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John Litsey's 1972 Chevy Suburban

13 December 2004

From Jon:

     This is my slammed '72 Suburban. I started looking for a project about 2-1/2 years ago and just wanted something a bit different than the standard Chevelle's or Camaro's. I always liked the older shortbed Chevy trucks, but anything in decent shape was out of my budget. I thought I would look and see what I could find and I came up with this Suburban. The guy I bought it from had purchased it from the original owners about 5-6 years ago. He went ahead and installed the air bags, c-notched the frame and designed and installed a hidden hitch. He also got the ralley's and TA's on it, but left most of the rest of it stock. It has 101,000 miles on it. The motor ran good, but it leaked more oil than it burned.

     I drove it for about six months. I decided to pull the motor and freshen it up and re-seal it.

     Now fast forward two years later. I finally have the time to get back to it. I have just finished the stroked 350 (now a 383) and have a 700R4 that is due to be installed by the end of the year. We are estimating horsepower in the 400+ range. In the plans are finishing the air bag system to include a tank/compressor etc, re-do the exhaust, so it will actually sit on the frame when the air is out of the bags. I plan to redo the interior mostly stock with later model Suburban seats. In our part of the world, we get in the 100+ degree summers, so a Vintage Air system is also on the list. I have a few parts I need for the body and bit of body work to straighten out the small wrinkles before we shoot on some paint.

     Though my wife thinks I'm "certifiable" for buying the vehicle, she has notoriously dubbed it "The Family Hoopty"! She has already seen the method-to-my-madness by all the attention the Ole' Burb received leaving the Good Guys show in Pleasonton '03, where we had plenty of waves and thumbs up just cruising from the show. Also when taking a poll with my twin 5-year-old daughters, they would much rather cruise in Dad's Burb before Mom's '01 Tahoe any day! They can't wait for the first cruise.

Best Regards,
Jon Litsey
Redding, CA

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