Project Polar Bear: '89 V2500 Suburban

[Larry]

I’m not a big fan of those stupid roundabouts either. You probably saw the one they put out here in Pueblo West. At least that one isn’t too bad yet as there isn’t near as much traffic as the one at 15th and Main in Canon. The one in Canon with the merge lane off Main St. is just dumb. The traffic officer mentioned he is there a few times a week responding to fender benders.

My Brother In-law and nieces husband are both on the Canon City Police force. As of this past weekend there was no word of locating the LeSabre yet and its been about 3 weeks since the accident. It was Champagne color 1995 or so LeSebre with a freshly rearranged trunk deck and zero taillights. Can’t be too hard to spot. When the guy split he flew West on Hwy 50 turned Right on the street between Safeway and Dairy Queen then turned Right on Main then back through the roundabout then flew North up 15th towards St. Thomas Moore. When he turned up around Safeway I figured we were going into the parking lot so he could yell at me. When the officer responded to the call he came down 15th and checked the Hospital to see if the guy ended up there.... Nada. Apparently that person didn’t want the cops to know his name for whatever reason

I have actually been watching Craiglist for that Buick to pop up for sale or for parts

 

[Larry]

Finally got a chance to get back to tearing it down tonight…

If anybody ever wondered what a Silverado HD ZF S6-650 looks like here you go….

GM flywheel part number 12582964. Now here is something odd, the 12582964 I used on the 8.1L in the K10 and Suburban look different. This is the first 8.1L flywheel I’ve ever seen with the big “METRIC” on it but this truck is a very early GMT800 and L18. Build Date of 12/2000 which would have made the engine production around Sept/Oct 2000

For comparison sake here is the service replacement 12582964 that are in the K10 and Burb

Pesky oil leak

 

[82355]

Could have been worse, could have been an NV5600.

Martin

 

[Big Ray]

Mark Steyn on roundabouts. Audio only...

 

[Kay86K5]

Man that ZF is a huge mo-fo!!!

 

[Larry]

Man that ZF is a huge mo-fo!!!

For sure, but like Martin said, the fully cast iron case Dodge NV5600’s are even more massive…..and heavier too. When I get a chance I want to take a tip to tail measurement of the NV4500/205, NV4500/241 and ZF6/261 for comparison sake.

 

[Big Ray]

I watched the Truck Tech guys drop a Duramax & Allison in a C-10...That was a big transmission.

That ZF, what is that a 6 speed?

 

[Larry]

So everybody is always asking about fuel economy on these 8.1L’s…..we’ll here is the first full tank with the stock cam report. It took a while to run a full tank through it as it was down for several weeks waiting on a reman NV4500.

367 miles / 34.991 gallons to fill it back up today (full to very top of the neck where it spills out) = 10.4888 MPG.

Again, the best tank I ever got with the TBI 5.7L was 11.2 or something like that. This first tank was a mixture of everything except off-road. I towed this K5 West to Canon City (~50 miles) which is all up hill in the wind (the wind always blows from West to East on the Hwy 50 corridor), lots of highway driving from the outskirts of town into town, probably more hot-rodding that I should have done but it got pussy footed around as well. It is hard to drive something like this without whipping on it once and a while as it bring such a big smile on my face to ride in a big vehicle that flat hauls ass.

With that, I’m pretty happy with 10.5 MPG as I know it will only be better on long distance trips driven consistently (the best I've measured on the K10/8.1L was the Death Valley trip in 2013 where it averaged 11.72 MPG for the entire trip...and that truck weights 8,000 lbs when packed for travel with the aerodynamics of a drive in movie theater screen thanks to the camper). Can’t beat 3 times the power for a .5 MPG penalty. And the other reality is, the guys running high dollar late model fully emissionized diesel trucks are barely getting 13 to 14 MPG on a good day. I consider the engine swap (and especially the move back to a stock cam with a proven tune) a win!

Now I have some little penny annie things (add second battery, isolator, winch bumper & winch and skid plate) to get done to prep it for the trip to Overland Expo then our annual desert trip in June. The Polar Bear and K10 both are going on Desert Trip 2016. Should be fun to see how they do side by side

 

[Smokinthehippies]

That should be a neat comparo. Who will all be going? You MiL usually drives with you yes?

