1972 Chevrolet Suburban - Rare Highly Optioned Original Example

Rare, ighly Factory Optioned 1972 Hugger Orange Chevy C10 Suburban with strong running 402CID big block, T, are BARN DOORS & BRAND NEW Suspension, xhaust, nterior. Options include RARE factory cruise control (yes, C in a '72 Burban...I didn't even know it was available until I found this one...currently not working, ut a solenoid away from cruising), ilt-wheel (very rare), n-dash tach, n-dash clock (rare, ut unfortunately intermittently working), ower steering, ower disc brakes (front), ront/rear A/C (works, ut not charged), actory front bucket seats & sport steering wheel. ALL gauges, ights (even both A-pillar search/flood lights), orn, urn-signals & wipers all work as they should. All doors lock via keys (including rear barn doors). E-brake is not hooked up. Sorry for the poor video quality (iPhone edits), ut wanted to give a true sense of how solid the vehicle functions.

3rd row seat came from my '72 K5 Blazer — installed rear-facing via floor bolts in order to provide ease of access and still have the ability to use the cargo area without removing 3rd row. For safety, added retractable 3-pt shoulder harnesses to front & 2nd row (I've been using the vehicle to transport my three sons under the age of 5 to the beach & around town...so seatbelts are key for securing child seats). Even the 3rd row has the factory retractable lap belts (I transplanted them from the front buckets to the rear...they are now welded to the bench seat frame, o obviously secure as can be).

Body is a very solid driver...a few small sheet-metal rust bubbles that are typical of these vehicles...but underside of doors are not basket cases and the rockers are solid. The worst door is the inside bottom of the rear driver barn-door. The worst paint section is of the top that is coming off (see pictures)...I received 3 different quotes to correct issue ranging from $400-$800 to respray the top white and was planning on doing it, 've just been too busy w/ work and my family to take the time to drop off the vehicle to get sprayed. I would also clean up the left rear barn door...can't really figure out what happened, ut it has multiple areas of the paint that has small hairline cracking and should be cleaned up if you want to show the vehicle. This has been a beach cruiser for my family, o not a huge deal, ut if I kept the Burban, would clean up those few small areas as obviously they are not going to get better with time. Frame is solid with only light surface rust. All windows roll up & down, ut front passenger is very tight. Another weekend project I haven't gotten around to, ut no doubt the door cards need to be taken off and the track needs to be cleaned and oiled to get it performing perfectly. As I said, t still goes up & down completely, ust very tight.

I purchased this Suburban from essentially the first owner — Mr. Bob Sykora, he founder of Bob's Chevy Parts of Middlefield, H. He was technically the second owner, ut bought the vehicle when it was around 10 years old in the 80's and has had it ever since. He used it as a company promotional vehicle for the last 20+ years, ut since he's now retiring from his business, e just didn't need it anymore and it had been sitting in his garage only being used slightly during the last few summers (and never taken out in the OH winters). He did a complete restoration of the vehicle in 1988; at that time the engine & transmission were completely rebuilt and he spun the odometer to reflect "starting over"on the major parts. That said, he vehicle is now reading a little over 60K miles and the engine runs strong and transmission shifts perfectly.

I've driven this Burban at least 3 times a week for the last year and have now logged enough miles to know it's extremely reliable...I've NEVER had an issue with it on the open road...I would not hesitate to drive it anywhere. It lights right off, dles perfectly and never misses a beat. The worst thing that happened to me was a leaking fuel pump in my driveway last month...I had the vehicle towed to my mechanic and had them install a new pump and look over the whole system for any further issues. At that time they found a slight oil leak in the intake manifold gasket and one head gasket, o I had those gaskets replaced. Other than those issues, t's been rock solid.

