It’s not often we learn anything of the histories of vehicles found rusting away in barns, providing a home for rodents. However, this old panel truck listed on eBay in Sebastopol, California, has had an interesting past. It began life with the California Department of Forestry and then was purchased by Mr. Hash who drove it home to Texas after the war. His grandson drove it back to California in 1976 and parked it in his barn. After 41 years the daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter watched as it was hauled out of the barn after 41 years. The paint could be the original paint with a bit of the logo still visible on the doors. At this time Suburban has been bid up to almost $12,000 with only a few hours left.
It looks like at least the seat frames are there. And boy does it need a good cleaning.
It looks to be complete under the hood but they don’t say if the engine will turn.
It would be interesting to know what the future holds for this old truck. Time in the barn has not been very kind, but if it had stayed on the road it would most likely have been crushed by now. Hopefully, the same folks who would like to resto mod this Suburban also think it’s only worth $1,500 and it will remain as original as possible. I look forward to seeing what readers think.
It will probably be fully restored due to it’s rarity and condition. Neat old truck.
After being in the family that long it is sad that the family won’t restore it ,it would cost more then it is worth ,but family history is worth more then money any day ,I’d love to have a car that my grandfather had ☺
Funny, as I was reading, I thought the same thing. I was thinking of my grandfathers old Scout.
Thankfully my dad didn’t scrap his 1934 REO after running it into a ditch in 1952. Restored now and still in the family for going on 69 years. :)
hw much you want for the project and is for sale gus rios jr out i n simi valley ca grios8882@gmail had a 65 chevy that i found in box canyon didnt complete strick had to sell three one in storage two in my garage near my condo in moorpark.email me send message if you want to sell or if you have another
Google ’37 Suburban and click on images….what do you see ?
Not much. What does that say ? If it’s not Googleable, buy it !
its not a suburban its a carry all no such thing as a 37 chevy suburban thats why you cant google it i had a yard full of these things at one point
This is a restoration project for sure. I would refrain from a concourse quality because I would enjoy actually driving it. Complete trucks like this with a family history need to be put back to the original glory and kept that way. That old 216 will keep it moving forward for a long time, albeit not too fast. Restore it and enjoy it, then let the next generation look after it…
Well said…
I would absolutely do my best to research and paint that logo back on. May have been similar to this one, from the same era.
Cool indeed. As far as having grandpa’s car, he had a ’67 RS Camaro but traded it in for a ’74 Maverick 4 door sedan. Way to go gramps.
What is to the right of the girl in the red shirt? It looks like it has a seat and a red (brake?) light. If the family cared about the truck being apart of the family history, it wouldn’t have been in a barn for 41 years, and they wouldn’t be selling it. I can’t see them having much of an attachment to this thing.
Hi Glen, looks like a mid-60’s Honda S90.
Your good!
Glen, there’s a bit of a Freudian slip in your assessment of their attachment: something can be ‘a part’ of a family — while also being ‘apart’ from it.
Just because this Chevy didn’t play a role in their everyday lives… just because they didn’t spend thousands to restore it… and just because they didn’t choose to give it to one of the grandchildren as their first car… doesn’t mean they didn’t love and associate it with memories of their great-grandfather. It was indoors, after all, not in some field with a tree growing through it.
Their smiles say more to me about their feelings for this vehicle than their ability or willingness to care for it.
Well,maybe,but I think the next owner will enjoy it more and treat it right. It’s good they are selling it.
You bet, Glen – with any luck, one of us will run into this thing again someday at a cruise night. It’s a beaut.
Sold for $12,900
Mr. Hash??? sorry, yeah, ol’ Mr. Hash ( still chuckling) sure used this truck well. That tail gate IS supposed to be like that. To be clear, these 1st gen Suburbans were called “Suburban Carryalls”. ( later GMC used the “Carryall” name for a while) Take a good look, this is the last time you’ll see it in it’s stock form.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DrLDcm0rwVs/U2s25cnbDAI/AAAAAAAAPNU/b25fAtretME/s1600/1937+sub.png
I hope your wrong Howard this thing should be restored .This is too kool and too complete to be turned into a Hot Rod ,I know some of you guys are saying who is this guy who has taken over the part of CK’s brain that almost.always says yank the motor and Hot Rod it.But ya just don’t see these things around.I actually think that they are fairly rare and would probably be worth more $$ restored.
Hope they restore it to original, it’ll be worth more and to cool to take apart, hot rod….. I’m a hot rod freak, but leave this one original guys….
This is VERY cool!, But the comments on the auction page are priceless! I love how snarky they are. “Special case” hahaha!!!!!! I agree mostly because so many people think they ARE that special. Way to put people back in line. Used to be people were obsessive about auction etiquette and an auction is an auction.
The back window assy is beyond cool as well, Never seen one like that. Glad it was not lost. Would be impossible to find.
If DrinkinGasoline says buy it, by all means, buy it! This guy is a genius!!
Clean it up, get it running top notch, replace what’s missing, nice upholstery and headliner and let it show its age and history like the handsome old man that it is, I say.
I know this car well and someone got a great car .In 1976 Chip Vignolo, son of Novella, drove it fron Dickens to their barn in Bellota, CA . Chip was my best friend sadly he passed away about 10 years ago and never got around to this one he and his father Vernon were true motorheads and great people Miss ya Chipper!