- Joined
- Mar 20, 2005
- Location
- Morganton NC
OK Yeah, there is a story behind this old truck:
I friend of mine Don Holt, had been looking for an older Suburban for quiet some time. We had had many conversations both on the phone and online about what it was he was looking for. I had found several that kinda sorta fit his agenda, but most were in really poor condition(mostly rust)
I finally found one in my searches that seemed to be what he wanted. I sent him a link and he drove to see it. This was the one! He bought it, and drove it home. Honestly, you couldn't have found one any more plain. Never had AC, Never even had a radio. Never had a headliner! It's a 3/4 ton Suburban with a 44 front, and a semi float rear. In a previous life, it served as part of a fire dept.
So, after the truck was found, out conversations shifted from finding a truck, to "what to do to it to make it as dependable as possible"
Basically, these conversations produced a parts list. What to do to make sure it was in running condition for a long haul if need be, what should be checked or replaced and so on.
Don had purchased a lot of parts for the truck to include:
Everything for the brakes, drums(which ended up being the wrong ones, but that was Ok, the old ones were still in great shape) Small parts for the rear brakes, new shoes, for the front, new hubs and rotors, new calipers, brake pads, and hydraulic hoses. The truck came with the auto hubs, but he bought a new set of Warn lock out hubs. The door gaskets were in poor shape, so he bought all new door rubber, as well as the kits to rebuild the door hinges and new striker bolts. Also has the (don't know proper name) the spring parts that hold the door open. He also bought all new steering linkage parts. Tie rod, drag link, all TRE's and even ball joints and steering stabilizer.
So last spring Don started feeling bad. HE had what he thought was a bad cold that he just couldn't shake. Over time, Don started feeling worse and worse. Finally he was convinced to go to the doctor. At the doctors office. At the Doctors office, it was nearly immediately found the root of Don's issues. He had Leukemia. The sent him directly to the hospital and started treatments. That was on or about the 28th of July. Don never made it home. He died on August 5th.
So, the truck sit in his yard.
Don's wife soon come to the conclusion, that she didn't want to stay there. She wanted to move back to the Murphy/N. Georgia area, where she was from, and had family. So she and I begin conversations of identifying a lot of things Don owned, what they were, and what she could sell them for.During these conversations she brought up the Suburban. She wanted rid of it. She needed to sell out a lot of the stuff around there so she could put her home up for sale, and move back home. I told her that even though the truck needed a lot of work, it did have value, but with what it was and what all Don had bought for it, I wasn't sure what she should ask for it. I told her I'd love to have it myself. So she says, "do you want it?" and I as politely as I could, I told her yes, but what I could offer would offend her. BUt I would try and help her sell it. So she asked again, do you want it? And yet again, I told her I really didn't have the money for it. So then she says, you helped Don find this truck, and helped him with getting all the parts for it. Then she says, if you want it, you can have it! This was kinda your and Don's project. I think Don would want you to have it, if you want it, and willing to finish it, you can have it. I just ask that you keep me up to date with pictures and progress reports.
So, I went to Watersboro SC and picked it up.
When my son and I got there, the tires were flat, and drivers side tire was off and was tore down to just the spindle. All the parts were there, dirty, nasty from sitting under the truck. I sprayed all the bearing out with WD, and put just enough back together to load it on the trailer. We got the tires pumped back up. After sitting so long, I got in, pumped the accelerator a few times, and it fired up. quit several times, but finally stayed running. We were prepare for it not to drive onto the trailer, but as luck has it, it did, and made it so much more easier to load.
Stay tuned for what happened after we got it home and really started to inspect and work on it.
As it was, when I got it:
I friend of mine Don Holt, had been looking for an older Suburban for quiet some time. We had had many conversations both on the phone and online about what it was he was looking for. I had found several that kinda sorta fit his agenda, but most were in really poor condition(mostly rust)
I finally found one in my searches that seemed to be what he wanted. I sent him a link and he drove to see it. This was the one! He bought it, and drove it home. Honestly, you couldn't have found one any more plain. Never had AC, Never even had a radio. Never had a headliner! It's a 3/4 ton Suburban with a 44 front, and a semi float rear. In a previous life, it served as part of a fire dept.
So, after the truck was found, out conversations shifted from finding a truck, to "what to do to it to make it as dependable as possible"
Basically, these conversations produced a parts list. What to do to make sure it was in running condition for a long haul if need be, what should be checked or replaced and so on.
Don had purchased a lot of parts for the truck to include:
Everything for the brakes, drums(which ended up being the wrong ones, but that was Ok, the old ones were still in great shape) Small parts for the rear brakes, new shoes, for the front, new hubs and rotors, new calipers, brake pads, and hydraulic hoses. The truck came with the auto hubs, but he bought a new set of Warn lock out hubs. The door gaskets were in poor shape, so he bought all new door rubber, as well as the kits to rebuild the door hinges and new striker bolts. Also has the (don't know proper name) the spring parts that hold the door open. He also bought all new steering linkage parts. Tie rod, drag link, all TRE's and even ball joints and steering stabilizer.
So last spring Don started feeling bad. HE had what he thought was a bad cold that he just couldn't shake. Over time, Don started feeling worse and worse. Finally he was convinced to go to the doctor. At the doctors office. At the Doctors office, it was nearly immediately found the root of Don's issues. He had Leukemia. The sent him directly to the hospital and started treatments. That was on or about the 28th of July. Don never made it home. He died on August 5th.
So, the truck sit in his yard.
Don's wife soon come to the conclusion, that she didn't want to stay there. She wanted to move back to the Murphy/N. Georgia area, where she was from, and had family. So she and I begin conversations of identifying a lot of things Don owned, what they were, and what she could sell them for.During these conversations she brought up the Suburban. She wanted rid of it. She needed to sell out a lot of the stuff around there so she could put her home up for sale, and move back home. I told her that even though the truck needed a lot of work, it did have value, but with what it was and what all Don had bought for it, I wasn't sure what she should ask for it. I told her I'd love to have it myself. So she says, "do you want it?" and I as politely as I could, I told her yes, but what I could offer would offend her. BUt I would try and help her sell it. So she asked again, do you want it? And yet again, I told her I really didn't have the money for it. So then she says, you helped Don find this truck, and helped him with getting all the parts for it. Then she says, if you want it, you can have it! This was kinda your and Don's project. I think Don would want you to have it, if you want it, and willing to finish it, you can have it. I just ask that you keep me up to date with pictures and progress reports.
So, I went to Watersboro SC and picked it up.
When my son and I got there, the tires were flat, and drivers side tire was off and was tore down to just the spindle. All the parts were there, dirty, nasty from sitting under the truck. I sprayed all the bearing out with WD, and put just enough back together to load it on the trailer. We got the tires pumped back up. After sitting so long, I got in, pumped the accelerator a few times, and it fired up. quit several times, but finally stayed running. We were prepare for it not to drive onto the trailer, but as luck has it, it did, and made it so much more easier to load.
Stay tuned for what happened after we got it home and really started to inspect and work on it.
As it was, when I got it:
