Thread: '51 suburban school bus to show burb

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while i'm waiting to get back to work on my '33 coupe i thought i would post some pictures of a '51 chevy suburban we built for a guy i worked with. he bought it just before i retired and i told him i would "fix" it up for him and his wife after i retired.. well you can see the before and after pictures here and if there is any interest in seeing whats in between the two i'll gladly post them.. we surprised them with it at the Grand National Roadster Show four year ago this Jan. (wow where does time go?)..

quote - well you can see the before and after pictures here and if there is any interest in seeing whats in between the two i'll gladly post them..

Silly question... Why, OF COURSE we want to see all the details in between! Awesome ride as if you didn't know! Congrats!!!

I'm available for adoption.....................and you can "fix" up some of my stuff just to stay in practice.........

Looks like it was in nice shape when you started on it! Where did you find one that good????

Wow, that's a sweet burb! Heck yeah we want to see inbetween pics! What powertrain and drivetrain did you go with?

Yes please, I think that the above comments cements the fact that we all need to see a build thread on this beauty. On a side note, wonder how long ago rodders would of past by on a vehicle like that due to it not " being desirable ".

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

I'm available for adoption.....................and you can "fix" up some of my stuff just to stay in practice.........

Yeah,,me too.. Yup,,,I know....... take a number...

Originally Posted by Whiplash23T

Yes please, I think that the above comments cements the fact that we all need to see a build thread on this beauty. On a side note, wonder how long ago rodders would of past by on a vehicle like that due to it not " being desirable ".

It seems like more builds like this are the norm now. More and more people building wagons and panels for the long haul runs. I think it's awesome!

Thanks a lot guys, and i know that was a dumb question. All gear heads like to see build pictures... A little history, like i said before my buddy i worked with found this suburban out by where he lives in Nora ca. It was used to store junk in for years and years.. when i picked it to bring it to my house i had no idea that in some places on the inside the rat poop was 3/4 inches thick.. it took a power washer to wash it out.. It was at one time a school bus but was put in the back lot where my friend found it..
It now runs a ZZ4 motor that's been hoped up with a 700r4 and a currie 9" rear end. Air bags all around, Mll up front with a TCI tri bar set up in the rear.. All leather interior with wood grain dash and window molding. V/A and custom auto sound radio.. The owners wanted to keep in looking as close to stock on the outside up with the up dated drive train.. a few tear down pictures and then we'll get into the build..

Just a few tear down shots, I do wish we would have kept the motor instead of giving it away.. At first a little rust, but oh just wait...

After getting the body off and cleaning the mud and grease it was time to try and take it all apart and getting it off to the sand blaster for some clean up... came back shinny..

Doing a little mock up with the front and rear ends.. and for the life of me i don't know why where were so many factor holes in this frame... but no i could leave well enough alone i just had to fill them... took round stock of different sizes and drill the holes to match and cut plugs the thickest of the frame and welded them all up... and to this day not one person has said anything about how smooth the frame rails are... oh well i know..

Got around to getting the body back on so we could start setting the motor and trans in along with the rear bags. We just had to see how low it would go too.

A quick roll outside to see our handy work and then back at it installing the steering column and gas tank.

Getting the trans cooler installed along with some front brake lines and e-brake lines.