Lost Highway Patrol 1969 Suburban Discovered on Facebook MarketPlace
This Lost Highway Patrol 1969 Suburban Discovered and it Lives!
HOW RARE IS RARE?
Would you consider a low production number of 545 rare? For most, that’s a low production number in the automotive world. Especially considering over 400,000 Chevrolet trucks rolled off the assembly line that year. 3⁄4 ton Four wheel drive Suburbans were scarce in 1969 with 545 built, that’s nothing to scoff at. What if that number could be reduced even more? How about 1 of 3? That is where the story of the Driveway Finds “Unit” started. This Suburban is 1 of 3 specially ordered by one of the most infamous law enforcement agencies in the world, the California Highway Patrol. This is the only surviving Unit left.
Dustin Hallinan and John Brito of Driveway Finds found and located this rare beast. However, this isn’t a story that includes the usual car hunt, driving around, knocking on doors to see if a rusting relic in a driveway is for sale. This tale is even simpler than that. The Driveway Finds crew stumbled upon this Suburban on nothing other than Facebook Marketplace. Before we get into that story, let’s look back on how this 1969 K20 Suburban lived its life through the decades, starting with the California Highway Patrol.
Unit number 3521 was special ordered by the California Highway Patrol in the 1969/1970 fiscal year. These Suburbans were purchased to primarily help with snow rescue and recovery. Two were stationed in Placerville and one in Auburn. Our Unit rolled off the assembly line in Fremont, California, with a 307 CID V-8 engine, backed by an SM465 and Rockwell transfer case and some special order options. These include special order paint, presumably for the black exterior and white roof combination as well as a Leeve Neville alternator. This alternator was large in size, to keep up with the Unit’s duty of jumping the batteries of stranded vehicles. The Chevrolet assembly line wasn’t the only one the Suburban was built on. This truck was shipped to the California Highway Patrol’s facility, where it hit their production line. This is where it was custom built to handle the tough conditions of some of California’s highest mountains.
The exterior had the front doors painted white and the prestigious California Highway Patrol seal applied to the door. Heated mirrors were fitted to combat the cold conditions this Unit would soon see. Twin radio antennas mounted on the quarter panels, and a Federal Beacon Ray Model 17 light was installed on the roof with an amber lens. 3521 was equipped with a more than capable Ramsey front winch, driven off the PTO on the transfer case. This monster winch was mounted to an equally large front bumper, with push bars and locations to attach a snow plow. The modifications didn’t stop there, under the hood the Unit was equipped with a Federal Signal Model 28 siren and a jumper outlet, that was routed to the exterior passenger side fender. This was used as a jumper cable plug to help stranded vehicles. The interior included a front and rear bench seat, CHP Motorola radio equipment, a shotgun mounted on the passenger side of the transmission tunnel, and the radio hole in the dash modified to accept a panel to control all of the accessories on the Suburban. The rear of the Unit had flood lights fitted for night work, a collapsible stretcher, first aid kit, and blankets. The Suburban was the perfect patrol vehicle/ambulance all wrapped up into one. The Highway Patrol was proud of their new Units, there’s even a vintage newspaper article dated November 27, 1969 announcing its testing and arrival before going out on the force.
From there, the Unit saw years of service in the Placerville area, helping in the snow and even summer conditions, reaching areas no other patrol car could. It’s amazing to think of the lives Unit 3521 has saved in its years of service. After being replaced by newer and more current units, the Suburban was sold at some point during the 1980’s at public auction. An individual most likely drove the Unit as their everyday vehicle. There are remnants of a McClellan Air Force Base parking pass sticker on the front bumper and a 1985 calendar sticker attached to the front windshield. The registration expired in December 1986 and that’s as much as we know about its previous on road history, from there, another chapter of the story begins.
Dustin and John of Driveway Finds, a Youtube channel, and page on Instagram, are addicted to saving these rusty relics, especially that of the Chevrolet kind. They went back and forth, trying to convince each other The Unit was a good idea. The scope of the project was major, but the weight of its history larger. Driveway Finds finally pulled the trigger, and the seller was beyond stoked this piece of history was going to a good home. Potential buyers of the Suburban were messaging and wanting to turn The Unit into a mud bog truck! John and Dustin are the right home for the Unit, currently owning over 10+ 67-72 series GM trucks with a plethora of hard to find parts, and the gumption to take on any project, big or small. Preserving the story of these vehicles is their number one priority, so the Unit was a perfect fit for their fleet!
Driveway Finds started digging into the Unit, first removing a 1990’s era fuel injection small block Chevy from the Unit’s engine compartment, and replacing it with an era correct, 1969 date code 350. The Unit retained its original SM465 and Rockwell transfer case, which was removed and resealed. The winch was cleaned, oiled and brought back into service. Front and rear drum brakes were completely refurbished and retained for originality. Vintage 1970 dated split rims were installed with old era correct tread tires, just like in the old black and white photos of 3521. The exterior was cleaned and buffed with Sweet Patina century polish, bringing out that original lacquer GM paint. Exterior restoration didn’t stop there, the doors were repainted white on the original tape line the CHP layed down 55 years ago. Door logos were reapplied and the correct Federal Signal Model 17, found at a swap meet, was fitted back on the roof, mounted in the exact spot, using existing holes that lined up perfectly! The Unit was ready for the road, after sitting since the mid 1980’s, 3521 was about to embark on a new journey. (watch this rescue on our Youtube channel!)
3521 hit the road and drove better than we thought, rewarding us for preserving and getting this piece of history back into the public eye. That’s where a new chapter of our Unit resurrection started. The classic car and truck community has always seen a vintage picture of the Unit and wondered, “What ever happened to that old CHP?” Our goal was to show this Suburban’s history, honor it, and the law enforcement officers who put their life on the line daily. We’ve taken 3521 to many car shows, like Dino’s Git Down in Arizona, where it was in the top 50 out of 5,000 trucks. We’ve posted it on our social media where it has been seen millions of times. Basically the Unit is making its comeback tour, and taking it in stride. The California Highway Patrol even reached out to us, inviting us to their Headquarters and Vehicle Fleet Command. We got a tour of their state of the art facility and met some amazing people, who are into cars as much as we are! They welcomed us with open arms and were over the moon to see the Unit back on the road again. CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee even took the Unit out on the skid pad and had some fun with it, driving it like it was 1969 again!
The Unit will be on the road for many years now, seen by many, and honored the way it deserves to be. As this article is being written, this weekend the Unit will be in a local parade, piloted by the CHP. John and Dustin of Driveway Finds will continue to preserve the history of Unit 3521 and many other abandoned classics. We are honored to own this piece of history, and show it to the world!
GALLERY
