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1952 Suburban restoration project


leadheavy52

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Have to disagree Paul,

 

Tempered metal and weathered/exposed bare rusty metal are two very different things.  ?

 

DJ

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Most likely the trans is a granny gear.  With gears that low in a light weight car.  Four wheel drive? We dont need no stinking four wheel drive!!! You could probably go just about any where set up like that, at least on dry ground.

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I like the worn look of the patina on some cars, and if the paint and primer weren't so far gone, I might lean toward keeping it as it sits, but as it is, I think I am going to put it back to an original paint job. Nothing metallic, or wild. Stock paint and color. Also, because of the high-clearance package and tranny it has, I'm leading towards mocking it up to be an ex-National Park Service or Forest Service wagon of the period. Maybe something from the Los Alamos area, given that it's now a New Mexico car and will have NM plates when finished. I liked the idea of making it a Mesa Verde Park service vehicle with its wheels, spare carrier and hitch. It would be fitting based on where it spent it's life, less than 100 yards from the park. I have some period correct (WW2) era shovel and pickaxe. I'm kind of digging this idea with the Los Alamos theme. As best I can tell, the paint color is Cortez Gray, but I cannot confirm until I can research it further. Either way, I'm picking her up tomorrow and am excited to begin the relationship between man and automobile that I have been craving lately. Working on and driving modern vehicles just doesn't have that same flair as these oldies.

 

-Austin

 

 

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45 minutes ago, greg g said:

Most likely the trans is a granny gear.  With gears that low in a light weight car.  Four wheel drive? We dont need no stinking four wheel drive!!! You could probably go just about any where set up like that, at least on dry ground.

 The guy I got it from said it was able to keep up with the 4x4s in its heyday. I believe it based on the off-road type tires it had in the rear. 

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Just for grins, fill a windex bottle or similar spray bottle half full of water and add two or three drops of dawn or similar dish soap in to the water and give it s gentle mix.  Spray it on the front doors to see if there might be witness marks of an old sign or lettering.  Some time wetting the rusted sun burned areas will reveal ghost images of anything that might have been painted on.

Edited by greg g
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Got her all loaded up and in the garage. All in all, it was a 13-hour ordeal with driving, loading and unloading (which was the sketchiest affair). She's in the garage now so I will begin the planning and prepping stage. I am going to spend a little time getting the motor to start and possible run. I was going to squirt som MM oil down each cylinder and let it sit overnight, pull the gas line from the pump to the tank and stick in in a can of fresh gas. Check the oil to make sure its there and not thick like molasses and slap a new 6-volt on it. Aside from that, is there anything else I should look at before cranking it over for the first time in 40+ years?

 

-Austin

 

image1.jpeg

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Been using a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF as a penetrant works better than any commercial stuff I've used.  Most likely a couple of valves won't seat after sitting on the high part of the can for years.  If not seized, a compression test will give you a good first peek at the internal situation.  Some times they can be coaxed in to moving through the side covers under the exhaust manifold, if its just one or two they might respond to a couple heat cycles if she will run.  Worst case pull the head and play whack a mole with a rubber mallet.

What kind of shape is the interior in?

 

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The motor turns easy enough by hand. I agree with the valves sticking. Going to compression test this week before anything else. Honestly, the plans to rebuild the motor are already set. I would love to hear it run first though. The interior is all there, just dismantled. All the door skins need replacing as does all the headliner and most anything that isn’t hard rubber or metal. Surprisingly, all the dash knobs, radio buttons, and climate controls are all there. A few are sticky, but that’s to be expected. More than anything though, I’m dreading coming up with the 6.00 - 18 tires that this cane with originally. That’ll be close to $1500 for all 5 tires. Yikes! 

Edited by leadheavy52
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Here she is in the garage. Took out all the trim pieces that are loose in the interior. Vacuumed and began to hit the bolts with penetrating oil. Lubricating the door handles, hinges, window regulators, wing vents, and all others that I could hit yesterday. Today, ore of the same. Going to focus on the engine and start cleaning some of the crap around the plugs and intake so I don't get sand or muck in the cylinders when I have the plugs out. The more time I spend in this thing, the more I want to get it out on the road. Just a cool-as-heck car. I can't imagine trying to find some of these parts if they were missing (handles to drop the rear tailgate, or the latches that lock the sliding side windows).  I am also going to take inventory of what I have and what I need. Fortunately, we are coming into swap-meet season here in NM and they are usually full of misc. parts that no-one can remember what they go to. Here is another shot of it in my garage and how full it is now. I had a full-sized Montero in there until Saturday. This dwarfs that easily. I can't wait to get into it further. 

 

Check out the grease pen marking on the firewall. I found another with the same number on the back of the ashtray. I suppose this is some sort of line inspector or make-ready inspector at the final stages of manufacture. Nonetheless, it's cool to see it there and try to track down the remaining marks. Cheers!

