Gas mileage? WAT DAT? 454 content within.

[Yeti]

I scooped this up from my neighbor today, for literally no reason other than I think it's cool as hell.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3765/12863448614_ea24b67a46_b.jpg

It's a 1986 3/4 ton C20 Suburban, with a 454 and TH400. I've been eyeing the thing up literally since the day my neighbor brought it home. He's put some work into it and it now runs and drives really nice. It had a choke issue that I fixed when we got to his storage place to retrieve the third seat. Otherwise, runs great.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2882/12863436564_734f76f7bb_b.jpg
Sweet CA license plates to go with the blue ones I have from the Datsun.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7324/12863446424_dcc08dd089_b.jpg
Interior is a lot rougher than the exterior.

But it's got the best windows known to man:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7419/12863017455_94351705a6_b.jpg

It was the tow vehicle for my neighbor's SCCA cars:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7352/12863103633_8f87d3e78e_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7351/12863021765_481932ab52_b.jpg

The 454 breathes it's hydrocarbons and other planet killers through Summit headers, straight pipes, and what I believe are Flowmaster mufflers. It sounds like a proper redneck mating call at idle:


http://youtu.be/DaYd1Whh1Kk

This is the difference between Sweden and 'MURRICA!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7304/12863086583_5607e24d36_b.jpg

It's got a few minor foibles. I don't buy problem-free cars after all. Sun damage to the interior, dead radio, and needs a headliner. On the flip side, new shocks, brakes, tires, working front AND rear AC, rebuilt carb, and all of the power windows work.

I can't wait for the warmer weather, when I'll be driving it and seeing what kind of MPG I get :D

[novicius]

Must be truck season. :up: :up:

[tigeraid]

Oh god damn I hate you, that's like a dream racecar hauler for me!

[Yeti]

If I decide to sell it someday, you'll be the first to know ;)

[thesameguy]

Man, that video reminds me of bringing home my first '87 'burban. It had an exhaust on it too and I loved the way it sounded. The diesel '84 will never give quite that same thrill, which is too bad. OTOH, the diesel really dissuades people from getting too close for fear they'll be stuck next to it at a light. :D

Your truck looks to be in EXCELLENT condition for its age, so congrats on that. I really think the '80 Suburbans were the best - a solid prehistoric design with just a touch of people-pleasing amenities. There's no doubt it's a truck, but it's plenty comfy for doing everything in.

I hate having looked at this thread. Now I need to go bust out my spreadsheet and see exactly how much dosh it'd take to pry death's icy grip from mine. Dammit.

[Yeti]

It is in nice shape, something WI-native Suburbans never seem to manage.

I'll be even happier when it warms up and the salt rinses away and I can wash and drive the thing.

[thesameguy]

Awesome that it still has the California Sunshine plates on it. :up: Had my truck not spent two years in Nevada, it'd be rockin' the commemorative 1984 Los Angeles Olympics plates... only available to MY1984 vehicles. *sigh*

[Random]

Doors instead of tailgate. :up:

[thesameguy]

I go back and forth on that all the time. There are some great aspects of the tailgate, including rearward visibility, tailgating, easily loading things longer than the length of the interior, and sitting/driving with the rear window down. OTOH, it takes a lot less time to open the barn doors than to lower the tailgate since that entails lowering the window). I think SUVs moved away from barn doors for a reason, but I sometimes miss having them. Seriously, not having to lower the window to gain access to back is pretty damned awesome. ;)

[Yeti]

If anything, I think I'll like the barn doors just because I don't have to open both of them, or mess with a heavier tailgate, when I want to toss something smaller into the back.

[speedpimp]

Looks nice. Congrats.

[Yeti]

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3792/12883668184_d8778b188c_z.jpg

I'm not going to turn into pl8ster, but I think I need a black plate too.

[Random]

A black CX* ### plate, to be precise. :p

[KillerB]

I *so* want a car with the sunset plates sometime. :)

[Leon]

tank!

[samoht]

Looks cool, and the 454 is legendary.

I presume it's RWD, hence waiting for the snow to melt?

[Yeti]

It's not the RWD so much (I daily-drove old RWD Volvo wagons on all-season tires for years) as it is I don't want the nice, preserved underside of the truck to start rotting away.

[Yeti]

HEY, 454 PEOPLE!

I took the air cleaner off to check and make sure my fixes to the choke actually fixed the issue, and when I pulled out the element, I found this:

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3763/12938345693_422be1e490_b.jpg

Another element!

