almost ready for a light skim coat of bondo then primer. I'll be painting it a flat white to get it all one color (since that matters a lot to Mrs. Rod).
I removed the drivers door inner panel and replaced the drivers door handle. I found the missing headlight assembly, the bulb even works in high and low beam!
I moved all the junk from the front of the garage, pushed the 38 Coupe into the corner, moved the 24 Car out of my shop garage into Mrs. Rod's garage. Then moved the Kogai inside!
I was poking around and removed the side marker lights. There is a huge mouse nest in there.. yuck! It's time to get some lysol and bleach to disinfect it.
The gas pedal linkage was in the same box of parts as the headlight and several parts that hold the steering column in. I ordered a shop manual which I'll need to figure out how all those parts fit together.
I found a NOS tail light lens AND all four NORS side marker lights on Ebay! I'm going to be in trouble when Mrs. Rod gets the credit card bill next month!

December 10, 2019.
I pulled the rear side panels off. Yikes. Disinfectant time!

Better to beg forgiveness and face the wrath, at least you'll still have your parts....

December 12-18, 2019.

I finally figured out that the gas pedal linkage mounts from the OUTSIDE of the firewall, amazingly, the linkage matched up perfectly to the piece hanging off the carb.

I fixed the leaky temporary gas line and drove the Kogai around the block for the first time. I was wondering why it was revving so much... thinking maybe the clutch was slipping. Nope, I had the transfer case in Low. Duh. I got the hose out and started at the top (by golly the top of a suburban goes on forever!) and worked my way down to the under carriage. I got most of the dust, dirt, rust particles and mouse mess out of the truck and into the ditch.

I've been spending an hour a day working to get the outside sheet metal all the same color. ( Mrs. Rod automatically calls any vehicle that has body panels that are not the same colors "junk").

Dec 15-18. - The "new" right front fender is now satisfactory enough to hang on the truck.
I applied some direct pressure to several spots along the left rear quarter panel. I knocked out most of a pretty good dent near the back. I'll have to skim coat it with bondo, since I dinged it pretty good a couple times.
I pulled the outer fan / heater core housing off the firewall.

December 19, 2019.

I removed the Glove box door, inner heater box, heater controls, the old ignition switch, and found the missing wiper switch.
The inner heater box was full of mouse nest, and the little buggers chewed a hole in the outer housing to gain access. One of the heater control cables is broken.
I had to break the old ignition switch bezel to remove it ( I have a new one ).
I have the dash board pretty much stripped of every thing (except the light switch). I'll get it sanded and ready for paint when I decide what color to apply to the interior.
I sanded the hood and tossed on a protective coat of paint. There are a couple of light dings that I'll need to deal with later.

I started installing the right side wheel house, then noticed that there is a bunch of missing metal on the radiator support. Apparently the battery acid ate it. Luckily, I have a spare!

Where do you find all this motivation. Are you going for a new look or going back original?

I love seeing that you are working in a garage that looks like mine. Ten pounds of s**t in a five pound box. Anytime I start a new project, or phase of my rebuild, something has got to be relocated to make room to work!

Tuts 59 is right, you are moving right along and will be road worthy in no time. Keep up the good work and the updates!

Tuts and Phak, thanks. My garage is where i hide from Mrs. Rod and her "honey doo's". I'm between classes now, so I'm hitting it hard and often (a minimum of 15 minutes every day). It was mostly apart when I got it, so putting things back together might be a chore. There is quite a bit of room in MY garage, I just have a bunch of crap piled up in front of The Coupe.

My wife says I have a "Disassembly Disorder"... I 'm great at pulling things apart, not so good at putting them back together

Rusty Rod, I"m glad to see your following my advice..........15 minutes a day!! You da man.

December 21, 2019.

Tapping, sanding, and priming numerous small dents.
Cleaned up the nasty heater assembly. Started the repair on the area the rodents ate.
I found that I need 5 to 6 foot long arms to reach both sides of the rear quarter panels. I'd ask Mrs. Rod to help, but she doesn't appreciate fine old iron.
I got a "new" horn button in the mail today... hmmm.

December 22-26, 2019.
I've spent the past couple of days messing with the wiring. It is a mess to say the least. There are several cut wires, poor splices, and other gremlins lurking under the dash.
I have managed to get all the running lights to work. The brake lights "might" be working, but it's hard to tell due to having so many parts off and poor grounds... I push the brake switch and one of the rear lights comes on!!

December 27-31, 2019.
I've been working hard getting the nicks and small dents worked out. I've got most of it hosed with "Satin White" paint (and some white primer). Mrs. Rod is still not very happy, especially since the credit card bill came in!

I've gotten most of the area under the dash cleaned up, treated the rust, and painted. I've got a couple of the components put back in and retaped some of the wire harnesses.

Great start to your New Year....

January 1-9, 2020.

Slow going since Mrs. Rod has more "important" things for me to spend my time on.