The other major mechanical / cosmetic ‘upgrade' I did was to returned the vehicle to stock ride height via new coils and shocks. When it came to me it was slightly lowered (via not only shorter coils, ut they were also worn out and slightly sagging). So I replaced the suspension components to restore it to stock height, nd also sourced a set of factory rally steel wheels (to replace the 80's alloys that just didn't look correct to me). I finished it off with a new pair of 31"BFG T/A KO's - tires are essentially brand new. I flushed all the fluids (oil, rake lines & master cylinder, adiator & diff) in order to reset the clock on those critical components.

The interior is now brand new. It came to me with decent black vinyl seats with a few minor cuts, ut I wanted to upgrade to the black and orange hounds-tooth pattern you see now. The interior took almost 3 months to get and wasn't cheap (almost $1300 just for the material, hen the install fee of another $600). The front bucket foam was newer and still very firm, o it was retained. But the 2nd row bench was very soft and sagging and the 3rd row (out of my K5) was completely shot...therefore the 2nd & 3rd row bench seats received brand new custom foam. The end results are three rows of great looking/feeling seats.

The Burban also had an 80's tape deck and equalizer, ut since the dash wasn't cut, decided to install a Classic Car Stereos Premium Slidebar Stereo Kit (http://www.classiccarstereos.com/product/1967-1972-Chevy-Pickup-Truck-Radio/CHTKL-SBR-PSK.html) which included the cool slidebar feature to cover up the modern digital head unit...the system looks like it's vintage analog, hen in reality it's a modern digital unit (that even accepts smartphone hookups via glovebox). System included the radio headunit, ick panel speakers, ockford Fosgate Punch Boosted Rail 300 watt — 4 channel amp, nd Undercover II — 250 watt speakers...all makes for a very nice audio system, et looks vintage. Over $1000 was spent on the audio system and install alone.

I also installed a dual 2 1/2" stainless exhaust w/ 44-series Flowmaster mufflers. The 44-series provides the deep, ich tone of the 40-series without the overly obnoxious decibel blasts of the 40's...this 402 big block sounds amazing from the exhaust...everyone knows you're coming, et you're not going to piss off the neighbors or cops when you're driving around your neighborhood early in the morning. I also installed premium window tint all around to help cut out the heat in the hot summer months.

Upgrade/Maintenance Summary from the last 6 months (receipts included):

• New suspension (4 coils & shocks) - $2000

• New interior (fabric/cushion materials + install) - $1900

• New factory (GM, ot replication) steel wheels/caps/centers - $650

• New 31"BFG T/A KO - $700

• New stereo/speakers/amps - $1100

• Tint - $550

• Flush/new fluids (radiator, ngine oil, rake lines/master cylinder, ifferential, ransmission) + tune - $600

• New fuel pump - $200

• New intake manifold & head gaskets - $200

  TOTAL - $7,900

The very unique 3-door Suburban's from 1967-72 are becoming increasingly harder to find in this condition and price point. It seems the majority for sale are either complete basket cases with major rust/rot issues (both frame and shell) yet still selling in the $5K-$10K range, r the total restoration projects where sellers want $25K+ to own. But to find clean examples at the sub $20K range is becoming increasingly difficult. As an owner of three 1972 Burban's over the years, hey have always been a cool way for me to transport my family and friends around town as I prefer out-of-the ordinary classics that provide style beyond your typical new car.

I purchased this particular Burban to be my family beach cruiser...I wanted a mechanically sound, ust-free vehicle that would see 95% of its use going & coming from the beach. I also didn't want a showroom queen as I knew kids would be piling in & out, o the fact it wasn't a mint "trailer queen"appealed to me. Lastly, t HAD to have rear barn doors as the extremely heavy lift hatch & drop gate configuration on these Burban's is not practical, et the ease of opening/closing the barn-doors make this vehicle that much more user friendly. Anyone that has felt the weight of the lift hatch/drop gate of the non-barn door variant can attest to how unruly those doors can be. Again, he barn-doors are a HUGE advantage for those that actually want easy access to the useful storage area of these Suburban's.

If you too are looking for a cool beach or weekend cruiser, his is the Burban for you. Or, f you want a great base starting point for a vintage Suburban project to take to the next level, his vehicle would also be a prime candidate.