Is this supposed to be there? It seems to be glued in. I can't ever recall finding two air filters in an air cleaner housing before.

[Godson]

interesting....

[thesameguy]

Yeah, that was a "feature" on the full size trucks, starting in the late '70s IIRC. I read (years ago, when I had my '87) that replacing the whole air cleaner assembly with an aftermarket part is worth quite a few hp on the 454. OTOH, you probably don't care what sort of hp that engine is making, and such adjustments do little or nothing for torque. I'd probably leave it, but only because I've never seen evidence that any other arrangement is a real improvement.

[Yeti]

What is it supposed to do, exactly? Make the incoming charge extra EXTRA clean?

[JoshInKC]

Take this with a grain of salt, but I've been told that it's to prevent the paper element from catching fire in the even of backfire.
I'm not sure I buy that, but god knows.

[Yeti]

lol.

Well, I guess I'll leave it.

I realized as I was getting the choke to actually open that the previous owner of this thing drove it around for two years with the choke plate only opening as far as the pulloff would take it. I wonder how that went for him.

I also noticed that the headers vs. plug wires solution involves zip ties holding the ends of the wires away from the headers *facepalm*. Time to get some angled ones.

[JoshInKC]

The ziptie plugwire holders are standard operating procedure on these things.
I've seen it on so many I pretty much assume it's the stock configuration nowadays.

[Yeti]

Welp, it was inevitable.

Fluid leaking out of my right-rear brake drum. I thought it might be gear oil at first, but I'm 99% certain that it's brake fluid. Leaking wheel cylinder I'd guess. In any case, I've got zero interest in pulling apart a GM 10.5" FF 14-bolt, so I'm going to farm this one out.

[thesameguy]

Yeah, I'd stay away from that too!

[tigeraid]

wtf. Now more than ever, give it to me! :lol:

[Yeti]

It's cool that it's got the heaviest-duty full-floating axle GM was putting in their pickups and Suburbans at the time.

It's not so cool that getting the drum off would require that much work and messy gear oil puddles :lol:

[JoshInKC]

I'd happily hand that off to somebody else, and I find rebuilding drum brakes relaxing.

[pl8ster]

Still catching up, don't mind me... but I assume those are just as rare in nice shape there as they are here. Nice score.

And yeah, you need a black plate. I've got one in rough shape I can send you. And tsg, if you know of any of those '84 Olympic plates, I would desperately like one.

[thesameguy]

I haven't seen any in a long time, but I'll certainly keep my eyes out!

[KillerB]

I've only been here 18 months, but I've literally NEVER seen one of those Olympic plates.

I get why you'd want one for your collection, but they're really not very attractive. Certainly not on par with the sunset plates.

In other news, the CA retro plate program now has over 7,100 orders for the black plate. I think it's probably going to make production. Time to order mine! Unfortunately the site is now saying that only the plates that hit 7,500 orders will be produced, so it looks like only the black plates will get made. :(

[Yeti]

Still catching up, don't mind me... but I assume those are just as rare in nice shape there as they are here. Nice score.

And yeah, you need a black plate. I've got one in rough shape I can send you. And tsg, if you know of any of those '84 Olympic plates, I would desperately like one.

Totally! Shoot me a pm when you dig it out! I'll cover shipping. :)

In other news, I was 99% wrong about my leak. It was actually an axle seal. :lol:

I'm currently trying to sell the 200SX. I'm just going to use the Urbanizer as a daily (well, my real daily is the work van, but) until the end of summer and then buy something made AFTER the 1990s. Maybe an early Honda Fit.

[thesameguy]

I think a Fit would compliment a 454 'burban beautifully.

UNDERNEATH IT.

[Yeti]

I plan to carry it around in the Suburban, like a dinghy.

[Yeti]

I took a deposit on the 200SX yesterday. So that one should be gone tomorrow.

The Subdivision's PCV grommet is ancient, harder than diamond, and making a mess on my valve cover, so ordered a new grommet and valve. And then ordered a new Summit air cleaner w/ a PCV nipple just because. I'll have to ditch the decel valve for that to work, but meh. One less vacuum hassle.

One of the air pumps (or possibly both) is still in place, and as far as I can tell, the hose from it is just looping right back to the pump. Weird. The actual air injection spiders are gone since the truck has headers. Eventually I'll get the remaining tangle of emissions garbage off of this thing.

