OK, 'burb guys- Roof Rack and Spoiler questions

[suburble]

Hey guys-

Picked up a real good condition roof rack, rub strip set, and rear air deflector yesterday in a package deal with some other parts. I have a few questions...

-Does anybody know if they make a reproduction gasket set for these? A few of the gaskets turned to crumbs when we took the parts off.

-Is this a desirable / rare option? I like 'em a lot, but I'm hesitant to drill holes in my roof since the headliner is in really good shape.

-I didn't get the nutserts. I was thinking to use those press in license plate thread blocks and do the whole thing from the top without dropping the headliner- see previous bullet.

Thoughts?

 

[skysurfer]

The oem rack imo, is pretty much worthless for carrying cargo. It gives you something to tie down to but it's too short, plus the cargo rides on the paint so kiss that goodbye. Mine serves as a base for an aftermarket rack. I wouldn't install one on a virgin roof unless I had a second rack to mount to the top of it.

The license plate nuts seem like a good idea but mine just has stainless sheet metal screws holding it down. After a paint job I used the same screws and some silicone for the install. No leaks or problems while carrying 300 pounds on a regular basis.

The gaskets are hard to find. I asked Retro to keep an eye out for one I was missing but that was a long time ago and I ended up just making one from some 1/8" rubber.

 

[suburble]

Thanks. I've got lots of other stuff to do before I have time to mess around with it, just trying to get a feel for whether it would be a "value added" type of deal if I go to sell the truck later.

I personally like the look. I know when I was playing with older station wagons a while back it seemed like it could add a couple hundred to the value easy if it had a roof rack, vs. no roof rack.

-Josh

 

[89Suburban]

I wish I could get my hands on a rear deflector. I probably wouldn't mind a factory roof rack either. I buy 16 foot lumber at work and always got to cut it in half to fit in the truck.


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[suburble]

I wish I could get my hands on a rear deflector. I probably wouldn't mind a factory roof rack either. I buy 16 foot lumber at work and always got to cut it in half to fit in the truck.


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I'll keep my eye out at the yards if you're interested. A rear deflector should be small enough to ship in a tube, but I'm guessing that a roof rack would be oversize even broken down.

-Josh

 

[austinado16]

I wouldn't install one on a virgin roof......but I'm funny that way. My concerns would be rust developing around the mount points, and wind noise. As for value added; probably the wrong vehicle to be thinking that way with. Around here (up and down California) beautiful rust-free square body tbi 'burbs sell for a grand or 2, 3 at the most and that would be Grandpa's garage queen V1500 with low mileage and perfect paint. A rack wouldn't get a 2nd look, let alone being a selling point.

YMMV, but when I want to haul stuff, it either goes on cargo rack on the hitch, or inside w/ the 3rd seat removed and the middle folded flat, or, on the flat bed trailer I made for free by stripping down a free pop-up tent camper.

What's the purpose of the rear wind deflector? Keep the back glass clean? Or does it give a tiny mileage boost by breaking the suction on the back doors?

 

[suburble]

I wouldn't install one on a virgin roof......but I'm funny that way. My concerns would be rust developing around the mount points, and wind noise. As for value added; probably the wrong vehicle to be thinking that way with. Around here (up and down California) beautiful rust-free square body tbi 'burbs sell for a grand or 2, 3 at the most and that would be Grandpa's garage queen V1500 with low mileage and perfect paint. A rack wouldn't get a 2nd look, let alone being a selling point.

YMMV, but when I want to haul stuff, it either goes on cargo rack on the hitch, or inside w/ the 3rd seat removed and the middle folded flat, or, on the flat bed trailer I made for free by stripping down a free pop-up tent camper.

What's the purpose of the rear wind deflector? Keep the back glass clean? Or does it give a tiny mileage boost by breaking the suction on the back doors?

I'd think mileage boost. I'd be interested to see a before / after with the rear deflector and front air dam...

-Josh

 

[bucket]

The oem rack imo, is pretty much worthless for carrying cargo. It gives you something to tie down to but it's too short, plus the cargo rides on the paint so kiss that goodbye. Mine serves as a base for an aftermarket rack. I wouldn't install one on a virgin roof unless I had a second rack to mount to the top of it.

The license plate nuts seem like a good idea but mine just has stainless sheet metal screws holding it down. After a paint job I used the same screws and some silicone for the install. No leaks or problems while carrying 300 pounds on a regular basis.

The gaskets are hard to find. I asked Retro to keep an eye out for one I was missing but that was a long time ago and I ended up just making one from some 1/8" rubber.

IIRC, your '89 rack is a different style than the '88 and earlier racks. Mine has been very useful and I've strapped heavy objects to it also. I even hauled a complete Burb tailgate up there, from Florida to Ohio at 75 mph. Several times I've wished my other Burbs had the roof rack.

 

[89Suburban]

Hey guys-

Picked up a real good condition roof rack, rub strip set, and rear air deflector yesterday in a package deal with some other parts. I have a few questions...

-Does anybody know if they make a reproduction gasket set for these? A few of the gaskets turned to crumbs when we took the parts off.

-Is this a desirable / rare option? I like 'em a lot, but I'm hesitant to drill holes in my roof since the headliner is in really good shape.

-I didn't get the nutserts. I was thinking to use those press in license plate thread blocks and do the whole thing from the top without dropping the headliner- see previous bullet.

Thoughts?

I am checking out the deflector HRPC just sent me, the brackets on this
one of yours are way different. Trying to figure out exactly where it mounts.

 

[bucket]

The deflector on my '88 looks like the one in the picture. Oh and I see it was asked before, the deflector helps keep the back of the truck clean. And it looks cool.

 

[89Suburban]

The deflector on my '88 looks like the one in the picture. Oh and I see it was asked before, the deflector helps keep the back of the truck clean. And it looks cool.