How far back can I go in time and still be comfortable on a long highway drive in an SUV?

I like old stuff and I like working on my my own vehicles. But I am also a wimp with a bad back. If I buy an SUV from the late sixties or early seventies (I had a first gen K5 Blazer once) it will ride like an ox cart. But at some point between 1972 and say, 1995 (or the cut off might be rudimentary injection and computers) there is a point where I can have flow through ventilation, an adjustable drivers seat, minimal wind noise, and an interior quiet enough for a bluetooth phone to be useable. What is the farthest back in time I can go and still be happy to go on a long drive? I am tempted to go back to a mid seventies second gen Blazer but I feel it might still be a little tractor like. I think I need to go drive a nice example to rule them in or out. Ramchargers were all steel so perhaps more solid, and Bronco's do not push my buttons. Wagoneers are nice but I think a maintenance nightmare. I had a newer Jeep that was bad enough. Any thoughts? Just talking V8 SUV's really. 

For me that point is the GMT400 chassis and its contemporaries. As much as I like squarebody chevys, (and would get another one) I think they give up a lot of drivability to GMT400s.

I toyed with a ramcharger for a while but couldnt find one I liked. Ive owned a 1st Gen Ram, and I loved it but wouldnt want to live with one as a driver.

The K5s Ive driven drive like a truck out of the 60s.

I have no experience with wagoneers, I looked for one for about 2 years and they where all basketcases so I gave up.

You can modify and sound deaden anything, im only refering to the ones ive driven in close to stock form.

For me if you get older than mid to early 90s, taking one on a trip isnt just to hop in and get there, its more of an event about the car.

If your not talking about a driver and just looking for a toy, then get whatever you like and modify to be quiet and comfortable.

That is all up to you.  I could (and have) be very happy with a 12 hour stint in an early 70s *car*.  No truck is comfortable, upper back starts screaming after a half hour...

Range Rover?

GMT400 seems like a good starting point. 

Does it have to be full size? If not, Chevy S10 based Blazers might be an option as well as Jeep XJ. They both take you back to early 80's

S10 was 1982 or 40 years ago. That's a lot of years old.  A really good example might be hard to find and then might not be cheap if found. 

I did a pile of driving in a 1983 Ford F150 many years ago. Honestly, it wasn't too bad to drive and the ride was decent. 

A K5 is probably going to beat you to death though. A Suburban, not so much. Add 4x4 with stick axles and leaf springs and buckboards come to mind. 

60-80 cars mostly road very well, they just didn't drive very well unless you liked the floaty vague wandering of that era. 

My best riding vehicle in the fleet at the moment is my XJ. Factory springs with a spacer lift in the front and a shackle lift in the rear and $700 worth of Fox shocks is kind of amazing. 

If you want to absolutely eat up the miles, GMT400-800 is where it's at. They are highway kings. I can do 3000 miles in our Suburban and not feel broken at the end. I did not like the GMT900 as much as I do the 800. 

I do like the GMT's but I feel I can go older. I have a Land Rover right now and I like it a lot but the miles are climbing and its no fun to work on. Perhaps an early 80's Range Rover when they were comfortable but still rudimentary to repair.

The square body Suburbans weren't horrible in 2wd. I grew up driving a C10. It wasn't too bad either. 

Any 2wd truck back to where they got away from solid axles is pretty good, really.  The solid axle 4wd stuff was horrible.

You are kinda asking two questions, though.  Ant of the trucks I mentioned would all be massively improved by the installation of a set of seats from an xc90...as long as you don't have long legs.

Or, just go buy an xc90.

I had 1994 Suburban 2 wheel drive that I loved on trips.  Took it on several Arkansas to Buffalo,N.Y trips and it was great. A couple of those fully loaded  and pulling enclosed trailer. I  have a '68 Suburban that's not bad either but it's been heavily modified. 

1965 3 door Suburban far back?  This really is a personal decision. 

How big of a project do you want and how original do you want it to be?  You could go as far back as a mid-60's C10 Suburban and swap the front suspension for an IFS kit, add power seats from, well, practically anything, drop in a late model LS for fuel injection goodness and add sound deadening throughout.  A/C was an option on early 'Burbans and I know I've seen rear A/C as far back as a 1969 model.  But, that's quite a bit of work and expense. 

