So fresh & so clean after washing off the road salt – Mr. Jack in the Box antenna ball is clean too
Growing up, I never saw myself as a truck guy or a wagon guy – always Mister Sedan deVille. I usually looked upon with scorn anyone driving around a behemoth as wasteful, especially if it wasn’t hauling a bunch of people or towing a trailer. But what looks wasteful to a 16 year old kid with his learners permit and a ’84 Sedan deVille now is a godsend to a thirtysomething that needs to haul lots of radio equipment and make Home Depot runs.
So here is the latest addition to my fleet of vehicles – a 1999 Chevrolet Suburban LT 4×4. For some reason the color scheme and cladding makes me think “Family Truckster 2.0,” but I like it. The almost ubiquitous 350 Chevy resides under the hood, in Vortec form making 255 hp along with 330 lb-ft of torque, connected to a 4L60E
CC has covered plenty of Chevy & GMC Suburbans, with some here going so far as to call the next generation GMT800 one of GM’s Greatest Hits – and on the flip side of that coin was the tail of woe and misery of JerseyFred and his 1990 GMC Suburban. But not the GMT400 based truck that seemed to be everywhere growing up as a kid in Houston during the 1990’s – these things were “Cowboy Cadillacs” before the Escalade came along in 1999.
When I was in elementary school, one of my classmates mom had one that we would use for field trips and I would always be amazed at how comfortable it was with leather seats and acres of space. I also loved the styling of this generation – one of the few ‘80s GM designs to age well and still look fresh 30 years later. And they sold like hotcakes, with the GM Arlington plant being converted from the beloved B/D body to make even more of these to fill suburban (pun intended) driveways across the USA.
But when I see this generation Suburban, I think of one guy – Tony Soprano. The fictional North Jersey mob boss drove one for the first four seasons of The Sopranos, and it fit his dual life perfectly. Tony needs to haul the wife and kids around, make runs to the hardware store, and on occasion rescue his other family associates from the Pine Barrens when they screw up disposing of a certain Russian package.
The other guys in the show drove stereotypical Mafia cars like Silvio’s Seville, Paulie’s Deville, or Bobby with his Lincoln Mark VII – but Tony went for the understated (but luxurious) Suburban LT in the beginning. And you would have to be getting no show jobs to afford to fill the 44 gallon tank, even back then when gas was a buck a gallon in NJ.
This is my third Suburban over the last 10 years – my first was a ’97 Chevy Suburban LT 4WD. I wasn’t looking for a truck to replace my 95 Buick Regal, but a coworker was buying another vehicle and offered it to me at a decent price. I took it for a test drive and loved the high seating position, comfy leather seats, and the instant torque from the 350 Vortec. It also came in handy hauling around my drunk friends, DJ equipment, and sleeping in it on occasion after late nights at the station. I had the 97 for a year until I hit a patch of black ice while driving to the radio station in a snowstorm and hit a tree head on. I didn’t have a scratch on me and waked away, but since I didn’t have collision insurance the truck had to be scrapped.
The Big Red Truck hit a nice Big Tree
The second was a ’99 GMC Suburban SLE 2WD – I purchased this truck in North Carolina to keep miles off of my CTS, and to haul stuff. It wasn’t as nice as my 97 – cloth front bench, no overhead console, and no running boards, but it was versatile and a comfy highway cruiser. It was the vehicle I used to move myself to Pennsylvania – the truck didn’t complain at all about being stuffed to the gills and towing a trailer up the Appalachian Mountains. But this did expose one flaw in this series of truck – the brakes. In all three the brakes always felt like they were undersized for such a heavy truck. Once I moved to PA, I sold the truck as I wanted something with AWD or 4WD for the winters – and I thought I found such a vehicle in a 97 Mountaineer. I still see the ’99 GMC driving around Monroeville PA, so I’m happy it lives serving its new owner well.
I like the GMC front clip better personally – the front plate was from my Cadillac Fleetwood
But much like JerseyFred and his GMC, the Mountaineer was too far gone once I started to repair it – for once I had some sense and junked it when my mechanic told me it would need a new exhaust (cats included) plus a new gauge cluster. So the search began again for a winter vehicle that could be used for my contract engineering business – and to keep miles off of the Grand Marquis. I found this ’99 Suburban LT with 220k on the odometer for sale at a dealer about 30 minutes from my home in Pittsburgh – I had to wait a bit to test drive it due to the battery being dead, but it performed flawlessly and I purchased it for the no so bargain price of $3100.
