Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Hey, well I do like them, my next door neighbour has one and it's been all done up, look's amazing, so I thought I'd have a look around, so maby someday I may own one :) Living in Central London doesn't help either because of the roads and it's a big car!

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Took the one ton Suburban out for a drive today, looking for a photo op. Found a good one in front of the Nunan House, not too far from where I live. See http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/63...48322149_zpid/

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Great shot Ed and a gorgeous home too!
Looks like you should charge to "Tour" the grounds and keep the tips.

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Nice photo Ed!

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Ed, I don't even remember seeing one, although maybe I didn't notice. Really neat piece of history that no one thinks about. Nice to see those photos. John

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Thanks, John. I took it out again today to a free show held annually at Lost Creek Lake, about a 45 minute drive from my house. Coincidentally, a friend of mine for the last 30 years pulled in right behind me. He's a member of the local Z Car Club. He's got the white 300 ZX, parked next to two 240Zs owned by another club member, both of which have V8 conversions.

See photos below:

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Cool Ed! Wish I coulda made it out there today. haha

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Hi Ed, thanks for keeping this thread updated! Glad you are having a good time with your time capsule one-ton! Hope all is well.

DAC

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

In an earlier post on this thread, I mentioned that Darryl Starbird had done some of the work on the one ton Suburban. He helped Dad with the conversion of the rear doors to liftgate/tailgate when the truck was new in 1965, then enlarged the rear wheel openings for the 12 x 16.5 tires three years later.

I recently came across an interesting link by a guy who's apparently obsessed with Darryl Starbird and Darryl's most famous custom car. Check out http://thepredictaproject.org/. Lots of reading material under the "Menu" link. In one photo you can see a diorama of Darryl's first shop in Wichita where the work was done on the one ton Suburban.

I had the privilege of touring Darryl's museum http://darrylstarbird.com/ in Oklahoma a few years ago. The Predicta http://www.darrylstarbird.com/museum_cars/predicta.jpg is on display there.

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Those are some interesting links showing the skill of a great craftsman! I had no idea that the "Predicta" went through so many rebuilds. Although as a model building kid I wasn't crazy about "way out customs", I really liked something about the "Predicta" and built a couple models of it. I'm not sure why that one appealed to me so much.

DAC

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Great looking truck. I would love a 60-61 Suburban to go with my 61 pickup. Yours is great, and I love the family heirloom story. Vehicles are great, but their stories really make them special. Unfortunately, most stories are lost to time and through the hands of many owners.

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

A quick searchtempest.com check didn't turn up much:
https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/6164041005.html
https://lasvegas.craigslist.org/cto/6143198645.html

Thanks for the kind words!

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

I search, a lot. My results look a lot like yours. :(

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Our big annual Medford Show-n-Shine and evening cruise is coming up Saturday. So I took the one ton Suburban to the car wash today to get it ready. I also filled up with gas (ethanol free) while I was out. I was amazed when the pump clicked off at EXACTLY $100.00. That only bought me 25 gallons of the good stuff ($3.999/gallon). With the two 20 gallon tanks, I still had 15 gallons in reserve. I added some STA-BIL too, since I don't put that many miles on it.

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Yesterday was our annual Medford Show 'n Shine. I got a surprise when I opened this morning's paper. This was on the front page with a big headline:

"Record 500 cars displayed at Show ’n Shine

by Nick Morgan, Medford Mail Tribune

Posted Jun 17, 2017

Amid a bevy of Bel Airs, Corvette convertibles and marvelously restored Mustangs, Ed Snyder of Jacksonville’s patinaed GMC Suburban was a different breed of classic, though cherished the same as the pride and joy of hundreds of others.

The teal blue paint on Snyder’s rig has faded, and salt from the harsh Kansas winters where his father drove it for 49 years left a rusty tinge in places, but Snyder said he wouldn’t change a thing on the truck, which has been in his family since May 28, 1965, when his father took delivery in Wichita, Kansas. For Snyder, it’s a memory machine.

