Fosscore's 2013 Suburban LTZ Build Thread

[Fosscore]

Just to have a little of my labor and tinkering being a small piece of a part of that legend makes me happy.

And that’s part of the reason some of us continue to hang around this forum for golden nuggets and high fives just like that.

 

[adventurenali92]

@adventurenali92
Has the Mac daddy with the Rupes machine which would be great.

For now I am happy with the Porter Cable.

And especially the Rupes polishes and pads. Color coordinated for dummies.


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Yeah their woods and polishes are awesome!

 

[iamdub]

Just to have a little of my labor and tinkering being a small piece of a part of that legend makes me happy.

I rock 'em with pride! I'll be proud of them tow loops at my next breakdown, too!

 

[Fosscore]

What a wild ride the last few months have been.

I flew back to Arizona to visit my parents 2-7 August 2023. Helped them do some storage unit and garage cleaning from a recent move to a new house and just hang out, have meals and talk about stuff. Dad was not doing so great, but my wife's parents had flown in from Australia and only had 3 weeks left so I flew back to Florida. During my return journey, mom took him to the hospital. He spent the next month in 4 different facilities, each one finding out even more. Local ER, rehab, Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, local ER and finally he passed away on Friday, 8 September 2023 at the local ER. He was suffering and in pain the entire month and he never would have recovered from what he was experiencing. A sad day, but I am very grateful that I made it out there for that week. He is in a better place.

He is probably hanging with Jimmy Buffett drinking Coronas and margaritas as he loved the tropics. There is a great picture of him smiling in a pool in Mexico, with hat and sunglasses, 2 middle fingers and a cocktail in his hand >> (this will be memorialized by his poker buddies as they are going to use the picture and have many decks of cards made so he can be with them, still kicking their a$$e$ each week at their "prayer meetings". Lol





A few pics from near my mom's house. AZ never disappoints.

 

[PG01]

What a wild ride the last few months have been.

I flew back to Arizona to visit my parents 2-7 August 2023. Helped them do some storage unit and garage cleaning from a recent move to a new house and just hang out, have meals and talk about stuff. Dad was not doing so great, but my wife's parents had flown in from Australia and only had 3 weeks left so I flew back to Florida. During my return journey, mom took him to the hospital. He spent the next month in 4 different facilities, each one finding out even more. Local ER, rehab, Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, local ER and finally he passed away on Friday, 8 September 2023 at the local ER. He was suffering and in pain the entire month and he never would have recovered from what he was experiencing. A sad day, but I am very grateful that I made it out there for that week. He is in a better place.

He is probably hanging with Jimmy Buffett drinking Coronas and margaritas as he loved the tropics. There is a great picture of him smiling in a pool in Mexico, with hat and sunglasses, 2 middle fingers and a cocktail in his hand >> (this will be memorialized by his poker buddies as they are going to use the picture and have many decks of cards made so he can be with them, still kicking their a$$e$ each week at their "prayer meetings". Lol

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A few pics from near my mom's house. AZ never disappoints.
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Sorry Michael, he’s definitely in a better place. Love the ‘finger’ pic.
Prayers buddy

 

[adventurenali92]

Sad to hear of you dads passing!! Praying for you and the family right now!

 

[Tonyrodz]

So sorry to hear of your loss. It's never easy to lose someone you love, but like you already said--he was suffering and he's in a much better place now. Always nice to do a celebration of life, instead of mourning his death.

 

[Fosscore]

I flew out to Arizona a couple days later to be with my mom and I spent the next 2 weeks helping getting her affairs in order. I also cleaned/organized/donated/trashed so much from the garage that just needed to go. We all know the oldies hoard so much stuff, so I effected change without prejudice (gave my mom a few items to make her feel good to go through and keep) and closed the excess storage unit (from the recent house move). Saved her $300/month.

I did a quick detail (as best I could without all my own gear) on her 2009 Honda Pilot which only has 75k miles on the clock and the dealers want it badly. It is paid off and she is not interested in selling! Still in great shape with some normal wear and tear areas and I would have bought it from her for sure. It is the Touring Edition and has all the bells and whistles for the year. Needs new headlights and the passenger front door handle is loose. Didn't notice that one until I had to leave and she rarely has passengers, so she never noticed and I drove the whole time...soooo there you go. I'm due to go back in a few weeks, if nothing gets in the way, so will order some Amazon headlights and fix that door handle.

She was in a pretty good spot when I left (as best she can with so much on her plate) and has her 3 sons working all angles to get things/accounts streamlined (attorney/bank/accountant/funeral home) and all the rest of the stuff in this kind of situation. With all myself and my 2 brothers could do via phone and text (one brother lives in town with her, so I flew back to my family in Florida.

I also decided to buy my dad's vehicle so my mom didn't have to try and sell it herself or get stiffed at the dealer and the family discount is pretty nice. Not free, but better than private and I am ok with that. My wife has wanted something a bit more fuel efficient for running around town/school drop offs with the latest technology, gadgets and safety equipment. She loves the Burb, but 11-12mpg with a 25 gallon tank is rough in stop and go traffic. You all know the joy and pain....