 

[Larry]

That should be a neat comparo. Who will all be going? You MiL usually drives with you yes?

Should be a neat comparo with two identical drivetrains but about 1,500 lbs. difference. Yeah, my MIL has been my copilot on this trip since 2011....no getting rid of her anytime soon. One of my work colleagues and his wife that live in Chicago are flying out to join us. He and his wife are piloting the Polar Bear. He was actually my copilot on our first Desert Trip in 2009. I’m not too worried about his driving skills as he has off-road experience from the South African military as well as being a test engineer for GM South Africa (Delta Motors). He pays all the fuel and any repairs that may need to be done due to his doings, which I don’t expect there to be any. This year we’re doing Kelly Point and neighboring areas in Northern Arizona which is pretty tame compared to other stuff we’ve done in the past anyway….just remote as hell. Should be a great trip. Got two trucks coming from California, two from Arizona and three from here (my 2 and my buddy Bill). That is about the max amount of vehicles we can take into that area anyway without it being an "organized event" in the eyes of Canyonlands Park and BLM.

 

[campfire]

Should be a neat comparo with two identical drivetrains but about 1,500 lbs. difference. Yeah, my MIL has been my copilot on this trip since 2011....no getting rid of her anytime soon. One of my work colleagues and his wife that live in Chicago are flying out to join us. He and his wife are piloting the Polar Bear. He was actually my copilot on our first Desert Trip in 2009. I’m not too worried about his driving skills as he has off-road experience from the South African military as well as being a test engineer for GM South Africa (Delta Motors). He pays all the fuel and any repairs that may need to be done due to his doings, which I don’t expect there to be any. This year we’re doing Kelly Point and neighboring areas in Northern Arizona which is pretty tame compared to other stuff we’ve done in the past anyway….just remote as hell. Should be a great trip. Got two trucks coming from California, two from Arizona and three from here (my 2 and my buddy Bill). That is about the max amount of vehicles we can take into that area anyway without it being an "organized event" in the eyes of Canyonlands Park and BLM.

 

[Kay86K5]

So everybody is always asking about fuel economy on these 8.1L’s…..we’ll here is the first full tank with the stock cam report. It took a while to run a full tank through it as it was down for several weeks waiting on a reman NV4500.

367 miles / 34.991 gallons to fill it back up today (full to very top of the neck where it spills out) = 10.4888 MPG.

Again, the best tank I ever got with the TBI 5.7L was 11.2 or something like that. This first tank was a mixture of everything except off-road. I towed this K5 West to Canon City (~50 miles) which is all up hill in the wind (the wind always blows from West to East on the Hwy 50 corridor), lots of highway driving from the outskirts of town into town, probably more hot-rodding that I should have done but it got pussy footed around as well. It is hard to drive something like this without whipping on it once and a while as it bring such a big smile on my face to ride in a big vehicle that flat hauls ass.

With that, I’m pretty happy with 10.5 MPG as I know it will only be better on long distance trips driven consistently (the best I've measured on the K10/8.1L was the Death Valley trip in 2013 where it averaged 11.72 MPG for the entire trip...and that truck weights 8,000 lbs when packed for travel with the aerodynamics of a drive in movie theater screen thanks to the camper). Can’t beat 3 times the power for a .5 MPG penalty. And the other reality is, the guys running high dollar late model fully emissionized diesel trucks are barely getting 13 to 14 MPG on a good day. I consider the engine swap (and especially the move back to a stock cam with a proven tune) a win!

Now I have some little penny annie things (add second battery, isolator, winch bumper & winch and skid plate) to get done to prep it for the trip to Overland Expo then our annual desert trip in June. The Polar Bear and K10 both are going on Desert Trip 2016. Should be fun to see how they do side by side

My current 1996 K2500 with the 7.4/4l80e (4.10 gears and 245's) gets about 13 mpg completely empty driving a full tank on the highway (so more like 11-12 for regular driving empty) and 10 mpg towing. So very comparable, however a tuned 8.1 is ~90 horses/100 ft lbs more than my stock 7.4l. So you get more hp/ft lbs for the same exact gas milage with the 8.1. Got me sold, haha.

