1980 Suburban pics

[SilverMiner]

Hello, folks -

I really like seeing pictures of peoples rigs, so I thought I'd share with you guys some photos of my recently acquired 1980 Silverado Suburban.

Yes, I know it has a GMC grille, but I didn't much care for the 1980 Chevy grill that was on it so it was the very first thing I swapped out with the one from my 78 GMC Jimmy, which is sadly now the parts rig.

Just put the new tires on, which is the reason for the photos. 32x11.50x15 Cooper Discoverer STT on original rally rims.

[SilverMiner]

OK, kinda in reverse order, but here is what it looked like a month ago the night I bought it:

[78 Big10 454]

You did a nice job of whipping that 'Burb into shape. Nice color scheme, too. I've always wanted to land a sharp looking rig like that.

[y5mgisi]

Very nice! Any plans for it?

[SilverMiner]

No big plans at the moment. I like the current look, and don't want/need bigger tires at the moment and the hassle of doing a suspension upgrade fighting rusty old bolts. I ran 35's on my old 78 Jimmy, but the 32's are perfect for this rig as it only has 3:42 gears. Also, I've always thought 32's looked just right with the factory suspension.

I can foresee the day when I'll get tired of looking at the droopy, sagging butt in the rear but until then I'm going to stick with things the way they are and just drive for a while.

Other improvements include some more interior upgrades such as seat covers but also including some creative storage options after stealing ideas from the Expedition Portal forums.

I'll probably start a thread over in the Detailing area to find out what the best options are for dealing with the original paint. The rig only has 67K miles on it (as confirmed by the Idaho DMV title trail), and the paint is in fantastic shape but I'm still sure there must be clever ways to perk it up.

[JCampbell]

Killer rig, Man.

[Rubble]

Looks good,is the body original or has work been done? If it's original,really nice...
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[SilverMiner]

All original to the best of my knowledge.

Took over a year of searching CL to find it. Missed out on only two others in similar condition. They are getting scarce.

[Rubble]

Originally Posted by SilverMiner

All original to the best of my knowledge.

Took over a year of searching CL to find it. Missed out on only two others in similar condition. They are getting scarce.

That is nice,tough to find one up here like that.Good score!!
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[pwradder]

very nice 'burban, i'll send you the address to ship it to when you get sick of it- i'll take good care of it

[y5mgisi]

For the paint, try some nu-finish. It did an insane job on my 77.

http://c10forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14837

[jimbonice]

Very nice.

[SilverMiner]

Thanks for all the compliments. My challenge now is to keep it as nice as I found it. I'm wide open to any suggestions about keeping the rust-monster at bay. Idaho pours stupendous amounts of salt and mag-chloride on the roads in the winter, we're soon to become just as infamous as the northeast for rust.

I'm definitely going to give NuFinish a try. I've read multiple places that it really works - I'll guess I'll find out and see!

[meatwagon83]

in the winter clean the living piss out of it every chance you get!!

[jimbonice]

Old trucks, especially ones with the side mouldings like yours, that perforate the body every two feet, are going to rust if winter driven. Hell, they rusted out in a couple of years when new. Wheel arches, body mounts and rockers are particularly succeptable.

If you don't want it to rust out, buy a second beater for the winter.
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[Low87]

Looks nice! I've always preferred GMC grills over Chevy, so I definitely like your grill swap.