(first posted 5/4/2015) The GM-800 Suburban CC the other day made me realize that we’re closing in on full coverage of all the Suburban generations, except of course the most important one of all: this one. The 1977-1991 was the true breakthrough Suburban, the one that transitioned from what had been a tough working rig for utility and ranch crews into the ultimate suburban-mom soccer wagon. Given that it was built for an almost infinite nineteen years, there’s still a few out there earning their keep. This one sure is.
Actually, for a vehicle that goes back to 1935, our CCs start fairly late into its long career. The oldest one in our archives is for the 1959-1966 generation, of this particular ’66. Back then, the Suburban had only two side doors, one on each side. Which sent a pretty clear signal to prospective buyers: this is not an alternative to your beloved Country Squire. It’s a pickup with a long roof, and climbing into the second seat is a chore. Climbing into the third seat is a Marine-certified obstacle course.
The next generation moved closer to that possibility of competing for the more genteel part of the wagon market, but it was still a bit short on a few key amenities, including a second rear side door on the driver’s side. Yes, this was a rare three-door utility wagon, and when you think about, not such a terrible compromise. This was before kids each had their own electric-closing side mini-van door, giant throne, rear air conditioning, a full home theater system and a refrigerator. Did I miss something? A dedicated robot?
But the all-new 1973 Suburban really upped the ante. Not only four doors, finally, but even fake wood sides to strongly suggest the market it was now pursuing. Interiors were plusher, the ride smoother, the sound deadening was thicker, and the big 454 V8 was on tap (optionally) was mission appropriate. The Suburban was shaking its blue-collar roots and heading straight up into more affluent territory. And it really worked.
Within some years, GM realized that the Suburban’s (non-fleet) buyers were actually more affluent than Cadillac’s, which had been on a downward trajectory for some time already anyway. In a flip-flop that is perhaps the ultimate reflection of the modern American automotive scene, a big truck-based wagon became the vehicle of choice over a Cadillac for America’s wealthiest car buyers.
Of course that played out over several decades, and today, Cadillac’s Suburban-based Escalade is their most successful product. In 1973, nobody would have guessed that yet. The new Suburban was being pitched as an über-wagon, with greater room, towing capacity, and all-round utility.
By 1977, it had developed the moniker ‘Superwagon’. And its qualities were really coming into their own about then, as all of the big passenger-car based station wagons were sent in for major size and weight reduction surgery. And with the second energy crisis and CAFE, which emasculated those wagons further, the Suburban became ever more super-desirable, for those looking for a big, husky wagon.
Somewhat oddly, Ford just sat back on its lazy Country Squire butt and watched the Suburban’s sales grow year by year, and never did anything about it, even when IH pulled the plug on its light-truck line including the Travelall, which really pioneered the truck-based four-door utility wagon, back in 1961.
It wouldn’t have been all that hard. And since Ford wouldn’t, others did it, but of course that made it more expensive. Centurion built a fair number of these Centurion 350s, marrying Ford pickup and Bronco parts to create a credible Suburban competitor. But one had to be a die-hard GM hater, as the prices were sky-high.
This generation suburban is one of those rare vehicles whose length of time in production comes close to a human generation; a full 19 years. By 1991 (above) it was looking more than a bit outdated. Why GM waited three years to come out with the GM-400 version of the Suburban is a mystery; well, maybe not, since it sold well enough and had no competition, why bother?
Which places this 1982 model right in the middle. I’ve run into it out on the streets for a couple of years, but never stopped. This well-used ‘burban has been the faithful companion to its owner for quite some years, and he’s wavering now about getting rid of it or keeping it. At the beginning of our visit, he said it was a good thing I came by today, as it was going to be gone in a matter of days. By the end of the shoot, he was talking about detailed plans to fix various things and keep it going forever.
They’re both from North Dakota, so they have some joint history. or di he say he was from Montana? I need to write stuff down. Either way, it’s cold and snowy there in the winter.
Which explains the rust on the Suburban’s sills. That’s fixable, as is anything else.
Since patina is in, he was also talking about clear-coating it as is. And I think he mentioned that its rear axle came from a Camaro, but I’m not sure that makes sense. On the other hand, Chevy is the ultimate plug-and-play manufacturer, so why should that not work?
