Suburban Assault Vehicle

My wife and I have owned 3 Suburbans (1995, 1999, 2001) over the years and we just loved them. We had a massive dump of snow and I missed having a lifted 4x4 to plow through all the white stuff, so I took a look at Kijiji (Canadian Craigslist) and came across this beauty. I had a 1970 C10 years ago and loved it (until my welded diff snapped an axle) and have always wanted another one. I drove 2 hours out into the country and spent another 1.5 hours crawling over, under and through the Suburban. It was advertised as a 1971 but is in fact a 1969 (more on that later). I bought it and drove it home without any troubles. It must have had massive tires on it at one point because it is revving very high at 60 mph and must have 4.56 gears, which is fine because it fits in with my plans. It has a 350, 4 bbl, 4 speed manual trans with really low 1st gear, locking hubs, 6" lift kit and that is the original yellow paint because it spent it's life with Atomic Energy of Canada (where both my wife's parents worked, BTW). The black on the side is just some rock guard that somebody brushed on after sanding off surface rust. I blew my load on purchasing it so I have nothing to modify it but here's the plan: 37" or 38" tires, 5.3 LS motor with a turbocharger (been watching a lot of Sloppy Mechanic videos), 3 or 4 link suspension front and back (because I hate axle tramp from leaf springs), Helical lsd in front, clutch lsd out back, heavy duty bumpers with winch, rock slider bars on the sides and I'm keeping it the yellow that it is now and will put the Atomic Energy signage back on the side, along with the Simpsons Fish logo on the doors. It will all be DIY using the knowledge I built up on the Pink Panther, as soon as I have some money saved up. It has its safety certificate (needed for registration) but the title says it's a 1971 but it is most definitely a 1969, so I have to wait until the insurance people sort that out. [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/loosecannon/media/Suburban/IMG_7467_zpsqhgeygm9.jpg.html][/URL]

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Ohhhhh ... eight lugs and full floater rear. What's up front?

Stampie wrote: Ohhhhh ... eight lugs and full floater rear. What's up front?

Weird that you were the first to post, it was your post about your truck project that inspired me to post about my Suburban. It's a 3/4 ton and as far as I know, the front axle is stock 8 lug with locking hubs. Some mods have been done to Ol' Yeller over the years but I haven't yet figured out what is stock and what is not.

Nice score, I am very jealous!

I really like 3 door 'Burbs!

Very cool.

I picked up a 1968 Suburban 2wd parts vehicle but it pretty much has the same rust problems in the same places, so I'm just going to sell it. [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/loosecannon/media/Suburban/IMG_9727_zpsi1ad4fv9.jpg.html][/URL]

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I just installed 315-75-16 Goodyear Duratrac on it and can't believe the difference in how it drives. The old tires were extremely age cracked and were so loud and so hard, but the new ones are 4" taller, 2" wider and nearly silent on the highway. The extra volume has really smoothed out the ride, too. [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/loosecannon/media/Suburban/IMG_9779_zpsdyihwnhm.jpg.html][/URL]

OK, the 3 door bit is just kind of weird?! WTF up with that?

Wasn't canada one of the places where the title was dated the year of sale, not year of manufacture back yt? Hen? Like new 68, sat on the lot until 70, therefore title says 70?

I owned a 1/2 ton 4x4 1968 Suburban 3-door with ambulance doors and Volvo seats.

I hate myself for selling that!

In reply to NOHOME:

It's the OG Veloster.

Me like:)

NOHOME wrote: OK, the 3 door bit is just kind of weird?! WTF up with that?

I always thought it was about crash testing (although I know testing was limited or non-existent on trucks).

Fewer holes= stronger shell.

Passenger rear door was only deemed necessary on curbside.

I'm just gonna leave this here. $2699.

https://galveston.craigslist.org/cto/6201002411.html

Loose , with those new treads you don't have to get the rollback to pull PinkP outa the store.....just back 'nukefish' to the loading dock, open the doors and voila!! drive right in ...........oops but how do you get PinkP outa 'nukefish'? I'll get back with you on that.....

In reply to 759NRNG:

I am going to try and figure out how to get the Panther out of my building without using a tilt deck. I am going to see if I can back the trailer up a ramp, flip the door open and drive straight in.

This is from the June 2013 cover of Four Wheeler magazine and is the inspiration for what I want to do with the Suburban [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/loosecannon/media/Suburban/IMG_9780_zpsmy1avgnw.png.html][/URL]

Tested the articulation today and was quite impressed [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/loosecannon/media/Suburban/IMG_9824_zpscmksqcte.jpg.html][/URL]

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Damn That thing is Cool! nice score

The neighbor two doors down does the same thing with his CJ mud booger on his trailer. Cuz he can????

My wife told me she wanted to throw some paint at the Suburban today and I wasn't about to argue with that. She scrubbed up both front wheels, hubs, nuts and mirror and painted them while I painted the side of the Suburban and the rear bumper. It looks a lot better now. Still have the hood, grill, roof and rear doors to go.

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SVreX wrote:

NOHOME wrote: OK, the 3 door bit is just kind of weird?! WTF up with that?

I always thought it was about crash testing (although I know testing was limited or non-existent on trucks). Fewer holes= stronger shell. Passenger rear door was only deemed necessary on curbside.

Did they have any crash test requirements on anything at that point?

I'd guess it was just deemed an unnecessary expense on a cheap utility vehicle, just like how many of the early minivans only had a sliding door on the passenger side.

Lookin' good .....hey Miss B named Pink, does she get the honors this time too?

In reply to 759NRNG:

Funny you should ask, just yesterday she said "what are we naming her?" and I said "Ol' Yeller". She doesn't think that rolls off the tongue very well and is currently trying to think of something better. I'm ok with that, especially since she's willing to work on it for hours. She also named my Power Wagon "Snowflake" so I guess she likes naming our vehicles [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/loosecannon/media/IMG_8938_zpskiyfrlw1.jpg.html][/URL]