The GMC Suburban (these days marketed only as the Chevy Suburban) was developed as a reliable vehicle for large, active families or hobbyists that may need to tow a trailer here and there on weekends. For this reason, the majority of GMC Suburban models lived rather hard lives as utilitarian daily drivers – making it rather hard to come by a well-kept model that has not been restored or modified in any way.
That’s exactly what makes this 1976 GMC Suburban, which is currently for sale via Bring-A-Trailer, so special. The SUV in question was purchased new from Thorpe’s Pontiac in Tannersville, New York and was owned by the original buyer until 2020, when ownership was transferred over to the current seller. It currently sits almost exactly as it did when it left the dealership 45 years ago, although the inner rear tailgate was repainted due to the presence of carpet adhesive that was difficult to remove. The exterior of the tailgate also had dent minor repair performed on it at some point, but apart from these small touch-ups, it remains unaltered.
As expected, this survivor GMC Suburban shows some signs of minor wear and tear, including some rust in the passenger-side rear cargo area, worn front seat bottoms and an inoperable coolant temperature gauge. The odometer also shows just 24,000 miles and is believed to have rolled over at some point. For that reason, the true mileage of the vehicle is not known. That said, the 350 cubic inch V8 is in perfect running condition, as is the three-speed column-shifted manual transmission.
Buyers interested in bidding on this 1976 GMC Suburban should know the vehicle will come with partial service records, the original sales invoice, owner’s manuals, and a clean New York title. Bidding sits at $18,500 as of this writing, although there are still two days left before the gavel falls on the sale, so we imagine the final selling price will be quite a bit higher than that.
Check out the listing at this link before the sale concludes later this week.
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Comments
This beauty’s garnering so much media attention because it’s literally a poster child for once common values that seem utterly radical, dare I say criminal now: simplicity; honesty; frugality; affordability; form follows function.
Vehicles like this make us question why we need all the complexity, luxury and frivolity being foisted upon us in our current tech-obsessed, keeping up with the Kardashian’s world. This distorted, cutthroat drive to excess that bloats and corrupts almost everything now that was once pure and simple, yet left us wanting for absolutely nothing.
Modern wretched excess laid soberingly bare by an appealing puppy-dog of an unpretentious classic pre-sport utility era vehicle designed and appointed for actual sport and utility (what a radical concept!)
Idiot Boy: We’ll said. So true.
Let’s not romanticize this vehicle, yes it’s a base manual Suburban but let’s not forget in ’76 rich families bought loaded 454 Suburban Cheyennes with cruise, P/W, A/C and such also Buick Estates, Country Squires and such if not a Cadillac or Electria 225.
Even today you can order a base 2wd 5.3 Suburban for less than $55k.
Bookish, waifish and bald Mr. Smith, my 4th grade teacher drove a well optioned 454 Suburban back in the day. He could afford it no problem on a public school teacher’s salary even if he didn’t appear very well fed. His Suburban wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but I hopelessly longed for another teacher’s black over silver 1968 GTO convertible. My 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Heuer traded her 1972 Corvette for a new 1979 Lincoln Mark V. Never quite understood that.
Anyone optimistic enough to equate $55K with “affordability” for the modern stripper equivalent of this lightly optioned People’s Suburban case-hardens everything I stated above.
Base ’76 Suburban in today’s dollars similar to this one = $27,200. Loaded 454 Suburban appx $50,000. Granted it wasn’t a Tahoe or Traverse made back then which is part of why you could get such a basic Suburban also BTW $51k for a ’22 2wd Tahoe.
Not saying you’re wrong but America was/is known for brash and cash longer then I live.
Not with standard transmission much less a three on the tree
… good one for the Business of selling death people around and carry … certain a gain of money, the product is ever there
Gorgeous. The wheels/tires strike me as ridiculously small in proportion to the overall mass of the vehicle but those were the sensibilities in that era; especially for the heavy-duty models.
The small (by modern standards) wheels and tires, along with the 2WD ride height, make the vehicle look even longer.
It absolutely does. Good point about the ride height.
I will stand by my belief that the Grizwalds should have chosen this vehicle for their cross-country trip to Wally-Wally World.
Ivonic, nonetheless.
What a piece of crap If it was full load they might have something and who the hell likes suburbans big GM fan always hated suburbans never understood why they couldn’t move the rear axle back to haul trailers better so much overhang. but I never buy old trucks that aren’t loaded if Im buying a older truck I look for as top of the line as I can get or I’m not interested unless it’s cheap and has good rust free body panels… WT gm work truck 🤢