1991 Suburban 2500 2wd 350/4L80

On the recommendation of LT7A, resident of my second home town, Seattle, WA (my first home town is Anchorage, AK), I'll go a little more in depth on the origins of the Suburban. The back story is a little long.

In 2017, I moved from my third home town, Spokane, WA, to Yellow Springs, OH, a small but somewhat famous town not far from Dayton. Despite moving most of the way across the country, I stayed a member of the Washington Air National Guard and drilled quarterly with my guard unit in Spokane. During that time, I took to buying and selling cars on my trips instead of using rental cars because I had time on my hands and could always come out ahead by choosing cars that were driveable with issues, and fixing, cleaning up, or otherwise improving them. On one trip I came across a 1963 Scout way out in the middle of nowhere for cheap because it had title issues. I got some good advice from friends who own a car lot and found that I could solve the title problems pretty easily, so I got a truck and trailer and went out and bought it. I then parked it in long term storage on the Air Force base and waited until I could either bring it home, or resell it for a profit.

A year and a half later I decided to put the Scout on Ebay and see what I could get for it. I set the reserve at 5x what I paid and it hit that on the fourth day. Unfortunately, neither of the two top bidders, who were just $100 apart, made good on their bids. At that point I said screw it and decided to keep the Scout, which is what I wanted to do anyway. I checked into having it transported but that was ridiculously expensive, so I decided to employ the same tactics that I had been using for several years and find a vehicle and trailer to haul it myself.

I spend the next couple weeks constantly on CL and FBMP looking for a 3/4 ton or better truck and tandem axle trailer to get the job done. I kept missing great deals on each by just minutes, but it all worked on in the end when I came across this 1991 former Forest Service Suburban for sale in the wilds of eastern Washigton about two hours from any substantial population center. My mind was blown by this thing. I love the color, it's pretty much rust free, and it's a 3/4 ton, which, as some know, has 1 ton running gear. Perfect not only for hauling my Scout, but as transportation or my large family. I talked to the owner on the phone and he agreed to drive it to Spokane and drop it off at my brother-in-laws house and I would pay him via app. The price was very right, especially for a vehicle moving to the Ohio where rust free square bodies barely exist.

I ended up buying a trailer new, as I didn't want to take chances on such a long trip with a trailer someone else has possibly abused or failed to maintain. I enlisted my brother-in-law's help, put the Scout on the trailer, and we headed for Ohio. This thing pulled that trailer like a champ. The only unfortunate incident on the trip was the loss of the Scout top. It wasn't in great shape anyway, but I hated to lose it. Basically, it wasn't bolted on and I didn't bother to check. About a third of the way into the trip we hit some big winds and it just popped right off. It was a total loss, and we had no way to take it with us, so we had to leave it on the side of the road.

On that trip, I decided that I was going to keep the Suburban because it's just a pleasure to drive. The steering is tight, the 350 runs great, everything is in order. On top of that, it gets all of the attention. People love this thing and I can't go anywhere without someone commenting on it, wanting to talk about it, or even taking pictures. I've owned some pretty interesting cars, but nothing got the kind of attention that my Suburban does.

Anyway, now that we're up to date, I keep contemplating doing some fairly non-invasive work on it and I'm wondering about others' experiences and maybe whether I should just leave it alone and enjoy it. I'm not looking to make it a show vehicle or anything like that, primarily I'm just interested in improving my experience of owning it by making the things that are not great better, such as the cracked dash and broken bezel, making changes that I think would look great, like lowering it a bit and putting 22s on it, and protecting it from the rust that wrecks cars here in Ohio.

Here's the list of things I'm considering and researching, modified based on previous input:

1. Dash replacement - I know some product are just pads and some are the full replacement. If I'm going to do it I'd like to know who has the best full replacement for the money.

2. Replacing gauge bezel - I could go new or used, who has the best new?

3. 22" 8 lug smoothies - best brand, price? Is Detroit Steel Wheels the only option?

4. Static lowering without affecting towing capacity - what brand and how low? OR an airbag solution that doesn't require major surgery, does it exist? This is a new realm for me.

5. Repaint or protect the existing paint? Repainting gets into some serious money. Other than the nearly complete lack of rust, the Forest Service Green paint is the best feature of this thing. So, even though I'd like to try and restore it, I'd rather just protect it like it is than screw it up.

6. Is there something I should be considering doing that's not on my list?

Thanks!