Station wagons are really popular these days but if you need a bit more room and good towing capacity to drag your gear around, these old Suburbans are great. In California, it’s even better if they are from 1975 or older because they are SMOG exempt. Chevy has been building Suburbans since 1935 and they built these seventh generation Suburbans for almost 20 years solid, but rust-free examples are getting hard to find. This 2 wheel drive Suburban listed on Craigslist in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin looks promising. It has AC and an automatic transmission, just right for recreational use. Being on a flippers trailer makes it suspect, of course, but the seller did provide several close up pictures. The $4,500 asking price is high but within a thousand or two of being reasonable, right? The interior even looks decent. There’s no word on how long it was stored or why. It will be up to the new owner to discover what mechanical demons lurk in this Suburban.
The interior certainly looks nicer than you would expect but does not look like a 45,000-mile truck. Hopefully, whatever is under those cheap seat covers is not too terrible.
It looks messy and dusty under the hood but complete and unmolested. Even the jack, handle and lug wrench are still here. Hopefully, the extra wires don’t point to a serious issue. That 240 horsepower 454 V8 is just waiting to come to life and suck down copious amounts of fuel.
Hopefully, that’s just dirt on the paint. Perhaps after a wash, it might polish out nicely. One might hope to get this Suburban running without too much trouble, but it was likely parked for an expensive reason, perhaps engine or transmission problems, for example. One would expect to find a decent running Suburban for around $5,000, but there aren’t many. If this truck is as solid as it appears, it could be worth the gamble. If the engine or transmission is toast, there are lots of used engines and transmissions out there. Some will even suggest an LS, but any 350 or another big block would do. Once the mechanicals are sorted I’d just add new tires and perhaps a bigger hitch if necessary. This old Chevy would be great for packing up your gear and dragging your trailer queen to a show or to haul your camper off somewhere for a quiet weekend. If the ad is gone, you’ll find it on adsaver.
The 350 cid is really the best engine for a 2wd assuming your not dragging an airstream up MT Washington. They can be comfortable people movers and easy to drive with a very good GM truck ride. I’d enjoy this for certain excursions, keeping it dry and well away from salt. The less optioned; the better. A perfect tinker mobile.
That big block would be nice for hauling your trailer queen over the pass to Reno for Hot August Nights or your ski boat over to Lake Tahoe. Less optioned sounds good, but AC is really nice. The best bit for a 1975 or older is no SMOG inspection required.
My brother had one with a big diesel in it with an automatic transmission. Way too much torque – more than the transmission could handle.
He had to have the transmission replaced 3 times. The third time the dealer told him they weren’t going to keep changing transmissions every time he decided to accelerate hard, and it would be wise to use a lighter foot.
Super comfortable truck other than that.
Already GONE!
WOW! What a find! AMAZING shape, especially for WI!
I have a 90 4×4 rusty but runs great..high back bucket seats too..comfy
Suburbans where always the vehicle of choice in my line of work and the 3/4 ton two wheel drive models always seemed to last longer than the rest. The folks at Chevy really messed up a good thing when the styling changed go make them look like a pickup with a nice topper, they became luxury vehicles not work rigs at that point too.This is a nice one although I have no use for a big block personally.
I would buy the “stout tow rig”, if it wasn’t the one being towed.
Nice truck would make a very nice tow rig with that 454. What cracked me up about suburbans was the earlier years being 3 doors. 2 on the right & 1 on the left.
I had a ‘89 GMC, but with the 350. Good power, but small rear end couldn’t take heavy towing.
In Washoe and Clark counties ( Nevada ) the cutoff year for smog is 1967 –
any gasoline powered vehicle later than that, other than trucks with a high GVW, ( I’m not sure of the exact number, but I think it’s at least 10,000 lbs ) are subject to annual smog inspections.
There are a couple of ways around this- LIcenseing a stock vehicle as a Classic Vehicle, or a modifed one as a Classic Hot Rod will make them exempt BUT you are then limited to 5,000 miles per year, and must submit the odometer reading, under penalty of perjury, every year when you go to renew your registration. There is also a $10 annual additional fee for the special plate, but since smog inspections cost upwards of $15, that’s not a bad deal.
Or you can register the car in Searchlight where there is no smog at all.
this suburban is “not” a 1975 model, or older. it is a 1978 or 1979. the grill, interior door panels, dash pad insert, instrument panel bezel,, is not correct for 1975 or older. these style of accessories werent available until 1977-1980. instrument panel bezel in brushed aluminum was not available on silverado packages until the early 1980’s. if you’re going to be a flipper,, at least be accurate !!
I was thinking the same thing, though I wasn’t sure. But I used to do landscraping with a neighbor who had a 78 or 79 Chevy pickup, and the dash looked like that.
The interior looks very close to my ‘77 GMC High Sierra 1/2 ton. My guess is ‘78 bc of the seat fabric and black trim.
Where I am I see these for sale all the time with nice paint, clean interior, dual air, front and back, and good or new tires for around $1500 USD.
I will end up with one soon, but it will probably be the 1990 or 1991 model, even though I prefer the earlier ones.
Where are you at? I’ll take 2 of those $1500 ones.
In Mexico.
A little later I will post some examples.
Here is an example. I know it is the newer style, but it works.
The seller wants $32,500 pesos which is about $1776.00 USD
Unfortunately, I had to sell my 1989 1/2 ton with a 350 recently due to having to move. Had it for more than 10 years, it had a near perfect interior, ran perfectly, and the body was rust and dent free. Too ashamed to mention how cheap I let it go for.
240 net horsepower for an unleaded 454? Not bad at all. If you used gross measures it would be about, say, 335 horsepower?
This sold over a week ago.. it was posted on Facebook Marketplace in Wisconsin. Guy selling it was pretty lackluster in his knowledge about it. It’s been repainted and looked to have been poorly stored on a dirt floor.. just so y’all know you didn’t miss out on some super deal!
I had four suburbans throughout the years. In Pennsylvania a 75 is not emission exempt.