And I think he also said something about the origins of the ubiquitous 350 V8 being some other vehicle. Swapping SBCs is so deeply ingrained that some folks just have to do it every few years lest they fear losing this vital skill.
An all-too familiar sight for anyone who lived though this generation of Chevy trucks. There were a lot more plastic surfaces than its steel-lined predecessor, but it wasn’t all of the highest caliber. What else is new?
Here’s the most important shot of all. These superwagons are super big, and just the ticket for the person that needs to haul many (all?) of life’s possessions around with them. Although it’s probably not exactly what Chevy originally had in mind.
Suburbans came with either a drop-down tailgate, or these barn doors, which were favored by those that used its rear loading capabilities on a regular basis. Coincidentally, there’s a Chevy truck of the same generation down the street. Still plenty of them around.
At the time, my feelings about these was not generally favorable, in terms of their growing use by families at the time we had young kids. Our Cherokee looked minute compared to them; these Suburbans were enormous compared to most family cars in the 80s, including the new Chrysler minivans. But their appeal was not to be denied, especially for those that wanted it all. And that is a very common desire.
Related reading:
CC 1966 Suburban: Finding The “Sport” In SUV
CC 1970 Suburban: Third Door On The Right
CC 2000 Suburban – GM’s First Hit of the new Millenium
CC 1965 IH Travelall: The Suburban of its Time
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GMH tried these on the Aussie market for a while but even with Holden badging they were hard to sell they simply suck too much gas and really suit the US with its cheap gas pricing,
I’ve seen a few of these even here in Japan, although they’re always driven by a slick-hair-and-gold-rimmed-sunglasses type with a young, stylish girl in the passenger seat and no kids at all. This generation can still be seen crawling down traffic-choked thoroughfares during vacation season, although newer ones are more, uh, common… well, not exactly common, no full-sized SUV is here, but I think you get my meaning.
I can’t imagine maneuvering that behemoth on narrow, crowded Asian roads. Then again, everyone probably just gets out of your way.
Still see tons of those down in Mexico (Also tons of SJ Grand Wagoneers). I guess Pemex is good for something…
These things and Hummer H2s. I can scarcely believe it myself when I see them squeeze past me. They’re all always surprisingly shiny, too.
In the late seventies / early eighties some police-units had them. Most of them were all-white, this one has a more outstanding police outfit. (Photo courtesy of T. Roest)
This was before kids each had their own electric-closing side mini-van door, giant throne, rear air conditioning, a full home theater system and a refrigerator. Did I miss something? A dedicated robot?
You missed the seatbelt. I Think.
I think both with 73-91 Suburban and K5 Blazer there is also the question, when exactly did it become popular to lift those to fit 35″ or 37″ mud tires on 15x10s. Sometime in the 1980s? Nowadays it is hard to imagine and painful to see such trucks with their factory original wheel and tire. Sure, it fits into those wheel wells but something just feel so wrong without huge mudders.
I used to see a fair number of these as a kid but haven’t seen one in a while. I hd no idea you could get di-noc wood siding on a Suburban.
“Did I miss something? – Yes reclining lazy boy chairs with foot rests.
Perhaps that’s what Paul meant by “giant throne”. 🙂
This may have been GM’s luckiest move ever. The Suburban’s evolution hit it’s maturity right when it’s only competition (Travelall) went away and when big American cars downsized to the point where they were no longer suitable for the biggest trailers. I think the Airstream crowd was among the first to latch onto these.
For awhile, passenger vans were more popular for the “big family” market, but then SUVs became hot, and there sat the Suburban, all ready to morph from big wagon to big SUV in the public imagination.
I have driven several of these, and personally prefer the subsequent generation, which fixed most of the body and interior cheapness of these. However, a BIL who owned both told me that these were actually wider. The 92+ took off like a rocket, but this one laid the foundation that allowed it to do so.
Monsters but in a good way .
These things filled Southern California Roadways like Toyotas do now back then .
I found a hard to find i6 & factory AC equipped one in Hillside Auto Salvage yesterday , sadly someone else beat me to the AC compressor brackets but I managed to get a few good items .
These were the very last real trucks GM made , to bad they has such terrible rust issues from new .
