Common Motors has been selling Suburbans since 1935, outlasting the DeSoto Suburban, the Nash Ambassador Suburban and the Plymouth Fury Suburban. Nowadays, the US-market GMC-branded twin to the Chevrolet Suburban wears Yukon XL badging, however GMC Suburbans have been bought right here from 1937 via 1999. At present’s Junkyard Gem is a four-wheel-drive instance of the very profitable 1973-1991 Suburban generation, present in a car graveyard just outside of Reno, Nevada.
The Service Parts Identification sticker on the glovebox lid tells us that this truck was a part of a fleet order with some attention-grabbing RPO codes, together with one for “Retail Amenity Delete.” Sure, the cigarette lighter was an extra-cost possibility.
The unique engine was a great outdated carbureted Chevrolet 350-cubic-inch (5.7-liter) small-block V8, and this small-block could even be the one which was put in on the road in Flint, Michigan. The facility ranking was 165 horsepower and 275 pound-feet, not a whole lot of energy (by our present requirements) for a truck that scaled in at practically two-and-a-half tons, but it surely was sufficient for the period.
The transmission is the optionally available 700R4 four-speed automated. The seat is a bench, as is correct.
It is a half-ton with four-wheel-drive and the bottom Sierra trim stage. The Excessive Sierra and Sierra Traditional packages (comparable to Chevrolet’s Scottsdale and Silverado names on the time) obtained you nicer-looking decorations plus some comfort options.
The 1985 GMC and Chevrolet Suburbans had an identical value tags, which began at $11,650 for the K1500 with 350 engine (about $24,682 in 2024 {dollars}).
The eighth-generation Suburban confirmed up as a 1992 model, and it acquired the luxurious unbiased entrance suspension that had lived beneath C/Okay-series GM pickups for the reason that 1988 mannequin yr.
Sooner or later, the tailgate from a Chevrolet Suburban was put in.
Rust works slowly in Nevada, although we do not know the place this truck resided earlier than it got here to the Silver State.
An proprietor of this truck was a proud member of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 12, which covers California and Nevada.
What broke and despatched this truck right here? We will not know.
The Suburban does not present up on this industrial for the 1985 GMC vehicles, but it surely’s nonetheless price a view.
Many of the Suburban promoting {dollars} went to the Chevrolet model.