Also ordered a DIN install kit for a new radio. The old Kenwood it has powers up but won't produce any sound, except for a static burst from the speakers. Going to get a new head unit and a powered antenna and go from there.

[thesameguy]

Good luck on that stereo. Installing stereos in those trucks is a royal PITA. The "kits" are about worthless, as the real problems are the size, shape, and locations of the dash opening. If it's got an aftermarket setup already you're probably in decent shape, although my '87 had an aftermarket one kludged in and it was a total disaster in that corner. The current diesel '84 is pretty well done, I must say, but it could be better with the skills and tools I have now. IIRC, I ordered all three (Scosche, Metra, and... Install Bay?) dash kits and none of them worked worth a damn so I hacked up a second fascia and did it all custom like. I think I still have all the kits in a drawer - although it's possible I've hacked them up over the years for other uses.

Why the powered antenna? Do you no longer have the window antenna? Mine is still there, pulls stations in wonderfully.

[Yeti]

The MURRIKAMOBEEL! is now my only ride.

Until I buy that mid-2000's Fit/Focus/Subaru/etc.

[tigeraid]

Then you will donate the Subdivision to me, so it may be the racecar hauler it deserves to be!

[Kchrpm]

Then you will donate the Subdivision to me, so it may be the racecar hauler it deserves to be!

:up:

You need to join the black turbo hatch brotherhood, Yeti, with me and Scott and whoever else I don't remember.

[Godson]

Ross....

[thesameguy]

OG black turbo hatch.

http://sacsaabs.org/sacsaabs.org/misc/85spg_clean_2.jpg

[Godson]

:(

[thesameguy]

Don't cry for me, Kansas.

[Kchrpm]

Ross....
Oh yeah, duh!

[Godson]

Don't cry for me, Kansas.

Missouri.....;)

[thesameguy]

Dammit.

[Godson]

:lol:



It's all good. I am only about a mile from the state line from where I type right now. Within 15 minutes of it from where I currently live.

[tigeraid]

Well I have a hatch.

It is neither turbo or black though.

[Random]

:up:

You need to join the black turbo hatch brotherhood, Yeti, with me and Scott and whoever else I don't remember.

NickT, too, I think. Didn't he and his wife buy a Focus ST?

[Kchrpm]

But is it black?

[Godson]

I thought it was blue...

[Kchrpm]

NOT ALLOWED IN DA CLUB

[Random]

Hmm. Now that you mention it, I do recall giving him shit for buying a non-black car. :lol:

Nevermiiind.

[Yeti]

Dad hit either a pothole or a landmine on the way home from work and blew out the tire and bent a rimp on the Volvo. Which then became "oh hey look, the rear brakes are seized", which became "the spare tire's tread has fallen right off!" which then turned into "fuck this car, and it's blown tire, bent rim, seized rear calipers, leaking water pump, and failing power steering pump."

Which then turned into me loaning the Subdivision to dad for a few days :lol: This can only end well.

[thesameguy]

Hey, at least you can hit things freely in the truck. I can't count the number of things that have hit or been hit by the Suburban. It's totaled at least two cars since I've owned it (through no fault of my own).

[Godson]

:lol:


Buddy of mine had a '76 suburban that totalled 3 Civics, all three were the Civics fault.






They scrapped that vehicle about a year ago. :(



I kinda wish it was still around to fuck up some Prius, shitty fucking cars and even shittier operators.

[Yeti]

When the vac modulator hose falls off of the tranny, expect all kinds of HEE-LARIOUS behavior from your truck.

Also, the state of the vaccuum lines on this thing is a tragedy.

[Yeti]

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5566/14127858359_846c157c3b_h.jpg

Because nothing can possibly go wrong when you've got a chrome air cleaner.

Was able to ditch the decel valve and a few other vacuum tangles. Between this, fixing some other vacuum leaks, and getting my idles and choke set half decently, the thing is running better than ever.

Also, the rear AC actually works better than the front (which does work pretty well also, actually). It's too bad I can't sit back there while I drive.

And I promise to one day solder and shrink-wrap my replacement choke lead. Before I'm dead. maybe.

[thesameguy]

Well, I'm jealous. I have never had a Suburban with functioning rear air. That is super cool... I wish you could send me a picture of that so I could experience it myself.

