Gently beat-up, right color, a number of license plates to confuse, I like the bolted on lower front fender, I would hate to imagine someone getting this and ruined it with body work, paint and LS swap,,,,,,,,,
Tman, agreed. I tend to like them Better with some lumps and bumps, something with a little character. The forestry burb has it All, especially with the tow tabs and trailer hitch.
Joey, Joey, Joey. Easy to spot the difference between '57 and '55-6 Chevy pickup/Suburban, the grilles are different. Only difference between '55 & '56 is the hood ornament and the placement of the fender emblems. This Suburban is a '55, on the '56 the fender emblem is mounted higher on the fender.
Joey, I drove many of those " carry-alls", that is what we called them when I was in the army, 1958-1961. They were 6 cylinder standard shift. No ball of fire, they were real work-horses. They were capable of carrying far more than they were rated for. The yellow one is the one to have. Put gas in it, and drive it as is. I would love to have it.
They have switched the 'suburban' name back and forth between GMC and Chevy over the years. I think it is the longest running name plate/name of a model produced now, at least in the USA.
I had a ’55 Suburban/Carryall years ago. Someone (Gene and Donnie at C&O Hydros I believe) put a 394 Olds and a Hydro in it before I bought it - for $500. It was two tone green and had big tires on widened wheels all around. That beast took my girlfriend and I everywhere with sleeping bags, a cooler and my CB350 Honda in the back. We went to Parker for boat races, the Grand Canyon, Zion, all over the southwest. One of the top five vehicles I’ve ever owned.
If you really want a stocker it HARD to find one with all 3 row seats intact and they usually rust on the sides below the side glass at the pinch weld. The Task Force body style is the best , my personal opinion is less windows the better.....and you still can haul a small motorcycle in the back. BIG plus for the original painted small hubcaps.
Yup, '55.5 1 piece fender emblem below the body line and '56 2 piece fender emblem above body line. This also shows that the 'Burb and Panel BOTH use a front bumper on the rear. I found that out when I was looking for a rear bumper for my '56 Panel, found an online GM body manual and it had the same part number for front and rear bumpers. Weird, my old '64 panel used a 'Burb/Panel ONLY rear bumper.
I looked for one before buying my 57 pickup, tough to find one in decent shape, of course after buying the truck I have seen a couple pop up.
I had a real solid 57 panel with hot 327 back in the mid 70's that was pretty handy. Great swap meet runner stuff hauler. Horrible gas mileage with that engine in it though. I'd love to have a 55/57 Burb but sure wouldn't want it stock and damned well don't want one that has the hell beat out of it.
I had one just like the advertisement back in the '70's. Towed my ot race car to Baja, trailered my newly purchased ot sports car back from Detroit, had many road trip adventures in that thing. Gave it to one of my employees who drove it into the ground. Wish I still had it.
I love Suburbans! I am on the hunt for one to to my vintage stock car to the races with. I really would like a 55-57 3/4 ton. Local hero and 1953 N.Y. State NASCAR Sportsman champ Steve Danish-
Hello, We had a neighbor who was the only one that had such a large Suburban. They had a string of Suburbans from the early days until we knew of them. My wife and I were still thinking surf hot rods/ station wagons for our beach relaxation days. Camping and fishing also came into mind, back then. But, we always saw this big Suburban and wondered if that would be our choice down the line. Plenty of room inside for a whole group of kids, surfboard on top or inside all the way to rear door closure, etc. So, it was fit for all of our activities, including a tent, stove, cooler and fishing equipment. Now, it was a question of how and why. Jnaki By the time our son was old enough, he got a ride in that neighbor’s Suburban with a bunch of neighborhood kids to go to a park for a birthday party. Talk about the amount of people that could fit inside… whew. But, for us, it would not be, due to the fact that it would not fit in our two car garage. The only way the large Suburban would fit would be to lower the whole vehicle. That was not the worst thing, but if your driveway was steep, a lowered anything would scrape when turning into the garage. We decided to just get a small station wagon and the surfboards would go on top for daily transport and inside, when stopped for an away from the wagon errand or two. What did the neighbor do for that old Suburban and for the newer models they purchased as the years went by during this old time. (The color was a light brown/white color, but for the Halloween month of October, the color was changed to Orange.) They remodeled their house and because their main transportation was a giant Suburban, they made the garage door larger with their remodel. Now, the Suburban did not take up the whole driveway. YRMV For fun, my wife and I talked about…"What if the Suburban was customized, lowered and made a popular color with water flames for a coastal vibe?" We laughed and said Moon Discs were just enough to make the Suburban somewhat racy. Extra heavy duty air shocks for those extra kids…
Hello, The earliest name for GM Chevy Suburban vehicles was 1935. GMC as a sister company named their version Suburban in 1937. It is a similar idea even to today's name copying, giant road hog of an SUV. The earliest mention of any vehicle called Suburban was a car company in 1911. That did not last long. We all know the popularity of the Suburban name for Plymouth. In my earlier research on station wagons/woody wagons, someone labeled a Plymouth woody in 1936 as a Suburban. It should have been labeled as a station wagon, not a Suburban. No other source depicts any Suburban for Plymouth until 1949. Jnaki The simple name Suburban was a good name and people decided to use it for their purposes. We are all Suburbanites at one time or other, if you have ever lived outside of a big city.
I pass by one in front of a shop heading to the jobsite down on the cape, I will grab a picture today (if I remember)
The Jalopy Journal
