Grandma’s Space Age Wagon!

9 months ago Gallery Owners + Clubs

The Carlisle Chrysler Nationals brings together some of the rarest and most unique Mopar_® vehicles on the planet. From the over-the-top restorations standing proud in the “T-Building” to late-model and old-school muscle neatly lined up row upon row or on the lush green rolling hills that are a landscape trademark of the iconic Carlisle Fairgrounds. Among the vast show field, we stumbled upon an interesting car that one does not see every day, but there it was just hanging out in the show field while its owners were basically picnicking among the other late-1950s mastodons that had roamed the newly paved interstates during the Eisenhower era. Sporting gobs or chrome, ornate badging and of course rear fins, it screamed ’50s optimism and had styling cues and themes from the space race. Here it was, a 1957 Dodge Suburban two-door station wagon that was based on the Coronet model line. Yes, Dodge and even Plymouth used the “Suburban” nameplate on a variety of people movers and grocery haulers up to the early 1970s, but over the last half century, the name has become more associated with that Bowtie SUV. Like every classic vehicle, there’s a back story and this one, like the car, is very unique.

The story begins in 1957 when Amelia B. Sanders, at the young age of 63, purchased this Dodge Suburban Wagon. When she passed away decades later in 1983, it was willed to a family member that happened to be the cousin of Amelia’s granddaughter, Pat Kapral, whose family is now the caretaker of the wonderful wagon. With only 35,577 miles on the odometer, the wagon originally led a charmed life of taking Mrs. Sanders, and her friends around town and running daily errands. With only 7,163 two-door Dodge Suburban Station Wagons produced in 1957, we’re confident all Mrs. Sanders cared more about was having dependable daily transportation than the scarcity of her wagon. With a 325-cubic-inch Polyspherical Head Semi-HEMI^® “RED RAM” V8 engine under its long-adorned hood, the Suburban made a healthy 245 horsepower and 320 pound-feet of torque. Ample power to motivate Mrs. Sanders despite the wagon’s hefty girth of 4,100 pounds. But over time, and after sitting in the garage for decades complete with the dings, dents and other driving scars from when Mrs. Sanders’ owned the car, the owner of the mammoth wagon informed Pat Kapral they were going to scrap the massive Dodge unless they wanted to come get it. Being a Mopar_® family that included Pat’s husband, Bob, and son, Brian, they quickly rescued this mid-century people mover from a one-way trip to the scrap heap.

“My mom’s grandmother bought the car new and drove it for many years. After she passed away, her cousin had the wagon in a garage, but it had not run in years. We told her if she ever wanted to get rid of the car, let us know as we knew it was a great family heirloom. Mom’s cousin finally said ‘Come get the car’ as the house it was stored at was getting sold. When we went to go look at the car and move, it had a hurt transmission that would not go into reverse, the radiator was not in the car, and the interior was missing a door panel and other items. But for the most part, the body was super-clean and had been garaged most of its life,” said Brian Kapral. He and his mother and father rescued the Suburban wagon and gave it a second life.

For the Kapral family, vintage Mopar vehicles are a way of life as they own a pair of Plymouth GTXs and a Challenger convertible. When they laid eyes on the Suburban wagon, it was still wearing its original “Gallant Gold” and “Glacier White” two-tone paint scheme, and the body only had minor dings, scratches and dents. “We were amazed at how solid the wagon was; it was pretty much rust-free other than the typical spots on the fenders above the headlights. The floors and frame are super-clean as the car spent 90% of its life garaged,” noted Brian. “It’s surreal at times as some of the experiences we’ve had with the car are just strange as I think Grandma Sanders is haunting this wagon,” laughed Brian. After getting the Suburban wagon road-worthy, Brian and his father made it road-trip-worthy as the Kapral family are members of the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) and do many road trips with this organization. “I wanted to update certain items like the driveline for part availability in the event, something happened on a tour or show away from home,” commented Brian. Since the primary drivers would be his parents who are both in their mid-70s, Brian also made additional changes. “I added air conditioning, power steering and a modern alternator. Another upgrade that I did which rarely gets used is the headlights. I swapped out the original incandescent bulbs for Hella H4 headlight housings which allows for individual bulb replacement. I opted for LED bulbs as they use less power and shine brighter than halogen bulbs. A good choice in my mind for my parents if they are out on a tour that goes into the evening hours so they can see safely. This upgrade was pretty much a direct bolt-in with the only modification being to reshape the headlight buckets to allow for more space for the heat sink on the LED bulbs. I located another set of headlight buckets and used those so as to not damage the original housings for the car. Brian also upgraded the gauges for more accurate readings and since we live in the modern age of GPS and cellphones, he added a 12-volt accessory outlet similar to a cigarette lighter so you can plug in modern electronic gadgets.

While the nose of the Dodge Suburban looks a bit like a Salvador Dalí surreal painting with its bizarre lines and styling cues, the back half of the wagon with its sweeping rear fins, chrome trim and stacked taillights screams “jet age.” Whatever cues the designers in Chrysler’s Highland Park studios threw at the 1957 Dodge Suburban two-door station wagon, it definitely stood out among its competition. But for Mrs. Sanders, she probably didn’t care. Just as long as it got her to the supermarket and church. Even though Mrs. Sanders never drove her station wagon much while it was under her ownership, her thumbprints can be seen on the car’s body panels in the scratches and dings she inadvertently inflicted on it. We do know one thing; she’d be very pleased that her beloved Dodge wagon is in the caring hands of her family.