most original 60-66 truck in existence?

[RedRoad]

I was 24 when I got my 1st "classic" truck an all original 65 suburban (which I just bought back from my brother after selling it to him a few years back ). This was back in the early 90s when these trucks were far from collectible and seemed to be scrapped more often than sold. The original patina paint was still there with most of the rare suburban only parts. I was heavy into off road back then and planned to convert it to 4x4 but after going over it I realized it would be a shame to hack such a nice survivor. I started a mechanical restoration using as many NOS and OEM parts I could find and used it as my daily driver as soon as it was reliable. What I found troubling is everyone told me I HAD to paint it because the two tone dark green/white was soooo 60s, isnt that the point? I always heard I HAD to slam it and C notch the rear, that would mean no camping or hauling stuff, NO WAY! Get rid of that 4 speed and slap in an auto was another common comment, NEVER!! Ill say it was difficult to hang around any young dudes as modification was all that they understood and would dismiss someone keeping it stock. Occasionally an old guy would grill me to see what my plans were and I would surprise them with the word "preserve". I drove that truck daily for 5 years and wore out a few sets of tires along the way and had a ton of fun and use out of the old girl.

Now that we are reunited some 20 years later I have driven her around a bit and realize more work needs to be done. Ill keep with the stock rehab as much as possible even though the wife said PAINT IT.

Im glad to see Im not the only one that wants to drive AND preserve these old work horses, just wish more youngsters would appreciate them for what they are not what they could be.

Here is a pic after all the talk. This was the last pic I took before selling it to my brother back around 97 or so, I loved camping in this thing a lot and cant wait to do it again!