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We’ve all been on one. I’m sure if you think about the road trips you’ve taken, you can’t help but crack a smile at the adventures. What better thing to do in these challenging times than get back to enjoying simple pleasures, close to home, with family and friends? That’s what I was thinking when a late night eBay purchase led to one of my favorite family vacations with my four children!
As soon as I hit the “buy it now” button, the dream was launched… restoring a tired 1972 Suburban, with 195,000 miles. One year later, I cinched the last pack to the roof rack and stuffed my kids into the family heirloom. I knew my dream was about to come true. As we turned onto the freeway in Tacoma Washington, we had no idea of the adventures that awaited us… especially in a newly restored truck that hadn’t even been around the block more than 3 times! We were off for Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons with the Suburban… a 2,200 mile adventure with enough tools and supplies to handle anything along the way.
Rolling out of the driveway… looking for adventure of days gone by.
The Vehicle: A complete, frame-off restoration was done by my trusted friend Louie Shefchik and his talented crew at J&L Fabricating in Puyallup, Washington. This was a very special truck long before I got it. The options list, which is located on the inside of the glove box, is a mile long. Someone really took the time to order just what he wanted and then babied the thing its entire life. The paint had always been Tangier Orange with a white top and bottom accent stripe. As the old paint was soda blasted away, to my surprise, it was a truly “rust and accident free” truck. It took a year to do the restoration and it went right down to the wire, delivered only hours before we were to embark on our trip.
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
Simplicity never goes out of style… no buzzers, bells, airbags or government-mandated depression.
I kept the old steering wheel; there’s something about grabbing onto a large wheel… you feel as if you are in command of something special. The same goes for the gauges… there’s nothing like big, old school gauges that are easy to read, and set off by a bright orange dash. It’s a far cry from the dreary, black dashes of today. Even the AM radio was left in its original location, and though it doesn’t work too well, the chrome dials look way cool.
The original, slab-sided, vinyl bench seats were replaced with seats from a 2000 Suburban. They were re-upholstered in original Chevy Camaro Orange & Black houndstooth. Other thoughtful touches rounded out a very stock looking, yet comfortably modern interior.
Under the hood, a standard GM 350 crate motor replaced the one rebuilt in the 80′s upping the horsepower from 210 to 350. Dual batteries were one of the original options and they were re-installed along with much cleaner plumbing for the entire air conditioning system. The Burb had rear air to begin with and we got that working right as well. I recall looking in the rear view mirror to see my daughter wearing a blanket when it was 95 degrees outside… talk about a smile on my face! A dual snorkel air cleaner from a Z28 topped off the engine compartment. It’s a real work of beauty.
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
Getting onto the highway for the first time, and easing over into the fast lane, I looked over at my son with raised eyebrows and said, “This thing hauls!”. The truck ran like a freight train, and we needed to, as we had to get to the XXX Drive-In in Issaquah before it closed for dinner… we just made it with 10 minutes to spare. Even though it was fully loaded with a roof rack of gear, and its 40 gallon fuel tank, it blew by cars of lesser stature as families in modern hardware were slack jawed the old truck could keep up and pass them anywhere. Five, huge hamburgers later, our bellies were stuffed and we were off to Spokane!
The miles racked up… Spokane, Missoula, Kalispell, Glacier National Park, Bozeman, Yellowstone, The Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole, Idaho Falls, Boise, and finally home. Everywhere we went, smiles came out of the woodwork. Questions about the engine, the color, “I remember my father’s ’72″, and the most common one of course… “You must be crazy for doing this sort of trip in this old of a truck!”
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
I wasn’t crazy, I was just looking for time away from everything… driving, thinking, and talking to my kids brought back memories of my childhood. There’s nothing like an All American Road Trip to put a smile on your face. It was great to spend those precious moments with the children before they get up and fly away… come to think of it, there was no fighting, bickering or moaning at any time! I think my children also got sucked into the calming spell that only these classics provide. It was all worthwhile when one of the boys said; “I can’t wait to take my children on a trip like this in the Burb.” I said, “Son, this is a family heirloom, and you can borrow it for your family any time.” At that moment a smile graced my face. My dream, planned over a year ago was realized… almost bringing tears to my eyes.
Have fun in your garage, or out on the road!
Richard Griot
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
PS. Besides the occasional teething problems such as small leaks, exhaust bolts that dropped out at the collector pipe, and poorly adjusted headlights; the car ran flawlessly and got us back in one piece. Would I carry all the spares and tools on the next trip? Nah… she runs just as well as the modern version.
PSS. I would like to thank my Mother and Father for taking me out of school for a year when I was 11 and showing me what a real adventure was all about. We camped out every night in a 1971 VW Campmobile, and after touring Europe for 5 months, we dropped down into Africa and crossed the Sahara, navigated the Congo, nearly got killed by an elephant in Tanzania, and limped down to Cape Town. Now THAT was a real adventure!
PSSS. See more pictures of the Suburban on our Flickr page.
Do you guys have any great road trip stories? Let’s hear ‘em in the comments!