1951 Suburban a 4 year project....

[parkwood]

Sorry for the repeat pictures as i was posting pictures of the '51 suburban build on the brother's truck show thread, but was told more guys might see the build pictures if i started my own thread. So I'll do it and if some of you have seen the ones on the other thread sorry.. for the repeat.. but hope you enjoy them anyway.

For those that don't know the suburban won best of show and best interior at the Brothers Truck Show and i got such nice comments about it i thought i would share some of the build with you..

I built it for a friend and his wife i use to work with and told them that when i retired i would "fix it up a little", litltle did i know what i was getting into.. It came out so much nicer than i had even planned.

I took almost a 1000 pictures of the build for myself and to keep the owners up to date and where their money was going, i'll try and show a little of each stage and if it helps someone with their project great..

These first two are to show you what i started with and how it came out... I'll get to the middle of it later...

[parkwood]

It was used for storage for years and was full of rat poop, and i mean piles of it,.,. used a pressure washer to try and clean it out...

[parkwood]

Getting body off the stock frame...

[parkwood]

getting frame off to sand blaster and starting to mock things up..

[parkwood]

Filling all the unwanted holes in the frame... putting front end together

[parkwood]

Making it a roller.........

[Russell Ashley]

I love that truck. You picked the perfect wheels and tires for it. Thanks for the pics.

[xpickup]

parkwood, Very nice suburban. I love the stance.

[parkwood]

Originally Posted by xpickup

parkwood, Very nice suburban. I love the stance.

Thanks a lot, air bags help a lot with how it sits....

[Kabwe]

Originally Posted by xpickup

parkwood, Very nice suburban. I love the stance.

Xpickup you have to see it in person, pics does not do the truck justice. It was just an awesome build.

[parkwood]

Originally Posted by Kabwe

Xpickup you have to see it in person, pics does not do the truck justice. It was just an awesome build.

Thanks Kabwe, you're way too kind.. I'm running out to the owners house today to say hi before i head back up north and i'll be sure to tell them all the nice things you guys are saying about their sub...

wayne

[parkwood]

New floors and getting the cowl panels installed..

[parkwood]

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

I love that truck. You picked the perfect wheels and tires for it. Thanks for the pics.

Thanks Russell, to tell you the truth i didn't have much to do with picking out the color of the rims.. the owner and the guy who painted it went to Wheel Smith by the paint shop and picked it out.. must say when he first brought them up to me i didn't think they would work, but after putting the caps and rings on it was the right choice.. glad you liked them.. wayne

[duwem]

Any tips on filling in all the rivet holes in the frame? Did you have someone punch out inserts for you?

That thing is SWEET

[parkwood]

Originally Posted by duwem

Any tips on filling in all the rivet holes in the frame? Did you have someone punch out inserts for you?

That thing is SWEET

Thank you glad you liked it... what i did to fill the holes in the frame was to buy some round stock and cut slugs the thickest of the frame and hold them up with magnet and weld them in.. I tried to use stock close to the hole size and if the hole in the frame was some off size i just drilled the hole to the size of stock i bought .. 1/2'' and 1/4'' etc.. i'll see it i have pictures..

wayne

[hotrod1]

Do you just spot weld the panels on or do you go back and weld the entire seam?

[lonelywanderer]

beautiful finished product

[parkwood]

Originally Posted by lonelywanderer

beautiful finished product

Thank you... glad you liked it..

[parkwood]

Getting the a/c mounted and running the lines.. making room for the a/c lines to get into the engine bay..

[parkwood]

Originally Posted by hotrod1

Do you just spot weld the panels on or do you go back and weld the entire seam?

Hotrod, the floor pans just got spotted about every 3-4" and then seam sealer was put on all seams.. the cowl panels and any other patch panel was weld all the way around and then grounded smooth..

[juanz1947]

Nice build I think iseen this suburban in person at pomona swapmeet
Posted via Mobile Device

[parkwood]

Originally Posted by juanz1947

Nice build I think iseen this suburban in person at pomona swapmeet
Posted via Mobile Device

No sorry this one has never been to the pomona swapmeet...

[Kid]

A beutiful burb you have there, all the build pictures put together makes it look like a smooth quick build, Ha! Great docmentation, I love the overall theme, restored stock, but slamed & updated driveline, welcome to the board parkwood. Howbout some pics of the wagon?

[fredscarryall]

man, i wish i would have seen this build before i did mine. you have alot of good ideas. what is that black setup that connection from the frame to the upper control arm? does it just limit the air bag from over inflating? what did you do in the front to stop the crossmember from hitting the ground when you deflate the air bags.

[parkwood]

Originally Posted by fredscarryall

man, i wish i would have seen this build before i did mine. you have alot of good ideas. what is that black setup that connection from the frame to the upper control arm? does it just limit the air bag from over inflating? what did you do in the front to stop the crossmember from hitting the ground when you deflate the air bags.

Fred, the setup on the front and the rear are load levelers from Ride Tech. (air ride).. they hook up to the computer and and you have to pre set them for the height you want and if you add more load (people) and the frame goes down the things sence it and raise it back up to the pre set height

As for the crossmember hitting the ground the kit comes with a bumb stop you weld on and this stops the x-member from hitting.. I just lowered it down to where i wanted it to stop and that's where i put the stop..

Hope this helps...