Driving Survivor: 1978 Chevrolet Suburban
At 42 years old, this all original 1978 Chevrolet Suburban is a true, stunning survivor. Thirty bidders have increased the price to $7,900 but the reserve has not yet been met. This amazing Suburban is located in Tampa, Florida and can be found here on eBay. A VIN is listed along with 85,000 miles and a clean title.
It does have a strong running V8 engine connected to a manual transmission. This is a four-wheel-drive truck. An extensive list of mechanical routine maintenance parts has been applied to the truck recently according to the seller. That list includes new front brake calipers, rotors with hub housing, brake hoses, shocks, transfer case mounts, exhaust system, and four new Good Year tires have been installed. The tires have been trued and powder coated to look original to 1978. Only a few areas of rust are mentioned by the seller which include the battery tray and inner fender wheel well. They recommend replacing it with a new wheel well. Photos are provided of the rocker panels and underbody.
The interior is incredible. It has been well taken care of and you can see that there are no cracks or tears and everything is in its place, nothing appears to be missing. New door strikes have been installed, along with a rear cargo door strap, dome lamps, a factory tachometer upgrade, a center-mounted dash speaker, windshield wiper switch, and ice-cold blowing 134a air conditioning.
It is hard to say just how high the reserve for this truck will be. This isn’t a project truck so it really needs to be put into use or stored away as a survivor. I know if I bought it, I would put it to use. At least, daily driver uses and carting around family and friends when they visit. Maybe my wife and I would attempt more road trips and camp with this truck. Or, at least visit the sand road, 4×4 only beaches of the outer banks. There are so many uses for this truck, one just has to make sure to continue to keep it in as good of condition as it is.
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Comments
If you buy it, you’re gonna spend a fortune in gas! Thirsty, they are. But they’re hard to find in any condition besides trashed. Pair this up with the 1978 Ford supercab and you’re ready to step into the last years of the Carter administration, before the second Arab oil embargo.
Nicely optioned, especially w/ the manual transmission.
12 gallons to the mile though…
next rush in collector vehicles
My cousins in Texas had a 2wd “75 red/white Suburban. I remember a short 6 hour combined family trip…3 adults, 7 kids, 1 dog and luggage…no problem.
I remember seeing dually/4×4 Suburbans of this vintage on the road.
Nice find!
If you are going to complain about the fuel consumption, it would probably be better to concentrate on the Vega and Pinto postings.
You took the words right out of my mouth! These weren’t built or bought for gas mileage. They were intended to do a job and do it well, which they did (and still do). I bought a 78 GMC K-35 in 1984 when I was a farm kid in high school. I drove it to school every day and worked it on the farm after school and on weekends. The family farm is long gone but the truck is still here and I know every nut and bolt personally. I’ve done the body 3 times and been through the entire drivetrain twice. No, it’s not a daily driver anymore but I know that any time I need to haul a heavy load, or pull a big trailer, the ol girl and her (now) 468 cubic inches of big block Chevrolet (original block, crank, heads and rods just f.y.i.) will be happy to fire right up and get the job done. In my experience, the best thing about vehicles like this is that it doesn’t matter what you do with them, empty or loaded to the max, the fuel mileage doesn’t change. My truck has dual 20 gallon tanks and after about 350 miles of driving, whether empty or loaded, I start looking for a gas station. They’re simple, working machines just waiting for another job that needs to be done and done well.
It is definitely a plus it has the barn doors in the back with stationary windows. I’m not sure if they had the one piece window going down into the tailgate back then, but they were nothing but trouble. They broke if you looked at them the wrong way. I’ve replaced hundreds of them, or so it seems.
Don’t really remember having seen a manual in this vintage Sub IRL though I know it was available. It’s a beautiful example despite the dimple at the filler cap, but as bidding has exceeded 11k as of writing there are apparently people finding it more valuable than I do. Best wishes to the next owner!
Powder coated tires ??? LOL
I miss these see-through Suburbans. No headrests – only “passenger cars” were required to have them, not “trucks” like this (and in those days if the govt didn’t require a safety feature, you couldn’t have it at all because industry execs were convinced safety didn’t sell). Clear windows all around, no dark tint. Driver of the normal-height car behind it could see clear through to the traffic beyond.
Looks good enough to be on the cover of an LMC catalog.
Love the 4 speed and the factory tach. Reserve not met at $11,322. Probably see it on BAT next.
I had 1 with a new chevy crate 350 motor and ice cold A.C. It used so much gas it had 2 gas tanks but, sounded great with dual exhaust it had on it.Bruce.
Ended:Jan 28, 2020 , 7:26PM
Current bid:US $11,322.00
Reserve not met
[ 38 bids ]
Did it ever sell