Projects Need help with my 59 Suburban Limo

What would you want for them? Are there holes in them? (in the little photo looks it like there are some)

 

Any luck on finding those photos?

So a non-update, last year the weather was horrendous, this year it is worse... my yard is flooding badly over and over, just when I think I have it pumped out and it starts to dry, we get a major downpour for several days...

Everything I drive is crammed on my driveway right now.





Here is a time lapse video of my yard flooding, it keeps going right to the front door of my house, meaning that the water in the middle of the yard where my pump is is over 2 feet deep... this sucks!

 

Your Breeder northern cousin. I agree the weather this year sucks for allot of people. Good luck fighting the weather.

 

LN7 NUT,thanks for the photoshop on my 56 LCF,Now I have airport bus envy ,way cool bus by the way.
I'm contemplating making the lcf a crewcab,I have a tatty 57 suburban I can cut up to make the top,doors and body.

Tim

 

I love the truck!

...just needs more slant in the F pillar. The F pillar!!!!! I kill myself.

 

crazy ride you got there. That would really be something to see cruzin down the street. Good luck bringing it back!

 

F pillar------------thats funny right there.
I saw one in New Mexico south of Albuquerque on hwy 14 that was a bullet nose Stude. Fella had a bunch of chevelles that he was gonna "restore someday."
Oddly enough, he didnt wanna hear how my cash would fund the other cars.

 

Here's a Studebaker that was a school bus before being rebuilt as a limo .....

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That thing is just pure cool.

 

Thanks for all the kind words and the occasional photo everyone!

The weather has been killing me this year, it's been dry here for about 2 weeks now, but I have been spending all my time catching up on the other things that got backed up, like re-roofing my house (amazing how bad it was with all this moisture) finally got some of my grass cut, starter went bad on my 31 Pontiac, blew the tranny in my 36 GMC, then the exhaust manifold on y 72 Chev warped, and now I threw a couple of bearings on the drive shaft of my 94 Ford work truck... so I've been catching up on them. (and I was not driving any of them hard except for the 36... I drive it very hard! LOL)

I think there will be little to no progress on the Burb till next summer if things keep up like this, unless some millionaire wants to buy me a big garage to work on my cars in. So hopefully next year the weather will cooperate a lot more then the previous two.

I look at this truck everyday and dream of the road trips, adventures and the fun I will have with it.

 

Hey everyone, it's still winter time here in the frozen north, but it's been a much milder winter, one of the mildest I can even remember so I have high hopes for a good spring and summer to work on the burb!

Last week I got a call from a buddy wanting to give me an engine for the truck, he bought it for his 56 Chev short box and and changed his mind about it... so I might drop it in the burb or another future project... still deciding.

What he gave me is a low mile good running 348, I've never owned or even driven a 348 or 409, I adore the way they look but really know nothing about them other then the fact this is one hell of a gift! Anyone here have 348 experience they can pass on to me? Are they the standard Chevrolet bellhousing pattern so I can run a TH400 or a 700R4? What would be the best tranny for this truck in your opinion?

 

Yes, I ran a tri power 348 in a 56 BelAir ht back in 68. i loved that motor even though it was the red headed stepchild at that point...it was called "a f'g truck motor" by most in the late 60s, due to 327's, L79's, 396's and Z28 302's etc.

yes, same bell. It's a chevy! of course it all fits!

 

There is one on eBay right now!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chev...6893418?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2c62d824ea

 

Hey, I read the whole post and did not see where you got an answer on your stageway emblem. Might I suggest you find someone who does sand molds and casting a new pair out of brass. You could solder brass bolts into it, and have it polished and chromed. It would be easier than trying to find one maybe.

 

Very cool, it's smaller then mine by about 3 feet!

That has been a thought, or see if someone skilled could repair my damaged one, but if someone hod one kicking around for a reasonable price or trade that would be great!



So I picked up the 348 today from my buddy, grabbed it with my tow truck because his tractor would not start... and he wasn't home... so it felt and looked like I stole it... boy I hope he actually gave it to me... LOL

 

Cool burban, Did you ever locate any history on the use of it before you got it?
Where did you pick it up at? I noticed in the earlier pics, that on the ground by the burb there is a MT plate with a 12 (Hill County), and later on the burb it has a plate with a 4 (Missoula County)?

