55.2-59 1956 GMC Suburban pickup now in my garage..so excited!

[daveshilling]

Gents, the dream truck has arrived!

After chatting with a forum member about some parts I needed, I decided to purchase the 1956 GMC Suburban pickup (GMC version of the Cameo) he wanted to sell as well.

It's not quite road-worthy yet, needs some parts chromed, needs paint, and the usual refresh of brakes/fuel/hoses for a truck that hasn't moved in awhile, but was otherwise well-cared for and should need very little work to get going.

As I have an ongoing build that needs to see the finish line, there won't be a build thread but I may get it up to snuff for legal road use and safe operation for now and just enjoy it. Thanks to G&R's57GMC for parting with this ole girl!

Fun Details:

• GMC Suburbans are much more rare than their Chevy counterparts... while there were about 10,000 Cameo's made, GMC only produced about 1,000 Suburbans over the same 55-58 timeframe.
  
• Original one-year-only Pontiac 316 swapped out for a more plentiful but more powerful 1960 Pontiac 389 sometime before I was born. Perhaps fortunately, its the low-compression 215 HP Economy version that is much more pump-gas friendly than it's high compression brethren of the time. The original 2-barrel carb and intake were swapped out for a 66 GTO 4 barrel. She's gonna have some torque!!
  
• Hydramatic Trans that directly bolts up to the '60 389 bellhousing (pontiac likely designed the transmission as well)
  
• Late 60's Camaro A/C installed back in the day!
  
• Has the RSD (Road Shock Dampers) that came with all GMC Suburban pickups, and were options on others. They have a sprung weight in a canister that counteracts the force of hitting bumps in the road.
  
• Has Pontiac-designed factory direct-drive Power Steering and a special steering column that ends in a rag joint connection instead of a solid connection to the box like the manual. I had NO IDEA this even existed!! Never seen one before. The Chevys use a power-assist that attaches to the axle. The GMC version functions like a CPP 400 conversion, where the box itself is assisted. Pretty cool! It leaked pretty bad and is disconnected at the moment, but still cool.
  
• Has the cool glow-in-the-dark clock in the dash

Now I just need to use some self-control and keep working on my 58!!

[Tempest67]

that baby doesn't need chrome or paint, just get it safe and drive'er.

congratulations on the purchase

[Southcity]

I'd be excited too, that is a really nice (and rare) truck. Congrats!

[_Ogre]

nice find dave! as rare as the cameo that hit the forum a couple days ago
it's not like they're making more of them anytime soon

Originally Posted by daveshilling

[*]Has the RSD (Road Shock Dampers) that came with all GMC Suburban pickups, and were options on others. They have a sprung weight in a canister that counteracts the force of hitting bumps in the road.

1st i've heard of this rds system, pretty revolutionary for the time, especially in a truck
http://www.1955gmc.com/magads/56mag5.html

this is the only reference i could find for RDS, post up a pic when you find it on that truck

[daveshilling]

Thanks Gents!

Yeah, although it doesn't NEED the chrome, some of the grill pieces and trim pieces were re-chromed to perfection and never re-installed, so the parts around it will look pretty silly. It's going to be expensive, but its going to look great.


Ogre, I'll get some photos of the RSD and get em up here.. there are actually almost zero photos online of these.

[mr48chev]

+ Sounds like a great one to have. I'd go along with the idea of getting it running and safe to drive even if you didn't stick the fresh chrome on it and just made a parts run in it once in a while. They don't always have to be ready to go play show and tell but it sure is nice to be able to hop in and move them under their own power or take one for a short run to town.

[1project2many]

Wow! Cogratulations on that rare find.

I managed to pick up a '57 Suburban minus bed when I was a young teenager. I only wanted it for parts for my very rough Chevy and had no skills or tools to repair what was a very rusty vehicle.. I truly wish I'd known then what I know now. There were sooo many factory options on that truck. Like yours, mine was a V8 Hydramatic truck. Like yours, mine had a "Safety" power steering system similar to Poncho cars. Like yours, mine had the really cool glowing face clock. The truck I owned also had a two tone green exterior and interior, armrests, tinted glass, deluxe cab stainless, chrome grille and bumper, and power brakes via Hydrovac. I believe it even had an air cushioned seat! I saved boxes of parts but the truck itself ended up getting towed to the crusher.

To this day I feel bad that I sent that rare truck to its death. I am very happy to see one being saved. Best of luck on the project!

BTW, more info on the RSD:
http://www.1955gmc.com/1955-59gmclit...new_models.pdf

[dsraven]

oh man, that thing looks needy. you don't want that bringing down your property value and getting the neighbors upset. better sell it to me, possibly for a loss just to clean up the place. lets say a couple hundred bucks including the trailer. I'll arrange payment and transport right away.
haha, just kidding of course. it looks awesome. great find. hope you can come up with the parts for a reasonable price.
do you know what the heater might be out of? not that it matters if it works. looks like it is supposed to be there. is the dash a gmc style or a chevy style?
plans? stock rebuild? upgrade to LS power? engine in it runs?

