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The floors are done! My friend Ryan Ballis has been working on them, on and off for almost a year. His business, Ballis Welding snd Fabrication in Fresno, has been booming, so he could only come out on Sundays after church, so it took a while. Ryan can weld almost anything- stainless, cast iron, MIG, TIG, ARC, etc., but the floors on my '52 Suburban were a challenge! The PO, when asked about rust, said the floors were solid. "You can dance on the floors" he claimed. Actually they required 3 out of 4 floor sections and most parts of the rockers to be replaced. Definitely a Flintstone mobile. I used aftermarket patch panels from a USA company, Classic 2 Current Fabrication, and was very pleased with the fit and quality. During the process, I asked Ryan why some of the welds looked perfect and others more irregular- he had to stop and start a lot, and had trouble creating a continuous bead in some areas. He thought that the rust and sound deadening material residues, even after wire wheeling and cleaning, were been pulled into the bead and contaminating the weld. With my (lack of) welding skills, I'm sure I would have blown holes all over the place if I had tried! Before we started, he welded an 1/8" steel beam across the underside of the wagon to help keep it square. I test fit the doors and we are still good. Now on to cleaning up the welds that are going to show, and primer and paint.

Geez why do I think after 5 years I will remember things ! Ok, reassembly after engine and overdrive R & R and tonight's struggle is clutch linkage. This rod goes from the pedal to the pivot shaft, why does this rod not have round holes ? I have done an evening of searching for pictures of linkage for a 52 Cranbrook (P23) but without any enlightenment. Does someone have any pictures ? Especially how the spring attaches to the bottom of the pedal and where on the chassis it hooks. It should be logical but apparently not for me. Pic of rod in question http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a14/laynrubber/imagejpg1_zps4c20015e.jpg

Hey everyone! Im new on this forum and I have been reading and learning more about my '53 Cranbrook everyday. After my Grandpa passed away a few years ago my Grandma was going to sell his '53. I had seen it in the shed beside their house my entire life and always thought that it look really cool so I wasnt going to let her sell it off never to be seen again. I was still in college and one morning on my way to class (I was a commuter at University of North Carolina at Charlotte) I drove passed my Grandma's house like always. at the next stoplight I was behind a rollback with an identical '53 on the back! I freaked and called my dad, I had him leave work and check to make sure Grandpa's car was still there while I chased the rollback down the interstate. Luckily Grandpa's was still in the shed and all was fine. Since then I have been keeping an eye on the car and trying to come up with a plan for it. Grandma said that once I move it it cant come back. I had no room at my parents for another project. I bought a house this past April with a small garage in the basement BINGO! Here is where the deadline and race against the clock comes in..... Im engaged, and in all the stress and chaos of planning the wedding I convinced my fiance , Jesse, how cool it would be to drive the '53 in the wedding just like my grandparents! The wedding is in June so we are looking at less than 7 months to go till the big day. Sorry for the long first post so here are some pictures to break it up. Hope yall enjoy! Also ANY advise is ALWAYS welcome because I know im going to need plenty of it haha. Thanks, Dustin

What's up everyone. This is only my second post. Been lurking for a month or two. Just bought a 51 cambridge as a surprise wedding present for my bride; married exactly one month ago and we drove away from our reception in it. Bought it from a guy at work through our classifieds after striking out trying to find a classic car to borrow or rent for the reception. Ran accross the car and instantly fell in love with it. My wife was thrilled when she finally realized I bought it for her. Anyway, it runs great; purrs like a kitten. I think its got about 48K or 148K milese on it; I don’t think it’s been rebuilt or overhauled, but what do I know. Not original paint, but everything else seems to be original and stock (except 12v light bulbs, new solenoid, plugs and wires, ignition coil, engine oil, etc.). I think it was painted some 6 or 8 years ago. It has a crack in the exhaust manifold. I just had the carb rebuilt, but it’s leaking like a sieve on my exhaust. I’ve read a ton about float height adjustments and such on this forum and my Dad (whose an aircraft a&p mechanic from back in the day) and I are going to tackle that this weekend. We drove around in it all day the day after the wedding visiting family around town and she’s in love with it as much as I am which is awesome. However, she’s already talking crazy talk about upholstery colors, some of which make me dry heave a little; but whatever makes her happy… Short-term goals: - fix carb leak - replace rotor, dist. cap, points & condenser - adjust timing, dwell etc.. - brake shoes, springs and cylinders - oil pan gasket - change transmission and rear-axle oil - replace as much of the bare exposed wiring as I can - compression test on cylinders - flush radiator - fix dash lights (I suspect the old 6v bulbs are still back there or something like that, 6v bulbs were still in the brake light assemblies. Replaced with 12v bulbs and now they’re working - replace cracked ballast resistor Long-term goals: - update upholstery - new wiring harness - address what few rust issues there all. All-in-all, the body and chassis are in great shape and relatively rust free - teardown and overhaul engine - re-chrome a lot of trim - probably a new paint-job while we’re at it