I have been working on the dash area which is mostly cleaned up and repainted. I have reinstalled the wiper motor (and found out that it will NOT work if the switch is not grounded).

I ordered and received a repop speaker assembly and have it in the dash. I think I want to put some sort of cover over it to keep out dust and spilled coffee.

I picked a parts gauge panel off ebay, and have been studying how to put in some new gauges.

I would like to have an in dash tachometer. The tachometer option seems to be fairly rare (and pricey). I've checked out 4" tachs that would fit into the center bay of the bezel and a 2" tach that will fit into the extra gauge hole at the bottom next to the oil pressure gauge.

Rusty Rod, I can truly tell you are having fun fun fun. Keep up the good work and keep us posted. You ARE gaining on it.

January 10-13, 2020. Out with the Old and in with the New

I spent some more time messing with my dash gauge panel, I used a dremel tool to open the holes for the replacement gauges. They stick out the back a little bit, so i'll have to drill access holes in the cover plates. Easy money.

The new body mount kit came in the mail from Energy Suspension.

I finally got to pick up my new gas tank that ole boy down south mis-ordered. It came with everything but the big O-ring for the fuel level sender. I used a can of paint that has been on the shelf for a "while" to give it a bit more protection. I still need to acquire new rubber hoses for it though.

I jacked up the body enough to get the old remnants of body mount out and installed one side. I'll have to replace the two rear bolts, as they sent hex bolts instead of carraige bolts. I only had "issues" getting one front body bolt out but Mr. Impact Wrench made short work of it. Luckily there were only two body bolts that had nuts on them.. the rest were not replaced when they swapped out the body!

January 14-19, 2020.

I spent most of my available time in the garage cleaning parts and applying rust inhibitors. It took me three attempts to get the heater controls and the heater box to fit into the same space. I ended up bending the heater control a bit. I guess this explains why the back portion was loose.
I have another shipment of parts coming in from Classic Chevy soon. I'll be able to install the gas tank and run the engine with a real fuel supply.

Mrs Rod is being very generous!

Card statement hasn't hit.

Rusty, don't know why I haven't been following but I'm signed up now. Great work, makes me feel unworthy with my lack of progress on several projects.

January 20-25, 2020.

I've been busy busy!! Too many projects and now I'm back in school again. I've been spending 2-3 hours a couple days a week helping the kids finish their basement, which is cutting in to my garage time.

January 23, 2020. I busted a bunch of dirt and rust out from the area around where the gas tank resides. I got it PM'd and repainted. Nasty work I might add.

January 24, 2020. I ran a wire from the dash to the back of the truck and located the wire for the fuel level

January 25, 2020. I wiggled and jiggled the gas tank but could not get it betwixt the frame rails. I ended up putting the filler side on top of the (lower part) of the frame and mounted the other side to the bottom of the frame. It will have to stay that way until (IF) I decide to remove the plywood floor.

I installed the new hoses all around. I figured out that my gas cap is supposed to be vented so I (hope) that another vent tube is not required. I also figured out that if the vent tube that runs along side the filler tube is blocked, then the gas will come shooting out the filler tube and get all over you. A couple shots out of the air compressor cured that problem. There must have been a spider web in the vent tube?

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I don't need to rewire the dash insert to match the replacement insert with gauges. Apparently, someone swapped the gauge package with a standard panel? I will need to remove a couple of the wires for the Amp and water temperature gauges though, since I'm using aftermarket items.

January 26-31, 2020.

I have not had much time to get anything major done on this project. I did get the fuel line purged and hooked up all the way to the carb. Since the fuel line from front to rear had been open for an undetermined amount of time, I figured it should be flushed. It did need a flush. I wanted to do a compression test on my 327, so I pulled the plugs and set up the compression tester. I was able to get Cylinder #1 checked before the starter decided it didn't want to work anymore. Off to the FLAPS. I was slightly amazed that they had a starter for a 50 year old truck on the shelf! I was hoping (beyond hope) that the old starter was original, nope, it was rebuilt as well. I figured that the engine was worn by the way it idled (not to mention a bit of blue smoke coming out of the exhaust). There ended up being a huge compression imbalance. I planned on retiring this engine and doing an LS swap in the future, so I guess the future is sooner rather than later. I wanted to pull the engine, clean it and the engine bay then paint both before putting the front clip back on. I'll do that sooner as well. I'll probably drop the wore out engine back in so that I can move the truck around under its own power until I get ready for the LS swap. I had some visitors to my yard too.

Jeff
Is that a goat with a hat on?
Keep up the good work and update when you can!

Don

If, roadworthyness occurs pre LS swap date consider this. Restore. I’ve had good luck running wore out engines with this stuff. Reduced oil burning/blue smoke and increased compression. I’d usually try to add a can several hundred miles before a oil change so it’d have time to work before changing oil. Used it in 4 or 5 rigs over the years and always helped.