Love the chrome bumper
The interior is almost exactly like my 97 – grey leather , captains chairs, center and overhead consoles, and third row seat. I’m a sucker for the two toned paint job and the little bit of extra cladding on the exterior – only thing I’m not a fan of is the rear barn doors vs the tailgate, but I can deal with it. The one option it has that I love are heated front seats – I’m sure I’m getting soft in my middle age, but they really do make all the difference in the world on a cold Yinzer winter morning. I can see why Arlington was cranking out so many of these – for a truck they ride great on the highway, aren’t too jarring on city streets, and miles fly by on a road trip with the front and rear climate controls keeping you comfy and the six speaker stereo (separate amp for the rear door speakers) blasting your favorite music.
GM Plastic abounds, but the seats are comfy
So far the only issue has been some rust on one of the rear barn doors that I will replace when I find a replacement door, and a hesitation issue when the car is cold – I think the spider fuel injector needs to be replaced, but that can wait a little bit until it gets warmer outside. I did upgrade the stereo in the truck – I need a head unit with HD Radio and RDS for my side job, plus the stock system didn’t sound that good. That’s the other thing I love about these vehicles – easy to work on, especially the dash.
Doing what it does best – haul stuff!
Is it the most economical box on 4 wheels? No – but with age I’ve learned that sometimes it’s worth being able to just throw stuff in the back and not have to play Jenga to fit everything in. And that a command seating position is worth a few less MPG’s – I just hope my 16 year old self understands.
They sold down under badged as Holdens, very few buyers and they were withdrawn from the market, theres one locally Chev badges lift kit turbo diesel engine and big ‘fridge’ under the front.
I recalled the heavy criticism of hard and cheap-looking plastic everywhere inside. Additionally, sourcing the right-hand-drive dashboard from Trailblazer and stretching it to fit wider Suburban didn’t help due to excessive squeaking.
Quigley 4×4 had manufactured its own RHD dashboard for Silverado, Sierra, Tahoe, and Suburban as part of its right-hand-drive conversion programme in the 1990s before Holden Suburban was introduced. They were “mirror flip” and so much better than Trailblazer dashboard.
I never heard about Holden selling a Suburban variant, so I looked up some examples today. Most of the examples I found (on Australian used car websites) have Chevy badges. All seem to have the bowtie emblem on the grille, and several actually have the “Chevrolet” badge on the rear door. though there seem to be a few that simply say “Suburban” on the back. How odd — I assume they were sold from dealers that way. This is like badge engineering but without the new badges.
From memory they had the Holden lion on the front, but the bow tie has always been popular here, so a lot would be rebadges of a rebadge.
Which is funny, because I’ve seen three or four Chevrolet SS examples here in the ‘States wearing Holden badges.
It seems enthusiasts have a thing for origin-correct GM cars.
Yup, recently got passed by a Holden SS on Route 78 West in New Jersey
Great write-up on one of GM’s greatest hits. Two things I always liked about these: the ease of replacing headlight bulbs and the ABS pump module being located under hood next to the master cylinder. To replace the headlight bulbs all you had to do was remove two threaded pins and the whole capsule dropped out right in to your hand. One thing I never quite understood was the central sequential multiport Vortec fuel injection system with the two piece intake manifold. To me it was kind of a weird hybrid of a port and throttle body system mixed with electrical and poppet nozzle injectors which was needlessly complicated. The poppet nozzle injectors proved problematic and a TSB fix involved electrically actuated injectors at the poppet nozzle locations. I believe 1998 was also the first year for the Next Generation airbag.
The Vortec fuel injection system was a poorly engineered. I never understood why GM just didn’t engineer a proper MPFI. Of note, the 454’s got a better system, but they weren’t common as they were only available in 2500 series Suburbans. No-starts were not uncommon with Vortec motors, due to problems with the poppet valves clogging up, or weak fuel pumps. fuel pressure was very critical and a slightly weak pump may not have the power to open the poppet valves.
The perception at our shop was that the TBI engines, were significantly more reliable. However the Vortec engines felt and performed far better. I believe there is aftermarket conversions to update the Vortec system to a true MPFI. We also changed a lot of intake gaskets on these trucks. I agree that the brakes on these trucks were weak. They had poor pedal feel and stopping power was weak. At least they were cheap to replace and lasted a long time.
Vortec fuel injection, if one can really call it that, was one Frankenstein system. GM was trying to save money (as usual) and lost a lot of customers doing it.
GM finally did engineer a proper MPFI, they just saved it for the LS engines.
Love these GMT400s, and frankly I prefer them to the GMT800 that followed, mostly for aesthetic reasons, but also to me they just feel better built somehow. If I ever were to go older SUV shopping again (going up in size from my 96 4Runner perhaps), A GMT400 would absolutely be at the top of my list. My wife and I have driven my 4Runner down to the Outer Banks for vacation several times, and make it a point to get an offroad permit to drive on the beach there. The 4Runner excels at the beach driving, but boy does that 13 hour highway drive wear me out. With a child or two especially (in addition to our 2 dogs that we take with us down there), I can’t really see doing that trip in the 4Runner again even in terms of interior space. A Suburban on the other hand? Perfect!
