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Dry Arizona Find! 1969 Chevrolet Suburban

Two words that bring hope to any vintage project are “Arizona find.” Vehicles that have spent their life in Arizona haven’t been subjected to rain and road salt like their northern counterparts. This 1969 Chevrolet Suburban was said to have come from Arizona and can be found for sale here on restoreamusclecar.com. The Nebraska-based business caters to those of us who want to build a project rather than buy one. This big utility vehicle has an asking price of $6,800 making it only about a dollar per pound! If you’ve been looking for a vintage hauler for your whole family, check this one out!

The Chevrolet Suburban has been around for decades and a lot of their components are shared with their truck cousins. This makes them good candidates for a project. You can find a ton aftermarket and N.O.S. parts made for the truck lines but have a unique project that is much rarer.

The interior has seen better days but is certainly rescuable. The bench seats have well-used saddle-blanket covers. It’s a little unclear how much of the upholstery is salvageable. You can see typical wear on the dash, but this looks like a long-term driver, which is usually a good sign. With three rows of seating and cargo room behind the third row, these suburbans will haul your entire family, pets and camping supplies.

The engine looks like its seen better days. The ad states it is a 350 cubic inch V8 with an automatic transmission. It also says the “Engine and Driveline Complete, but not running. All AC Components are still installed.” A crate 350 would drop right in for a reasonable price, but this big rig would be more suited for a big block or diesel.

This thing would make a great hauler or vintage camper. What would you do with it if it was yours?

Comments

  1. Avatar leiniedude Member

    Ha, my girlfriends folks had a new when we were in high school. Bright yellow like this. I wish I would have counted how many of us kids were packed in there at times. The burban was named by her folks, the Wazoo Wagon. They could not have picked a better handle!

    Like 1
  2. Avatar ACZ

    For the right price, this would make a great DuraMax conversion.

    Like 1
  3. Avatar Paul R

    I find it kinda strange that it doesn’t have a rear door on the driver side for people to get into the back seat, but the passenger side does. Was this an option for the ‘burb?

    Like 0
    • Avatar BOP_GUY Member

      Actually, that’s the only way they came. You couldn’t get a drivers side rear door for the passengers, as far as I know.

      Like 2
  4. Avatar BOP_GUY Member

    Wow, blast from the past! My Dad bought the 1970 version of this in 1971, with a little less than a thousand miles on it. The sellers had bought it for retirement travel, to pull their trailer, but sadly the husband had a severe stroke before getting to enjoy retirement much. It was two tone yellow and white, 3/4 ton and two wheel drive, and my Dad added a/c. For ten years that truck was the backbone of all our family vacations. We would pull our little ski boat up to different campgrounds in Nor Cal, fishing and enjoying the lakes. It’s the vehicle I learned how to do oil changes on, as well as brake adjustments and lube jobs. Although I think the 350 was the only option at that point, it did the job without hesitation, pulling a fully loaded boat and a family of 5 up into the mountains at various elevations and grades. Sure would be fun to save this baby and bring her back to life! I’d probably go restomod, old school looks with new tech hidden underneath. Maybe a 454?! For some reason we always called it a Carryall, not a Suburban. All the owners manuals and stuff had called it a Carryall, I think? 🤔

    Like 2
  5. Avatar Alfred

    A guy in my neighborhood has one that’s powder blue on bottom and white on top. It is lowered with huge wheels and blue tinted windows. Very nice ride

    Like 0
  6. Avatar Paul R

    It’s kinda strange that there is no rear door for the passengers on the drivers side. Maybe it could be ordered this way?

    Like 0
    • Avatar LD71😄

      Paul R, here’s my 2cents re 3 doors.
      Back when Chrysler introduced the mini van, an old friend who had been a Dodge dealer since the 40s told me the factory had shown a prototype at a dealers mtg.

      The van had 4 doors, including slider as rear passenger door. My friend said he & other dealers told the engineers the didn’t want to sell it with rear door on driver’s side as kids & grandkids might be too quick to jump out into traffic after parents parked at the curb.

      So the first minivan only had one door on driver side.

      Of course over time this rule has been broken with new vans having 4 doors — maybe most parking is in lots these days not curbside?
      So maybe this Surbarban was ahead of its time with same idea?
      LD71😄

      Like 3
  7. Avatar ICEMAN from Winnipeg

    Manitoba Interlake Region Hutterite Men-Folk used these to transport their harem to discount department stores like WOOLCO and Zellers in Winnipeg to buy fabric. Quite humourous to see women dressed in 1600s clothing roaming about in a department store !! Suburbans and International Travelal were popular with these folks.

    Like 2
  8. Avatar Bobby Longshot

    I love the $/lb. unit of evaluating a car deal mentioned in this article. I recently purchased a 2000 Chevy Tahoe for $2500. Fully loaded and Z71 suspension, but it’s near 200K miles and a couple of minor electrical issues, so a fair price on a fair vehicle? Well it is if you consider that works out to about 50 cents per pound! I drive around in this Silver Ox with a big smile on my face because it cost about the same by weight as raw potatoes! Anyone else got a deal this good?

    Like 0
  9. Avatar local_sheriff

    Considering what others pay for same era pickups and Blazers I’d say this would make a cosy project vehicle if price could be negotiated. Suburban specific parts have become more available in recent years so it would be an easy project.
    It could be slammed and treated just like pickups are, only one would have a much more long-journey friendly vehicle!

    Anybody notice the interesting yellow square body in the background of 4th pic?

    Like 0

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