This 1977 Chevrolet Suburban is not only a rust-free, original paint truck, but also left the factory with a host of desirable options. The seller has maintained it at a very high level but has also made some upgrades that should make it a desirable specimen for years to come. Wearing a very attractive combination of Cardinal Red over White two-tone paint, the Suburban has lived in Arizona since new and certainly looks like a truck that has benefitted from the desert climate. It sports a four-speed manual transmission and a locking rear axle, and the seller recently swapped in a fresh 350 crate engine. Find it here on eBay with bids to $16,600 and the reserve unmet.
The Suburban sports a classic design in that no matter how old it gets, it still looks like it could be pressed into daily driver duty without much of a struggle. That’s one reason why I love square-body trucks of any configuration; they make great errand runners while still allowing you to take the kids with you and all of their gear. I bought a ’98 Land Cruiser (well, the Lexus version) not too long ago and find it incredibly useful for throwing into the rotation if my daily driver is out of commission. With a third-row seat and a relatively compact form factor, the truck has already made itself a part of the family. The Suburban is much the same way, and aside from some the loss of some convenience features, I don’t know why you’d pay $65,000 for one when a truck like this is available.
The engine upgrade is very nice to have. Although we all love the idea of a numbers-matching truck, having the newfound power of a modern 350 makes the daily driver proposition much more palatable. The seller reports that the new mill pushes out a healthy 330 horsepower and has been refreshed from top to bottom. He’s also installed a fresh clutch and flywheel, and if he didn’t tell you it had been replaced, you likely wouldn’t have known to ask given how clean the install appears to be. No word on whether the original engine is included in the sale or whether it had a mechanical failure to prompt its replacement, but these trucks haven’t gotten so valuable that matching numbers can make or break a sale.
The interior is in good, clean condition; I wouldn’t call it a time capsule, but it’s nice enough. The seller reports that he’s the third owner and that the “tiger woodgrain” panels on the door and around the instrument cluster are in good shape. New fluids, tires, and a steering box round out the list of mechanical repairs that he’s made, and this Suburban comes with the added bonus of its original documentation included with the sale – even better, he’s got the receipts from the dealer showing a history of consistent maintenance. This is a great option for an appreciating classic you can drive every day, provided you live somewhere that doesn’t lay down corrosive salt on the roads.
The author with his toyota, should really check for frame rot. Every toyota comes with it standard. This suburban will outlast his import for generations.
My dad had a ’79 C-10. It rusted like it was an Olympic sport.
Keep this thing out of salt.
I had an ’82 C-20. Bought it used, in 1997, from a farmer who beat the living daylights out of it. I drove it until 2005, when the trans went. Gave it to my dad, put another transmission in it. And he drove it four 5 more years. And, we live in a state that loves salting the roads evety chance they get.
Anything truly valuable should be kept out of the salt. We are having a blizzard here in ND today and when it’s over I’m sure they will salt like mad.
Early 73 and newer Square bodies had lots of body rust issues. I have a 73 C10 and it is kept dry out of abundance of caution. Frames don’t rust bad, however.
Toyota frames from late 90s going forward 10 to 12 years did have extreme rusting problems as mentioned, and it’s not a joke. For that same reason my 79 Toyota sr5 pickup rests comfortably indoors from now till at least mid April.
With our weather here guess my old cars get to rest for awhile.
Clean condition, no rust, crate motor, 4-speed? The only thing missing is a big block. Would love to have a truck like this!
Nicely original except the dark tint has to go. Best thing about these old SUVs was their see-through nature – no tint, no headrests, someone sitting in a 50″ high Pinto or Vega behind them could see traffic ahead through the rear window.
These were a continuous great seller throughout the time that I worked for the GM dealer. The vast majority of them were 2 WD powered by 454/auto and I heard very few complaints about poor fuel economy. Did have some 4x4s with 400 SBCs that had some bottome end failures. Looks like the original A-6 A-C compressor gave up the ghost so someone swapped it for a new unit that probably uses R134. Would like to hear how that went because I sure hear a lot of complaints that the converted systems don’t cool as well as the original R-12. Right now I don’t have any vehicles running R-12 although I intend to run my ’79 with R-12 substitute…
Nice truck. I had an 82 that came from Richmond VA in 1989. With a LOT of undercoat oil it lasted until 1994 in the rust belt just south of Lake Erie. I’d love to have this one, but I already have two 4WD vehicles that are show quality and can’t be driven in bad weather. I could do it, but not to this one.
Very cool. The manual transmission, makes it more excellent.
My ‘89 ran great except for the weak rear end. The 350 engine pulled fine, but the rear end failed. Towing a 4000lb trailer did it in.
This truck is well-equipped for towing, for sure. For comfort, not so much. Not even a tilt steering wheel.
Very nice rust-free truck.30 years ago I paid $ 850 for 78 2-wheel drive suburban with +100k miles. It came with 350 four-bolt, Edelbrock manifold, headers,4 barrel, 4speed, dual exhaust, no catalytic converter and some rust. It was a fun truck to drive. Replaced the Moter after 200k miles.350 4bolt from junk yard installed for $500. Ran it for another 80k miles. Sold it for $750 due to the rust and the exhaust fumes through the rust making you dizzy while driving.
It was the best while it lasted but chevy rust ended it for me.
HI Geomech, you are likely considering 12a. For everyone else, when I bought my 69 Mustang it had already been converted to R134, and with the original AC components it was horrible. I did a conversion to R12a which was super easy, and never regretted it. R12a is much more efficient. It’s what they went to in Canada when US decided to help R134a makers get rich from selling a poor R12 substitute. While R12a is flammable, so is the R1234yf in every new car. There’s just not that much of it in a AC to be concerned. (I bet no one ever heard of a bunch of Canadian cars with R12a exploding. ) 12a is easy to buy if you do a web search. Note, you still have to convert an R12 system to R134 style fittings in order to use 12a.
That’s good to know, John. I’ve gone the “explosive talk” with worried customers many times in the past. I told them that gasoline under 60 psi, which is the going rate for most injection systems, will turn your car into a Roman candle long before a leaky A-C hose will. Some were sort of convinced but there were others who were sure that they would be driving down the freeway and a line would spring a leak and the car would erupt in a huge fireball. Some people are so gullible…
$25,000+ final sale. Wish I held onto my ’76 rust-free Georgia Sub w/454, 4wd, AC and locking diffs. Sold it for $5000 10 yrs ago before anybody cared.