So, I was at this swap meet in Tucson yesterday, and there was this
decrepit looking 56 Suburban on a trailer, and one thing led to
another...
Now, what am I gonna do with it? I bought it mainly because I saw $500
worth of parts there. It has the full front seat setup, and one rear
seat cushion (the bottom full width one). The front sheetmetal is
mostly there and repairable, with some rust holes bondoed in over the
headlights, but it's missing the panel just above the grille, where the
hood latch should be. No drivers door. It has a radio (rusty looking),
and electric wiper motor, and original turn signals, plus the deluxe
heater (missing the control panel). It was a V8 truck, so it has the
brackets riveted to the frame, and the chrome V8 emblems on the
fenders! The rear doors are probably usable, not rusty underneath, but
they have some cracks, and one hinge has been welded to the door where
the inner bracing got messed up. The passenger side quarter panel is
beat up pretty bad, it appears that someone drove a little too close to
some immovable object. THe drivers side is ok, but has some rust holes
along the bottom edge like they all seem to get. The chassis seems to
be complete, minus engine and tranny, it has the old spiral shocks
still, and the driveshaft is still in it. The parking brake even works.
My 10 year old son Gary was with me when we looked at it, and then
helped me go back and get it. He kind of liked my idea of making it
into a TF Blazer (shorten it by a foot or so). Or maybe it could donate
quarter panels to another extended cab project. Or maybe we could try
to piece it all back together again, and save a bit of history.
Jim F
59s (and a 56 now) in AZ
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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