Project “Polar Bear”: 1989 V2500 Suburban
- Thread starter Larry
- Start date
Rot Box
Explorer
Dang! That's a nice rig for sure :drool: I can't get over the SM465--It's like 1 out of 3 total made with that option in 89! I'm kind of surprised it doesn't have a factory tachometer where the fuel gauge is.
I don't know... If you're contemplating a motor swap I personally would love to see a 6.2/6.5TD under the hood of that one :bike_rider:
Can't wait to see what you do with it. If it turns out half as nice as your pickup we'll all be impressed :coffeedrink:
I don't know... If you're contemplating a motor swap I personally would love to see a 6.2/6.5TD under the hood of that one :bike_rider:
Can't wait to see what you do with it. If it turns out half as nice as your pickup we'll all be impressed :coffeedrink:
Larry
Bigassgas Explorer
Transientmechanic,
Could be the same one. The guy I got it from bought it from the original owner in Monument in 2008.
Rot Box,
I know, I still can’t believe it has a manual trans either. I wouldn’t be opposed to a 6.5L swap but I have 454HO with 7,000 miles hanging on an engine stand that would be an easy swapperoo and keep it TBI. Or I have two 8.1L’s laying around as well. It would be much cheaper for me to go with one of these big blocks when the day comes for an engine swap with the parts that are already on hand. 8.1L swaps are actually really easy and they are not that bad on fuel once you get off road as they don’t have to work very hard. You can lug around in 4 hi almost anywhere like a diesel. None the less, it won’t get an engine swap anytime soon unless the 5.7L gives up the ghost. Needs a clutch, lift and gears first. I imagine just getting some better gears in this will help the power issue drastically. Keeping my eyes peeled for a 4:10 14 FF and front D44. I have another old ’78 K20 sitting behind my garage with 4:10’s that I could pirate the axles from but my dad bought that truck new. Not sure I want to take it apart yet.
Erik,
Those are Husky Floor Liners. These were actually in my K10 but I redid the interior in that truck last year during a NV4500 swap and rhino lined the floor then installed a new rubber floor mat. That said, I had these Husky liners left over which worked out perfect being the Sub didn’t come with floor mats.
Could be the same one. The guy I got it from bought it from the original owner in Monument in 2008.
Rot Box,
I know, I still can’t believe it has a manual trans either. I wouldn’t be opposed to a 6.5L swap but I have 454HO with 7,000 miles hanging on an engine stand that would be an easy swapperoo and keep it TBI. Or I have two 8.1L’s laying around as well. It would be much cheaper for me to go with one of these big blocks when the day comes for an engine swap with the parts that are already on hand. 8.1L swaps are actually really easy and they are not that bad on fuel once you get off road as they don’t have to work very hard. You can lug around in 4 hi almost anywhere like a diesel. None the less, it won’t get an engine swap anytime soon unless the 5.7L gives up the ghost. Needs a clutch, lift and gears first. I imagine just getting some better gears in this will help the power issue drastically. Keeping my eyes peeled for a 4:10 14 FF and front D44. I have another old ’78 K20 sitting behind my garage with 4:10’s that I could pirate the axles from but my dad bought that truck new. Not sure I want to take it apart yet.
Erik,
Those are Husky Floor Liners. These were actually in my K10 but I redid the interior in that truck last year during a NV4500 swap and rhino lined the floor then installed a new rubber floor mat. That said, I had these Husky liners left over which worked out perfect being the Sub didn’t come with floor mats.
Larry
Bigassgas Explorer
I have the week off from work and the wife is out of town visiting her parents so I’ve been busy playing with shop projects.
Today it was the Suburban’s turn for attention. It has needed a clutch from the day I brought it home and I decided to pull the engine instead of pulling the tcase and trans as I wanted to give the engine a good cleaning, reseal, clean up wiring, etc. Also installing an ORD steering box brace while the engine is out as it is so much easier to install with the engine out of the way.
The engine and engine bay all steam cleaned up by late afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised to find how clean the inside of the engine was once I popped the intake off. Since the engine was coming out I figured I’d might as well throw on fresh intake gaskets. Glad I did, as I found an external coolant leak by cyl #8
I should have the flywheel back from the machine shop tomorrow and can start going back together once the paint dries.
Today it was the Suburban’s turn for attention. It has needed a clutch from the day I brought it home and I decided to pull the engine instead of pulling the tcase and trans as I wanted to give the engine a good cleaning, reseal, clean up wiring, etc. Also installing an ORD steering box brace while the engine is out as it is so much easier to install with the engine out of the way.
The engine and engine bay all steam cleaned up by late afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised to find how clean the inside of the engine was once I popped the intake off. Since the engine was coming out I figured I’d might as well throw on fresh intake gaskets. Glad I did, as I found an external coolant leak by cyl #8
I should have the flywheel back from the machine shop tomorrow and can start going back together once the paint dries.
dieselfuel
Adventurer
that makes two of us.. my garage is 19' square with a 6'10" door height, useless...
Larry
Bigassgas Explorer
Funny you two have brought that up as the 1000 square foot shop was quite the topic of controversy when we built the house in 2004. I almost forgot about the hassle to get that door and ceiling. I would have liked to gone taller for a hoist but a 9ft door with a 10 foot ceiling was the best variance we could get from the Committee of Architecture in our unincorporated area of Pueblo County. The builder did a great job of hiding the shops size with the gable roof lines. Surprisingly, the Phoenix camper top can actually pop up inside the shop if I park the truck in between the lights and still have room for the Silverado HD and a little ’93 Chevy 1500 Sportside big block project I have going. The 3 car garage attached to the house is around 700 sq ft with the typical short garage doors. Worthless garage for anything other than parking daily drivers. The Tahoe Z71 barely squeezes in there.
LIVEanimals
Observer
I cant wait to see how this burb turns out
Larry
Bigassgas Explorer
Well, the rattle can rebuild is complete and the engine is almost ready to stab but I am struggling with some major seized exhaust manifold flange studs and the power steering pulley does not want to go back on. I’ve never fought a pulley like this one ever in my life! Errrr! I am going to pull out the hot wrench here in a minute to help with both of those problems.
Now this front axle snubber is just a dumb idea. You can hardly get to the starter motor with this stupid thing in the way. I yanked it off and tossed it in the iron pile.
ORD steering box brace installed
Engine bay ready for install. New clutch fork, ball and release bearing. I didn’t paint the inner fenders as they will be replaced soon anyway. Same with the brake booster. It is going to be replaced with hydroboost.
You can see those rat bastid exhaust manifold studs in this picture. Errr
I wish I was putting this 8.1L back in the Sub instead of the TBI 5.7L during this teardown. Next time!
We’re all going snow wheeling tomorrow so nothing will get done with the Sub until maybe Sunday.
Now this front axle snubber is just a dumb idea. You can hardly get to the starter motor with this stupid thing in the way. I yanked it off and tossed it in the iron pile.
ORD steering box brace installed
Engine bay ready for install. New clutch fork, ball and release bearing. I didn’t paint the inner fenders as they will be replaced soon anyway. Same with the brake booster. It is going to be replaced with hydroboost.
You can see those rat bastid exhaust manifold studs in this picture. Errr
I wish I was putting this 8.1L back in the Sub instead of the TBI 5.7L during this teardown. Next time!
We’re all going snow wheeling tomorrow so nothing will get done with the Sub until maybe Sunday.
Sock Puppet
Adventurer
Man, that's coming along nicely! I troll CL for one like that all the time, but haven't lucked out yet.