1966 Chevy Suburban

[ModelcarJR]

I started this one this afternoon and started looking at photos on the internet of these Suburbans. I noticed a few that were dropped and looked pretty good. So whilethe primer was drying I began looking at the chassis and devising a way to drop this bus...I mean truck or maybe SUV. So I mounted the axle high on the kingpin by cutting it off and pinning it about 1/8" higher. Then I cut the rear supporting posts for the rear suspension by the same 1/8".  That would be about a 3"drop in scale. I want to put some big wheels on this truck so I will have to  cut up the interior floor and find some wider and taller wheel wells to graft on. Thanks for looking! ?

 

 

[NOBLNG]

Nice start John, the stance looks about right in my eyes.?

[ModelcarJR]

Thanks, Greg! I appreciate your comment! 

I had a good day today, starting this morning over coffee. I found an adequate 32 Ford fender unit in the parts box that has now lost its rear fender wells. I cut the interior platform, glued in the wheel wells, trimmed them with plastic strip. I also  traced the new wheel wells onto the interior panels and then cut them to fit. Finally, after about 3 hours and multiple cups of coffee I had a platform to paint with new wheel wells and I didn't need any putty. The right side is a little taller than the left as I did a better cut on the second one but youyt won't be able to tell once everything is together. I then painted the interior pieces with Krylon Matte Sand Pebble better described as Tan or Beige. 

Next, I painted the interior body and let it dry. Then, just before lunch I taped off the body and painted the exterior with Tamiya Aluminum for a base coat. After it had dried I then painted the color coat, Metallic Orange or as I like to call it Sierra Gold. Sierra Gold was a 1957 Chevy color and it sounds so much more nostalgic. Tomorrow, I add the color for the window area, Ivory, and then add another coat of clear.  I think the combination will look good for 1966. Photos are below. Thanks for looking! ?

 

[TopherMcGinnis]

I've had this one on the brain for some time now. I used a Viper front suspension to get the front down. 

[bobss396]

I have to get one of these bad boys. I used to have a 1:1 1965 C30 panel truck, my dad had a 1969 C10 panel truck he used for his furniture business. 

[Chariots of Fire]

Great color on the window version.  Looks really nice!

[ModelcarJR]

Thanks, Topher, Bob and Charles. I appreciate your comments! 

Painted the Ivory today and all the other parts. I've been toying with the wheels for this bus for a few hours.  I have a lot of these big wheels but generally don't use them. I also have to pick ones that will fit the axles so I don't have to do too much more work to adapt the wheels to the axles. I had it narrowed down to two different sets. One set that were all the same size and not too large and another larger set of big and littles. I think I am going with the big and littles as the rear wheel fills the wheel well better. Let me know what you think! Thanks for looking! ?

Smaller wheels

Big and Littles

[Ulf]

Smaller

Nice paintjob and colours.

[Zippi]

Nice build dude.  I'm diggin the colors.

[espo]

I would go with the big & little wheel and tire setup. This would also help with the stance. 

[slusher]

Nice paint, John, you have your Chevy looking good, stance , Big and littles…

[ModelcarJR]

Thanks, Ulf, Bob, David, and Carl! I appreciate your comments! I may have found some other wheels but I haven't tried them yet. The big and littles came from a 1/24th scale Monogram Mustang so they might be a little too big. Don't know yet. 

I took a day off on Thursday and got back to this one yesterday. Nothing to exciting, finished the chassis and had to cut the exhaust pipe and shortened the shocks. I also installed the windows.

Today, I took a look at the headlight/grill area. I wanted to recess the whole thing so that it wasn't sticking out and looking a bit bug-eyed. So I started hacking up the kit piece and ruined it. Next, I had another set up started, when I dropped a headlight piece on the floor. I looked for it at least an hour and even had my wife look for it but it is not to be found. So finally, I cut off the square leadlight buckets from a 1980 Plymouth Volare (an old kit that I may or may not ever build).  So I found an old tube grill in my parts box and added that for a grill. Now its recessed and even though the headlight buckets do not have lenses, its the best I can do at this time. Maybe better luck tomorrow! Thanks for looking! ?

 

Edited February 11, 2024 by ModelcarJR
correct text

[Zippi]

Thats grille is looking pretty good there John.  Man oh man, I know what you mean about dropping parts.  Nice progress.  

[espo]

Interesting looking grill & headlight setup. Just an idea, I have found that the grills from any of the different model companies offering models of trucks from this era will interchange. 

[ModelcarJR]

Thanks, Bob and David! I appreciate your comments! 

I changed my mind again on the grill and went back to the original kit piece and thinned it down and then left the square headlights. I like this better as it fills up the grill area better, its recessed, and has the Chevrolet brand included. I went with the big and littles for tires and wheels and left the 283 engine kit engine. I would have liked to substitute a big Chevy engine but I don't have one without kit bashing another kit. No wiring just box stock. So the only customizations are the tires and wheels, ride height and grill/headlights. I did add the black window trim and first used paint on the left side and then had the idea to use black masking tape that I cut for the right side. I like that better so I went back and added some tape on the left side. I used tape on the windshield but I had to use paint on the rear as it didn't look good with tape. I put the interior together and kept it pretty basic. So in the end I guess I have a custom looking family bus!  Just a few more pieces and this one will be done! Thanks for looking! ?

Tape

Painted

 

[bobss396]

That is quite sharp!

I worked at a remote facility from 1981 to 1986, a true R&D plant. Lots of black-box work and the place was very secure. It had a lot of property considering how small the buildings were, somewhere around 90 acres.

Buildings and Grounds had a green 1964 4WD Suburban they used strictly on the property, it was never registered and never had a license plate or sticker on the windshield. AND it was in excellent shape outside of a few nicks and scratches. Every night, it was garaged. The facility was sold around 1991, I tried to find out where the truck was going, but never found out what happened to it. It had the straight-six with the HD 4-speed.

[ModelcarJR]

Thanks, Bob! I appreciate your comment!

This one is done. I left off the side badges, the long truck mirrors, and the spare tire rack. I added a Chevy car mirror from the parts box (only 1 left). Everything went together well, no problems.  So now I have a low-rider touring bus! Thanks for looking! ?

[Zippi]

That turned out Super nice.  Great build.

[bobss396]

I would like to replicate my '65 C30 panel truck. I think Flintstone makes the long body for one. Mine was in great shape with the 4-speed and 6, which got swapped for a 283 I had.