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

August 31, 2020. I finally got the innards put back into the drivers door. I wanted to describe the challenges step by step, but I ended up just putting everything inside the door loose, then working it into position before tightening the screws.
I started by putting the door latch/lock assembly in. then dropped the main glass inside. The Vent assembly went in loose. The window riser is the biggest challenge; I started by putting the roller that is on the door on first, then the front roller and finally the back roller. I wiggled the glass into the channels before putting the screws into the bottom of the vent window. The door handle mechanism went in at some point as well. Once the glass was in, I just tightened everything up.

Glad to see your finding time to work on the truck again. I'm trying to do "Truck Tuesday", that way the wife will know what my plans are once I get home from work.

September 6, 2020. Tuts, setting a day for the garage is not a bad idea. My shcoolin' takes up 30-40 hours a week now. Each instructor/professor was sure to say "you owe me 9 hours a week". yikes.

We have a big fire to the west of us right now, and the air quality is horrible. I've got 3 hepa air filters going full blast and it still stinks inside.

Just read this entire thread. Great work and awesome progress. Are you just rattle canning the white paint on? If so, what kind are you using? I've only been through Loveland on our way to Estes Park back 2011, but it was all pretty country over there. Similar to the Eastern Sierras that I saw each day while I was growing up.

I have family in Calif dealing with the wild fires there, My heart goes out to all of you some scary stuff. Last night I pulled a front fender down from the loft that took a couple of hours so "Truck Tuesday" has started.

November 5, 2020. I have not been spending much time working on the truck. I bit off a lot more school work than I thought!

I went out yesterday and put on one of the rear shocks, then realized that I will need to take it back off to replace the rear spring bushings.
I did see that a PO welded the U-Bolts to the axle housing which might make it a bit more challenging to work on. At least I don't have to worry about losing them.
I've been rubbing a little sand paper here and there as well as I fix some of the many smaller dents along the body.
I also gave up on using my truck bed for patch panels and ordered new rear lower quarters.

Back to my studies, and hopefully, it won't be two months from now.

PS. I've been using the cheapest rattle cans I can find since I'm sanding it all off later. Mrs. Rod complains a lot less when the vehicle is the same color!

The fire is still burning, but thanks to the snow we got a couple weeks ago, it is mostly contained.

November 17, 2020. Work is slow. I have been looking at replacing the leather seat pads (from the 2000 Suburban). I was looking at $3-500 just for the front seats. I picked up a set of slip on covers that will fill the bill for now from amazon for about $175 shipped. They don't look too bad and I don't have to take the seats apart to put them on. I haven't finished putting them on yet, as I need to fix the missing chunk of seat pad first... plus I don't want to get them dirty, yet.

When you finish rebuilding the foundation and get a few thousand miles of break-in on em, the new covers will look right at home.

Good Work!

RonR

November 22-24, 2020. I pulled the Kogai out of the garage for a bit so that I could turn the 24 car around. Of course the battery was dead, so I had to charge it for a bit. I drove it around the block. The transmission kicks out of 2nd gear though, grr. Then the truck shuts down on its own, like a switch got flipped. Apparently this is a common problem that I need to sort out. I pulled the 24 car out of the garage, drove around the block then put it back on the wheel jacks the same way I had it before,,duh.

November 24, 2020. I moved my flat trailer into the back yard, pulled the Coupe out of the enclosed trailer, then put the 24 car into the wifes garage (facing the right direction this time). The Coupe is getting a transplant eventually, so I'm pulling out the ZZ502 in preparation for the 331 Hemi installation.

This is also the one year anniversary of The Kogai finding its new home.

It looks good in the light of day, you got a lot done.

November 29, 2020. I've been tinkering here and there as I get a few moments. I did pull the rear and passenger seats out so that I can finish the inside and weld a hole in the roof. I got a couple small dents worked out and primed. I got tired of the hood bouncing open on every bump when I drive around the block, so I found the latching mechanism and got it cleaned up and painted.

Thanks Tuts. If I'd work a bit more, there would be a lot less to do.

Looking good Jeff. Your rapid progress makes it look easy.

John

December 7, 2020. I've spent a couple of "days" (15 minute increments) sanding the interior. There is still a lot more to do, but I'm getting there.

It's amazing how well the headlights work once the dimmer switch is plugged in.

December 20, 2020. I have most of the upper interior cleaned, sanded and primed. I'll finish the wheel wells after I pull the rear end to replace the bushings. There are some dents and a couple of holes that need to be filled.

I heard a "pop" and a "thunk"... didn't think much of it until I walked to the front of my truck. I had set a can of paint in front of the truck where the heater sends some warm air.. apparently, it still had sea level air in it.. the lid popped off and the can fell on the floor.

December 25, 2020. The interior is starting to shape up. I POR-15'd the front floors. I'll shadetree a couple of holes with some of my old license plates. I finally got around to welding in the hole in the roof. Someone really dinged it up, probably for an antenna or a light?

December 26, 2020. Mrs. Rod got a stud welder for Christmas so I traded her for the girlie poncho liner that I got... apparently Santa got mixed up.

I'm getting ready to tackle this mess. Of course I'll be asking for advice in the body shop.

December 27, 2020. I finished "most" of the upper interior painting. I would be done, but I decided to change the color of the front upper trim piece to match the side trim. I pulled out the door panels and cleaned them up a bit to prep them for ding removal and painting. Of course, I'm missing one piece and have two extra pieces.
I test fit the new carpet. It will need a bit more trimming and hole punching for the shifters and seat mounts.

It's really starting to take shape, it will be ready for all this next summers adventures before you know it.

January 10, 2021. I've spent the past couple of weeks touching up the interior paint. I put a couple coats of Kilz on the plywood bed and laid insulation on the cabin floor.

I want to put the carpet and seats in, but am debating on whether or not to put in the lower patch panels first, decisions, decisions.

I sold the ZZ502 out of my coupe so, I've been spending time on it. The hemi block, heads and crank are at the machine shop... I'm also thinking about pulling the 327 out of the suburban,
dropping it into the coupe and getting started on the LS installation. or maybe not.

Did you ever tackle the dent in the drivers side rear pillar?

January 13, 2021. Goings have been slow due to other demands on my time. Plus my inability to make a decision on what powerplant is going to go where, even if it is temporary.

Phak1, no, I have not messed with "The Dent" yet, other than look at it. I'll be revisiting the information provided before I jump in to that task though. thanks for reminding me!!

January 18, 2021. I've decided to move forward with the LS install. I'll move the 327 into the coupe to keep it mobile.

I started checking over the long block. I found two broken exhaust studs that took most of a day to try and extract. I ended up drilling them all the way out and retapping them.
I'll be putting studs into those holes.

I pulled a couple of spark plugs. Of course one of them was previously cross threaded and only about half way into the hole. The thread chaser I have is too bulky to fit into
the hole, so I'm hoping that they make a thinner one!! edit. they do make a thinner thread chaser, so that spark plug is set properly now.

I ordered a gasket set since there are a couple of leaks. I've been advised to replace the oil pump and timing chain set while it is out--- good advice

January 26, 2021. Winter school break went too fast! I got a lot of little stuff done, but nothing major.

I did score two front bumpers today but I missed out on the rear by about 15 minutes, grrr.

I'm thinking about using the 71 front bumper and putting fog lights into the holes instead of the turn signals, thoughts?

Fog light would be a cool look on the front of a 67'

January 30, 2021. I hung the front bumper on (literally) to see how it would look. Apparently there are either different braces between the early front bumpers and the later bumpers with the turn signal holes. Or maybe it is the difference betwixt the 2wd and 4wd frames? At any rate, the side braces that I have are too short. I'll either obtain another set of braces or drill holes to fit.
Finding a set of fog lights that fit the holes is being difficult too.

February 3, 2021. School is slowing the important things down again. I did wise up and drop two classes that had a very heavy work load which should help out quite a bit.

I've been looking at all the panel replacements on some other projects, so I think it might be time to tackle one of my panel replacements.
I have also been kicking around how I might wire the fog lights (that are in the mail). I'm thinking that I would wire them into the low beam circuit with a switch to turn them on and off? Or just run them all the time?

Tied into the low beam circuit with a separate on/off switch makes sense to me. The progress you're making while taking classes is remarkable.

John

February 4, 2021. I bit the bullet and cut out the drivers side bad rocker panel. I'll need to POR15 it and trim off some excess yuck before installing the new piece.

Rusty Rod, you my hero. Keep up the schooling and the truck work. Use the money you'd normally spend on wine, women and song.......and of coarse spend a little of it on Ms Rusty Rod.

Good work Rusty.....if i get to do my "farewell tour" this spring I think I may just stop and say hello....unless your in school. You can't be tardy. LOL

February 6, 2021. I cut most of the passenger side rocker out. It's the same as the driver side. I'll need to trim the new rocker a bit, as it mounts a bit differently than the other side.

February 7-16, 2021. I have the driver side rocker assembly hacked up enough to be able to slide it into the proper position. I'll have to add a bit of metal between the patch panel and the floor. I'm thinking of using some 1/2" or 3/4" angle iron to stiffen up the span between the door frame. (Yes, I should just replace the whole floor now, but that task is set well into the future, if ever).

I put the door back on to make sure it closes all the way. Apparently, there is some adjustment of the hinges in my near future. Now, to get onto the passenger side so I can put the doors back on!

Those Arizona plates are sure coming in handy

Nice job! Your moving right along.

February 17, 2021. Hot and cold progress. Shop is hot with the heater on and cold with the door open. I'm working on the passenger side to get the new sheet metal to slip into place.

Thanks Tuts, I put the plate in there to satisfy my "shade tree" upbringing. I can imagine the next owners facial expression when they peel back the dilapidated carpet and see that staring back at them.

March 5, 2021. I finally made time to work in the shop. I installed the new carpet and the rear seats this morning. Then I figured I'd better put the front seats in too, so I got started on them as well. I would surely get a lot more work done if I would just do it instead of standing there trying to figure it out.

That’s funny, I do the same thing! I spend much more time doing research trying to do it right the first time. Sometimes it’s better to just “dive in” and learn as you go and you get the benefit of getting the job done.

Hey there;

Looking good, I am the same way though I am coming to the realization that my time is cheap but parts are expensive!

I wish everyone valued my time as much as I do...

Keep up the progress, it is coming along nicely.

Steve

I agree with "Canadian Guy", Your project is coming along well. I had a 67 GMC Sub that had been used as a school bus back when I was a mechanic. It was a neat truck.

As for thinking and looking, I think we all spend some time doing that. I sat on starting out left door rebuild for 3 weeks, even sent the first patch panel back as I changed my opinion on what was going to yield the best results.

Steve

P.S. when you get this one done, you can start on your new K5

March 7, 2021. I finished bolting in the front seats, then went back and tightened all the loose hardware. It's nasty under the truck! I'm holding off on installing the new door seals until after painting is done. I also found a nice crack near the driver side top hinge mount. I'll get that welded up soon so I can put the door back on.

March 20, 2021. I finally got some time to repair the drivers door and get it remounted... now to pull the fender so I can raise the hinge up a touch.