So joining the Suburban is a 2021 Buick Envision Essence AWD, Satin Steel Metallic
w/ Ebony accents, Ecotec 2.0L Turbo, 9 speed automatic transmission and fully loaded. One step down from the top of the line Avenir model, but not missing much. So far she is pretty stoked with the new ride. Even got approval from my soon-to-be-drivers permitted daughter! Not bad for an old person's vehicle...

In preparation for the sale, before my mom and I agreed on the sale, (still under 3yr/36k warranty until April 2024 and 5yr/60k powertrain until 2026) I took it into the dealer for a rotate/balance/alignment (at my cost, but worth it) and had to fix a DIC light (turned out to be a fuse and under warranty).

Also got it into the detail shop mostly to focus on the interior. I had given it a full clean and shop vac as well as wash so it wasn't a show for the detailers. Of course, they were impressed it turned up already cleaned!! Haha would you expect anything less of me?

They gave it a full shampoo, steam clean and ozoned the daylights out of it. I changed out the cabin filter as well. They also clay barred, deconned the paint and did a spray ceramic. It turned out really nice, buuuuut still needs some love once I get some time to hit up the little imperfections already spotted....

Fresh after the detail and the tidy garage which now houses the Honda Pilot.

 

[89Suburban]

I flew out to Arizona a couple days later to be with my mom and I spent the next 2 weeks helping getting her affairs in order. I also cleaned/organized/donated/trashed so much from the garage that just needed to go. We all know the oldies hoard so much stuff, so I effected change without prejudice (gave my mom a few items to make her feel good to go through and keep) and closed the excess storage unit (from the recent house move). Saved her $300/month.

I did a quick detail (as best I could without all my own gear) on her 2009 Honda Pilot which only has 75k miles on the clock and the dealers want it badly. It is paid off and she is not interested in selling! Still in great shape with some normal wear and tear areas and I would have bought it from her for sure. It is the Touring Edition and has all the bells and whistles for the year. Needs new headlights and the passenger front door handle is loose. Didn't notice that one until I had to leave and she rarely has passengers, so she never noticed and I drove the whole time...soooo there you go. I'm due to go back in a few weeks, if nothing gets in the way, so will order some Amazon headlights and fix that door handle.

She was in a pretty good spot when I left (as best she can with so much on her plate) and has her 3 sons working all angles to get things/accounts streamlined (attorney/bank/accountant/funeral home) and all the rest of the stuff in this kind of situation. With all myself and my 2 brothers could do via phone and text (one brother lives in town with her, so I flew back to my family in Florida.

I also decided to buy my dad's vehicle so my mom didn't have to try and sell it herself or get stiffed at the dealer and the family discount is pretty nice. Not free, but better than private and I am ok with that. My wife has wanted something a bit more fuel efficient for running around town/school drop offs with the latest technology, gadgets and safety equipment. She loves the Burb, but 11-12mpg with a 25 gallon tank is rough in stop and go traffic. You all know the joy and pain....

So joining the Suburban is a 2021 Buick Envision Essence AWD, Satin Steel Metallic
w/ Ebony accents, Ecotec 2.0L Turbo, 9 speed automatic transmission and fully loaded. One step down from the top of the line Avenir model, but not missing much. So far she is pretty stoked with the new ride. Even got approval from my soon-to-be-drivers permitted daughter! Not bad for an old person's vehicle...

In preparation for the sale, before my mom and I agreed on the sale, (still under 3yr/36k warranty until April 2024 and 5yr/60k powertrain until 2026) I took it into the dealer for a rotate/balance/alignment (at my cost, but worth it) and had to fix a DIC light (turned out to be a fuse and under warranty).

Also got it into the detail shop mostly to focus on the interior. I had given it a full clean and shop vac as well as wash so it wasn't a show for the detailers. Of course, they were impressed it turned up already cleaned!! Haha would you expect anything less of me?

They gave it a full shampoo, steam clean and ozoned the daylights out of it. I changed out the cabin filter as well. They also clay barred, deconned the paint and did a spray ceramic. It turned out really nice, buuuuut still needs some love once I get some time to hit up the little imperfections already spotted....

Fresh after the detail and the tidy garage which now houses the Honda Pilot.
View attachment 409804View attachment 409805View attachment 409806View attachment 409807View attachment 409808

That garage is sik.

 

[Fosscore]

Departure day came and I left my mom's house in Arizona at 1100 and headed for El Paso where I would stay the night at my aunt and uncle's house. The Buick was so smooth, comfortable and easy on the road. The mpg's were amazing and I started dialing in the tech and menu side of things. Man there is a lot. Makes the NNBS seem basic and it is fully loaded on the LTZ level, but not like the Buick.

