In production since 1934, the Suburban is the longest continuously used automobile nameplate in history. It's obviously associated with Chevrolet, but Plymouth also offered a vehicle with the same badge from 1949 to 1978. This 1951 wagon is one of them, but it's no longer a stock grocery getter.
Introduced in 1934 as a station wagon on a truck frame, the Chevrolet Suburban is widely regarded as the spiritual predecessor to the modern SUV. Plymouth, on the other hand, began using the name in 1949 on a wagon variant of the De Luxe. It was America's first all-steel body grocery getter.
Revamped into a separate series in 1956, the nameplate was dropped in 1968, but it made a comeback between 1968 to 1978 as part of the Plymouth Fury lineup. Come 2022, and the Mopar's Suburban is largely forgotten, but you'll definitely remember this one.
Yup, it looks like a junkyard find that was stripped off completely, but it comes with quite a few boxes that include parts to put it back together. But here's what sets it apart from other project cars: this wagon flaunts a Seagrave V12 engine.
If you're not familiar with this company, it was founded in Detroit, Michigan back in 1881 and produced a wide range of chassis and fire trucks. In the 1930s, the firm began fitting V12 engines sourced from luxury carmaker Pierce-Arrow into its trucks and continued to do so (with in-house modifications) until the early 1970s. This flat-top mill comes from that era, being dated 1960.
There's not a lot of info on this unit, but we do know that Seagrave's smallest V12 came in at 462 cubic inches (7.6 liters), while the largest displaced as much as 906 cubic inches (14.8 liters). This one seems to be of the smaller variety, but it still looks massive between the Suburban's front wheels. It's probably why the front clip is missing in these photos.
So how complete is this car? Well, the seller says he has two boxes of parts for the car, some side glass, and four boxes of components for the engine. The body was moved on a 1996 Chevrolet Silverado frame, so the wagon will handle the torque of the V12. Disc brakes at all four corners provide stopping power.
The Plymouth also comes with a custom suspension, a custom mount for the manual gearbox, and a new driveshaft. The engine ran back in 2017 when the project was started and spins freely, but it's safe to say that it needs some work.
Truth be told, the entire car is a massive project that will require a lot of time and money to come to life, but the result could be spectacular. These Seagrave engines are easily capable of delivering 400 horsepower with proper work, while torque should exceed 600 pound-feet (813 Nm) of torque. It would make one heck of a hot rod!
Located in Murrieta, California, the Suburban is being sold as we speak by eBay's "dealhunter-123." The project has a "buy it now" price of $9,500, but the seller is accepting offers.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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