Thanks Mopar... I'm pretty sure this engine is well past restore... it's probably even past an oil change using only motor honey!

2 Ton, that is NOT a goat. It is a doe (with a little 2 point buck standing behind her)... the thing that looks like a hat on the doe is one of my bird feeders. The scamps like to come over and steal my bird food.

I wonder what kind of oil pressure you would have just running motor honey. I've used it on a couple of old tractors but it's usually warmer here than in Colorado. By the way Bambi tastes good.

February 1-11, 2020.

I'm not getting much done. School work takes priority. I've been getting my 15 minutes each day though!

I repaired the rear tail light wires (that I scavenged from my "trailer"). I heat shrinked any areas that were worn or had trailer light clamp on connectors. I used some wire loom material I had laying around to protect it for the next 50 years.

I looked at my options for adding a rear dome light, a couple of USB charging ports, and maybe a plug in for a spot light/work light.

Feb 11. I connected the wire harnesses back as they are supposed to be. I have hazard lights, turn signals, brake lights and tail lights in the rear. Some of the dash lights work, others do not. It is probably the wore out (what ever the thing is that acts like a printed circuit board) behind the dash insert. The turn signal indicator for one side worked, the other did not, switch the bulbs and the same result on the other side, switched it back, and neither work. that is a project for another day.
The gas gauge is acting wonky as well. there is at least a 1/2 tank of gas, and the gauge says 1/4 tank. I need to fill it up and see how it acts. I did mess with the ground some to triple check that it was good. I also added another ground between the body and frame.

February 12-16, 2020.

I suspected that there were gremlins in my oil pan. I am far enough along that I wanted to pull the "pack" to get the front end of the truck cleaned up and inspected. I pulled the oil pan and found that two sets of rod bearings were more than a little loose. So, the crank is going off to the machine shop for a bit of weight loss.
One of the heads looks ok (the side with decent compression). the other side had two valves getting ready to get sucked into the head. Fortunately, I have a spare set of powerpack heads that are ready to run.
I found at least one piston with a broken compression ring (the lowest of the low compression cylinders).

the LS swap might be coming along a bit sooner than I expected as well.

Opening up a new (to me) engine is sorta like Christmas morning and opening presents. Sadly, sometimes the Grinch beats you to the tree and the package is filled with broke rings and bad bearings. The good news is their's always a sale on LS engines somewhere.

Good Luck!

RonR

February 17-29, 2020.

I've been slowly poking along. Mostly cleaning up and getting the front end ready to re-assemble.

The guy I bought my truck from called an told me that there was a fresh 69 K20 in a local wrecking yard. I made a beeline over there and scored the front spring brackets I needed (about 2 hours of work for a $6. part! I also got a nice straight left front fender to match my right front (with the side marker lights). I looked the doors over and decided that by spending a couple $$ I could save myself many hours of work on my existing doors. I also scored a 3 core radiator to replace my 2 core that someone was kind enough to pull out and hide in the bed of the truck. Now to sneak my parts into the garage without getting caught!

March 1-15, 2020. Work has slowed down a LOT. Taking a long weekend break to go look at sandhill cranes did not help my progress at all. My wrecking yard finds turned out to not be finds at all... grr. I also lost about 2 weeks worth of pictures when my phone smoked. (PSA - Do not overuse cheap gas station charging cables and connectors!).

I've got the 327 block mostly cleaned up and ready for re-assembly (assuming that the piston I need to replace arrives in a timely manner). I've also been dickering with a fellow that has a "good" 5.3 LS motor, wire harnesses and ECM for a good price. Our schedules do not mesh, but hopefully, i'll get it today.

March 16-21, 2020. Work is still slow. Mrs. Rod has me moving our rooms around yet again, it wouldn't be a problem, but there are stairs involved.

Mar 17. I gave up on ole boy with the 5.3 and found another one, it came with twenty miles of wires, leather seats and a few other doo-hickeys.

Mar 18-20. I did manage to finish cleaning up my 327 block. I have the crank installed and properly torqued along with the cam and new timing gears and chain.

Mar 21. I'm learning how to install new wrist pins in a piston (I've only burned myself 3 times so far). I did manage to get the #1 piston installed before Mrs. Rod called me in for dinner.

March 22-31, 2020. Work has slowed to nearly a standstill. The quarantine hasn't really given me more time in the garage.

I did manage to get the block reassembled. I was laying the sheet metal on to get block painted and I realized that there was a lonely oil pump sitting on the bench. I'm pretty happy I noticed that before putting on the gaskets!

I have also been removing and treating the rust inside the doors. That is a nasty job, I had paint on me up to my elbows!

I dropped the front spring out of the front perch. It looks like removing the bushings is going to be a long difficult job.

April 1, 2020. Mrs. Rod just came out to the shop, really mad about something I didn't do. She said, stop working on that POS. You are getting rid of it or I will call a junk collector to take it away. Oh my. what have I gotten myself into now.




oh... I April Fooled myself.