What sort of MPG does your Suburban get in mixed driving? How about pure highway in the summer?
Right now, 16 on the highway, 14 in mixed driving running on 87 with 10% ethanol.
Not as good as my 2WD 99, but worth the trade off with the extra traction
Not bad considering the size and power of the thing. My old 4Runner can nip at 20mpg on the highway on all seasons, closer to 18-19 on beefy all terrains, 17mpg mixed. That’s with an engine making over 100lb-ft less torque and a vehicle that weighs well over 1000lb less!
I do know the GMT 800 (2000-2006) Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon were the last series to be had with the barn doors.
GM messed up so many things in the 90s but they absolutely nailed this one.
I was surrounded by these. At pickup/dropoff at the kids’ school the parking lot would be packed with these. And each of 3 married sibling/inlaws with families had one (red, green, blue). I was the outlier with my Ford Club Wagon and still think it offered more usable space, but my second choice would have been one of these.
I would still drive one if the right one were to cross my path. And I don’t think $3100 is at all out of line in that condition and from a dealer. Also, I don’t think I have ever seen one in that gray/gold 2 tone.
I too still think of Tony Soprano in his Suburban whenever I see these. The later one from season 2-4 with the brush guard and the taillight protectors seemed more fitting to me as well. The vehicle always suited Tony, because despite his mafia trappings and attempts to prove otherwise, he wasn’t all that much of a sophisticated individual. There were moments sure, but I always believed he seemed far more blue collar and rustic in his personality. So, the Suburban fit him perfectly, and when they replaced it with a white Escalade ESV in season 5 until the end of the series, I always thought it just didn’t suit as well when it came to his character.
I have to confess, I’ve always thought about buying a 99 Suburban and giving it the Tony Soprano treatment. If only because its one of the few cars from a piece of media that I like enough to want to recreate. Plus, it would be a nice change of pace from General Lee and KITT replicas that are everywhere in the world of recreation movie/tv cars.
These were great trucks. I owned a ’93 Suburban and kept it until it was nearly 20 years old with about 250K miles on it. One of my best all round vehicles. Very comfortable, reliable, easy to service, there was a ton of passenger and cargo room and it was surprisingly reasonably on fuel for it’s size. I really liked the big 42 gallon fuel tank, the highway range was excellent. These Burb’s were fantastic highway machines. I could drive all day in mine and wasn’t fatigued at the end of the day.
With the seats folded down, there was a true 8 foot load space. I carried a huge number of sheets of drywall and plywood in the back when I was redoing my basement. I also probably had nearly 2000 lbs of laminate flooring that I hauled over 300 miles and more than 2000 lbs in concrete pacers. It never complained about being overloaded. My Suburban also roof racks that I used it to carry canoes and kayaks. I also hauled 16 foot pieces of lumber I had milled by a friend of mine when I was building my shed. It was just a hugely versatile vehicle, even better than my fullsize wagons, and comparable to a pickup.
As JP mentions above, a fullsize van definitely had a considerable more cargo volume. A fullsize van really was about the same length as a Suburban, but had a longer and taller interior. However I much preferred the superior driving manners of Suburban, the better driver legroom and the easier serviceability over a van.
Today I have a fullsize truck that is also very versatile, but there is many times when I miss my Suburban. IMO though the GMT400 Suburbans were the perfect blend of utility and comfort. The current models have smaller cargo volume and really are too heavily biased towards being a big suburban Cadillac. So, I doubt I’d ever consider a late model.
“and the easier serviceability over a van.”
Bingo – this was the big disadvantage of my choice. I often wondered if I had made a bad choice when I was trying to work on something under the hood. The other big issue (in hindsight) would be crashworthiness. I suspect that the Burb may have been a stouter structure with doors (with their necessary thick pillars) on both sides, not to mention the additional room up front.
I find it interesting that U.S. automakers can make full size body on frame vehicles that exceed expectations and last for hundreds of thousands of miles, but struggle with other configurations. I had a 1999 Suburban I bought as a winter beater in Maryland about a decade ago. It worked great, transporting dogs and various large objects without complaint.. We now have a 2003 Excursion with the 7.3 that fills that same role, and with 235,000 miles runs and drives like it has 30k on the clock.
I love this generation of Suburban! The GMT 400 is the one I aspired to when I bought my earlier (and infamous) C/K version.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-1990-gmc-suburban-out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire/
For me, instead of Tony Soprano, the cultural reference for these trucks would be Tom Clancy’s book, Executive Orders. There is a section in the book where they are briefly described as the go to vehicle of the US Secret Service and referred to as war wagons!
BigTomBrougham, looks like your Suburban is fulfilling the hopes and expectations I had when I got mine…combining the best qualities of two GM greatest hits ..the full sized truck and the b body wagon. Congratulations and enjoy!