-Nate
I remember seeing these in junkyards in the early 90s with holes in the floors big enough to lose a kid through. I was aware that these were available with the 250 CID six, but I didn’t think people were actually supposed to order them like that. With AC yet, could it even move under it’s own power?
The 250 I6 wasn’t meant for the passenger-oriented Suburbans with A/C and all the other creature comforts; it was for the work-oriented Suburbans with no seats. Basically a base-model pickup truck with a covered bed.
Yeah but even those versions still weighed well over 5000 pounds.
As long as you just needed to GET THERE they were fine as the i6 versions tended to have lower final drive ratios .
If you disabled or tweaked the EGR valve to not open until 3,000 RPM’s and set the timing ‘ Just So ‘ ~ they moved right along .
Their real downfall was the rust ~ GM simply didn’t care and not only designed in sediment traps _everywhere_ in the body , they also used vastly inferior metal then didn’t bother with the phosphorus bath after the bare bodies were jig welded ~ , same as the ’67 ~ ’67 trucks but they had slightly better steel .
My ’76 GMC 2500 was a Southern California truck from new and it had rust here & there , bubbles around pinch welds and so on . not serious being an L.A. area rig but jeeze….
-Nate
This was also the first generation of GM truck that was finished in water based paint, at least in the California assembly plants. I saw many of them rust from the top down.
My Dad factory ordered a new 1973 Suburban. Lime Green with woodgrain sides….Cheyenne Super saddle interior….Heavy duty suspension and cooling system….The big issue was rust. GM must have used reprocessed metal in the early ones of this generation because the body had rust holes at 3 years old…..rocker panels were completely gone at 5 years and the fenders had gaping holes in them by 7 years….He kept it for 12 years and 117,000 miles but the body was dissolving…..The rust on the feature Suburban in this article is primarily surface rust…..The rust on my Dad’s was straight through to metal……I must have put at least 5 gallons of bondo body filler on it to keep patching the rust holes…..Prices on the Suburban started taking off like a rocket during the 70’s…pretty much doubling between 1973 and 80…..A Suburban that stickered for $5,000 in 1973 stickered comparably equipped for $25,000 in 1991 with the same body style and perhaps a bit fancier interior. Nowadays, Suburbans are stickering well up into the $50K and above range.
These things rusted even in geographical areas where there was little salt used. Pickup version, the same.
My dad had a ’79 pickup from new, had to have rust repair/new paint twice between then and when he sold it in ’86.
We had a ’75 GMC Sierra 15 that was rusted to hell in 6 years. What was it about this generation? They rusted more than the 1967-1972 series.
I wonder if a shortened Olds version of this would have worked in the mid seventies. A stiffer, better insolated body. A raised 3rd row to maximize remaining space and allow for vista windows that also give it an Olds flavor and seem less butch. A Cutlass Salon like interior. A no emissions gas Olds 350 with fuel injection and a price above the Toronado. Olds at the time was probably just trying to figure out how to make enough Cutlasses, but I think it could have worked.
I always like this generation. There was a real estate developer in town who had a nice 2wd one, bright red, it was beautiful. He owned the trailer park in town where my parents live, would never plow the road until his Suburban got stuck, cheap soul. But gosh, that ‘Burb…
In 1988 my dad was shopping for a used Suburban with the 6.2L V8 diesel. Couldn’t find one in a reasonable time because owners tend to hang onto them for the long haul, so he settled for a 1984 GMC van with the diesel. The van eventually became mine in 1998 when he finally found a diesel-powered 1988 Suburban in excellent condition, much like today’s feature vehicle except without the “patina”. A good truck that served as his DD for 10+ years.
I think the three door (four counting the rear) was something that deserved to take off on a lot of utility type vehicles. Would love to have an extra on the passenger side of my 210. Very van like and very practical. Guess that’s why it died.
This type vehicle would drag me back to GM if I could afford it.
One of the leaders of my Boy Scout troop had one of the final years of this generation, with the revised front sheetmetal like the black and red example in the article. His was ice blue/white two-tone but otherwise identical. I remember how comfortable it was to ride in and how it seemed even more spacious than the minivans or small SUVs that were our other travel vehicles. And while it may have looked a little out of date after introduction of the GMT700 trucks, it still looked handsome.