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

nice find dave! as rare as the cameo that hit the forum a couple days ago
it's not like they're making more of them anytime soon


1st i've heard of this rds system, pretty revolutionary for the time, especially in a truck
http://www.1955gmc.com/magads/56mag5.html

this is the only reference i could find for RDS, post up a pic when you find it on that truck

Interesting!

Brian

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by 1project2many

I saved boxes of parts but the truck itself ended up getting towed to the crusher.

To this day I feel bad that I sent that rare truck to its death. I am very happy to see one being saved. Best of luck on the project!

well we know theres about 999 left at least then... I hope you still have that box of parts!

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by dsraven

oh man, that thing looks needy. you don't want that bringing down your property value and getting the neighbors upset. better sell it to me, possibly for a loss just to clean up the place. lets say a couple hundred bucks including the trailer. I'll arrange payment and transport right away.
haha, just kidding of course. it looks awesome. great find. hope you can come up with the parts for a reasonable price.
do you know what the heater might be out of? not that it matters if it works. looks like it is supposed to be there. is the dash a gmc style or a chevy style?
plans? stock rebuild? upgrade to LS power? engine in it runs?

haha, my neighbors are pretty used to old trucks by now...I have a 56 Chevy in the driveway, and a 58 Apache in the garage next to the Suburban.

I have all the parts, fortunately, just need to send them off for chrome. The ONLY thing that is missing is the rarest part.. the GMC badge on the tailgage.

It's a GMC dash (only fleet options got a chevy dash). The pontiac 389 has tons of torque, and it does run, so plans are to get it some fuel, replace hoses, upgrade to safer brakes, and run her!

[G&R's57GMC]

Dave Dave Dave , if you look in the box you will find all the chrome parts that are not installed have already been done and are waiting for you to install them .

Ya I know , you still have to do the bumpers and maybe the center section of the whisker. Polish it first and compare to the outer sections .

How’s Tex feel about being left out of the limelight ?

[G&R's57GMC]

Some incentive to get going Dave .
Before chrome and after chrome . Of course you have more to chrome before you can install the grill .

Grill with bullets , How'd that get in here and where the GMC sat since 2006.

[G&R's57GMC]

In 1972 a friend (Joe) bought the GMC and drove it to work for a while . That was the only time I got to ride in it .
But it smoked so bad he had to take it off the road .

Then he took it apart scraped the engine picked up a '60 Bonneville 389 Had it punched out to 400 .

Meanwhile I loaned him my GM manual for the 4 speed Hydramatic a few years earlier and set him loose on a junkyard 4 speed Hydramatic . He took it apart made the tools necessary for the rebuild put it back together a bunch of times until it got easy .
This was the start of a career in automatic transmissions for him.

So he had no problem doing the GMC's trans later .
He rebuilt the front axel , installed a '69 Camero a/c system .
Did the body work and paint changed the rear quarters the originals were junk scrounged the wreaking yards for parts for years and finally got it done . This took him until '86 when he moved from Van Nuys ,CA to the Central Coast then to Portland,OR

Now for the back story I bought the GMC from a friend (Joe) in '96 after it sat outside in Portland Oregon for a year . I trailered it home to Pismo Beach .
I then cleaned the moss and grime off and mounted the tires from my '98 Tahoe on new white spoke wheels I drove it occasionally .
I replaced the rear quarters and rechromed a bunch of the chrome . Unfortunately the rear GMC emblem had a pin hole defect and sent it back for repair and chrome the hole wound up opening a can of worms and I never got the emblem back :-(
I installed a third brake light in the rear window along with new take take out split bench seats from a '90's Chevy pick up and new lap belts .

In 2002 we moved north and left the GMC for a few years down south . Then trailered it north . Where it sat on the lift from 2006 until Dave bought it .

It bought it to fast forward my '56 Chevy p.u. project then thought better of the idea .

Later I bought the '57 GMC NAPCO .

Meanwhile in 2010 I started to build a new chassis for the '56 Chevy p.u. That project stalled for years as other projects came through . Thoughts of putting the chassis under the '56 GMC or the '56 Chevy or the '57 GMC went back and forth for a few years and finally it was decided to put it under the '57 GMC .

So the '56's were free from the debate and redundant for me .

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by G&R's57GMC

Dave Dave Dave , if you look in the box you will find all the chrome parts that are not installed have already been done and are waiting for you to install them .

Ya I know , you still have to do the bumpers and maybe the center section of the whisker. Polish it first and compare to the outer sections .

How’s Tex feel about being left out of the limelight ?

Well, Tex actually gets driven every day so I think he's pretty pleased.

Yep, the primered bumper and top 'stache will really stand out against all that fresh chrome, but I've plenty of time to sort it all out. In the meantime, I have plenty of mechanical jobs to address first that will get her out on the road.

[G&R's57GMC]

For everyone else reading this "Tex" is the green Chevy pictured above that Dave hasn't properly introduced to you .

It's also the one I referred to in the back story and led me down the rabbit hole of Task Force trucks .
But wait there's more to the story ...
I was looking for a Studebaker P.U. for a few years before and came up dry .
A friend (Phil) had a '55 Cameo that he / we restored , and I gave in and found the '56 Chevy p.u. locally and the rest is history .

Wouldn't you know it , a few Studebaker P.U's became available within months ... Grrr ! Oh well I was in the Chevy now .