Thread: '51 suburban school bus to show burb

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Trying to repair some rust holes that went both inside and outside ... where the sliding windows drain somewhere in it's life got plugged up and this what happened... not sure why i rolled a bead on it to match as no one but you guys will every see it as it got covered up with foam and leather... but i did get to buy a new tool, a bead roller...

We got rid of stock gas tank which filled on the pass side and put an alum tank under the frame in the back. The fill on it came out on the drivers side so a fill door had to be put in the fender. The bad thing about this is here in california with the big black rubber recover thing on the gas hose makes it a lot of fun putting gas in this girl... didn't know this until we made our first trip to the gas station...

WOW, that was an amazing journey! Thanks for letting us share the ride... Congrats to you and your crew for an outstanding job. Those final pics of the owners makes it all worth it! They look so happy it makes all the hard work worth every moment.

Again, thanks for sharing the pics and the build!

Originally Posted by 34_40

WOW, that was an amazing journey! Thanks for letting us share the ride... Congrats to you and your crew for an outstanding job. Those final pics of the owners makes it all worth it! They look so happy it makes all the hard work worth every moment.

Again, thanks for sharing the pics and the build!

Thank you and glad you like the story... i've got a great short video made by her daughter if i can get it down loaded i'll post it, it really shows how they feel..

Wow! Great story and beautiful work on that '51!!! Like the others, I'm lovin' that color choice, too. Nice to have a little splash of "Ford" on it!!
Really excellent work! Thanks for sharing the process!

Great story, great work, great people. What else can I say.

Jack.

Originally Posted by Jack F

Great story, great work, great people. What else can I say.

Jack.

Thanks Jack, glad you liked it all... they were a nice couple to build for, known they for years as Dave and me worked together for many years...

Originally Posted by randyr

Wow! Great story and beautiful work on that '51!!! Like the others, I'm lovin' that color choice, too. Nice to have a little splash of "Ford" on it!!
Really excellent work! Thanks for sharing the process!

Thanks a lot and yes the ford color is a big hit with people...

What a great vision for the finished product, the owners have to
be thrilled!

your retired my A#% ! LOL

Love the steering wheel, looks like the original except the center
hub is shaped different ?

Rich

Originally Posted by RichB

What a great vision for the finished product, the owners have to
be thrilled!

your retired my A#% ! LOL

Love the steering wheel, looks like the original except the center
hub is shaped different ?

Rich

Ha Ha, I am retired but it seems i work more now than i did when i "worked"... but working at something you really love isn't work i guess... The steer wheel came about because we had did some work on a '56 chevy truck putting in Mll front end and new steering column and the steering wheel came off the '56 and when the owner of the suburban saw it he liked it better than the stock one that came on the '51 so i just bought a new one and painted it to match the body color... i like it a lot better too..the center is a stock '56 piece

Great story and great coverage (pictures) Every one should be happy with the results..

Originally Posted by cffisher

Great story and great coverage (pictures) Every one should be happy with the results..

Thanks so much, glad you liked it and no one was more thrilled than me...

Wow.... you bloody liar.... how the hell did you sleep straight in bed at night..... Congratulations on not only an amazing build..... but in pulling off a grand surprise for the unexpected owners.... That vehicle sets the standard very high for others to meet and also shows that a ugly duckling can be turned into a very beautiful swan for all others the enjoy looking at. On a another note, proves to others that you can operate a small Hot Rod business in a small off the beaten track village and still turn out an outstanding show winning vehicle. Yes I did a goggle earth search to see where Shingle Springs is and was interested to find you ain't to far from where a friend of mine lives at Eldorado Valley. Thank you so much for the story and the photos of the build, I really appreciated and enjoyed the journey.

Originally Posted by Whiplash23T

Wow.... you bloody liar.... how the hell did you sleep straight in bed at night..... Congratulations on not only an amazing build..... but in pulling off a grand surprise for the unexpected owners.... That vehicle sets the standard very high for others to meet and also shows that a ugly duckling can be turned into a very beautiful swan for all others the enjoy looking at. On a another note, proves to others that you can operate a small Hot Rod business in a small off the beaten track village and still turn out an outstanding show winning vehicle. Yes I did a goggle earth search to see where Shingle Springs is and was interested to find you ain't to far from where a friend of mine lives at Eldorado Valley. Thank you so much for the story and the photos of the build, I really appreciated and enjoyed the journey.

Mark, i didn't sleep well kept waking up in cold sweats.. and yes for an ugly duckling it came out much, much better than i had hoped for... It just kind of took on a life of it's own.. i've seen some great cars and truck come out of one car garages before, it's not have you have to build in it's how you go about it and have a vision for whats at the end... course a money doesn't hurt either... now go back and look at google earth and find sparrow lane third house on right ... your friend does he live in El Dorado Hills CA. Eldorado valley is a road in NV. also do you know a hot rod builder there in New Zealand by the name of Geoff Mitford Taylor?? I've know him for a long time meet him when he worked for Dan Fink in Hunt. Beach Ca. Just saw him again in June at the L.A. Roadster Shows, he was over check in on some old friends... had been years since i had seen him last...

Wayne, sorry I did get it wrong and now that I have looked again, heck he doesn't live far from you. His name is Bob and lives just off highway 49 south of ElDorado Village and he drives a 427 cu.in, SBC '23 T Track Roadster. He, like me is a full time care giver to his elderly Father, me, my Mum, so only manages to get out briefly for the occasional drive in at local eateries as far as Placerville. I personally don't know Geoff but he is well known and respected rodder here in NZ. He has set up home again in his home city of Napier which is approximately a 6 hour drive from home here. His club organize a excellent weekend run once a year where they have managed to get several well known American Rodders over for the weekend party, Billy Gibbon from ZZ top one of them. He has produced some awesome cars and I know I should be able to tell you his latest but the old grey matter in my head refuses to work at the moment.
Again, thanks for taking the time to post the story and all the pictures of a very nice vehicle and I'm sure the satisfaction you got from seeing the owners faces at that first sho was well worth all that work, congratulations on a fine build Wayne.