24 March 2013 Update
# 2919

   
  Owned by
Bruce Duykers
"mtvoices"
Bolter # 30252
Sandpoint, ID
 

 

1936 Chevy Suburban Carryall

 

More pictures of my old truck

Join the discussion about this truck

 

Almost finished

Before ... and ... after

From Bruce :

Well, we brought our old truck home just this month. Here you see her rolling off the trailer. Hope you liked the "before and after" shots!

She's been almost a year and a half "in the making." We are still doing a little detail work on the top and some wood work. We are waiting for a tail light switch for the master cylinder and for a new set of front bumper brackets.

We need to get the engine started. It's a bit reluctant, as it's new and tight but we will fire it tomorrow for the first time. 

Imagine there are not many people left who care or remember these very old trucks -- after 78 years. I think they referred to it as a "Suburban" in 1936.  I received the 1936 Chevy Suburban Carryall the end of September 2011 from an eBay find.

Most of this restoration is original pieces whenever we could save them.  About 70% of its wood is original even though it sat for 45 years. It must have been a pretty dry home in Connecticut.

All the seating is brown leatherette style. It was originally green. We did not care for that color. The Carry All will have a restored 1936 radio with the radio head mounted under the dashboard.

It sports a rearview mirror with clock and a temp gauge with a magnet.  It will also have a ceiling mounted 1936 compass over the driver's head. Twin spare ties of course; it came with just one.

This was a frame on restoration, as we didn't remove the frame. The entire chassis was blasted and painted with black Hirsch mircle paint.  

I want to thank everyone who helped with my long list of questions, and the names and leads.  This Carry All was really manufactured in Maryland in November of 1935, hence the windshield without a center crank out handle (ended in 1935) and an indent in the passenger's lower inside door panel for gas tank neck that was only used on ton and a half trucks. (Guess Chevy didn't thrown anything out!)  It is a very early 1936 model. It has both clamshell door, and the first year 1935 only had the tailgate and the rolldown canvass snap upper. 

It's painted  in Cabana Cream / Airdale Brown ... although I mixed a lighter brown for the trim. It's the same as  GM's Carry All in their Heritage museum.

It will be fun to put it in the "Lost in the 50's" parade and its first car show here in Sandpoint this May.  That's a debut that many around here are waiting to see.  Not many stock Suburbans around they tell me.  I certainly has been a labor of love as many do in the crazy hobby.

The old truck rides on Firestones and has only three swapped parts: passenger fender, the hood, grille shell.  It has a nice wooden bed but hidden with correct rubber mat.   Any questions that some may have on the restoration of one of these old Chevy Suburbans, just email me.

Thanks to all who watched this restoration. It has been an experience.

Bruce Duykers

02 November 2011
# 2919

From Bruce :

I have a show quality 1936 low cab Chevy pickup. It was very original and in excellent condition when I bought it from a man in Kentucky. We restored it partially frame-off. I had it painted Hollywood tan, a color Chevy used only in the Oakland plant on taxis and panel trucks.

I was not really looking for a 1936 Suburban although I knew they were rare. When I was putting my '36 pickup truck together, we found that there was a spare tire well covered over with metal on the fender. We welded in a new spare tire well and were supplied the spare tire rod clamp top and fender step by Bob Baucom. At that time, he told me he was restoring a '36 Suburban.

I was on eBay a month ago just checking prices of '36 low cab trucks and what pops up? A rare 1936 Chevy Suburban Carryall. Needless to say, it caught my eye. This old truck sat in a barn in Northboro, Massachusetts for 46 years. The man intended to restore it but never did. He bought it from someone who had had it for two years with the same intentions. That’s all the history I know at this time.

So far we have not deciphered the engine block or body numbers, but we will.

We have an extremely rare 1941 Chevy Woodie with a Cantrell body. (Here's another beautiful shot ~ Editor) The Cantrell Co. only made 300 wood bodies for Chevy wagons that year. Campbell wood bodies were more plentiful. I consider the '36 Suburban to be rarer than that.

Unlike the two former owners, this new owner will restore this first SUV to its original state in cream and Hollywood tan.

When I first shared this excitement about yet another Chevy with my wife, she was less than amused. I have bought a few cars in the last couple of years and each time promised that it was the last one. (Most of the cars we bought needed little or no restoration.) But when I explained to her that this was the rare of the rare and showed pictures of this historical Chevy, she left the door open just a little. She finally agreed knowing that the long northern Idaho winter was on its way and she was not wanting a bored husband around the house.

Now the project begins with the advice of many Bolters who have been telling me, “Slow pace wins the day.” I’ve taken many pictures since it was delivered as well as three pages of notes. Perhaps in two years, this Chevy Suburban will be in Sandpoint’s Lost in the 50’s Parade and Car Show which goes on every year and is a four day long event.

Thanks to all of you for your advice and wisdom. We will update you with photos as we continue this archeological dig.

I know I’ll be searching a long time for the rare Chevy air conditioner! (Just kidding, guys!)

Bruce

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