ou know that old adage about a glass being half full versus half empty? Well, imagine how it applies to a project vehicle, if you will.

When Michael Petramalo and his family originally acquired their ’72 Chevy Suburban, they were under the impression it was, as they put it, a “nearly complete build” (glass half full, as it were). But upon further inspection once it was in their possession, “it didn’t take long for me to come to the realization that our definition of nearly complete was vastly different!” Michael admits.

Initially, Michael called upon Jared Hancock from J-Rod & Custom (Black Diamond, Washington) to come out to talk about notching the Suburban’s frame to get the stance a bit more to his liking. Well, that half-full glass reared its head and the two quickly came to the conclusion that a brand-new chassis was in order—and just as quickly, on order from GSI! Along with that, a complete Connect & Cruise (LT4/8L90) drivetrain was added to the cup.

It was at that point that Michael realized an “exceptionally high-end build … very driveable and aggressive” was what he needed to commit to Hancock for, and that’s exactly what J-Rod & Custom proceeded to create over the course of the following year and a half.

All said and, obviously, done, Michael’s Suburban, which is based on a design conjured up by Michael’s father as well as his daughters “on the fly” as the project was being completed, is what Michael describes as one of the “best trucks in the Pacific Northwest.”

As he previously pointed out, the stock chassis was swapped out and in its place went a Ridetech coilover-optioned platform outfitted with Baer brakes and Schott’s Drift wheels in 22- and 24-inch diameters (wrapped in Pirelli’s P Zero 255/25 and 405/25 Nero radials). The aforementioned LT4 was massaged with a Lingenfelter GT32 cam and CNC-ported heads, while J-Rod & Custom built a custom exhaust for it using Ultimate headers along with a single Flowmaster followed by a pair of Black Widow mufflers!

Before applying the PPG Lapis Poly and Blanco Italia two-tone, the Suburban underwent some minor cosmetic surgery, such as tucking the bumpers and a mild shave that included relocating the gas filler behind the driver side taillight.

Finally, before that glass was officially full, the J-Rod crew focused on bringing the interior quarters up to Michael’s liking. Ross Peterson designed a custom gauge bezel (whittled by Atomic Machine) that now houses a custom Dakota Digital cluster, Andrew Raker built a custom center console with all the bells and whistles, and a Vintage Air system was complemented by 3-D–printed custom ducting. All this—and more—was wrapped up before McFarland Upholstery (Fife, Washington) did just that: wrapped the interior’s custom seating, paneling, and so on, in blue Ferrari leather with complementing plaid inserts throughout.

In the end, the Petramalo cup truly runneth over!