1976 Suburban Qs

[eyebuzz]

Hello,

I've got my eye on a 1976 Suburban:

Some questions:

1) Were all suburbans designed for a third seat? Or if it was originally ordered with no third seat you couldn't add one later? (From this message board I can see that you can pretty much do ANYTHING...but it is nicer if it already built in).

2) Are most/all parts easily available? (alternators, distributors, brakes, etc.)...I guessing yes, but what parts are hard to find? Is a 1976 all that different from a 1991 in terms of parts/availability?

3) When did three point safety belts come in? Only on the front seat or all around?

Thanks,

TT

[blakeduren]

1. I don't know.
2. There are tons of parts new and used still available for these trucks. Lots of interchange. Alts, dist and brakes are VERY easy to get ahold of at any parts counter.
3. I believe that the 2nd and 3rd rows got the 3 point belts in '89.

[USSkoval]

1. Earlier models had bolt-in third seats, later ones latched to the floor. The bolt holes may or may not be there in yours. The latch style only had the provisions in the floor if it originally had a 3rd seat.

2. Yes, parts are generally easy to get. However, they are getting old enough that some parts stores might not have some things in stock. It might take a day or two for some things.

3. front shoulder belts started in '76 or '77 I believe. Middle row started in the 80's sometime, my '88 has them. Third row shoulder belts started in '89.