Suburban roof replacment

[bucket]

You guys have got to stop talking about this... I'm having flashbacks to a bad hail storm in the fall of '06. For the following 6 months of work, it seems like all I did was roof skins. So many van roofs... and spot welds... and drilling. It was terrible, lol.

 

[w-cummins]

the factory assembly manuals show and count the number of welds in a Suburban roof- they are mind bogglingly vast

where would one get a manual like that sounds like it would be a great thing to have??

 

[saltdog]

@w-cummins - Faxon Auto Literature had them for 1983- https://www.faxonautoliterature.com/ and yes they are good to have

 

[w-cummins]

It would still be labor heavy, no way around that (although @Ricko1966 ‘s proposal of treating it like a chop top is really a good idea), but cutting the majority of the roof skin out first, then grinding on top of the spot welds and split them, do the same, but opposite on the donor roof, grind away the inner structure. No hole drilling. Find an old Lenco panel spotter and spot weld it like OE. And finishing would be easier not having to dress down tons of welds.

that is kinda what I'm thinking of doing the back and front pillars are easy (that's why I asked about the seams and it they are welded up or not) even it they are the back one is only about 8 inches long

 

[saltdog]

OMG- so many welds

 

[w-cummins]

@w-cummins - Faxon Auto Literature had them for 1983- https://www.faxonautoliterature.com/ and yes they are good to have

So I went and looked it appears that 83 is the latest version they have, do you have it? the sample page of the table of contents, has a big part of it that is blacked out. Do you know if that is the sections they say that are omitted from the reprint? I will probably get it but I want to make sure it has the sub roof info....

 

[saltdog]

@w-cummins , Yes I just got the manuals. Its a 2 volume set and it appears to be complete. Not sure what was omitted. It does have all the suburban roof info and a bunch of other super helpful info not available elsewhere. The ONLY thing I don't like is that every page multiple watermarks to prevent copying/sharing. I would love to have a searchable PDF version.

 

[Grit dog]

that is kinda what I'm thinking of doing the back and front pillars are easy (that's why I asked about the seams and it they are welded up or not) even it they are the back one is only about 8 inches long

I admire your perceived patience and persistence to take on something like this. I’d spend a few days driving (or buy and ship) and a couple grand on a rust free burb before I’d even consider something like this! Good on ya

 

[saltdog]

@w-cummins the omitted sections are not relevant to what you are doing -covers brakes, axles, frame

 

[saltdog]

The 1983 assembly manuals pages relevant to this thread are in VOL 1, section 1C3, Sheets 12-18 (about half way into the manual). They show how this part of the roof is put together. I have a similar but hopefully less intensive issue so will be following the fix

 

[w-cummins]

I ordered the books how long did it take to get them?

 

[w-cummins]

I admire your perceived patience and persistence to take on something like this. I’d spend a few days driving (or buy and ship) and a couple grand on a rust free burb before I’d even consider something like this! Good on ya

It's 6, that's SIX days driving out and back to your location, I do it every year! Also a loaded 91 v2500 ( about the only thing it didn't have was the rear heater) isn't going to be 2k even in your area, the dam transfer case is worth all most 1k by its self.. The truck I started with came from so cal. The bottom of its was spotless No rust, the seller took lots of pix of the bottom of it, but the ***** only took pictures that showed the roof from like 20 feet. I wouldn't have ever guessed what appeared to be a completely rust free truck would have a rotted roof. The Sob put bondo over the damage you can see in the pictures and painted the roof with house paint!!

 

[saltdog]

I used the Faxon ebay store- shipping took about a week. Went through all of Vol 1 yesterday and put stickies on the pages I need. The indexes at the front of each section helps, but it is still harder to find stuff than an electronic version

 

[Old Guy Bill]

There are a lot of Suburbans out there... I'd be looking for another one.

 

[Grit dog]

It's 6, that's SIX days driving out and back to your location, I do it every year! Also a loaded 91 v2500 ( about the only thing it didn't have was the rear heater) isn't going to be 2k even in your area, the dam transfer case is worth all most 1k by its self.. The truck I started with came from so cal. The bottom of its was spotless No rust, the seller took lots of pix of the bottom of it, but the ***** only took pictures that showed the roof from like 20 feet. I wouldn't have ever guessed what appeared to be a completely rust free truck would have a rotted roof. The Sob put bondo over the damage you can see in the pictures and painted the roof with house paint!!

Sounds like a very nice rig then, otherwise.
Without reading back thru everything, how much have you poked around at the rust? Removing the roof is an absolute necessity? I presume?
And yes it’s a long drive. Takes me 2 days each way from/to WI.
And you’re right. Not getting a good K20 burb for $2k but you can get a whole straight body for less than $2k and you’d be surprised how cheap the 4x4s are. It’s all situational because no 2 are the same when talking 40-50 years old cars.
Let er rip then! Order a dozen spot weld drills and see how far around the rig they get!