Project “Polar Bear”: 1989 V2500 Suburban

[Larry]

I'm just curious if I'm the only go and goes through this build thread front to back about every 3-4 weeks just because of how ************ it is?

I LOVE those surburbans and this one is just freaking awesome!

Larry, I come through Pueblo from time to time on my way to my ranches in Mexico and would love to take you to lunch one day if for no other reason that to see this burb!

Wow, cool! Glad you like. The Polar Bear hasn't gotten any attention since the NV4500 swap over Christmas (outside of serving daily driver duties) as I was busy getting the K10 ready for a Mojave Rd and Death Valley trip. That trip is over now and time is getting consumed licking a few wounds on the K10 from that trip in preparation for the next outing. Plus my wife is pregnant with our first so shop playtime will be even harder to come by shortly.

I have a set of flares lying around to go on the Burb I just need time to do it. I am also collecting installation parts to install an 8.1L into it. The burb with the gutless 5.7L is painful to drive after recently spending 9 days behind the wheel of the K10 with the big power 8.1L. Can't wait to get one installed in the Burb too. Drop me a PM when you plan to roll through town. We don't have any shortage of outstanding Mexican food restaurants to grab a bite.

Wow, how did a new 8.1L get overheated at 5k miles? Just curious...

Who knows, it came out of a 40ft motorhome. Many of the old retired people that drive those things are oblivious to warning lights, etc. They just drive until the coach won't go anymore. The 8.1L in my K10 had a bent valve in it at 1,800 miles from being oversped by a knucklehead delivery driver delivering a new coach to CA from IN as he drove over I-70 through the mountains with his toe nails drilled into the floor. That one was a quick fix and now has about 25,000 miles on it after 5 years of being in the K10.

 

[huntsonora]

....Plus my wife is pregnant with our first so shop playtime will be even harder to come by shortly.....

..... Drop me a PM when you plan to roll through town. We don’t have any shortage of outstanding Mexican food restaurants to grab a bite.....

First of all, CONGRATS on the little one! I have a little girl that will be 1 on the 11th of this month and we have a little boy due in late August. I started a little late at 39 but kids are the greatest! I'm excited for y'all! When are y'all due?

Secondly, I'll definately PM you next time I'm down that way. Hope you guys aren't getting hammered too bad with this storm. It's coming down here north of Denver

Drummond

 

[Larry]

Thanks! Our story is the same as yours. I am 41, wife is 39, married for 15 years but been together for 20 and just now having our first baby :Wow1: A little girl due in July.

Nah, Pueblo hardly ever gets snow and the big media hype of this storm is no different. No snow yet what so ever but we got a lot of wind. The Harley-Davidson store here in town got ripped apart this morning in the wind storm. Probably will even make the Denver news. Every news outlet in the state seems to be down here today.

 

[txfactor76]

this is my dream expo rig.

your K10 is my dream adventure/wheeling rig.

and your NBS K2500 is my dream work truck.

i'm seeing a pattern here...

 

[BBslider001]

Thanks! Our story is the same as yours. I am 41, wife is 39, married for 15 years but been together for 20 and just now having our first baby :Wow1: A little girl due in July.

Nah, Pueblo hardly ever gets snow and the big media hype of this storm is no different. No snow yet what so ever but we got a lot of wind. The Harley-Davidson store here in town got ripped apart this morning in the wind storm. Probably will even make the Denver news. Every news outlet in the state seems to be down here today.

I got BOTH of you beat! Had my first little girl at 42 and I LOVE it! You will have quite a blast. And yeah, knucklehead is right (regarding bending the valve in a new 8.1....sheeesh!!

 

[Larry]

Polar Bear got flared and half geared

So few months ago I had to replace the fender flares on my K10 due to fitment issues with the new tires and wheels it received so the Polar Bear Burb inherited the old WARN 4xFlares from the K10. Actually, only the rear flares would fit the burb where I had to order new ones for the front due to the different front fenders between the ’78 and ’89. The WARN 4xFlare part numbers used are Front 27993 - Rear 27996 sprayed with SEM 39103 Flexible Bumper Coater in Satin Black. Now that I have two like trucks sitting side by side, I actually like these WARN 4xFlares a lot better than the Xenon flares I just installed on the K10. These fit better and are a lot easier to install too! Too bad that built in mudflap at the rear of the front flares interferes with the tires so badly on the K10. The tires on the Burb will probably hit them too if I ever upgrade to softer front springs.