 

Good damn eyes!

It came from Hill County just east of Havre, and I have a car guy buddy who was living in Missoula that helped me out in getting the title and he got the plates for it there.

As for history I have not found much, I found some ticket stubs in the debris inside it so I know it was running from Michigan to Montana for a while! And when my dad and i were on our way down to finally pick it up we met some guys from the dept of highways (or whatever it's called, I forget) and the one guy knew the truck from back in the early 70's being driven around Havre.

 

thats kool

 

We've gotten a lot done, but not a lot that shows up, the substructure around the drivers door post was badly deformed and we've done a ton of work on that corner, been finding parts as I go, I was hired to build a 56 Chev shortbox for a guy over the summer and got a load of parts I needed as part of the deal (and it's amazing how fast a truck I am building with someone else's money comes together! LOL) So between rain and snow storms and my yard flooding out completely it's been slow, but there is progress at least!

Last year I got a mint hood and hood hinges, some doors and a front bumper, all the missing trim pieces, steering column and box (it takes a half ton box?) Dad and I jacked the front of the roof up and are still smoothing it out, once the snow is gone the roof rack is coming off and being redone (it has loads of hardwood slats) I have the engine and tranny to drop in, and I'm going to see if I can fit some 3/4ton GM disc brakes to the front.

The goal this year is to drive it under it's own power around my yard.

I took these photos a few minutes ago:

The body is nice and straight but the door is still not fitting due to the massive distortion in the drivers door post from being hit long ago.



Column is in and working, got to steer it for the first time, the turning radius is not as bad as i thought it might be.



Check out my interim gauge cluster, have you ever seen the Chevrolet gauges branded as GMC? I found these in a bus I stripped out in a scrap yard.



My neighbour made a bail wagon out of a 59 Chevrolet Viking 3 ton and gave me the body, the cab is in terrible shape but has everything on it like the factory radio and all the knobs and controls I was missing, and it was between that cab and the remains of a few other truck I was able to build the steering column and box.

 

Give me 40 acres and I'll turn that thing around , lol . I like the idea of a 12 valve cummins , fuel milage has got to be a bitch . If they ever make another Ghost Busters , I think you have the star of the show .

Good luck

 

Hey, hows it goin. I just happened to find this forum while I was looking for parts for my truck. I'm accually looking for a door from a 58, 59 Suburban Limo. While I'm sure your not interested in selling the ones you'll be useing on the one your restoring, would you happen to know where I could find one? I'm trying to make a crewcab from the two trucks I already have, and a door from a Limo would help me a lot.

 

Slam it...Bag it...BBC/Turbo-400 two roof A/C's...rockin' tunes....AND...make 'er a dually!!

Whatcha think?

 

I found one of these in MN last week if anybody is looking, it is for sale.

 

Very cool!

...steal me that fender badge! LOL

 

Holy crap, an update!

Albeit a small one, we recently removed the roof rack to facilitate roof repairs and to restore the rack. Everything else up to this point has been not worth posting about, lots of popping dents and such.



My dad getting his hands dirty!





Everything was help on with flathead screws, so we had to grind the heads off.









We'd love to get the racks and ladders chromed, but the cost is way too high.





















Check out the warpage and ugly roof seams the roof rack was hiding! Good thing I plan on putting it back on.

 

ln7- Neat rig. Maybe that Jay Leno fake chrome would work for the ladder and such? I don't know the name but there's at least one pretty good thread on here that shows it. Greg

 

That thing has got to appear at at-least one car show with boxes of live chickens on the roof!

 

I've seen that stuff in person, it looks like the chrome on the packaging of plastic children's toys, and you can't touch it, it's very weak according to the shops that work with it out here. But the idea is a good one!

Is that a Nova Scotia thing?

 

Maybe powder coat the rack and ladder. It may be worth giving a home powder coat set-up (Eastwood,etc.) a shot. It may pay for itself doing the task and if it doesn't come out perfect, who will see it 8 feet up?

Stageway sure saved themselves a lot of finish bodywork by covering the multitude of roof sins with the rack!

Neat project. I can imagine showing up to an event or car show and having the whole family pile out!

 

Whole family, whole church, whole neighborhood...!