Good info, thanks for posting

 

[82355]

Yeah, I would love to get 10 mpg with that kind of power.

Martin

 

[campfire]

Has that camping trip happened yet, @Larry? You have any more fuel mileage numbers yet?

And FYI, we'll be heading through Pueblo next weekend if you wanna try meeting up again.

 

[Larry]

Has that camping trip happened yet, @Larry? You have any more fuel mileage numbers yet?

And FYI, we'll be heading through Pueblo next weekend if you wanna try meeting up again.

Nothing major yet. Just a couple trips to the State park a few miles from where we live. Won’t have time for a longer trip with the trailer until later in June plus I am waiting on longer bars for the Curt weight distribution hitch.

Looks like I may miss you again as I am leaving at o’dark:30 Thursday morning for the Overland Expo near Flagstaff. Won’t be pedding home until Monday. Maybe I’ll see you somewhere on the road in the 4 Corners area?

Getting close to getting the second tank fuel economy numbers once I fill the Burb back up Wednesday.

Picks from local camping at Lake Pueblo State Park… It pulls the trailer like a dream!

 

[ZooMad75]

Campfire- If you are passing through on 50 Saturday I'll be keeping watch on the shop's 59 Apache at a local car show in Canon city. It's a neat show with a wide mix of cars. Stop by and say hi!

 

[campfire]

Nothing major yet. Just a couple trips to the State park a few miles from where we live. Won’t have time for a longer trip with the trailer until later in June plus I am waiting on longer bars for the Curt weight distribution hitch.

Looks like I may miss you again as I am leaving at o’dark:30 Thursday morning for the Overland Expo near Flagstaff. Won’t be pedding home until Monday. Maybe I’ll see you somewhere on the road in the 4 Corners area?

Getting close to getting the second tank fuel economy numbers once I fill the Burb back up Wednesday.

Picks from local camping at Lake Pueblo State Park… It pulls the trailer like a dream!

Neat pictures. Looks like fun. Camper looks bigger than the Polar Bear, too.

Have fun at the expo, we'll be in Ouray Sunday night and heading to Moab mid day on Monday. What route would you be taking back home? We might cross paths if you're heading back through Colorado (vs. taking I-40).

I'd PM you but I don't have permission.

 

[campfire]

Campfire- If you are passing through on 50 Saturday I'll be keeping watch on the shop's 59 Apache at a local car show in Canon city. It's a neat show with a wide mix of cars. Stop by and say hi!

That should work. PM Sent.

 

[Larry]

Neat pictures. Looks like fun. Camper looks bigger than the Polar Bear, too.

Have fun at the expo, we'll be in Ouray Sunday night and heading to Moab mid day on Monday. What route would you be taking back home? We might cross paths if you're heading back through Colorado (vs. taking I-40).

I'd PM you but I don't have permission.

We’re taking CO Hwy 160 to Hwy 89 at Tuba City both directions, which will run us through Cortez and Durango. We’re staying at Hovenweep Sunday night. You guys will probably take the short cut that runs from Ridgeway to just South of Moab so we’re probably going to be pretty far apart. I’m not sure what time we’ll be leaving Hovenweep Monday.

I don’t know what the deal is with the PM function. It hasn’t worked in a long time and I’ve looked at the settings. Any suggestions how to fix it?

 

[campfire]

We’re taking CO Hwy 160 to Hwy 89 at Tuba City both directions, which will run us through Cortez and Durango. We’re staying at Hovenweep Sunday night. You guys will probably take the short cut that runs from Ridgeway to just South of Moab so we’re probably going to be pretty far apart. I’m not sure what time we’ll be leaving Hovenweep Monday.

I don’t know what the deal is with the PM function. It hasn’t worked in a long time and I’ve looked at the settings. Any suggestions how to fix it?

We've taken that Naturita route 2 years in a row now, wouldn't mind heading out through Silverton and Durango. It's 90 minutes longer, but we've been wanting to see the train (though we don't have time to ride it this trip). So...meet up Monday morning in Durango?