Was the six-door version factory, BTW, or an aftermarket conversion? There’s a very unique one near me that might make a good CC outtake. Have photos, just need to put something together…
My Dad’s 73 Suburban was always good in the snow….Despite it being 2 wheel drive, when it had the Firestone Town and Country winter tires on the back, it handled snow quite well…..People used to ask him if it was 4WD the way it handled in the snow…..The 5000 lb curb weight with good weight distribution over the rear axle helped it in snoe.
I agree. My dad’s Suburban was also RWD and, like my van, never had any problems in the snow. Switching from my van to my RWD pickup truck taught me that having good weight distribution is key.
There are three of this generation burned into my brain. One owned by my Uncle Denny that was from the early 80s with 4×4 and the 6.2 ltr non turbo diesel. It was his fathers and after the old man (Carl) thought it was too ratty to use as a travel/go to church vehicle, Denny used it to pull wagons and things around his farm and fields.
Carl replaced it with a 1991 model with the 454 (2wd) and drove it through his retirement until his passing several years ago.
The third one is one that I only saw once while on the riding mower in my teenage years. We lived on a county road but next a state highway. Someone drove by in a baby blue and white two tone model with “IROC” graphics along the doors. It was so strange I wish I had a camera.
I had a fair amount of seat time in these in the 80s. I recall one disagreeable aspect of the 4×4 versions, the ride. Because of the solid front axle, the truck body would roll going over bumps while the human body stayed upright. Big enough bumps would whack your head against the window.
From Popular Mechanics – 1991
I read that very same article back in 1991. In Spanish!
Drove a 74 2WD fully loaded with 5 passengers and two weeks worth of luggage from Boston to West Virginia and back. Very nice comfortable ride and great visibility.
Took a friend’s father’s early 80s 2wd Suburban diesel on high school senior trip to Daytona FL in 1985…that thing had amazing A/C…it got so cold that the steel part of the lower dash had condensation on it. Say what you will about GM, they knew/know how to design amazing HVAC systems.
We also blew up the motor on the way home…that’s a story for another time.
Ah how I miss A/C from the pre-R134a (or whatever it is) days!!!
My mom’s 1977 Buick Electra would practically freeze you out of the car if you left it on full cold setting.
RE : ‘ Pre R143a Dayze ‘ ;
There’s a bit of a trick to it , I have not yet learned it , most of my oldies still run R-12 as it’s the very best and if you do the job right , it doesn’t leak out and need constant topping up .
R-12 is still out there if you look .
In my old Valley Shop Location we had a younger Mechanic who knew _everything_ and he explained it to me once , at that time I had a nearly FREE supply of R-12 so I foolishly didn’t write it all down .
IIRC it has to do with the high side’s pressure when you charge an old R-12 system with R-143a .
Certainly GM’s AC was the best and coldest there ever was .
I’m an Apologist for so many of GM’s sins but they screwed up in these wonderful trucks (’73 ~ ’91) ~ just look at how many are still out there doing yeoman duty ~ if they’d given any thought to rust prevention , there would be millions still in VGC instead of rusty old beaters in Grampa’s Garage .
-Nate
But they were in business to sell you another new truck, so why would they bother with rust prevention? Until a competitor’s product didn’t rust out so fast.
We watched our neighbor’s rust into oblivion just a dozen or so feet from our driveway, yet when it was time to find a vehicle that could tow his large travel trailer, my father said he needed to consider the Suburban. We all cringed.
It was 1988 and the local Chevrolet dealer assured us that whatever happened to it, they would fix it. Without a suitable option, we bought it and garaged it faithfully every night. I smeared heavy duty wax upon every exposed part of it. I waxed the wheel wells and underneath. GM had a five year rust through guarantee. Within three years, we needed to have both front fenders and the tailgate replaced, due to rust.
Before driving it off the lot, we walked around it and made a list of all the things that needed to be fixed or replaced. Trim was loose, the hood shimmied, the grille was miserably assembled, there were two dashboard pieces that were gouged when assembled.
By father kept a file folder for all the maintenance done, so that when he traded it in, he could show every dime he spent on it. Within four years, the folder was thicker than an old Chicago phone book.
Transmission problems.
Engine gasket problems.
Instrument gage problems.
All the door weathering strips were replaced.