“It’s only original once,” Snyder said. “That’s the way it’s looked since 1965 — it’s just acquired some battle scars over the years.”

If every car has a story to tell, there were some 650 of them at the Medford Cruise Show ’n Shine Saturday morning at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park, including a record 500 cars from model years before 1979, according to Medford Cruise Vice President Bill Maentz."

http://www.mailtribune.com/news/2017...t-show-n-shine

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Here are a few photos from the show yesterday. I liked that unrestored '67 International.

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

HEY check out the "Like" button Jeannie added! cool!

Ed, you and Pete probably have the best trucks that represent Fathers Day on the entire 'net! I got your email too. It sure seems survivor trucks like yours and that International are getting very popular. I got no GMC's of Dad's but I have one of Mom's.

I noticed that the International has a "Miro-Flare" on the ground in front of it. Several years ago I was buying some parts from a '55 GMC at a local "Pull a Part" and a whole set of them were in the box of the truck plus one extra. I thought they were cool and bought them too. I bead blasted and painted them to be wall hangers in the shop. Well about a year later I found info that they were offered as an optional accessory from GMC in '55 and '56 and maybe more years. They had probably been with that parts truck since they were new! Now I wish I would have left them rusty to match my '55.

Thanks for the update, Cool paper article, Ed. Hope you and your Dad had a great Father's Day.

DAC

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

I called my 92 year old Dad to wish him a Happy Father's Day, Doug. He was eating cake and ice cream with one of my brothers and one of my sisters and their spouses. He was pretty excited to hear about his old Suburban being on the front page of today's paper here. I'll be sending him a copy of the article.

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Hi Ed! It was good to see you at the show Saturday, I ended up getting out of there early as the heat was getting to me. haha Looks like it was a great success, how'd the cruise go?

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

We watched for you among the spectators at the cruise, TJ. Now I know why we didn't see you. We did a couple of laps, then parked to watch the others cruise by. Towards the end we did a couple more laps. The Suburban always gets lots of attention.

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

No doubt it does! It's a rare piece! How's things looking for showing up to the show here in CJ?

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I plan to be there.
See you Saturday!

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Some photos of TJ's '64 pickup and my '65 Suburban at the Cave Junction show today. TJ's friend John's Studebaker is next to TJ's truck.

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

All three great trucks! Thanks for the pics!

DAC

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Great seeing you today Ed!


Unfortunately due to high heat 105+....not many members or people showed up. Luckily the 4 of us had shade to sit under but it was still a sweaty day. haha John walked away with a Mayor's choice award and 40's stock I believe. :thumbsup:

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

John certainly deserved it -- he's got an awesome truck! I told John my Mom is from South Bend, Indiana, home to Studebakers. Her family always owned them.

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

I came across an old photo today. It was taken in about 1972. It shows me standing in front of my 1963 half ton Suburban and Dad standing in front of his 1965 one ton Suburban. A previous owner of my half ton had turned the center seat around to face the rear, and had installed a table between the center seat and the rear (third row) seat to form a dinette. That truck also had an under-dash air conditioning unit. Dad's Suburban had 12x16.5 tires on it. I put 10x16.5 tires on mine. I used a crescent wrench to turn up the inner lip of the rear wheel openings to clear the tires. They were still a tight fit.

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

I recently came across a letter Dad had written to the (now defunct) Mechanix Illustrated magazine. MI had an ongoing contest for subscribers who submitted info on projects they had completed. The prize was the "Golden Hammer Award" -- a tie clasp in the shape of a hammer, gold-plated of course. With apologies for the length, here is Dad's submission:

February 28, 1967

Mechanix Illustrated
Golden Hammer Award
67 West 44th St.
New York, N.Y. 10036

Gentlemen:

I thought you might be interested in my latest project, as shown in the attached before and after photos. It originated after I bought a 24 foot Avion travel trailer, which I took on many vacation trips, each time with some sort of minor or major car trouble, due to the extra load of pulling the additional 4,000 pounds of trailer over many Colorado mountain passes. Of course, my nine children, my wife, and myself also added to the load of the nine passenger Plymouth V-8 station wagon. After many transmission (automatic) overhauls, three engine overhauls, including a broken crankshaft (!), I decided to either give up traveling and sell the trailer, or get a more rugged and roomier station wagon for the job.