If you're looking for something you can just buy and use with necessary maintenance/upgrades, then the GMT400 is probably the way to go.  IIRC, the IFS was on the first year trucks, but the 'Burban's were a couple of years later.  1991 might be the earliest you could go on one and get IFS.  That would give you a nice ride as opposed to a single front axle.  If you're looking for super plushy comfort, keep an eye out for conversion ones.  The conversion companies modified lots of those year trucks and Suburbans with running boards, full leather, interior lighting, TV screens, captains' chairs, etc. 

I'd also imagine that the ride of an early suv could be improved with more modern shocks and tires.  Many of them had heavy duty, stiff sidewall tires for towing, but a more modern suv (vs. truck) tire would probably ride a lot better.  As would better shocks and/or airbags. 

-Rob

GMT 800 would be my cutoff 

I don't think I could go older than GMT400. I have that now and it rides like a dream but it is loud on the highway (wind noise). It makes it a little hard for long trips, not so much for me but the wife and kids don't like the wind noise. I prefer to drive the 2020 CRV for creature comfort. 
For me I have decided I never want another daily without OBDII so my cut off is 1996 max. The fun and cute things about driving old vehicles wear thin for me if I have to drive it everyday. 

I've had 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton square body Suburbans, and currently have a 1/2 ton 4wd GMT-400.  The GMT-400 is hands down a better highway cruiser. 80% of the difference is manual bench seats vs 8-way adjustable buckets. 10% (yes, I'm making up numbers, because internet) is sound insulation, and 10% is ergonomics.  You'll have to reeeeach for the radio and wipers in the square body. Also, regarding the suburbans, I preferred the firm but not harsh ride of the 3/4 ton over the soft and floppy half ton.

I agree with the gmt400 being the earliest I would want to go for long road trips, but I will say I spent a short amount of time in a 70s grand Cherokee (wagoneer basically) it had the most comfortable bench seat i ever sat on. I cant say about ride quality or wind noise because its doors were missing, but that seat was glorious.

Most 67-72 Chevy's had IFS and truck arms with coil springs in the rear. They supposedly ride much better than their contemporaries.

My basic plan for my wife's 72 C10 is to add sound deadening, Vintage Air AC, tilt column, and possibly double adjustable coilovers. A modern v8 and trans that's capable of respectable fuel economy and reducing rpms at cruising speed would be nice as well.

GMT-400 is the sweet spot IMHO, my '89 C1500 and '94 K1500 both ate up miles very easily. The anti-lock brakes on both weren't amazing, so the GMT-800 might be a better option, and you'd be guaranteed to have ODB2. 

I am hearing a lot of plugs for GMT400. 

Something like this I guess.

These also call my name.

Seems like this would be comfy. Its an 87.

In reply to dj06482 (Forum Supporter) :

Their are some relatively inexpensive options to remedy the brakes and its just parts that probably need replacing anyways due to age

In reply to Opti :

I could not count how many failed RWAL units I bypassed.  It seems like their main superpower was the ability to cause a low brake pedal.

In reply to bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) :

If you want to do a gmt400 blazer or 2 door tahoe, you can even dress them up to look a little more vintage (like broncos and ramchargers) with the early chrome mirrors, and some 15" M/T wheels 

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Yah the RWAL was pretty troublesome, the later ones aren't as bad but still fail

I would never recommend a Wagoneer or a 70s Cherokee for any reason. The only way I would own one is if it was basically that body with nothing Jeep left. My parents owned one, twas horrid.

Which sucks because I think they look good

In reply to Opti :

Aside from towing, I never had issues with the brakes on either truck. With the rear drums properly adjusted, I thought both had good pedal feel. I like the interior of the pre-95 better, but OBD2 and the Vortec motor would probably make the '96-99 the better bet. The seats in my '94 (back when Silverado was a trim package) were seriously comfortable, I don't like the seats in the '95 and up as much.

The 3/4 tons came with better brakes, and now you can use the masters out of a GMT 800 to improve things even more.