New gas tank.
New front fenders.
New tailgate.
Fuel injection problems.
Since we bought the full warranty, GM paid for nearly everything while we had this giant lemon safely docked into our heated garage.
Yet it towed the trailer well. Across the US, the Suburban pulled our travel trailer over anything challenging us. For two months every year, the Suburban was a champ.
My mom drove it the other ten months. She liked the size of it and I loved crashing out in the rear seat, far from parental conversations. Yet, it was a rare month that the vehicle was not at the local dealer – fixing a problem.
As it approached 60,000 miles, our entire family was in a tizzy trying to find something to replace it. While it still looked new, we got rid of that thing the week the extended warranty expired. Got top dollar trade in for it, as well.
My dad replaced it with a new 35′ RV, and a Mercury Sable – which never gave us any problems for the next decade.
But the Chevrolet Suburban was a giant piece of crap!
Heated garages makes vehicles in salty climates rust faster.
My parents had a new ’73 Suburban, Silverado package, 454 4-BBL V8 engine, “Trailer Towing” axle (IDK what the numbers were; but it did “buzz” doing 75 mph). Although not quite as quiet or smooth riding as their past station wagons; it did swallow up anything & everything we needed for our 6 member family road trips. It’s front and rear Air Conditioning (when my Father would grudgingly use it!) kept all passengers cool and contented. The 1200 mile road trip to our relatives in Oklahoma flew by.
Then, 18 months after purchasing this Road Trip Wonder, gasoline went wayyyyyyy up in price. Suddenly it’s often single digit fuel economy (a relative term with this vehicle) soured it’s appeal somewhat. (“You do pay for your pleasures” Dad would say as he filled it up with no-lead.)
When it was two years old, the upper silver portion of it’s attractive two-tone paint scheme starting to peel off.
Then the top started to rust, even in this non-snow belt location of the deep south (New Orleans). The top and around the winshield rusted so severely and thoroughly that silver silicone rubber was used to (temporarily) stop up the water lengths!
The rubber gaskets around ALL the windows and doors then hardened and/or turned to black dust when touched,
Then the various, vague interior rattles starting popping up……
If gasoline had not escalated SO high in price per gallon; perhaps all the above detriments could had been overlooked. But every time it’s dual tanks were filled up Dad’s eyes would wince in pain.
The last two years it squatted it’s Long Length in our driveway it was seldom driven.
Eventually Dad took quite the financial beating when he traded it in for a more fuel efficient (and less rust & rattle prone) Chrysler Cordoba for my Mother.
In my experience, some of these were definitely better than others. We owned two Suburbans in our family, a very basic tan ’79 with dual rear doors and later a much fancier ’83 in the same silver-and-navy-blue two-tone as the subject vehicle. The ’79 was very bare bones, basically a work truck with vinyl seats and a 350. The ’83 had the tailgate, the 454, a plush blue velour interior and power everything. The ’79 was tough and bullet-proof. The ’83 was nothing but problems and despite all the luxury upgrades, it felt cheaper. The rust was much worse than on the ’79 too. My stepfather liked the ’79 so much he bought the fancier ’83 as an upgrade, but regretted it ever since. We got rid of it when the frame cracked under the engine, among other woes.
This truck looks like an ’83. ’81/’82 had the turn signals in the bumper, and this particular example has the dash mounted wipers, which got moved to the signal stalk in 1984.
In about 1982 our local Chevrolet dealer asked for volunteers to drive the vehicles in their inventory from the old downtown location to the new store out next to the freeway. I showed up and drove a variety of vehicles but the one I remember most was the new red and silver Suburban. It did indeed feel like a tall Cadillac, with full power, V8 performance, and a nice sound system.
Amazing how bad this ’80s GM stuff was. In late ’86 or early ’87, the owner of the boat shop I worked for bought, brand new, two 1986 Chevy C20 2WD trucks for shop trucks. Identical,with carbed 305 and granny manual transmissions. Paid 22K for the pair! How brand new trucks could have so many squeaks and rattles in them was amazing. And one died on me on the boat ramp in Tualatin Park. Would not start. HEI module died. Truck had a whopping 175 miles on it.
