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I found this "Drive Report" article in the "Special Interest Autos" Dec '82 issue, now called "Hemmings Classic Cars" magazine. Looks like the authors put 'er though her paces! Their only suggestion for improvement was "Probably the only thing that would have made the Suburban more useful was the addition of rear doors" 1982 SIA Article P17_P18 Suburbans.pdf
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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.
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Not sure if this pandemic is good for my wallet- I just couldn't pass up this '56 Suburban, listed as a parts car on Facebook Marketplace - pretty cheap and 3 hours from the house. What a great excuse for a road trip with the wife and granddaughter! An "adventure" as she called it. We have her 3 days a week since her school closed, so no social distancing needed ? The wagon was owned by a hoarder - after he passed away, it was sold during his estate sale. Local folks remember it sitting in the same spot in the northern California woods since the 1970's. It was so covered with pine needles that only the fins were showing, and everyone assumed it was a Handyman wagon. Moss is growing around the windows and doors. Crazy thing is, parts of the wagon are rusted completely away- floors, parts of the fins, tailgate hinges, etc and other parts are in good shape-frame, exhaust, stainless and some chrome. There were apparently 150 generations of mice living the dry life, as I am still vacuuming mountains of droppings out of every crevice and crack. The odometer says 49k miles, and that might be accurate. The motor is the one-year, 277 cu in "Semi-Hemi" Hy-Fire V8 - The PO pulled the plugs , shot lube in and got the motor to turn freely. It also has the standard transmission with the optional overdrive. I think I will be able to use the doors, bumpers, trim and other parts. Probably will sell the OD. Not ever having had a V8 (Mopar or otherwise) in any of my project cars, I'm not sure where the engine ID number is located. My Standard Catalog of Chrysler says "on flat surface, near front of block between two cylinder heads". It's pretty rusty, but I can't find it. Suggestions? Also I've read that the crankshafts aren't the most durable. Any personal experience with these motors?
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Hello All, first time poster, first time builder, looking for some help on a new '51 Suburban project. My grandfather and I are working on this one together; he's lending me his expertise and shop space and I'm giving him a chance to spend some more time in the garage, "grandma-approved". He's been hot rodding Chevys and Fords since he was 14, but when looking for a project to take on we fell in love with this era of Suburbans and it's the first MOPAR he's worked on. We're sticking pretty traditional with our plans for modifications, including a Mustang II style IFS kit. I've seen a lot of debate regarding Fatman products on here, and that was the original direction we were leaning towards as he has two completed projects with their Stage II kit (50 and 31 Chevy pickups). However, the cost of their frame stub has us a bit wary, as it would nearly double the overall price of the kit. My grandpa thinks we can do the measurements and fab work for the stub ourselves, then use a universal kit from Heidts, Fatman or similar and save about $2k. Has anyone gone this route? Any advice would be appreciated.
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I'm dissembling the '52 Suburban and found Gabriel Hi-Jacker air shocks on the rear. The schraeder valve still had the cap on and the lines were hooked up, so why not test them out, I thought to myself. To my amazement, they worked and raised the wagon at least 4 inches! They are holding air after one week. The last time the vehicle was registered was 1979. Good ole American quality! After reading about air shocks, all the major manufacturers (Gabriel, Monroe, etc) describe them "for towing or hauling heavy loads" but nothing about adjusting ride height for all the time driving. How many forum members are running air shocks? Any reason why I might want to replace them with modern air shocks, vs the standard rear shocks? I will be using Rusty Hope's shock relocation brackets for the front.
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So I've started working on my next project - a '52 Plymouth Suburban. It's in remarkable shape except for some small rust-through spots under the accelerator pedal. My plan is to use a working P20 218 I recently purchased for $300 (local Craigslist), mated to a TH200-4R automatic overdrive transmission (also Craigslist). The guy I bought the motor from had it set up that way on a '50 Plymouth wagon, using a Wilcap Adapter, which came with the engine, and said it ran great. He felt that he wanted more power, so he pulled it and replaced it with a SBC. The 200-4R is an overdrive tranny and from my measurements, I don't think I'll need to modify the firewall. I will need to add a support for the rear of the tranny, however. In order to get the most hp/torque out of the 218, I plan to run the 2bbl carb NiftyFifty recently posted about, with spilt exhaust and electronic ignition. I also plan to shave the head, and I've been told I could boost the compression ratio even more by using a thinner head gasket. In looking on ePay, and the usual vendors, thickness is rarely if ever listed. I haven't found a gasket reference chart to compare. How can I find a thinner gasket, and is it really worth the trouble?
