New Fishing Truck - Meet Earl

[RyanAK]

In my never ending quest to do things the hard way, and regress in terms of technology (necessary to maintain a certain level of style, you see), here's "Earl". 1971 Chevrolet C-10 Suburban. 350 V8, automatic, 2wd. No damn computer. Factory air. All original (except for the paint) two-owner truck. The rust you see is the only rust there is. It's an amazingly sold rig. And everything can be fixed with a flat-head screwdriver, a crescent wrench, duct tape, and a hammer. Lived its whole life with the same family in Utah. Should make into a neat tow vehicle for the Airstream.









Anyone else running a vintage rig?

R

[CaneCaster]

Nice one Sabo!
that engine needs to spend a week or 2 with me.... also i think your gonna need a bigger beard

71' is a good year..... the offer to race the 71' MGB still stands.... no corners... I promise! hahaha!

well done, good form.

J.

PS... 3 weeks to go.

[quashnet]

Looks like I'll have at least twenty more years out of my 1991 Ford Ranger. It was my father's truck for many years. I received it eight years ago upon his passing. I never worry about the engine overheating, because the temperature gauge was broken when I got the truck. Still is broken, so everything must be OK. The "check engine" light has been on for the past three months, but every time I check, the engine is still there. Either a false alarm, or the oxygen sensor. Factory air = roll down the window. Did a round trip to Wisconsin in it in 2006, round trip to Michigan in 2012.

[LFJordan]

Awesome tow rig Ryan,
Those old suburbans were work horses.
I had a 1984 when we used to race open wheel dirt cars years ago.
Just load the crew, hookup the trailer and away you go.
Does the air work? you might want to do a R134 conversion on it, as the old R12 will probably break the bank with the rear air.
Have a blast, maybe we'll see you & Earl at CRR this summer.
Larry

[RyanAK]

Thanks for the compliments guys.

James, the beard lift (drop?) is in the works. And I'm sure you could massage the engine. 48,000 miles. I had forgotten how simple a small block was before they started with all the 'improvements'. Kinda killed the shade tree mechanic. "Earl" is a tribute to those endangered individuals.

Bob, nothing quite like Dad's truck, eh. That Ranger will run forever, if only in memories. Funny line about the check engine light. I find the easiest way to fix that is a piece of electrical tape over it. Ha. Or a new gas cap. Seriously.

Larry! Air blows cold. When it quits, a R134 conversion will get done. And if I can make CRR, Earl is coming too. You betcha.

R

[eotr]

Ryan

Congratulations - those old suburbans just keep on keepin' on. This one is slightly newer than yours but is still a great truck for fording creeks and/or climbing mountains.

[DrLogik]

Yeah. Mine is a 1971 Triumph TR-6. If I'm not careful where I drive my butt gets a bruise! It's my daily driver!

[RyanAK]

Ha! Brent, I've done that with my '79 full size Cherokee in AK. Not sure I'd attempt it with poor 2x4 Earl.

'71 Triumph! Now THERE'S a race for your MGB!

R

[Chased]

That's a fine looking submarine you've got there Eotr. I love my little 1972 Triumph GT6, she doesn't very swim though!

[fishnbanjo]

Well, it's not a truck, nor as old as what you folks are showing, but it is vintage and I have fished using it, driving it is a blast with Levi as shotgun but I have to temper my foot. OBTW none of you want to race this car, believe me!

[munsey w]

Ryan- In the words of George Thorogood" bad to the bone!" I've been a little sad being FJ less...maybe it is time to look for a new fish car. Congratulations on your find.

Munsey

[czkid]

You guys just need to try to "one up" my fishing car... '98 VW TDi.... 52 mpg on the road............. think about that Ryan when you can't hear the starter over the noise of the carbs sucking gas. My 454 Suburban was lucky to get 10 mpg.

Ralph

[fishnbanjo]

Ralph,
Knowing you poor Bayse is pushing it!

You guys just need to try to "one up" my fishing car... '98 VW TDi.... 52 mpg on the road............. think about that Ryan when you can't hear the starter over the noise of the carbs sucking gas. My 454 Suburban was lucky to get 10 mpg.

Ralph

[bvandeuson]

Nice truck, Ryan.

I'm still working on killing my 2000 Cherokee Sport. 170,000 miles and still going strong. Now that I'm retired, most of the mileage is fishing or local errand related.

BB

[wiscoy]

You guys just need to try to "one up" my fishing car... '98 VW TDi.... 52 mpg on the road............. think about that Ryan when you can't hear the starter over the noise of the carbs sucking gas. My 454 Suburban was lucky to get 10 mpg.

Ralph

had that motor in a different vehicle

i used to say it would pass anything on the road but a gas station.

[Hellmtflies]

AWESOME! The Chevy Suburban was the "Montana State Vehicle" for years. Good on ya! A true workhorse.

[DeHart16]

Ryan, thats awesome. I want one. I had an 84 CJ7, but it wasn't even strong enough to get me around my town, let alone to any fishing destination.
Currently driving my one owner, 1994 ford f150. Bought it from an old man who kept it sitting in his driveway with the club on the wheel for the last 5 years. Only 45,000 miles.
Its red, Robert-the-RedFord.

[MrBoZiffer]

Nice C10, Ryan. Good name, too. Those old Suburbans are studs. I wish I had an action shot like eotr's, but here's my '88 Wag. I don't do any serious off-roading with it--just use it around town and on trails when I go fishing or hunting.

[RyanAK]

Samantha's vintage truck will be a Wagoneer for sure. She has a serious crush on them. If I could have found a cancer-free example for the same price as Earl, we'd have a Jeep in the driveway. The Quadra-Track 4x4 on my '79 full-size Cherokee in Alaska is AMAZING four wheel drive.

Your's looks to be an extremely clean truck. No salt in Alabama, eh? I'm not sure of another vehicle from 1988 that held it's value like the Wagoneer. Really a beautiful truck.

And Sam think's one would look great in front of our farm house. Ha.

Sante - stylish as always.

R

[MrBoZiffer]

It's hard to tell in that pic, but the paint is peeling, especially on the roof. There's some rust here and there, mostly underneath, but nothing too serious. This one spent most of its life in Delaware before coming to Alabama. It didn't do much besides sit in a garage for a decade before I came along. It's around 99,000 miles right now. Great car, but usually a work in progress. I wish I could fix everything with a flat-head screwdriver... those damn torx fasteners are everywhere in this thing.

Those old Cherokees are sweet.