And I might add those ’86 305s, even when coupled to a granny low 4 speed, were hardly a model of towing ability. Shortest lasting, least dependable trucks. Chevrolet has their slogan backwards. Like A Rock. Yes, usually found along side the road like a pebble. And in late’87, owner bought Alumaweld Boats. So, to get them to the shop, he bought, also brand new, an ’87 Chevy C30 dually, 454 and granny low 4 speed. First year of throttle body injection. This truck made the ’86 C20 twins look like a model of reliability. Was always in the shop for something.
You have no clue. GM’s TBI was super reliable when introduced on the SBC & BBC Chevrolets. Funny how the ’87 454 Dually I had was carbed though — perhaps you are wrong on that account too. The carb & associated Rube Goldberg emissions crap was 10X more of a hassle to deal with then the TBI 454 that’s in my SUPER reliable ’89 Suburban. I’ve owned/own both versions and you are dead wrong.
Regurgitating second hand experiences loaded with your tiring personal bias does not makes you the expert although it does piss those off who do have a clue.
Nothing handier than some else’s Suburban. Like grandchildren, sometimes it’s a relief to send them home.
Studebaker had a 4wd setup for their pickups. Would have liked to see it available on the wagons. Might have been a big hit.
Back in the 90s (and still today) the suburban and ford expedition was the mommeymobile for upper middle class moms. I thought it was so obnoxious to have one when a minivan could haul more passengers and cargo. Today i have my own family and an odyssey and still find them obnoxious.
> I thought it was so obnoxious to have one when a minivan could haul more passengers and cargo.
WDYM? A Suburban hauls 8 or even 9 with a front bench seat. Most minivans hold 7 or maybe 8. LWB minivans can probably hold more cargo inside thanks to the lower floor and FWD, but a Suburban can tow a lot more.
Missed this article the first time around.
I worked at a summer camp that had three of these suburbans, representing each of the refreshes it went through in the generation: A ’75, an ’86, and a ’91, IIRC. I drove all three, packed with kids, on adventures down unpaved roads up and down the high sierras in northern CA. The ’75 was absolutely unwieldy, with hugely assisted power steering that made for a big, floppy wheel that turned, like, 15 or so degrees in any direction without much effect. When we’d take these out on excursions, we beat the bejesus out of them, and they took a licking with nary a complaint. I have no doubt in my mind that all three are still out there kicking somewhere, and in far better cosmetic shape than the featured one here.
This is a M. Y. 1983; not a 1982. Great find, BTW!
I have some fond memories of a 75 model that my dad bought from a Chevy dealer he worked for, circa 1980. It was a practical vehicle for our family, which had 4 kids. One of its predecessors was a VW Beetle of all things, which became miasmic when Mom smoked with the windows closed.
In addition to hauling the family for daily duty, it was great for vacations, and also for hauling firewood when Dad and I became suburban lumberjacks to offset some of the increasingly expensive oil that our aging furnace required to keep our drafty house marginally comfortable.
It was also a great vehicle for a young man with a freshly minted license and grand ambitions. Off-roading (problematic at times because it was only 2WD, and also because it tended to stall after going through a large puddle), cruising with large groups of friends (before seatbelt laws and strict enforcement of laws prohibiting alcohol consumption in vehicles), and, where some of the fondest memories were made, as a rolling den of iniquity (back when a behemoth vehicle with condensation on the windows parked at the end of a dead end street didn’t draw the attention of curious officers.) I am still surprised that my parents didn’t rescind my driving privileges, or even ask questions, about the beer caps, or the sleeping bags stored in the back.
Less troubling at the time because I didn’t know better, but bothersome in retrospect was the quality of the vehicle. Oxidation came early, beginning with the wheel arches, and metastasized quickly. The tailgate window never worked properly, and I remember wishing for the double doors. The transmission died around 60.000 miles, and began slipping well before that. The interior was cheap plastic, and I recall cracks forming in the dash pad. The AM radio with the cheap single speaker in its glorious tinny-ness. The exhaust system rotted away early, and the manifold studs and rusted heat risers added insult to injury. And of course the 350 with 4 barrel carburetor was quite thirsty.
Why GM waited three years to come out with the GM-400 version of the Suburban is a mystery; well, maybe not, since it sold well enough and had no competition, why bother?
