Polar Bear Suburban

[MTCK]

Looks good! 8.1L at the same time? Those factory step bumpers are good and sturdy if I recall correctly.
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[Mr. 250r]

I can't stand stock bumpers from these years i feel they are the most useless bumpers i have ever attempted to stand on, i am not sure why it was chose but i do know newer bumpers fit quite nicely if you like the look of them

[DirtyLarry]

Thanks Vectorit! This thing has come together surprisingly well and easy. Guess all of the good and bad experiences in building the K10 made this one a breeze……so far.

MTCK,

I would love to do an 8.1L at the same time as the NV4500 but my boss would probably have my head on a stick if I did that. NV4500 first then the 8.1L next year….unless this 5.7L drops dead. It does drink a lot of oil though so I am going to start feeding it used oil. Yeah, the factory step bumpers are pretty darn beefy. I got this one for $40 but I learned something on this project. Trucks and SUV’s (definitely Suburban’s) use different rear step bumpers. From the side, the bumper looks like it is set back a bit too far but from the top it fits perfectly. To make it fit more like a glove I would have had to cut about 2” off the lip of the bumper just below the rear doors. I don’t think I could have made that cut on such a long run to look good. Too long of a cut to do with a cut off wheel. I know some people won’t like the rear bumper but I like it. I like the price even better, $40 plus paint.

[thirdstreettito]

Nice Larry!

[mjensen]

That is looking great! I can't wait to see the trans swap.

May have already answered this, but are your plans to take it on big expeditions like your truck? If so, we'll definitely expect a lot of pictures

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by mjensen

May have already answered this, but are your plans to take it on big expeditions like your truck? If so, we'll definitely expect a lot of pictures

Ah, we’ll see. The blue K10 is more equipped for long distance runs being it has a nice comfy place to eat and sleep on the back. The Sub is going to be more of a daily driver/day tripper rig although I have a lot of friends that live back East that would like to come along on the yearly weeklong desert excursions. Since the K10 is only a 2 seater, if someone wants to come out West and join us on one of these trips they can drive the Suburban and follow the K10 around. That said, who knows….one day you may see pictures of it sitting out in the bush alongside of the K10. We are working on plans to do the Mojave Rd in California in March of 2013 as well as Death Valley.

[Dieselwrencher]

Larry, it is looking awesome! I like the paint job, and the lift made this truck look sweet. There's only one thing I'd change, just because it drives me nuts. The rear axle doesn't look centered in the wheel opening. I'm guessing that is from the shackle flip install. It did it to my Longhorn too.

[vectorit]

I think that is a Suburban thing.
My 68 has the same look without a shackle flip.

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Larry, it is looking awesome! I like the paint job, and the lift made this truck look sweet. There's only one thing I'd change, just because it drives me nuts. The rear axle doesn't look centered in the wheel opening. I'm guessing that is from the shackle flip install. It did it to my Longhorn too.

Hehe, it is far less noticeable now with the smaller 315’s and the tall skinny Q78’s Super Swampers taken off. I had another guy on Expo Portal tell me my springs were in backwards.

The shackle flip does swing the axle forward a tad where a small .5 to 1” offset zero rate would move it back a where it would be centered. At the moment the rear shaft is almost too short so I wouldn’t want to move the axle back just yet. I’ll wait to see what driveshaft work needs to be done when the NV4500 project gets underway then may add a zero rate to move the axle. I don’t even notice it and even far less noticeable in person.

I agree, with vectorit that this might just be a Suburban thing as even the pre-lift pictures look like the axle is forward a tad.

Funny though that nobody noticed stuff that really matters like the front axle not having the caster shims installed yet and the front tires layed down like road grader tires when they are turned all the way left or right. Installing caster shims this weekend.

[scruffyjesse]

I'm in. Great build! I'm thinking about moving to Colorado but that yuppie Texas Atv statement has me thinking it could be a little commercial for me.

[DirtyLarry]

Had the week off for the Christmas Holiday and got the NV4500 swaperoo done! A NV4500 is far from a sports car transmission but compared to the SM465 it certainly is! Plus OVERDRIVE is such a beautiful thing! It is amazing how just a transmission alone can change the personality of a vehicle.

The dirty end of the SM465/NP241 before teardown


At this point, I had some major work ahead of me to rework for floor for the new shifter location, which is 6” further back on the NV4500


465 vs. NV4500 comparo. They are right on the money in length. The drive shafts were a direct fit as well as the trans cross member. I was even able to reuse the trans mount.



New Centerforce clutch installed


AA Bell housing installed


Getting ready to go to town! Aligned the trans jack at 20 degrees to match the angle of the engine for quicker poke'n action


Reused the original 465 32-spline NP241 transfercase after my buddy and I took it apart too see how things looked in there.


The really nice thing about a 241 tcase is even a little wirey guy and pick them up to stab by hand. Can’t say that for the 205 in the K10


Then spent half day reworking the trans tunnel. Sorting through these details is where the big time gets burnt up.


