Project “Polar Bear”: 1989 V2500 Suburban

[Larry]

Hillybillyjake, feel free to use the idea. I stole the idea from my buddy Rob (Member Zoomad75). :sombrero: He did this first in his K5 Jimmy.

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Xpndbl3, the sides have Velcro so you can open them up to poke armrest through. They also have Velcro pieces that come out to so they can be used on GM and Dodges with the seat mounted seat belts.

 

[Erik N]

Love the water bottle holder idea! I'll add a set to me 'burban this fall!

 

[Larry]

Not much exciting to report but I did add a cheap Autozone Tach to the ole Polar Bear today. Got to know how fast this little mouse is spinning! Once again, I used the same recipe of the K10. Same brand and model of tach. I have a Dashmat on order for it to cover up all those unsightly cracks.

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The '78 K10. It also has a ’89 Suburban cluster (last year of cable driven speedo's) that I installed last winter. This truck was originally an automatic so the column shifter boss made a great tach mount. I couldn't find a tilt column for a manual trans truck when it went through its sex change back in 1998 so I just kept the auto column.

 

[That One Guy]

You are just full of great ideas, I love that angle finder.

 

[1leglance]

nice setup for a tach, quick and easy
I like all the details and effort you put into this Larry

 

[chilliwak]

First off, I want to say that once again you have impressed me with your know how and unparalleled excellence in the mechanical field Larry. That `Burb´:Wow1:looks fantastic! You have always talked about the benefits of the GM tbi set-up as opposed to carburetter motors. How difficult is it to convert an old 70s GM motor from carb to Tbi? Is there not a computer and whole elaborate wiring harness that has to be swaped into an old 70s truck? I know I am kind of off topic here but I was inspired by your beauty `Burb´. Congratulations on another well done project and keep trucking GM style Larry.

 

[BigTex]

I agree with Chilli. Both of your Square Body rigs are nice. The K10 is very impressive, and the 'Burb is well on it's way. I'd like to 2nd his request on putting a tbi set up in an older GM. It may need to be a different thread, but what does it take? What does it cost (ballpark, wrecking yard parts?) Is it something that a weekend mechanic would be able to do? Is there a "budget" way to do it, with factory harnesses vs. buying all aftermarket parts and harnesses? You seem to be the resident tbi expert on here, so if you have the time and are so inclined, there are those of us that would like to know. Thanks for the info you continually post that keeps us entertained.

 

[Larry]

Thanks guys,

I guess you can tell where my automotive training and certificates lie....GM! :elkgrin: TBI is a robust EFI system although it isn’t the best performing system of the EFI world but much more easy to swap when moving away from a carburetor. TBI is much more driver friendly than a carbureted engine any day, not to mention the bump in fuel economy. My preference is actually Sequential Multiport injection like late model 5.3, 6.0 and 8.1L engines have but you can’t beat the simplicity and value of TBI. I hate carburetors! :sombrero:

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You can go at a TBI swap a couple different ways. Either purchase an entire bolt on kit from a supplier like Howell Engine Development for around $1200 or piece a system together from salvage yard parts, which would be my recommendation (piecing a system together will probably cost you around $400 to $800). If you were to piece a system together, I recommend using a fresh wiring harness instead of trying to rework a donor vehicles harness. Howell also has nice TBI wiring harnesses. The newest TBI truck out there is 17 year old. Wires and connectors tend to get brittle at that age and if you live in roadsalt territory the harness will probably have a lot of corrosion growing in it, so starting with a fresh harness is the best $500 you can spend on an EFI swap. Once you get a harness and TBI parts (sensors, throttle body, throttle cable, sensor mounting brackets, distributor, etc.) it is best to swap a fuel tank from a TBI vehicle (1987 C/K truck for you Chilliwak and ’87-’91 Blazer for you BigTex) then use an OEM TBI fuel sending unit and a new AC Delco in-tank fuel pump. Sending units and fuel pumps can be purchased new. Frame mounted electric fuel pumps are convenient and easy for such a swap but are not durable. You can’t beat the OEM in-tank design as it keeps the electric pump cooler and quiet. There are a lot of harness suppliers out there and some are better than others. There are also a lot of different aftermarket EFI systems to use but I doubt they have millions of durability test hours on them like the way GM durability tested the TBI system back in the day. You can't find Holley Projection or MDS Atomic EFI parts just anywhere but you can find GM parts practically anywhere in the world, even if you have to go scrounge salvage yards in a pinch.

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I’ve used Howell for a couple different fuel injection swaps and have always been impressed with their quality. This Polar Bear Suburban had TBI from the factory so this one didn’t need an EFI swap although it will eventually get a MPFI 8.1L swap down the road after several higher priority items on this truck are tackled first. Plan on using the same Howell harness when that day comes as I did on the K10.

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Here is a ’72 C20 beater truck that I swapped in a ’90 GMC Vandura TBI 5.7L engine a few years ago. Story here

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I also have another truck project brewing that I have to get finished up by May. I am swapping in a TBI 7.4L in my father in laws 1993 C1500 Sportside to replace an endemic 4.3L V6. Howell will be doing the ECM recalibrations from 4.3L cal files to 7.4L cal files as well. This Gen V 7.4L came out of my K10 when the 8.1L went in.

 

[BigTex]

Thanks for the info Larry. I actually stumbled across a "carb to tbi swap" thread, on another forum, that you and some others had weighed in on. There is tons of info on the subject.

 

[jeepn0811]

Any updates? Love your build.

 

[Larry]

Thanks Jeepn0811! Nah, no updates to speak of this week. It goes in the exhaust shop the first full week of February to get the tail pipes redone then it will go on the back burner for a while until I get the 7.4L swap in the C1500 wrapped up. Once the tail pipes are redone and the C1500 is finished up I can move forward with the lift kit and ORD rear shackle flip. I still need to collect a few more parts though (brake lines, shocks, & steering arm). One of these days I need to get around to putting a stereo in it too. The other day it turned 500 miles since I bought it in October. :coffeedrink:

 

[zoomad75]

Hillybillyjake, feel free to use the idea. I stole the idea from my buddy Rob (Member Zoomad75). :sombrero: He did this first in his K5 Jimmy.

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Xpndbl3, the sides have Velcro so you can open them up to poke armrest through. They also have Velcro pieces that come out to so they can be used on GM and Dodges with the seat mounted seat belts.

Thanks for the Credit Larry! I actually had to add the bottle racks on mine since the console on the earlier trucks like mine (75 K5) don't have stock cupholders. Mine has only pockets to fit the seatbelt buckles when not in use. Also, keep a lookout for bike bottle racks with adjustable straps. I also got them at Wally World, but allows the use of soda can size to larger 1 liter bottles. They stay very secure even on the rough stuff.

 

[RESCUE-K9]

Nice grab!

 

[chilliwak]

Still waiting to see some nice pics of your build Larry!:Wow1:

 

[Larry]

Nothing new to report on the Polar Bear lately but it does have an appointment for the exhaust shop coming up this Monday. The tail pipes are in bad shape plus they need to be relocate in order to install the ORD rear shackle flip.

The Polar Bear gained a little sibling this week. A 1992 4Runner. The plans for the Polar Bear have not changed but it’s long term fate hasn’t been determined. The little Toy does match the blue K10 very well!