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Rusty-Old 1948 Chevrolet Suburban Shows Decades of Decay, It’s Only a Trick

Custom builds have always been flamboyant creations, and ever since the beginning (and even now, in some cases) a good part these projects were nothing more than decorative pieces of hardware, with no real-life application. Meant for the rich, eccentric custom builds held the headlines for a long time.
1948 Chevrolet Suburban rat rod 25 photos
Photo: Classic Auto Mall
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Someone, somewhere, decided to fight back, and so came rat rods. Built on purpose to look as bad as possible, these custom creations were, above all, functional. And they still are, as the niche, although not that big, exists to this day and gets people excited every time a new product hits the market.

We’ll be honest, we had to dig around for some time before finding a Chevy rat rod worthy of our attention as part of autoevolution’s Chevrolet Month coverage. But we think we found what we were looking for. And not just any rat rod, but a Suburban-based one.

The Suburban is the world’s longest-running nameplate in automotive history, having been introduced in 1935, and one of GM’s most profitable products. As such, custom SUVs from the olden days are not that common, either in custom or rat rod form.

The one here, based on a 1948 Suburban, is for sale online, at it goes for just $28,500. It packs the proper look of its breed, but only as a means to hide the advanced hardware hidden under the body.

Beneath all that rust (which at times goes deep into the body), peeling paint and missing parts, there is a 5.3-liter V8 linked to a 4-speed automatic transmission and a 10-bolt Chevy S-10 rear – we are not being told anything about performance numbers, but we’re informed the build is practically new, having never been driven.

The interior is a tad less disgusting and frightening: there are rust areas and completely naked doors, but the driver and passenger can ride in comfort thanks to the black vinyl seats that seem to be the least damaged hardware on the SUV.

Not exactly a head turner for most of us, this 1948 Chevrolet Suburban could be someone’s dream come true, provided they are willing to pay $28,500 for it.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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