The Polar Bear also gained 4:56 gears (from 4:10) and a Detroit TrueTrac in the front axle the other day as well. I’ve been fighting a wandering issue ever since I did the lift and swapped in the axles from my Dad’s old wrecker. I’ve tried everything to stop the wandering which replacing the axle was the last thing on the list. I even threw on a fresh steering gear early last week to not avail. The steering gear wasn’t a total waste as the old gear was leaking anyway. Like most parts the Polar Bear receives, it got another hand me down from the K10. I had the old Dana 44 from the K10 after it received a Dana 60 last Fall so Friday night I spent a couple hours swapping in the K10’s old D44 axle. BAM! Problem solved! I suspect the new balljoints that I paid a machine shop to press in were either not pressed in straight or the axle tube itself is bent. The donor truck that axle came from drilled a guard rail pretty hard years ago where it bent the front shackles clear over to the point the front springs where hitting the frame. I suspect the axle tube may have gotten bent at that time as well as the caster was really messed up on that one. I also have a set of 4:56 gears left over from another project that still needs to be installed in the rear of the Polar Bear yet. Problem is I gave them to a friend who didn’t end up needing them so I need to get them out of his storage shed someday soon. The 4:56 cogs should help the gutless TBI 5.7L a while longer until the 8.1L swap happens.

Quickest gear change and traction devise swap I’ve ever been involved with!

 

[chilliwak]

Wow:Wow1:Larry glad to see everything went so smoothly. Now you have 2 great 4x4s ready to rock, along with everything else in your car park.... Sweet.

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

Nice to see the "cousins" parked next to each other. :sombrero:

 

[BBslider001]

^^^^ Hahahahahahaha.....good one. Looks good Larry! As always, clean work. I guess I have been outcast since trading my K2500.....ah well, had to do what I had to do for now. :snorkel:

 

[Larry]

Wow:Wow1:Larry glad to see everything went so smoothly. Now you have 2 great 4x4s ready to rock, along with everything else in your car park.... Sweet.

Thanks Chili!

Nice to see the "cousins" parked next to each other. :sombrero:

LOL….yeah, the younger one is happy to be receiving the hand me down parts from the older relative :elkgrin:

^^^^ Hahahahahahaha.....good one. Looks good Larry! As always, clean work. I guess I have been outcast since trading my K2500.....ah well, had to do what I had to do for now. :snorkel:

Nah, you aren’t an outcast. Maybe getting rid of the K2500 wasn’t one of the best ideas, but you got to do what you got to do :bike_rider:

 

[bknudtsen]

What a great rig!

 

[Chevrolado]

What's new on the Polar Bear, Larry? Anything in the works?

 

[Larry]

What's new on the Polar Bear, Larry? Anything in the works?

Not much to speak of really. I already had to replace the new steering gear box last week that I installed last month as the new one started leaking like crazy. The other day my buddy also dropped off the rear axle 4:56 gear set so regearing the rear axle is probably the next project in store for the Polar Bear. After all, the way it sits now it has 4:10 in the rear and 4:56 in the front = no 4x4 at the moment. Lately the tired little 5.7L started drinking about 1.5 to 2 quarts of oil per tank of fuel so I have stopped dumping new oil in it and just been using used oil from other vehicles. Kinda wish the 5.7L would just die so I have even a better excuse to dump an 8.1L in there. Even with it's oil habit, it runs like a top. Doesn't even smoke or leak.... You would think with that much oil consumption it would smoke but it doesn't.

The big news is the stork dropped off our first bundle of joy Sunday night. Wooo hooo! The little girl is doing great but momma is very sore as she ended up with a C-section after 22hrs of intense labor. The little one just wouldn’t come out. So with momma having many weeks of recovery coming yet and with a fresh little girl to take care of the projects are going to pretty much be on hold for a while so I can nurse the two ladies to good health.

I did get some mods done to my Silverado this afternoon though. Installed a car seat :sombrero:

The last picture is of the two wore out ladies relaxing at home last night after a couple of hectic days at the hospital. We're all glad to be home :victory:

 

[Scrib]

Congrats!

 

[Chevrolado]

Woo! Congrats! I was hoping to hear that kind of news actually. I thought it was probably about that time. Very nice. Congratulations. That car seat mod is a great one.

Glad to hear everyone is home and recuperating. Here's hoping both have a speedy recovery and you guys can get back into enjoying the nice new lifestyle with the family. Cheers.