 

-Austin

IMG_6633.JPG

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if the stock bullseye headlights are intact and working..that would be clearly one of the few reasons I would stay stock 6 volt....if bad...put the lenses onto a modern Para 56 H4 and let the big dog eat...6 volt in good condition is very capable....just limits cruising accessories for myself..

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I'm not a wagon guy but this one has a cool factor to it. My wife would probably love it, she's always looking at old wagons when we're out and about.

 

Good luck on your project and keep the pictures coming. How's the seats, door panels, headliner and floor boards?

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Don’t check the oil, change it. I would put in a new filter, 1 qt ATF, 4 qts cheap oil. Run it a half hour, change oil and filter again. This time use 5 qts of Shell Rotella 15-40. Now it’s flushed and ready to drive. If the new oil gets dirty fast, pull the oil pan and side covers, thoroughly clean, and refill with Rotella and a new filter. Now it’s cleaned out and ready to drive.

Edited by Mike36
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Well, I got the grille on and mostly set up. I have about 95% of the parts to put her back together. I need two hubcaps, the pass tail light housing and lens, All the fender trim for the passenger side and both pieces of rocker trim. Other than that, she's complete.

 

I hat to sort through a coffee can of old bolts and screws to come up with the proper mounting pieces. I hope I've done it right. Any chance I could get one of you fine gentler (or ladies), or both nowadays, to take a picture of the top part of the grille where the hood latch mechanism is? I think I have it mostly right, but I am afraid that I may have the bolts in the wrong spot, or mixed up a bit. Thank you in advance.

 

On the same note, I have been unsuccessful in removing the wing nut from the spare tire cubby cover. I am afraid of putting too much force on it for fear that I may shear it off and never get it replace properly. What does this threaded rod look like inside the spare tire cover where it mounts to the body? If it is easily replaceable, I may just twist it off and deal with it later. If it's one that is rare as hen's teeth, then I shall hit it with even more PB Blaster and cross my heart a few dozen times more.

 

Also, I realized what grounded this car was an incomplete transmission install. It has a 4-speed dodge truck transmission that has never been hooked up that I can tell. Fortunately too, the Texaco oil drum center hump is only caulked into place and not welded. I originally wanted to keep this in place, but after seeing that it's not hooked up and would be fairly easy to replace, I think I will go back with the three-on-the-tree with OD (if I can ever manage to find one). 

 

I am going to spend some time this weekend trying to get her to crank over and possibly start. Drained the oil, which after so many years did not look terrible, but not he greatest, unlike the oil in the air filter that looks brand new. I will keep a fire extinguisher handy just in case it goes haywire. All in all, I am very much enjoying the car so far. Going to get some seat covers for it, mostly so I don't have to be sliding around on the seat filled with old foam and straw matting for much longer. There is still a ton of work ahead of me, but I feel that I have the right direction to go in. 

 

I also ordered the original build sheet from Chrysler and will be waiting on that to arrive to see if this had the high-clearance option from the factory. It has the 9-spring rear and after closer inspection, the spare tire mount is most definitely factory. I haven't seen another like it anywhere. 

 

I have greatly been enjoying this forum and thank you all for the advice, encouragement and inspiration to bring this car back to glory.

 

-Austin

Grille on - In garage.jpeg

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14 minutes ago, FlashBuddy said:

image1.jpeg

 

You need to go back where you got it. Looks like you forgot the gas cap!

?

LOL. I checked that whole field for anything that may have fallen off. LOL - I fortunately have the gas cap and filler neck in the garage as we speak. Good looking out, brother!

 

-Austin

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Be very careful with the head lamps as they are hard to come by and can be rebuilt.  I might remove them store them for attention at a later date, and throw some new 6v sealed beam lamps in for the interim.  The more I look at that thing, l like the way it sits in all its sunbaked glory at least for now.  Get it running, driving and stopping safely, spiff up the interior and drive it.  Don't know if l would leave it that way for an extended period but as is, it will certainly be a conversation starter.

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Really like this project and think this could be a head turner when done. I love the thought of leaving the exterior as found and getting it running and driving. What a great conversation starter and story. They're only original once. We have a 1932 ford sedan that came out of a collapsed barn in Tennessee  and we updated the drivetrain and it gets tons of lookers and questions when I drive it. It's got the original paint and interior

image.jpeg

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She runs! A little work to reroute the fuel line from the tank to the pump to get it to a fresh can of gas. She sounds good. I didn’t want to run her for too long because the water pump is seized, or at least the fan isn’t turning and I have ruptured oil line (the top one to the oil filter housing). More work to get her to stay cool and not lose oil. How exciting and humbling to hear this engine run for the first time in 47 years. 

 

Yes, the headlights are Autolite Bullseye headlights and they both still work. I will take your advice and take extra good care of them! I didn’t realize they were worth anything. Thank you guys again! 

 

Heres a link to the car running: 

 

-Austin

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