65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Just picked up a 65 Suburban. 350/3 speed. I am new to the 60-66 Chevy trucks and was wanting some advice on good parts suppliers to buy weather seals, and various interior pieces. After reading it appears the second row seats are not an easy find. The PO has adapted a van seat for the second row.

I have been an aircooled VW guy for years and when it comes to them there is a huge difference in quality between suppliers. Any info is appreciated

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Welcome, you got a great looking suburban there, Congratulations, You will get a lot of great advice around here. Everyone on this forum is so helpful, I'm fairly new also and just picked up a 66 suburban just last month, and every time I have questions guys on here always seem to have the answer. Parts specifically for the suburban are a littke hard to find sometimes but parts from 64-66 pickups are all the same as suburban parts, for the most part. I use a place in Orange Ca. called The Truck Stop 1-800-243-8947. There are other places around but I like this place they've got a catalogue they will send out to you for free
Enjoy and again welcome

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Awesome thanks for the reply. I been searching and reading post for hours. So headers for a C10 pickup should work fine on the Suburban? My drivers side exhaust manifold is cracked pretty bad. I was gonna buy a set of headers, but with 3 on the tree I was concerned about fitment. Was unsure if the Suburban had any different crossmember setup.

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Welcome to the board. Lots of great help here.

You'll discover that for the most part...the burbs and PU's are the same from the doors (cab) forward. Even the engine bay is basically the same. Most of the differences are behind the driver :lol:


I've not installed it yet as my project has been on hold for a couple years but all the research I did at the time said that http://www.steelerubber.com/ has some of the highest quality weather seals.

Most of the time, especially for body panels you'd be better off searching for NOS or to refurbish parts off donor trucks, junkyards, ebay, or craigslist. IMO. I have heard good things about top banana when it comes to repop body panels.

However, sometimes you do have to buy new and places like

www.truckandcarshop.com http://www.lmctruck.com/ http://www.brotherstrucks.com/

do have serviceable selections at least, but most of the parts that are repop'd for this series of trucks are chinese imports and on the lower end of quality.

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Very Nice Burb. Parts are also available from board members in the Classified section, Also Classic Truck parts, is in Mo.... Imo ram horn manifolds were decent, I would just replace it. parts from salvage yard or board member..

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Very clean Burb. We need to more pics though. Coming from a VW dude myself, you're right on quality parts. Got a 60 and 56 verts. Parts are pretty rare. Some parts are pretty hard to find on Burbs and Panels but everyone here is very helpful. Wecome brotha.

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Thanks for the reply's guys. I will definetly get some more pics.

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Nice looking Burb

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Im still trying to identify the parts that have been swapped. It has what appears to be a 1970 4 bolt main 350 with 487 heads. The rear end is a 12 bolt 6 lug and the PO said it had been changed out for "good gears". The center section has casting number 3838227. The only stamping I could find on either axle tube was "WA 1 03". And that was on the backside of the driver side tube. Opposite of what most info say it will be located?? Anyone know what that code means? Or should I keep looking?

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Welcome neighbor!

I sure do like your Burb! If you find parts here in DFW, let me know, I can pick them up and store if needed. I come to and by Abilene a few times a year.

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Nice find and welcome to the forum.
As far as body weatherstrip seals I have tried most and Steelerubber is by far the best out there and great people to deal with.

Good luck with the new Burb!

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Welcome to the rewarding, yet sometimes frustrating world of the mid 60's Suburban. I have a 1965 myself. I have found luck with the below listed suppliers. Like spacedebris said, a lot of the front and rear suspension components, front body panels, brakes, steering, etc. will match up to the 1965 C10.

-CPP (www.classicperform.com): suspension parts, brakes, steering components, etc.
-Brothers Trucks (www.brotherstrucks.com): OEM replacement and aftermarket parts for interior, exterior, electrical, chassis, etc.
-Goodmark (www.goodmarkindustries.com): Replacement interior and exterior sheet metal parts.
-Porterbuilt Fabrications (www.pfab.com): Suspension components, brakes, steering, etc.
-Truck Shop (www.truckandcarshop.com): OEM replacement and aftermarket parts for interior, exterior, electrical, chassis, etc.

It is difficult finding certain items for the Suburban. A lot of the rear interior stuff, rear slider and fixed windows, replacement body patch panels, etc. is tough to locate. No one makes the parts currently. I have had a hell of a time trying to track down rear body mount cushions for my rig.

Craigslist is also a good place to look. I know there is a guy in Southern California that sells parts for our year vehicles. He has Suburban stuff as well as C10 parts. I believe he is in San Diego. I have purchased a couple of items from him. You can grab a lot of direct replacement parts through random places. You just have to be resourceful.

I have done a frame off on my Suburban and am almost complete with the chassis. I will hopefully be able to mate the body back to the frame in the next month or so. I have probably gone through some of the stuff you will be encountering on your journey. It's a process to say the least.

Good luck with it.

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Awesome. Thank yall again for the help..

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Welcome, from a 63 four-wheel-drive suburban owner. I prefer the truck and car shop for my parts.

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

No one has yet mentioned lmctruck.com who has been my go-to. They have the best catalog to help you figure out what you need.

Nice truck! Enjoy!

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Whats with the VWs and Burbs??

Another dub junky here, 56 vert, 15 window bus and a 65 burb. Ive done trucks in the past and recently started working on the burb again and noticed that there are a lot more repro parts available than before but not so much burb specific stuff.

Ive used Brothers, LMC, Truck Stop, and Classic Industries. Parts are hit and miss on the china stuff, some holds up some falls apart in your hand as you attempt to install it (EMPI comes to mind).

Nothing beats original parts and at least NOS and good used truck parts seem to be more plentiful compared to VWs these days


My only advice is to take care of your upper gate supports, no repro and good used is getting close to $300 these days

Also SMS fabrics had exact reproduction seat cover materials for my 65 and 72 burb if you are going the restoration route.

CONGRATS!!

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Well I finally ordered most of my weatherseals. And door internals. Im now about to tackle the wheel/tire combo. I have a set of 6 lug 15 inch rally wheels. All four are 8 inch wide. I figured heck I will find a pair of 7 inch for the front... Dang I was surprised to see how hard they are to find. I thought some VW parts were pricey... Anybody got tire size recommendations for the rear with 8 inch rallys? I was thinking 275/60/15. Gonna drop a front a bit and give it a little rake.

Thanks again for all the advice guys

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

I'm running 15" x 8" 6 hole Rally's with 275/60R15's on my '66 Suburban. I rolled the rear wheel well lip a little for some added clearance.

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Captainfab or heck anybody have any pics of their suburban with some 8 inch rally wheels? I plan on dropping the front of mine a little. I searched through lots of the picture threads. Right now I am leaning towards 275/60/15 rear and 235/65/15 front.

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

hi asbill71 jon here i just put some all 8 -15 steels with stock caps on my burb with 15 tires you can see them in my build thread

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

What's the link to your build thread?

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Hi Chevy Mike its 66 suburban aka the sub its my 66 suburban build ive been woring on

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

I looked for your build thread for a while last night and could not find it either

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice
 

Is there a reason you can't post the link to your build thread here? Trying to search for one can be a PITA.

Re: 65 Suburban. Need advice