The problem then became of finding a suitable station wagon that would seat eleven people comfortably on long trips, and have enough power to pull the trailer over the mountains. This was late in 1964, after the broken crankshaft incident. After looking over the field of suitable vehicles, I soon found that the ones with the big V-8 engines had barely enough room for 7 people in comfort (in so-called 9 passenger wagons), while the small bus type wagons, although having more room, all had very small and inadequate engines, meant mainly for around-town use. The nearest thing to meeting my requirements, factory made, were the GMC and Chevrolet Suburban Carryall, with three seats. More than 8 people were too many for these truck type wagons, however.

After considerable research, I finally ordered a new 1965 GMC one-ton panel delivery truck, which is three feet longer than the ½-ton Suburban, as well as having all sorts of other heavy-duty features, such as bigger wheels and tires, a full floating rear axle, heavy springs and frame, and many other hidden extras. Unfortunately, this unit could not be ordered with side windows, and only a single driver’s seat, had two vertically hinged doors on the back in place of the tailgate style I preferred, and had a slow 4.57 ratio rear axle, which meant speeds over 60 mph were really winding up the 305 cubic inch V-6 engine. Not much of a family-type vehicle. I had my plans all complete, however, for the big modification program. After taking delivery of the vehicle in late April 1965, I proceeded to start on the following rework:

1. The 305 cubic inch engine was replaced by a heavy-duty 351 cubic inch engine. Both were V-6 style and similar in external dimensions, but the 351 included 4-ring pistons, sodium cooled exhaust valves, and other heavy duty features, as it was built for use in big highway transport trucks, rather than small pickup-type vehicles, as was the original engine.

2. An additional two-speed auxiliary transmission was installed in the center of the drive shaft. This Watson Brownie unit is installed as an overdrive unit, and nicely takes care of the high engine RPM problem while on the road. 3,000 RPM in overdrive means 75 MPH, rather than 60 MPH with the unit in the straight-through selection. This also gave me 8 speeds forward and 2 in reverse, enough to cope with any hill!

3. I carefully laid out and cut the openings for the three windows in each side, using an electric saber saw. This required removal of all the internal side braces which would have covered up part of the windows. New braces were then made to fit in-between the windows to supply the necessary rigidity to the roof. The windows had been custom-built to my specifications by the Young Window Co. in Conshohocken, Pa., and I installed them in weatherstripping I had ordered from the Inland Rubber Co.

4. The original rear doors were removed, and hinge points were installed for the Suburban-type tailgate and liftgate. This involved much time and careful measurement, and the fabrication of several parts to allow the installation of the top and bottom hinges and the supports to hold the tailgate and liftgate open, plus all the various latches, etc. Sheet metal cutting and welding was also required. I then hung and adjusted the new tailgate and liftgate, after first assembling them from all the detail parts, as I could not order them as assembled units. I then had the outside of the tailgate and liftgate painted to match the truck, giving the outside a finished appearance.

5. I had ordered Suburban-type seats for the inside, and these also were delivered unassembled, with the seat frames unpainted metal. I primed and painted these with a borrowed spray gun, and assembled each of the 5 seat units. The front seat is divided, with a two-thirds width driver’s seat, and a one-third width passenger seat, which folds forward for access to the rear seats. Behind the driver’s seat are two two-thirds width seats, with an aisle on the right side. A full-width rear seat completes the four rows of seats, each with its own sliding window, complete with sliding removable insect screens! The screens were also supplied by the Young Window Co.

6. Prior to final installation of the seats, I carpeted the entire rear floor area (everything behind the driver’s seat) with foam rubber padding and a very thick acrylan carpet that I was able to buy as a remnant. The seats were then installed and the interior also was complete.

