1951 Desoto Suburban Long-Term Owner's Report

[Matt Wilson]

I'm sure some of you have seen this, but I didn't find it on this site when I did a search, so I figure I'd post it.  It is truly a great read, detailing one family's experience with their 1951 Desoto Suburban with a 251 engine (later rebuilt with a 265 crank and rods).  The article was written in the mid-1970's.  The owner drove it all over the country for 25 years, hauling a travel trailer and cruising at 3200 rpm, often at full throttle.  His article implies that he even took it up to 3600 rpm at times (near the bottom, he says the engine is "mentally redlined at 3600 rpm").  At the time of the writing, the car had 175,000 miles, with one engine rebuild occurring at 82,000 miles and one engine disassembly (I don't think he stated whether or not he replaced anything) at 85,000 miles.  He had to make a few mods in the very beginning to address overheating issues, but aside from that, it's a testament to the durability and reliability of the car and of Chrysler engineering of the day.  The gross combined weight of the car, trailer and cargo was about 8400 lbs.

Near the end of the article, it's mentioned that many technical aspects of this car are covered in greater detail in Southern California's "Free Wheeling News," Volume IV, No. 3, postmarked October, 1974.  I don't suppose anyone has a copy of this article?  Supposedly it discusses further details that would be useful to someone embarking on a rebuild of this type of engine. 

http://www.allpar.com/cars/desoto/suburban-1951.html

Edited January 8, 2017 by Matt Wilson

[MarkAubuchon]

Very Nice article.  thanks for sharing

[wayfarer]

Excellent read!!  Gotta love the Suburbans.