Fourth generation (1955)

1955-1959
Overview
Model years - 1955 (Second Series) - 1959
Assembly - Baltimore Assembly, Baltimore, Maryland / Janesville Assembly, Janesville, Wisconsin / Lakewood Assembly, Lakewood Heights, Atlanta, Georgia / Leeds Assembly, Leeds, Kansas City, Missouri / Norwood Assembly, Norwood, Ohio / Oakland Assembly, Oakland, California (Chevrolet & GMC) / Pontiac, Michigan (GMC only) / Van Nuys Assembly, (Van Nuys, California) / Willow Run Assembly, Ypsilanti, Michigan (1958-1959)
Body and chassis
Body style - 2-door carryall / 2-door panel truck
Layout - Front engine, rear-wheel drive / four-wheel drive
Platform - Task Force
Powertrain
Engine - 265 cu in (4.3 L) 145 hp (108 kW) V8 / 283 cu in (4.6 L) 155 hp (116 kW) V8
Transmission - 3-speed manual, 4-speed manual, 4-speed Hydra-Matic automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase - 114 in (2,896 mm)

Updated engineering and styling on Chevrolet trucks was not introduced until March 25, 1955, in the middle of the model year that GM called the Chevrolet Task Force/GMC Blue Chip series. All Chevrolet and GMC truck models received new styling that included a flatter hood, front fenders flush with the body, and a trapezoid grille. The trucks' V-shaped speedometer was shared with passenger car models.
Engines included I6 and the small-block V8s. Chevrolet used its 265 V8 engine, later evolving it to a 283-cubic-inch version. GMC based their V8 on a Pontiac design. Standard Suburban model numbers continued from the previous series, but the introduction of four-wheel-drive models in 1957 added the numbers "3156" for 4WD Suburbans with panel doors, and "3166" for 4WD Suburbans with tailgates.
The "Suburban" name was also used on GM's fancy 2-door GMC 100 series pickup trucks from 1955 to 1959, called the Suburban Pickup, which was similar to the Chevrolet Cameo Carrier, but it was dropped at the same time as Chevy's Cameo in March 1958 when GM released the new all-steel "Fleetside" bed option replacing the Cameo/Suburban Pickup fiberglass bedsides. The Suburban name was never used again on a 1/2 ton pickup after the discontinuance of the Suburban Pickup. Although not documented because of a fire that destroyed the records, the production of Suburban Pickups is understood to be 300 or fewer each model year it was offered from 1955 to 1958.

1955-1959 Chevrolet Suburban

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