Also - and I can't believe I am saying this - but a Edelbrock Performer is a cheap good carb that would just totally eradicate all that smog stuff. :| Being new, it might wake it up a little too.

[Yeti]

I've given that some thought, but for now I think the Quad is going to have to stay.

Next order of business is some new tires (size 9.50/R16.5LT wat?).

And then maybe a little Hello Kitty thing to dangle where the TruckNutz would normally go, and some rainbow/Probama/calvin not pissing/CoExist/etc. stickers for the back window....just to confuse people.

[thesameguy]

The '84 has the same size tires. XPS4LYF!

[Godson]

16.5....I hate dealing with 16.5

[thesameguy]

I SAID XPS4LYF!

[Godson]

Yeah...whatever that means ....

[Yeti]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1999-TO-2006-CHEVY-SILVERADO-GMC-SIERRA-2500-ALLOY-OEM-16-INCH-WHEELS-8-LUG-NICE-/201079708575?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Wheels&hash=item2ed148db9f&vxp=mtr

hrm.

[tigeraid]

Fuck sakes, I want that thing.

Reasonably clean under the hood.

[thesameguy]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1999-TO-2006-CHEVY-SILVERADO-GMC-SIERRA-2500-ALLOY-OEM-16-INCH-WHEELS-8-LUG-NICE-/201079708575?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Wheels&hash=item2ed148db9f&vxp=mtr

hrm.

Not sure. I think the new-style wheels look out of place on the old trucks. I'd try to find some period-ish AR wheels, or just go with black steelies. :D

[Yeti]

I've always wanted a truck with white wagon wheels - thank 1978's best car flick for that:

http://www.imcdb.org/i010051.jpg

[Yeti]

I lifted the truck and spent hours searching...only to find that the annoying CLANG! noise I've been getting over bumps on the left side is merely the result of the stupid cheap pot-metal hub cover being loose on the left front wheel :lol:

[speedpimp]

The Driver is one of Bruce Dern's best.

[Yeti]

As it turns out, my tires are 15 years old. No wonder they're starting to crack and shimmy :lol: It sort of moved my plans to change wheels and tires up a bit.

ORDER'DD!

4 Kumho Road Venture AT's in LT245/75/16, Load range E.

4 Keystone refinished Chevy steel wheels in black 16x6.5, just like these only gloss black:
http://cimg.carsforsale.com/418145/55FB2DC6-DF61-4E21-AB2D-854F0F1E6B42_1.jpg

4 Chevy 88-10 8-lug center caps like these:
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/z/W~AAAMXQeW5Ta39O/$_57.JPG
Except not dually ones like those are.

and 32 conversion lug nuts. (newer style double threaded but with the old 9/16-18 thread pitch)

Maybe I'll get some 16" trim rings too.

[Yeti]

Steelies!

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2910/14508721825_467fd39819_b.jpg
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2915/14322273407_e6cb3d58ff_b.jpg
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2905/14505327211_5fbce694c8_b.jpg

It drives SO MUCH better with tires that aren't 15 years old.

[Godson]

Hell yes that looks good.

[thesameguy]

That looks remarkably decent! I always wondered what those newer wheels would look like on an older truck.

Has yours been lowered? It looks much lower than mine, although maybe it's an illusion as my tires are a lot knobbier, they make the fender gap look bigger.

There was a '95 454 on CL a couple weeks ago that wouldn't pass smog for a grand on those wheels with new tires. Now I wish I'd bought it. TBI for the Cadillac, new tires & wheels for the 'burban. Poop. Meh. There ain't gonna be any car work this summer anyway anymore.

[tigeraid]

Steelies + poverty caps always look the best on fullsize trucks and fullsize sedans.

[pl8ster]

That looks awesome. Where did you get those caps? I need one (chrome 6-lug), and replacement plastic lug nut covers for my other three.

[Yeti]

ebay!

[Yeti]

Soldededed!

[thesameguy]

WTF?

[Yeti]

I decided I didn't want to hire storage for the monster.

I'm going to go look at a 2006 Mazda 3 hatch tomorrow.

[speedpimp]

Isn't that the newest thing you've ever owned? 1st gen 3s look great in Winning Blue.

[thesameguy]

They also look great crushed under a monster Suburban! But, then, everything looks great crushed under a Suburban. Actually, I guess the Suburban looks great crushing stuff, just some things make it look better than others.

[tigeraid]

Soldededed!



http://lifecameraction.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/darth-vader-nooooo.jpg