This is correct. I worked for GMC Truck Division then and knew a guy who made the mistake in a meeting of wondering why we kept selling this crapper when the new truck came out in model year ’88. He’s lucky he didn’t get fired. Those last years of Suburban’s had some really bad quality control. Early TBI 454’s ran terrible, no power, poor fuel mileage. Throw in that 6.2 diesel with a 700R4 transmission and now you had a real hanger queen.
Had close friends at a big Ford truck dealer that sold those modified 4 door Bronco’s. Their explanation was Ford didn’t think the Suburban market was big enough to warrant building a 4 door Bronco to compete with it. Odd how that market got hot and then cooled off. You could at open time get 1/2, 3/4 and 1 ton Suburban’s and Ford had the Expedition and the Excursion covering the same markets. Now its just 1/2 tons. The work horses are gone. A lot of fleets bought the big dogs for work vehicles, now its a van or a pickup instead.
…the proud GM motto.
I remember this article. True here in Texas back in the day.
My best friend’s parents in Dallas, Texas went through a few Suburbans during the 1980s. My father’s close friend in Houston has a couple of Suburbans for the weekend trips to the coasts. What I recalled the most was how hard and coarse the plastic interior trims felt. I know enough to prefer the tailgate instead of barn doors.
With his second Suburban, his father ordered it fully kitted out but forgot one crucial detail: power locks. He didn’t notice it until his Suburban was delivered. The sales associate went through the order and pointed out that it wasn’t listed. A big face palm for his father.
What a HUGE pain in the arse to scurry across the wide seat to pull the lock pins every time! And readjusting our clothes, too. His poor mum had it worse because of her diminutive figure.
I suggested to my best friend about pulling the complete set from the wrecked Suburban at the junkyard. Operating under the radar, we pulled the parts from several Suburbans, including the colour-matched door panels. While his father went away on business, we installed the parts and tested them.
Seeing his father’s gleaming smile was priceless when seeing the retrofitted power locks…
What a cool idea, and I’m glad it worked.
Upfitting a car can lead one down time and money vortices due to unexpected incompatibilities, as Daniel Stern related to us in the recent story of his Valiant.
I’ve dreamt of such things, but money concerns early in life and learning from the misery of others in the internet age have largely kept me from being sucked into those vortices.
Its great when you can pull it off without a lot of trouble and actually improve a vehicle.
The closest I’ve come recently was getting the windshield replaced on a Subaru. The installer asked whether I had wiper heaters, and brought out both kinds of windshield because I wasn’t sure. It turned out that Subaru installed the wiring and connector but not the windshield on the options package that my car had. He put in the windshield with the heating elements, which was the same price as the one without, and just like that my car had a new feature.
The reason GM continued the square body Suburban/Blazer/crew cab production thru 1991 model year, when the new GMT 400 pickup came out in midyear 1987 as an ’88 model, was to use up all the parts and finish development of the new models. I have heard this from many people who worked for GM in plants and at dealerships.
My family has owned five square body Burbs (’75, ’77, ’79, ’84, and a ’90)as well as three pickups of that generation. They all had issues, but the rust didn’t seem to be more of a problem than any other similar age vehicle. The rear AC Burbs had a reputation for rusting on the right rear pillar and corner where the lines went inside the body. Most of them in the greater Houston, Texas area got that fixed promptly. The ’90 had the TBI 350 which was more reliable than the carbureted earlier models. It was a 2500 series,3/4 ton and was stouter because of that. We towed small trailers with all of them, and car haulers with the ’90 which did the job happily.
In 2005 the last square body Burbs we had were the ’84 and ’90; the ’84 got stolen and was replaced with a ’99 C1500 400 series Burb. I wanted another square, but the only ones available then were cheap but needed a LOT of work to be reliable and dependable. These trucks got worked hard and didn’t get much care other than very basic maintenance, most of the time in my observation. Typical of any truck no matter brand, once it gets age and miles on it!
That ’99 got totalled when it got hit by a red light runner in 2012. My dad and brother walked away, the people who hit them left in an ambulance. Cars usually come out the loser in a fight with a truck! Bought another ’99 Burb in 2013, still have it, and recently acquired another 400 series truck, a low mileage ’97 crew cab long bed C3500. I love my Burb but sometimes I need a pickup.