'60 GMC Suburban (Project D-Daddy)

[Corts60]

Hello everyone! Here is my new project. I bought from the original owner's son, Dennis. I am calling the project D-Daddy because it was his "Daddy's" suburban and all the stories he had about it started out "Daddy"....So I figured it was apt. Dennis is a super nice man and I am glad to have met him. His Father bought it new in 1960 and it was in eastern Oregon until about 10 years ago. It sat in Newberg, OR for the last 8 years without being driven.

When I got it, nothing worked at all. It has 116,xxx miles on it. I have had it two days now and I got the engine running, and the rear wheel cylinders replaced. As soon as I save up some more money I will replace the front wheel cylinders and master cylinder and then I will be able to see if this old girl will drive and stop.

My plans for it are quite simple. Get it running, lower it, keep everything else close to original. Then I will move on from there.

I'll stop jabbering and show you guys some pics:
The Day I got it-

[Corts60]

The interior (I do have all the original seats!)-

[Corts60]

After I replaced the rear wheel cylinders, I put the WW's from my truck on her. When I do the fronts I will then put the WW's on the front as well. You will start to see a trend soon about things coming off my truck and going on the suburban....



After I put the wheels on, I started thinking "those don't look that great on here", and then I realized; it needs to be lowered!

[Corts60]

So, the only major rust on the whole truck is in the floor boards. The roof is excellent, as well as the windshield area, and besides a little rust through by the fender wells, everything else is just on the surface.

[powerplant_chevy]

VERY sexy

[jimmydean]

Nice! We need a PNW get together this spring so I can see everyones truck in person (but I need to do more to mine before)

[zr1pat]

Okay, what's the plan, lowered and ? Nice unit. Lucky you that you got all the original seats. I am missing the middle seat on mine. Look forward to seeing what you are up to on this unit.

[CVA59]

Nice truck Corts60. I do have a question..... What is the round knob located just above the radio delete plate?

[DPowers]

Sharp

[66BowTieBoy]

Hey Cort,

That is one great find, but I hope ya got it cheap since both of the cup holders are broke...

The deal above the radio plate doesn't concern me, it's the piece next to the driver's door.
Is that a gun rack...? That would be a good place for one and really handy for cruise'n the log roads in deer season...

As they say, "The only thing better than a new girlfriend, is a new project"...

Keep the photos com'in....
Danny

[Corts60]

Originally Posted by CVA59

Nice truck Corts60. I do have a question..... What is the round knob located just above the radio delete plate?

haha...that is a thermometer above the radio delete plate. I've already done away with that and the gun rack and broken cup holders. The poor girl was a farm truck for 50 years.

Oh, I forgot to say the price...I got it for $1100. I am pretty happy with it. Even though the cup holders were broke.

[Corts60]

OK, got a little more done today. I pulled the front pass. wheel off and dug into the brakes. The wheel cylinder is completely frozen (just like the back two) and the inner hub seal was the original rope seal! That stuff is almost like packing gland material, if you're familiar with that. Needless to say, I am picking up two new front wheel cylinders, inner hub seals and a master cylinder this weekend. That should be about it for the brakes. All the pads still have about 50% life left so I will just use them for a little while longer.

I also cleaned out the back and scrubbed the very back seat. It is the only one left that has all the original material. I super excited that it is in such good shape. I can't say the same for the front or mid seats.

Here are some pics:

[CVA59]

Originally Posted by Corts60

haha...that is a thermometer above the radio delete plate. I've already done away with that and the gun rack and broken cup holders. The poor girl was a farm truck for 50 years.

Oh, I forgot to say the price...I got it for $1100. I am pretty happy with it. Even though the cup holders were broke.

That is awesome!!! You got a great deal on a super nice truck.

[Surfdaddy]

That's one great project!!! Very clean and a great starting point. How are you going to lower it? Will adjusting the torsion bars make the front end too soft?

[protrash64]

Nice job on the new score!! 'Burbs are fun!!!

[Dinos63]

very kool!! was this the truck on craig list??

[gostranger]

awesome suburbon cant wait to see what you do with it!!!

[61TWUK]

cool burb!!

[Corts60]

Originally Posted by Dinos63

very kool!! was this the truck on craig list??

Yuppers. I picked it up last sunday, I couldn't help it. It has the three things I have been waiting for, for a couple years now: GMC, 1960, and the tailgate in the back.

[oem4me]

Cort, glad to see you got the truck for cheap and are having fun with it. I think you totally scored! What you don't know is that early on, I had everything in good order to make the purchase myself, including: my wife's approval, vehicle transporter lined up, and a check ready to send. I told Dennis that I'd take it for the full $1500 he was asking.
Being the swell guy that he is (not kidding), he suggested that I wait for the additional pictures that I had requested before sending the check. I agreed, and waited for him to take some pictures and send them to me. He got the pictures to me late, the night before you were going to see it in the AM.
He and I were both surprised to see the rust. It did not exist the last time he looked (8 years previous). I called him the next morning to thank him for the photos and regretfully decline the purchase, due to my strong aversion to vehicles with any rust issues... plus, I knew you had a real interest in it from your posts on this site. You may have even been looking at the truck when I called him around 8:00 am.
Anyway, I'm glad it worked out the way it did... although it's a shame to know you are going to have to rob your current cool ride for parts. Maybe there's a way around that, you think?

[Corts60]

Yeah, I am re-thinking using my truck for parts. I'm starting to get attached to the beat up look of the suburban and I may keep it that way, at least until the summer. I think once I lower it and get white walls on it, I'll be happier. The only thing stopping me from tearing into my truck is that it only has 88,000 miles on it and it rides so beautiful and quiet! Not one thing rattles on that truck and I just don't think I have the heart to tear off the front end and doors for the suburban. We'll see....

[CVA59]

Originally Posted by Corts60

Yeah, I am re-thinking using my truck for parts. I'm starting to get attached to the beat up look of the suburban and I may keep it that way, at least until the summer. I think once I lower it and get white walls on it, I'll be happier. The only thing stopping me from tearing into my truck is that it only has 88,000 miles on it and it rides so beautiful and quiet! Not one thing rattles on that truck and I just don't think I have the heart to tear off the front end and doors for the suburban. We'll see....

I wouldn't either Corts. I would find some other wheels/tires to put on it, make sure everything is mechanically safe and sound and then i would just drive it. I would definitely not rob parts off your other truck. That pickup of yours is too nice to strip down IMO.

[Surfdaddy]

Are you going to redo the seats in the orig fabric?

[Surfdaddy]

Cort, I noticed in the dash picture that the bezel is cracked. I have the one out of my truck (61) which has been in a box since my truck turned 10k miles ( I guess 1963) in perfect condition, the orig owner changed it out for a chrome one. PM me. Your burb is such orig. condition!!

[monolith]

A little CLR and scotchbrite on that exterior, and you're good to go!

I'm glad that you're rethinking parting your pickup- it's just too nice, and it's one of my favorites on this forum. You can use some of the money you saved on the purchase to lower the burb