I asked my mom to keep SiriusXM on for my trip, so the EQ limits were first to be "fine tuned" with the bass note elevated for the 9 speaker Bose system. Sounded very nice with Ch. 39 thumping and guitars cranking down I-17 and I-10. I missed both Phoenix and Tucson peak hours and sailed off to the border through that beautiful part of Arizona and New Mexico and on into Hell Paso for a 1930 arrival.

We saddled up and headed out to Kiki's for some great Mexican food and chatter.

My uncle told a story that he sat at that bar at age 10 with his grandfather and got served a glass of beer way back in the mid 50s.

I had just seen them at Thanksgiving 2022 when I delivered a Subaru Forester to my aunt from another estate sale in Arizona. I would have bought that car back then with 7k miles, but my dad told his sister first and she got a winner. Loves it. And to note on vehicles, my dad most recently had driven an 08 Yukon Denali and a 2020 Sierra Denali plus all the square bodies (Suburbans and pick ups), a couple Caddies (El Dorado Biarritz and Allante) during the 80s, so he loved his GMs. Never recall seeing a Ford in our driveway until my mom got a Ford Explorer in the 90s.

We returned home to chat a bit more and finally retired around midnight. He had always been a hardcore Dallas Cowboys and Coors fan. He had a Coors Light with dinner and broke out a Coors Banquet stubby bottle for our final conversation. Funny the things you remember. We used to go there for Thanksgiving as kids, since my dad's mum, 3 sisters and brother all lived there. There were 6 siblings in total. My dad was 2nd oldest. Now there are (3) the oldest, youngest and middle sisters left.

Buuut before sleepy time, we took a side trip into the garage for the best part of the night.

We spent time talking about (well me mostly listening as his knowledge base with off the charts) The 1955 Chevy he bought for $75 when he was discharged from the service. He was an engineer by trade and worked at the White Sands Missile Range.

He could fix anything and the parts and tools around that garage were numerous. I did not get a picture of the pegboard, but tools of every shape and size and multiple styles of the same tool populated the best looking tool wall I have every seen.

He’s 78 now and a bit slower, so the '55 hasn’t been out of the garage in a while and is coated with some Texas dirt. He showed me some pictures of when she would get on the road and she was a real head turner.

I cannot recall all the things he was saying about the car but he knew it intimately, the changes he made, the comparisons to the 57 Chevy, the paint job, the reversal of the color palette on the seats, the chrome trim on the headliner, the alarm system he wired up before he attended UTEP, with a hidden key in the drivers door that he could open just enough to not set off the alarm, but be able to unlock the door and get to the glove box to get the ignition key before it set the entire alarm off.

Talked about the windshield, non-louvered cowling '57 had a louvered one, no seat belts (man it was so nice sitting behind that big wheel), etc....hard to recall it all.

Very very cool!!

Parked next to it was a 2013 Silverado with 19k miles and looking good. He told me a story of a construction zone orange cone that was kicked up by the truck in front of him, went under the left wheel, ran down the length of the underside of the truck with a racket before finally getting left behind with no other damage to anything else other than the bent tie rod that he still had in his "spare parts". You wouldn't believe the cone could do that, but it must have hit with such blunt force on the spot. And it missed everything else.

He had also recently sold a 1986 Suburban with over 200k miles and 30 plus years in the family.

Further, his son was a big car guy too. No pics to share unfortunately. He had a 1967 Camaro, and 2 late model (closer to the 2020s) Corvette (can't recall badge/numbers and Camaro (might have been ZL1). He used to race those on the track doing 150mph.

I had planned an 0600 ETD and of course woke up way before my alarm in the 0400 hour. I got up, but nobody else was up, so I relaxed until I heard movement. A quick breakfast and they gave me a bunch of snacks and off I drove making sure to turn right rather than left and wind up in Ciudad Juarez, which was right there.

San Antonio, another 8 hours away, was my destination for the night. Another perfect weather day, smooth sailing with regular rest area stops to recharge. I rolled into S.A. around 1730 to my brother's house to stay for the night. Short story, he moved from Arizona to Vermont, got a new job and the company was based in Texas, so they suggested he buy a house for income tax reasons. Great neighborhood, all the houses look the same, small cul-de-sac on the far west side of town.

He had been busy, so the interior is 1/2 painted, carpet is 1/4 ripped up, there was a bed to sleep in, some fizzy waters in the fridge and a towel to dry off after the shower. His neighbor had lowered the A/C before I arrived and I took advantage of the stop. Keypad entry made it easy to come and go.

With all that had gone on over the past 1.5 months, I was not sleeping much, which would plague my travel days as I got into the solo road trip.

I had planned a massive day from San Antonio so I put my head down to get as much rest as I could because the next days were going to be massive.

>>The far rack is all 1955 parts and you can see the start of the peg board to the left. That Shop Vac by the left wheel had a note to replace the motor. Lol so nothing was wasted and always repaired.