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Three questions about shocks for my 1952 Plymouth Suburban: Does anyone know what aftermarket shocks one should use for this car. Related question, does anyone know if Suburban shocks are same as on Sedan? Finally, something i heard at the recent Plymouth meet in Michigan - a fellow 52 Suburban-owner said the the floaty nature of the car comes from the fact that the front shocks run from lower control arm to the upper, and that he made a bracket welded them in to the frame, and all is well. Anyone heard of this? Ned Foss, Albany NY..
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To begin,.... this thread is placed in the OT Forum because it will document a number of items that may offend some P15-D24 purists. That is not the intent here. However, and although the canvas a 1950 Plymouth Suburban, it is a modified, modified for comfort, style, safety, and performance. It's a Hot Rod! I am privileged to be called a friend by Mike and his family. We became acquainted years back when he performed a whole lotta magic on my '56 wagon. He's a quality young guy with computer and engineering savvy, a garage full of tools and projects, grease under his fingernails, is generous to a fault, and is dedicated to his wife and young son. And he tolerates my need to kick tires and imagine all sorts of projects we should work on. This year, in July, there is a major event in Victoria, BC that a number of us Yanks will attend. It's a Hot Rod event. So to travel to and around BC and witness the majesty of the Pacific Northwest, Mike and family decided to build a "cruiser" that would accommodate them and their paraphernalia for a two week trip. I take some pleasure for pointing them toward the Suburban, a car and style they were not aware of previously. It's perfect for a family while providing something vintage for Jessica, as well as a project to share with young Josh. The goal is a daunting one,...to drive to Victoria in July of this year. The car, a solid stocker, came home in October 2015. And after a lot of thought and hard decision making, work began just after the first of the year. October 2015 - I indulged in some "Photo Shopping" to help visualize the stance of the finished project.
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Well- don't look through the P15 D24 classifieds if you aren't willing to pull the trigger! I have a '51 Suburban project car, and didn't realize that i needed a parts car for it. Actually my '51 has floor and rocker tin-worm issues and this '51 (actually a '52 with a Cambridge passenger car front clip) is solid. A California car, last registered when Jimmy Carter was in the White House, is in remarkably good shape.The folks that owned it reupholstered the seat, not once, but twice. The original Bedford cord with blue piping is still intact, under the layers of 1960's chintz and vinyl. The engine turns over and the brakes have been re-done. I plan to install a modern motor (SBC or baby Hemi) AT, air and probably a MII clip. Those of you that know me are probably wondering how I could have strayed so far from stock, but actually, my '40 Plymouth woodie wagon has a number of modern upgrades (radials, disc brakes, turn signals, dual carbs, split exhaust, etc) but still retains it's somewhat vintage appearance, which is what i hope to achieve with the '52 Suburban, but with more modern running gear. Besides, my wife would only drive it if it had AT and A/C. i will keep you posted.
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Almost done! I am 99% done with the wagon, which is a good thing since Woodies on the Wharf in Santa Cruz, is only 10 days away! My son Jeff is helping me do the final door fitment, reattach the running boards, and do the final systems check. We painted it in my shop 2 weeks ago, and I plan to take it to my cousin's tire shop on Monday to have the alignment checked and to make sure I didn't leave out some critical component. We plan to drive it to the show from home (Sanger), a 300 mile round trip, and just heard that the weather will be hot that day-107 degrees, so we will be leaving early. I need one last part and I'm not sure exactly what it looks like-it's the spare tire holder-the metal piece that rotates down on to the spare to hold it in place. Plymouth mounted the spare inset into the back of the front seat, so it's definitely unusual. Something about being more easily accessible for the ladies, I think. Any Plymouth woodie owners out there have a pic? Cheers! Bob