After about 2 1/2 years of fairly steady work (excluding winters), I'm just now finishing up my Suburban project. The data plate identifies it as being built in late 1950, but it's titled (and has been since at least sometime in the 60s) as a 1951. It was something of a basket case when I acquired it--I bought it off Ebay, on a "Make an Offer" deal that I was sure the seller would not accept (about 55% of the asking price); well, he accepted. And the actual truck was a lot worse off than the pictures supplied (surprised????). My welding skills skyrocketed, as I had to replace floorpans, inner, middle, and outer cowl patches, the entire cowl under the windshield, the dashboard, sections of all fenders, and some questionable places on the rockers and door bottoms. The trickiest part was getting the cowl and dash to coordinate perfectly in order to accommodate the windshield pieces. It came out better than I expected.
I kept things pretty much original (as I have with my other trucks); the engine is a 1952 235 which was already in the truck. It has the original 4-speed transmission. I replaced the gas tank, all brakes and lines, fuel lines, and added a new wiring harness in a 12-volt upgrade. The interior is done as original, with cardstock headliners and side panels. I used original colors for the interior. The truck didn't have it's original third seat--I'm in the process of making one out of the frame of a front seat from a pickup. I still need to decide what sort of floor treatment I will do in the passenger compartment (I've read options extensively in this forum).
My thanks to all who contribute to this forum--I have used your posts extensively, and particularly to my old buddy, Alvin Parris, who always provides good advice and needed encouragement over the years.
I've attempted to attach a couple pics--I hope the attachment manager works.
