Searching for a Unicorn, Apparently - GMT400 Suburban

Pulled the trigger.  It's mine.  

Problem: Vehicle is in Arkansas.  Like, middle of Arkansas.  I have a uship quote open now.  But if any GRM'er wants to get it to Maryland for me, there's a grand and a free night's stay at our personal B&B in it for you.  You arrange your own transportation home.  ;-)

It does have a hitch, so you could theoretically drive your car to it, rent a dolly, and tow your car to my place behind the Suburban, and then drive your car home.  

Of course, Suburban is not licensed or insured, so that could be an issue...

Let's see those pics!

I have a friend who is currently in Arkansas and will be heading home to Maine within a few weeks and is always looking for ways to earn some extra cash. I'll shoot her a message and see if she's interested.  If so, I'll message contact info to you.  

But honestly, given the registration and insurance concerns, $1000 to ship it is probably your best bet.

In reply to Ian F :

I've actually gotten some lower quotes since then.  Hope to have something lined up by the end of this week.  But thank you for the offer.  I'll let you know if this falls through.  I could easily insure it, and since it's getting tagged Historic in Maryland I can get the tags in a day or two once I have the title (it's in the mail to me now).

Shipping ended up being a good deal.  I had originally set up a "Uship" auction to get a price.  I was aiming for $900, but the lowest quote I got was in the $1000 range.  I even emailed several of the brokers and no one would budge below $1000.  

Somewhat frustrated, I googled "car shipping companies" and found alternatives to Uship.  Similar deal- you put in the car type, where it is and where you are, and how flexible you are with dates.  Picked a broker ("Tim") and he put my job out on the board.  Last Saturday I got a call, guy going through with a triple had an open spot, and would do the trip for....

$750.

The truck arrived within the agreed-upon window for the pickup, but ended up being a few hours late on delivery.  Having dealt with car shipping before, this was not unexpected, and the drop-off went pretty smoothly, all things considered. 

Mrs VCH is still warming up to the idea of a new Suburban (she's not a car-swapper; tends to stick with what works).  She begrudgingly released the reigns on her '00 Jimmy a few years back when we bought the first Suburban ('91) and I think she'll come around to the "new" '99 in a little bit.  2 nights ago the kids and I went out and changed the oil, air filter, and wiper blades.  Last night we dropped it off at the local detail shop for a full inside-and-out cleaning.  

More pics to follow after it comes back from the cleaners.  

volvoclearinghouse said:

Of course, Suburban is not licensed or insured, so that could be an issue...

I think you would want to insure it for sure if someone was going to drive it.  All it takes is a phone call to your local agent.  As for teh tag, Don't know about up there, but is SC you are automatically insured for 30 days and can drive on the bill of sale for 30 days.  Or so I have been told YMMV.  

That's really nice looking.  Kudos on the find.   

Picked it up at he detailer's last night- they had it ALL day, completely washed, buffed, waxed the outside, vacuumed and deep cleaned the inside.  There's still some stains in the carpet (mostly in the cargo area) they couldn't get completely out, but I kindof expected that.  Still, it looks 1000x better and smells nice and sanitized inside.

Wow. That looks great!  The Mrs. should be happy.

That does look great. The 3rd brake light makes me lol. Sweet upgrade, seems well worth the wait!

In reply to classicJackets :

When I worked for GM, back in 2000-2001, those stupid CHMSLs were on all the SUV's.  I guess they were fine, though sort of an afterthought, and we had some QC issues with them.  

Congrats!! Great find. I know you'll enjoy.

Some minor issues with the truck that I've been working through before turning it over to the Mrs.  The power locks on both passenger doors didn't work, and the passenger rear window would only roll down about 6".  

After replacing the front power lock solenoid, I moved on to the rear one, and discovered that the solenoid was loose and flopped over, blocking the window on its journey down.  Replacing the solenoid fixed the locks _and_ the window issue.  

New fuel filter, new fade/balance knobs on the radio (they always dry rot on these vintage radios...Mrs. VCH's old Jimmy had this problem, too) and jacked up the front to inspect the hubs and suspension.  Everything looks pretty good, except for the missing (?) anti-sway bar bushings.  Will pick up a set of those, easy fix.