A friend of mine had this 1987 Chevy Suburban sitting on his property, not really getting used except for storage. My grandparents had Suburbans as long as I can remember, and I've always wanted one of my own, so I asked if he'd sell it to me. He told me he'd deliver it to my door for $600, or I could fix it and drive it home for $500. Being the cheapskate I am, I opted for the 'fix and drive' method. All it needed was a water pump, so I figured it would be an easy fix. That was very much not the case. With the help of a friend of mine, I was able to replace the water pump with minimal problems. However, when we went to replace the thermostat (because I figured, why not kill 2 birds with one and do both at the same time), a bolt broke off on the thermostat housing. And no matter what we tried, that dang bolt wouldn't budge. I eventually towed it home myself and limped it over to my mechanic, who had all the proper tools and could do it right. After shelling out probably too much money for that repair, she runs like a top. But I did notice while driving on the highway that the u-joints are failing. So that's fun. Anyway, I'll try to attach a few photos and answer any questions you have.
I've always wanted a Suburban too. For that price I'd be glad to have that one. I'd need a hitch and electric brakes because I still need a tow vehicle to move things 1000+ miles. I'm stretching things and agree it's a station wagon. It looks like a station wagon, handles like a station wagon, hauls a 4X8 sheet of plywood like a station wagon, and you can stretch out and sleep in the back like a station wagon.
With the added bonus of more headroom! I can actually sit up on the mattress in the back of my Suburban. Can't do that so well in the Impala. I have a few more pics, taken a bit more recently. Including some where I had just washed 'er up.
Here's a few more pics of the Suburban, which I've nicknamed Brutus. I wasn't sure if I could add them to the original post, so I'll just put them here: The back doors don't latch properly, so I currently have them strapped down. I hope it's not a difficult fix. Here's a few shots of the interior: As you can see, the seats in the Suburban were pretty well taken care of. The cargo space has a bit of rust from an old filing cabinet sitting in it.
Back in 1994 when I became retarded I bought a 1987 Chevy regular top van. Everything from the doors forward looked like your Suburban. A lowly 305. Just before I bought the van I tried to buy a similar year Suburban with an Airstream hooked to it. I made the guy an offer he could refuse because he wanted to sell as a unit. So I bought the van and we used it seven years after seven brutal trips with an 18' flatbed loaded with crap and cars. I loved that van but wore it out. It was months after we moved when oldest son told me the owner of the Suburban callled to take my offer. It had a recently rebuilt 454 which I really didn't want but would have been great for moving. Under $1 for gas was okay then. So I came close to owning a brown and creme Chevy Suburban and am sort of looking again to move back to Illinoiz after 21 years.
I never really noticed, but the 1987 Chevy vans do have that same grille pattern. My Suburban has the 350 engine, a 40-gallon fuel tank, and a lot of other nice features (front and rear AC, power windows and doors, etc). Once I get them u-joints replaced, it'll be my road trip machine. Even with the fairly low mpg rating of these beasts, I can still go a pretty good distance before fueling up. Although, at $2-3 per gallon, it ain't cheap. Last time I filled Brutus up, the pump shut off before the tank was full. Never knew about the $75 cap on fuel stations. Maybe that's just at night or something. Anyway, too bad you didn't get that Suburban. Bet it was a nice rig.
Yes, pretty much the same bucket seats, door panels, dash, side mirrors, grille, bumper, etc. Some say with a van you must stop at scales and produce stations. I loaded that van and a flat bed trailer making seven 1000+ mile trips and only stopped at gas stations and fast food places. Pulled a RV seven more years never stopping to weigh. Before that I was a truck driver and I stopped enough then to make up for it.
Suburbans are recognized in several states as "station wagons"; as this was the term LONG before the terms "SUV" or "Crossover" existed.
I grew up around Suburbans. I think a while back I shared some photos of my grandparents' Suburbans, ranging from the late '60s to the last one, a 1985 conversion by Geneva. Man, I miss that thing... We sold it to a family in our church when I was about 11. They'll always have a special place in my heart. And a large hole in my wallet
Figured I'd resurrect this thread to mention that I ended up selling Brutus. Of course, I regret it, and will always miss having it, but I was given an ultimatum: Either the Suburban goes or the Impala. That wasn't an easy decision, but ultimately I'd rather focus on the more valuable of the two, and Suburbans are dime a dozen 'round these parts. Once I get my own place maybe I'll get another one, but for now I just can't afford both. I can't even really afford the one, but there's no stinkin' way I'm getting rid of Ol' Beastie.
Damn. And I never got to see Brutus. GM always cut a fat hog in the @$$ with the 'Burb and the later Tahoe. Once, I read that considering GM's prices on 'Burbs, their per-unit raw profit was $12 G's! This was in the mid-'90s. I always thought Ford really screwed the pooch by not doing themselves what Centurion did for them, building a Suburban-style Ford rig.