7. The empty space between the outside sheet metal and the inside metal panels on each side below the windows was filled with pre-expanded polystyrene beads for insulation and sound suppression. These very light beads (one and one-quarter pounds per cubic foot) were poured in through 4-inch diameter holes behind each taillight, and certainly were worth the effort.

8. My Reese equalizing trailer hitch was then installed on the frame, and the trailer wiring was spliced in. The vehicle was complete!

I now have over 30,000 miles on the unit, over half of which are with my Avion in tow. It has proven to be very dependable and averages about 10.5 MPG, not bad for a 6,000 pound station wagon with a 4,000 pound trailer and 1,000 pounds of passengers! My old Plymouth wagon didn’t ever do that good! I can comfortably seat 10 full-size adults, and can squeeze in 14 if necessary. The record was 23 for one 150 mile trip. The springs are ample for this load, as they are rated at 8800 pounds gross weight. It is ideal for long trips, as the children can easily move around and change seats, and they all face forward, which they much prefer to the rear facing wagons. I also enjoy the driving now, as the trailer doesn’t cause the heavy vehicle to whip or sway, and the power steering and brakes make it as easy to drive as any car. Parking takes a little getting used to the almost 20 foot length, however. The three rear seats are easily removable with wing nuts, leaving a huge space for carrying large objects. My most recent addition was an AM-FM radio which adds much to the enjoyment of traveling.

Except for the help I had with the engine switch and the auxiliary transmission installation, plus miscellaneous small welding and the tailgate painting, all work was done by myself, with the occasional help of various members of the family when the work required two people. It never fails to draw many comments at campsites, filling stations, and around town, and I must admit that I enjoy talking about it to all who ask questions!

Yours very truly,

Robert M. Snyder
Wichita, Kansas

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

THAT is Kool Ed! Boy your dad was quite the Innovator/Fabricator/Hot Rodder! Love the detail he gave. That 1-Ton has been through quite a transformation; Great history.

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Fascinating information as well as truck and family history. Thanks for sharing!

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

That is so cool to read this in your Dad's own words. Do you still have the tie clip? I've said it before that this truck has to be the best family and vehicle history ever and still think so.

Hope all is well.

DAC

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Dad still has the tie clip according to my sister who lives near Mom and Dad in Wichita, Doug. I'm hoping he'll pass it on to me.

Thanks for the kind words!

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

You're welcome Ed. I'm glad they are still doing well! I'm sure he knows it belongs with the truck. I can't blame him for hanging on to that little piece of recognition he got for submitting such a cool story.

DAC

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

I got a surprise in the mail from my sister today, Doug. She was able to convince Dad to pass ownership of the Golden Hammer award on to me. Here's what she wrote:

"Dad asked me to send you his prized Golden Hammer. It shows signs of wear because he used to wear it as a tie clip to work. No doubt he told the story to many co-workers. I hope you enjoy it as much as he did."

Dad worked as a systems engineer for the military division of Boeing in Wichita for 41 years before he retired in 1989.

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Something like that should have been worn proudly I'd say! The wear just adds to the history of the truck's story.

If I would have been awarded that little prize, I may have taken up wearing a tie!

Good for you to get another piece of the history!

DAC

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Thanks for posting up the thread Ed, I would of never found it. Great read, huge people mover for sure.
It looks like in one of your pictures, I spied a pair of ballast resistors, you running them in parallel for better ignition??
Steve

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Sorry I missed this when you first posted it, Steve. Dad actually installed a second ignition coil too. One is conventional, the other for a transistorized system. He liked to have redundancy.

By the way, Dad passed away October 24th at age 95. He would have been 96 on Pearl Harbor Day. You can see his photo with Mom near the top of page 2 of this thread.

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Ed,
My condolences, prayers and thoughts to you and family for his passing. May your Father rest in peace. Henry

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Sorry to hear Ed. My prayers and condolences to you and your family as well.

Re: One Ton Suburban
 

Sorry to hear about your dad Ed...

I enjoyed the visit I had with him several years ago. I remember him commenting about the familiar shifting/clicking sounds of the transmission when I took you guys for a ride in my ‘62.