Project “Polar Bear”: 1989 V2500 Suburban

[Larry]

Nice! I always say it's good to have low friends in high places. Was your new radiator Chinese like mine or Canadian?

Canadian, eh

 

[Larry]

That's the first time I've seen a muffler guy weld hangars to the floor. Usually they use a big self tapping screw into the floor pan.

Yeah, that is for sure because after all, any self-conscience exhaust installer would know welding to the vehicles floor could result in an interior carpet fire. :elkgrin:

Well, here is a video of the Spintech exhaust albeit not a very good one due to the wind noise. I need a better GoPro mount in order to mount the camera out of the wind. Sounds better if you wear ear phones. I’m sure we’ll get better video camera audio out on the trail in a few weeks. Sounds much better in person

 

[zoomad75]

Got to drive the Burb yesterday after helping Larry dial in the CB radios in it and the K10. We had to try them out and check range/reception performance right? So Larry radios over to me and says don't be shy about taking off, I want to hear it from outside when it's moving. Needless to say I followed his instructions. Putting the boot to the floor in that rig emits a sound that is great in tone/snarl but not obnoxious. Not to mention how this beast builds speed when driven like a hooligan. I couldn't speed shift the 4500 to save my life so I backed off a little and hung with it. No replacement for displacement as they say. Fun to drive is an understatement. Ok back to the sound. Best description is Jeckyl and Hyde like. Meaning if you are not holding the hammer down, the sound is very light, low burble. Open the throttle in anger and you got a monster on the loose. Sound is not overly loud, but a nice growl. It's a different tone compared to the Thrush welded I've got in my 91 or Larry has in the K10. The sound is killer.

 

[chilliwak]

I love the sound of the exhaust Larry. That thing sounds mean!:wings:

 

[Oobray]

It does sound good. I had a spintech on my 2002 8.1 and the drone inside the truck while at highway speeds was absolutely unbearable. But I think drone is as much a function of exhaust design as it is the specific muffler. Out of convenience I had a muffler shop install an HD muffler off of a 2014 chev HD that they had lying around. I'd like to get something better in the future, but.... Either way, truck sounds great!

 

[justcuz]

I've seen and heard Spintech mufflers on all kinds of vehicles, generally speaking always have been an improvement.
They used to be much cheaper than Flowmasters, guess not anymore.

 

[Larry]

Got to drive the Burb yesterday after helping Larry dial in the CB radios in it and the K10. We had to try them out and check range/reception performance right? So Larry radios over to me and says don't be shy about taking off, I want to hear it from outside when it's moving. Needless to say I followed his instructions. Putting the boot to the floor in that rig emits a sound that is great in tone/snarl but not obnoxious. Not to mention how this beast builds speed when driven like a hooligan. I couldn't speed shift the 4500 to save my life so I backed off a little and hung with it. No replacement for displacement as they say. Fun to drive is an understatement. Ok back to the sound. Best description is Jeckyl and Hyde like. Meaning if you are not holding the hammer down, the sound is very light, low burble. Open the throttle in anger and you got a monster on the loose. Sound is not overly loud, but a nice growl. It's a different tone compared to the Thrush welded I've got in my 91 or Larry has in the K10. The sound is killer.

You looked like RatFink driving the Burb! :sombrero: I also had to laugh when you shouted at me on the CB to remind me to remove the antenna off the K10 before driving into the garage then you came flying in with the Burb knocking the antenna off then slammed the antenna in the drivers door:smiley_drive:

I love the sound of the exhaust Larry. That thing sounds mean!:wings:

Thanks Chili!

It does sound good. I had a spintech on my 2002 8.1 and the drone inside the truck while at highway speeds was absolutely unbearable. But I think drone is as much a function of exhaust design as it is the specific muffler. Out of convenience I had a muffler shop install an HD muffler off of a 2014 chev HD that they had lying around. I'd like to get something better in the future, but.... Either way, truck sounds great!

That is how the Magnaflow that came off sounded. Any speeds above 68 MPH it sounded horrendous inside. Drove it back and forth from Colorado Springs a few times and drove me nuts. Old fagnaflow….good riddance. The little Flowmaster before it wasn’t much better.

I've seen and heard Spintech mufflers on all kinds of vehicles, generally speaking always have been an improvement.
They used to be much cheaper than Flowmasters, guess not anymore.

I really like it. The video doesn’t serve justice to how good it sounds in real life. When I called the Spintech guy he took all the specs down and came up with the x-pipe size and muffler size with the proper amount of deflectors welded inside the muffler. Love the way it turned out.

 

[justcuz]

Money well spent then Larry! An exhaust drone is a fatigue factor for sure.

Do you have any plans to modify the tent trailer for off road use?

Looking forward to any trip reports you may have, Expo?
Nick said it was windy, any vehiclular eye candy of interest?

Getting ready for your desert trip? Will that bring you to California this year?

 

[Larry]

Money well spent then Larry! An exhaust drone is a fatigue factor for sure.

Do you have any plans to modify the tent trailer for off road use?

Looking forward to any trip reports you may have, Expo?
Nick said it was windy, any vehiclular eye candy of interest?

Getting ready for your desert trip? Will that bring you to California this year?

The tent trailer isn’t mine, it belongs to my in-laws. We’ll probably end up with it someday so who knows. Really don’t have much need for it as the Burb has the travel trailer and the K10 already has a house on the back. Not much of a fan of those gimmicky tent trailers anyway.

Yeah, OX16 was windy and a bit chilly but there was a lot of vehicular eye candy as usual. My favorites were the AEV RAM’s. So much want!

This desert trip will take us to Northern AZ and Southern UT. No CA this go around.