Hacked up this trans tunnel to build the new one. Originally I had hoped to just swap on an automatic trans tunnel then cut in a new hole for the NV4500 shifter like I did on the K10. Ah, nope! The floor on ‘85ish and later trucks do not bolt off and they are shaped different than the old removeable tunnels too.


Almost final dealeo


No NV4500 swap is complete until you dump in $72 worth of super juice


Before tear down. SM465 transmission


After with the NV4500! Used the leftover 205 boot and bezel from the K10 when it got a NV4500 and twin stick 205.


It took all day yesterday to install the ACC carpet. Damn Burbs have a 1000 holes to cut through the carpet and jute. What a pita! Replaced the carpet from barn doors to firewall. I bet I went through 20 razer blades trimming this dang carpet! That jute is dense!




Same knob I used on the K10 a few years ago when it got a NV4500. For some reason, I knew it was a good idea to buy two knobs at that time!


I put about 30 miles on it tonight and have to run some errands in Canon City tomorrow so that should be a good shake down run for it. So far so good….no leaks, vibrations, rattles, etc.

I'll say this, a NV4500 swap in a '85 or later square is one heck of a lot easier and cheaper than doing one in a 70's truck!

Now, it just needs more power! Might have to get busy and do something about that

[mud.man.rj]

Nice work, looks so factory.

[lowrollin70gmc]

Looks great Larry, but there is a little bit of misinformation here:

Originally Posted by DirtyLarry

The dirty end of the SM465/NP241 before teardown

How is this the dirty end! Well, maybe compared to the "after" scrubbed and buffed transfer case it was. All kidding aside, I'm digging how the shifters look stock and awesome at the same time.

[red450ih]

Larry, could you have moved the NP241 Tcase shifter to the rear enough to reuse the original plastic housing and boot?

I'm considering the same swap for my '85 with 465/208 and want to retain the original Tcase shifter boot. I was hoping to move the Tcase shifter to the rear since it has a one rod linkage and would be easy to shorten.

BTW, Great write up!

Thanks,
Keith

Originally Posted by DirtyLarry

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by lowrollin70gmc

Looks great Larry, but there is a little bit of misinformation here:

How is this the dirty end! Well, maybe compared to the "after" scrubbed and buffed transfer case it was. All kidding aside, I'm digging how the shifters look stock and awesome at the same time.

Thanks! I was pretty lucky as this burb was already pretty clean and leak free when I got it in 2011.

Originally Posted by red450ih

Larry, could you have moved the NP241 Tcase shifter to the rear enough to reuse the original plastic housing and boot?

I'm considering the same swap for my '85 with 465/208 and want to retain the original Tcase shifter boot. I was hoping to move the Tcase shifter to the rear since it has a one rod linkage and would be easy to shorten.

BTW, Great write up!

Thanks,
Keith

Not really because if the tcase shifter assembly is moved back any further it starts to go down on the rear slope of the trans tunnel. The original big plastic tcase shifter bezel is just too big to fit nicely when using a late model NV4500 shift boot. I might have been able to use the original 241 shifter boot but I didn’t want to destroy the entire plastic bezel to remove the boot when I had the 205 boot and bezel handy.

[jbclassix]

Seems like GM trucks' tranny any t-case shift boots always got the ugly stick treatment. They still look better than some for sure. I never could find a boot that looked perfect in a square body. I think the one you used is the best GM has done. Too bad S-10's didn't use a mini version!
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[Zane M]

Great job.

[Redcap]

Nice swap!

[RANDY COX]

Wow nice Burb,that's low miles for that burb,My 90 Burb 4x4 had 224,000 when I got it and when I sold it it had 264,000,and still running strong.That was one of the better vehicles I owned.I used it to get my 70 Burb 4x4 4 hr trip one way,by myself I might add.It was sooo fun.I'd tell you the story but it would take tooooo long...KOOL BURB....

[bilfman]

Great Job! My buddy just got a 2wd 4500 for his 88 crew and is setting to do the swap. I will link him this thread. Any tips are appreciated as we will probably start within the week. I just did a th400/np203 to 4l80e/np205 swap. But this manual stuff will be a fresh area for me.

[1968vetL-71]

Great job on swap and really cool burb!! Let me know if you want to get rid of the original 4spd shifter handle and boot ( if its not ripped ). Thx!
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[jbclassix]

Man! This thing is looking awesome... and making me miss CO as usual!

[DirtyLarry]

Thanks guys!

1968vetL-71,

The boot and shift lever for the old SM465 are already spoken for by my buddy Zoomad75.

[gimmie11s]

I plan on dropping an NV4500 into an 83 6.2 diesel 700r4 suburban.

Does that AA bellhousing accept a factory GM slave cylinder? If so what slave did you buy?

thanks

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by gimmie11s

I plan on dropping an NV4500 into an 83 6.2 diesel 700r4 suburban.

Does that AA bellhousing accept a factory GM slave cylinder? If so what slave did you buy?

thanks

Yes, the AA bell accepts the GM slave when using the AA slave bracket. The bell pn is 712576 and the slave bracket is pn 715535. Both bits came from Summit Racing. The slave is the ’85-’91 design.

Take a look at Advance Adapters website as it gives all the details you need.