1957 GMC Suburban - Rare Breed

You could say that Lou Calasibetta is a Pontiac man, through and through. He owns some of the rarest models from the '40s, '50s, and, '60s including '57 and '58 Bonnevilles, a '57 two-door Safari Wagon, and a '57 Transcontinental--known to you custom aficionados as "Surfari." And those are not even the jewels of the collection. Lou is lucky enough to own not one but two of the original customs from the famed Alexander Brothers. In addition to the '56 Chevy "Golden Chariot," Lou also owns the recently restored '60 Pontiac "Golden Indian." With a collection like that, there's no disputing Lou's passion for Pontiacs. But what does a Pontiac man do when he wants to build a truck?

It just so happens that Lou located this super-rare '57 GMC Suburban Town & Country pickup (which was Pontiac-powered right from the factory) at a most convenient time. More often than not, the modern Pontiac dealerships are paired up with GMC outlets, helping to solidify a long-running connection between the two brands. Recently, the Pontiac club, of which Lou is a member and which throws one of the largest yearly gatherings of Pontiacs, decided to let GMC trucks in on the fun; this is when Lou decided to jump into the project with both feet and complete the truck.

To the best of Lou's research, there were only about 1,000 of these trucks ever built along with the "plentiful" Chevy Cameo. With a truck like that, Lou felt it necessary to build a truck that would include all the custom touches to feel right at home alongside his other vehicles but also be enough of a restoration to justify the rarity of the truck. In our humble opinions, Lou and the crew from his own Old Stillwater Garage nailed it!

For drivability's sake, the chassis was completely updated using components from Fatman Fabrications almost exclusively. A Mustang II coilover frontend was grafted on and set up with GM disc brakes. In the rear, a Fatman four-bar setup and a second pair of coilovers were used in conjunction with a GM 10-bolt rearend. The wheel and tire combo is what really brings the nostalgia back to this chassis. Chromed steelies were wrapped with wide white radials and topped with original GMC hubcaps. It's a simple approach yet one we've rarely seen. Since the Pontiac powerplant was the inspiration for this entire restoration, it had to be just right. A '70 block was bored to 360 ci and filled with stock components except for the 9.5:1 TRW pistons. The long-block was topped with items like the Edelbrock carb and intake as well as a Pertronix HEI and original Cal Custom valve covers. That air cleaner is a genuine dual-snorkel piece, but Lou popped off the snorkels and backed the openings with wire mesh. And those sections of round tubing that run from the firewall down to the frame? As far as Lou can tell, they were original equipment, so they stayed. The not-so-common, but very reliable, engine was backed by a tried and true 700-R4; when you combine that with the 3.08:1 rear gears and modern suspension, you have one serious freeway flyer!

While the exterior is mostly stock, Lou and the Old Stillwater Garage crew made just the right modifications to improve the overall look. The front grille emblem and gas door were the only items removed. The 'glass tailgate was rebuilt using steel, and the firewall and inner fenders were smoothed. The simple mods were followed by flawless bodywork to the cab and 'glass bedsides. Then the custom Copper-Orange Pearl was sprayed and accented inside and out entirely in cream. All of the stock trim was returned to the vehicle's exterior, along with a slick Ash bed floor from Bruce Horkey.

The interior sheetmetal was finished as smoothly as the exterior--even the inner cab seams were filled--before the dash was stocked with Haneline gauges in a Haneline engine-turned dash panel. A smaller version of a '55 Chevy car steering wheel tops a paint-matched ididit column. Jerry Ambrosi of Master Upholstery took it from there and found the perfect matching two-tone vinyl to cover his custom door panels and headliner as well as the Glide seat. He even built the one-off tonneau that sports the same copper and cream rolls and pleats, a finishing touch that really sets this '57 apart from the rest. Lou finished his rarer than rare '57 just in time to debut it at Goodguys Charlotte last October and almost missed the show thanks to a brave deer about 20 miles from his house. The truck went into hibernation for the winter, but now that summer is upon us, Lou enjoys his truck regularly when he's not working on his next project: a full custom '40 convertible. You can probably guess what brand it is.