Project �Polar Bear�: 1989 V2500 Suburban

[dieselfuel]

good looking suburban you got there man! what did you clean the carpet with?

[Larry]

good looking suburban you got there man! what did you clean the carpet with?

Thanks!

I first sprayed the carpet with Simple Green and scrubbed the heck out of it with a scrub brush until it was a lathery mess. Then I sprayed Tide liquid laundry detergent (w/bleach) with hot water through a Bissell Green Machine. With having dogs in the house I found laundry detergent works better for cleaning carpet than carpet cleaner actually does. Funny when you accidently find your imposition works better than the real thing. Works great! The carpet and door panels are nice and clean now. Really soft to the touch too after it dried. I cleaned the engine with Simple Green as well.

[dieselfuel]

Nice! I might have to try that.

[That One Guy]

Really jealous. That's my favorite year and the 4 spd is awesome! Can't wait to watch this.

[Larry]

Got the steering column all fixed up. Wow, it was really jacked up. All four of the tilt housing support bolts (the 4 Torx head bolts in the pictures below) were completely backed out causing the steering shaft ball bearings to fall out of the bearing cages in the upper tilt housing assembly. Then some idiot glued the multifunction switch lever in so I had to cut it off and replace the multifunction switch. Good thing I kept the steering column out of that 1990 G-Van I parted out a few years ago , as I had to pirate a lot of parts from it. Also used the G-Van steering wheel as it was cleaner and in much better shape.

It�s all back together now! Next order of business is to get the windshield replaced and start taking apart the dash to clean everything and replace light bulbs in the cluster. Going to order up some more Superbrite LED�s like I installed in the K10 last year. Those work great!

I forgot to mention that while cleaning it I found a receipt from Big O Tires where the guy just bought $720 worth the tires for it 5,800 miles ago.

[Larry]

Got a few things done to the Polar Bear Saturday. Pruned the rattly nerf bars off, removed the rusty center caps, cleaned the wheels, painted the hubs, removed the aftermarket cruise control that didn�t work, fixed several vacuum leaks on the engine (idles smoother now too), removed the EVAP canister and painted the grill and radiator support. Next order of business is to get the new windshield installed, rip the dash apart to clean up the previous owners under dash wiring mess, clean the gauge cluster and replace the bulbs with LEDs then get ready for the clutch replacement.

I drove it around town quite a bit this last week. WOW! The TBI 5.7L takes some getting used to after being accustom to driving a square body style truck a 425HP 8.1L on tap backed by a much smoother shifting NV4500. The 5.7L, especially with 3:42 gears, feels like 4 cylinder. I almost forgot what a gutless truck feels like.

I always liked the grills of 89-91 square body rigs


Looks much better without the nerf bars. Can�t wait to get the 4� lift on it!

[transientmechanic]

That is a great truck. A friend used to have one just like it (4 speed, barn doors and all) and I always loved it. I can't believe how clean yours looks though.

[Rot Box]

Dang! That's a nice rig for sure 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

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

[Erik N]

Nice truck! Who makes the formed floor mats?

[Larry]

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.