Add me to the list of those who love these, as well as the GMT800’s. Make mine a 4wd 2500, maybe with slightly softer aftermarket springs to get a nice ride along with the heavy duty 2500 suspension and drivetrain. A perfect desert explorer, with room inside to stealth camp or just get out of the wind.
Those GMT400 trucks were (are) great trucks. My wife and I had a ’96 Chevy Tahoe followed by a ’99 GMC Suburban and we loved both. That was back when my wife’s job had her on the road almost constantly, easily putting 30K+ miles per year on her vehicle. We also has two young kids at the time (and soon a 3rd on the way), so they were perfect for her/our family needs at the time. They were fantastic trucks and really well built.
The GMT 800 that came after, not so much. We had a 2001 Suburban followed by a 2003 GMC Yukon Denali followed, and both of those were disappointments, not nearly as well screwed together as the previous generation. Both the ’01 ‘burb and ’03 Yukon left her stranded on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere/Nebraska with mechanical problems. We’ve not owned a GM vehicle since.
Burgettstown checking in.
I’m glad I’m not driving back and forth to the Jonnet Building in Monroeville like I used to 15 years ago in my now-departed ’97 Blazer.
I bought my GMT800 ’02 Tahoe off a small-town lot on Rt. 18. Even though I work from home most days, I’ve put nearly 100k miles on it in four years. But I love the thing. I don’t have the brake issues that the GMT400s – and T-Blazer/Trucks – had. These brakes are well-sized for the vehicle. And even with 225k total on the odometer, it’s still smooth and powerful off the line. It’s got some quirks but it’s wonderful on a trip and easy to drive even Dahntahn (downtown in Pittsburghese).
Hope to get an ’07-’14 after this one. Yes I’ll swap in a new set of DOD lifters. There’s a ’10 at work that I thought would be coming off lease but am still waiting. Only 100,000 miles and meticulously serviced by local GM dealer with all paperwork. It’s just an LS but a junkyard dog Yukon/Escalade interior will fix that.
That is a very good looking truck! I also kind of hated big trucks and SUVs when I was younger. I thought they were too overdone and mostly not really needed by most buyers. The gas mileage was pretty bad also. Marriage and family brought me twenty years of minivan driving. Say what you will but I liked them. Later I got a couple of p/u trucks and even a smaller SUV. I don’t have a problem having many cars at my house, for different uses. However there is something to be said about having a vehicle that can do everything. Transport five passengers in comfort, pick up something at the big box store, carry 8′ 2x4s strapped to the roof rack, and tow the boat to the lake- all on the same trip! The ability to do all those things in so many combinations of tasks, that’s the real definition of luxury.
What a beautiful truck. The colors work well on it. These don’t have a bad line or detail on them, at least on the outside. I’ve never been in one of this generation. I was never that much into The Sopranos. I actually think of the white ones from the movie Clear And Present Danger. Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) and CIA suits with SMGs are ambushed by RPGs and a couple Suburbans in the convoy are destroyed, but they manage to escape in one of them by smashing through everything in reverse. Made me think they are pretty tough trucks. At least with the bulletproof glass. Great movie, also starring Willam DaFoe. It is about a US president overstepping his Constitutional authority and attempting to keep it a secret. You know…fiction.
This was the last vehicle my dearly departed grandfather owned before he passed away from a heart attack in August of 2004. It was purchased brand new in 1999, black with chrome rims, running boards, body kit, loud chrome tipped exhaust pipes, the works. The interior was customized with tan leather and woodgrain trim, flip down tv/dvd player in the rear, dark tinted widows and power everything. I must say that it was quite a looker, even to this day and was the most comfortable vehicle to travel in. I remember after I graduated high school in the summer of 2001, we went on a road trip form my hometown in Louisiana to Washington DC. There were 6 of us in with all our luggage and still rode comfortably. That truck was his baby and he treated it as such. My grandparents were pretty well off and always had the nicest vehicles but this one was probably the nicest. It was only 5 years old when he passed away and was still in excellent shape with very low mileage so my grandmother kept it for almost 11 years after his death. She passed it down to one of my uncles in 2015 when she remarried and he still drives it to this day. GM sure does make the “most dependable, longest lasting trucks on the road.”
A neighbor and his wife have matching Mini Coopers, and I guess they decided they needed a bigger winter beater…a fridge white 2001 Tahoe LT turned up in his driveway a couple of weeks ago, with temp tags on it. These full size GM’s have aged well, at least to a casual observer walking by with my dogs.
My wife’s Grand Cherokee is generally big enough for our needs, but once in a while the huge cargo area of a Suburban or Yukon XL would come in handy, especially now that my FIL traded his Chevy Colorado for a Honda CRV.