 

[justcuz]

Arizona Strip, Mt Trumball, Toroweep, and that area by any chance? If so higher elevations may be nice, but down by the water may be hot.
There is a trip report posted on the Strip, the shelf road going in to Savanic Mine is breathtakingly beautiful, but the road up to the plateau might be rough on the truck going out. There is room to turn around though at the Savanic Mine.
If you check the thread, it has photos of the road up and out of the Savanic Mine up to the plateau.

Wherever you go, have a safe trip and looking forward to your trip report!

 

[Nosferatu49534]

Finally watched the video. It sounds great. I can imagine how much better it sounds in person. Didn't seem to be super loud just cruisin.

 

[Big Ranger]

Hey Larry (and anyone else who'd like to help a brother out),

I'm a new guy here, actually registered in hopes of getting pointed in the right direction.

I'm currently driving an 08 Tahoe, but the really really cool plastic bumpers and other minivan-ish features have pushed me to the edge. I'm leaning toward trading it for a 1996-1999 Sub (I thought I could downsize to the Tahoe, but the lack of storage behind the 3rd row is a bigger issue than expected).

My priorities for this vehicle are:
- Daily Driver - bulletproof reliability
- Mostly Highway miles - want to be able to run 80 mph for hours at a time (I know about the gas mileage)
- Mild Offroad - probably want a 2-4" lift for clearance, this will mostly be a hunting vehicle used on reasonably good dirt roads - some mud, some sand - definitely not a hardcore trail rig

My space and expertise for wrenching is limited.

So, what is your input on how to get started on something like this? Should I try to find a lower mileage rig and upgrade over time, or should I find a good value/low price and bite the bullet and replace engine, trans, suspension (other?) right up front? Should I focus my search on 2500s? I know your fondness for big blocks - focus search on 454?

Sorry to barrage you with all of this. Completely understand if you don't respond, but after reading this thread, I figured why not go to one of, if not the most knowledgeable guys out there.

 

[Darkrider]

Finally got this thread read through....First your K10 now this....Both of which are awesome builds man!

 

[Larry]

Arizona Strip, Mt Trumball, Toroweep, and that area by any chance? If so higher elevations may be nice, but down by the water may be hot.
There is a trip report posted on the Strip, the shelf road going in to Savanic Mine is breathtakingly beautiful, but the road up to the plateau might be rough on the truck going out. There is room to turn around though at the Savanic Mine.
If you check the thread, it has photos of the road up and out of the Savanic Mine up to the plateau.

Wherever you go, have a safe trip and looking forward to your trip report!

Yeah, we did Kelly Point, Mt Trumball, and Toroweep then some Southern Utah roaming in the Grand Staircase. I’ll do a trip report when I get more time. We had a blast and the trucks did great!

Finally watched the video. It sounds great. I can imagine how much better it sounds in person. Didn't seem to be super loud just cruisin.

Thanks, yeah….it does sound much better in person. Much more mellow.

Hey Larry (and anyone else who'd like to help a brother out),

I'm a new guy here, actually registered in hopes of getting pointed in the right direction.

I'm currently driving an 08 Tahoe, but the really really cool plastic bumpers and other minivan-ish features have pushed me to the edge. I'm leaning toward trading it for a 1996-1999 Sub (I thought I could downsize to the Tahoe, but the lack of storage behind the 3rd row is a bigger issue than expected).

My priorities for this vehicle are:
- Daily Driver - bulletproof reliability
- Mostly Highway miles - want to be able to run 80 mph for hours at a time (I know about the gas mileage)
- Mild Offroad - probably want a 2-4" lift for clearance, this will mostly be a hunting vehicle used on reasonably good dirt roads - some mud, some sand - definitely not a hardcore trail rig

My space and expertise for wrenching is limited.

So, what is your input on how to get started on something like this? Should I try to find a lower mileage rig and upgrade over time, or should I find a good value/low price and bite the bullet and replace engine, trans, suspension (other?) right up front? Should I focus my search on 2500s? I know your fondness for big blocks - focus search on 454?

Sorry to barrage you with all of this. Completely understand if you don't respond, but after reading this thread, I figured why not go to one of, if not the most knowledgeable guys out there.

Welcome to Expo Big Ranger! Man, that is a tough one. As you probably read, I am not much of a fan of the 07-13 GMT900 Tahoe/Burbs either. A few posts back (Post 576) I went over my opinions of various years of Suburbans. A 96-99 GMT400 would be my preference as well but finding a clean low mileage rig is not always easy but they do pop up from time to time. The torsion bar suspension of the GMT400 is also more complicated and expensive for suspension mods vs. the coil sprung 08 like you have now. So to get a 3 to 4 inches out of a GMT400 gets expensive. Don’t do a body lift!

If you do go for an older GMT400 Burb, I would focus on 2500 series rigs with the 7.4L. There really isn’t that much fuel to be saved by settling on a 1500 with a 5.7L (or even a 2500 with a 5.7L) plus you would end up with a much more robust transmission and axles by going with a 2500 with the 7.4L. Don’t overlook the 92-95 Burbs either as they are anvils as well, they just don’t have all the creature features and power the 96-99 do but the 92-95 TBI 7.4L is dirt simple and reliable to run.

Finally got this thread read through....First your K10 now this....Both of which are awesome builds man!

Thanks!

 

[FBJR]

Really enjoyed reading this and seeing other ideas for engines. Love the way you do it right, few shortcuts and it looks stock.

I have one burb I am flipping (91/1500) with just 85k on it. Paint is gone, but a cali rig so no rust.

Other is a 91 2500 with 204k but is getting a 6bt. Have everything for it from D60 up front an a 10.5 in back with factory discs. No power anything. Tranny might be a 56rh with a 205 that I have. Needs a little TLC but it was almost free.