Currently removing the body mounting bolts from my Sub, but some things appear non-factory:
1) It has the shackle type mounts behind the front doors just like the pickup, but they were just hanging. There appears to be nothing to attach them to on the bottom of the body. Did they mount to the floor just like pickups? Is there supposed to be a channel there?
2) The mounting bolt in front of the rear wheel well has no corresponding mount on the frame. The bolt just comes down through the floor about 1-1/2" outside the frame rail into thin air. What is supposed to be there?
3) When remounting the body I assume on the rear mounts it's wooden block, with rubber pad on top of that?
If it's 47-54 it's definitely originally from a truck. No big deal though because it was just a matter of four brackets that made the difference. You'll need to get a hold of the brackets from a Suburban frame and bolt them on. The holes are already in the frame.
I don't know what year Suburban you have, but on my '51, there are 10 bolts with 4 block/rubber pads. The only similarities to the truck would be the two front bolts. When I assembled my body to frame, I did blocks on frame, then rubber pad, then body. If you don't have the side mount brackets, it looks like they'd be easy enough to make out of the angle stock.
It would be interesting to see how your body is mounted . Do you have any pictures of what you're dealing with ?
Tim
1951 3100 Chevrolet 1951 Chevrolet Suburban Carryall Image "A house is built with boards and beams. A home is built with love and dreams." "Look deep before you leap !!!" / "Everything is Everything" "If I say a mouse can pull a house, hitch him up"
They come up on ebay occasionally. You can also write up a parts wanted ad. I'm sure there would be Bolters or someone on another old Chevy/GMC forum who might have a vehicle to part out.
"I always win." Working mainly alone I do not let my trucks win a war. Maybe a battle here and there but never the war.
Suburban and Panel truck mounts are the same. Check photo Driver's side frame rail. Pic 1, Body mount drawing, 5 total mounts, left to right, no pic for mount #1 and #5 Pic 2, 2nd mount looking forward Pic 3, 3rd mount looking rearward Pic 4, 4th mount looking forward Both rails same.
It would be interesting to see how your body is mounted . Do you have any pictures of what you're dealing with ?
Tim
Sorry, no pics. But don't worry, it wasn't on the road like that, just a non-running project with lots of loose parts.
Originally Posted by jorb
Suburban and Panel truck mounts are the same. Check photo Driver's side frame rail. Photo 1 Body mount drawing P2 1st mount looking forward P3 2nd mount looking rearward P4 3rd mount looking forward Both rails same.
Thanks for those pics! That lets me understand how it is supposed to be.
** When I removed the body on an untouched 53 Suburban the wood blocks only had rubber pads on the bottom of the blocks. I notice on the above pictures rubber pads are on the top and bottom of the wood blocks??? Would the Panels & Suburbans not be the same?? Maybe the change was in 54?? Anyone have any thoughts here?
Those aren't rubber pads above the wood blocks. They are metal reinforcements wrapped around the U-shaped crossmember to keep it from spreading. The stack would be crossmember, metal reinforcement, wood block, rubber pad.
"I always win." Working mainly alone I do not let my trucks win a war. Maybe a battle here and there but never the war.
My thoughts; The only difference (that I can think of) between the Suburban and Panel body mounting, is the cross member that is in front of the rear wheel well. On the cross member, in the upper left corner of the Picture there is a V-shaped bracket spot welded to the cross member. There is a bolt with a washer and a square nut. I don't know what it's for The Panel truck does not have this V-shaped bracket. The V-shaped bracket has nothing to do with the body to frame connection. I think it is for the Suburban seat mounting cups.
Jim Carter Suburban frames (Slow to load) To save much money General Motors used a modified frame from a pickup. The difference is four right angle brackets riveted to the frame. These provide an attaching point for the large single unit body (Suburban and panel truck). ( All photos are taken of the driver's side frame rail.) Pic 2 and Pic 4 bracket is the same as THIS and THIS bracket. Pic 1 and Pic 3 bracket is the same as THIS and THIS bracket..
There are 5 body to frame cross members (1,2,3,4,5) starting from the front with a total of 10 mounting points. #1 body to frame cross member is partial, it runs from the frame rail body mounting bracket, to the transmission service cover hole, on both sides. Pic 2&4 is the 2nd mounting bracket from front. Pic 1&3 is the 3rd mounting bracket from front. Check attachment for reference.
The Suburban has sheetmetal crossmembers under the plywood as well as two sheetmetal cross braces that connect to the crossmembers. The crossmembers have the triangular attachment. These crossmembers are mounted to the plywood itself. The seat mounting is terrifying. Before converting my wife's Suburban to a steel floor I was going to install more crossmembers underneath to attach the keyhole plates. If anyone needs photos of these crossmembers and cross braces I have a set of loose ones.
"I always win." Working mainly alone I do not let my trucks win a war. Maybe a battle here and there but never the war.
Shrunk it down, blew it up. Marked the body mount locations. Passenger side same as Driver's side. 3 and 4 is where the wood blocks are used.
Jim Carter Before 54 In 54 55 1st the rear frame arch was flattened out to accommodate the deeper taller bed. I think this also applied to Panel truck and Suburban frames.
According to this photo, #5 is a flush fit - only a rubber cushion between frame and body. Mine is about 1/2" above the frame at #5. May have to shave my blocks down if it's supposed to be flush.
** All of the wood blocks were 1 5/8" when removed from my orig. untouched 53 Suburban. **
Thanks once again. The repro blocks all seem to be 2" or more. That could explain why my body is sitting a little higher above the frame.
I spent today fabricating replacement body mounts and marking their positions on the frame for final welding after I take the body off the frame. This isn't a restoration so I had no qualms about not using original mounts. I'll add some photos when I get them done.
Okay, got body mounts fabricated - thanks everyone!
Could you post a picture of the entire frame, just to see what frame you have. And to see where the bracket is on the frame, that is in the picture.. There seems to be a cross member and a running board bracket on the frame, that would not be on a Suburban frame or may be in a different location.. Picture
Is the bracket in the above picture, on the passenger side of the frame, taken from the front side of the bracket looking towards the rear ? 1954 3100 panel truck body mounts diagram If it is that would be: Passenger side Body mount #2 Correct?
Yes it does , he done a really nice job fabricating and welding them in place.
Tim
1951 3100 Chevrolet 1951 Chevrolet Suburban Carryall Image "A house is built with boards and beams. A home is built with love and dreams." "Look deep before you leap !!!" / "Everything is Everything" "If I say a mouse can pull a house, hitch him up"
Is there any information to say what the underside of floor to top of frame should be? If purchased blocks are 2 inch and original blocks are 1 5/8”. there must be a measurement from frame to floor the factory used. It is not in my reproduction factory manual. Any info out there ??
The 1-5/8" blocks are correct. If you mount your cab at the cowl and at the rear mounts (neither ones require blocks) with only the rubber pads inserted, the rest of the body should be at proper height. Then cut blocks and insert in the middle mounts.
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