New truck in the drive

[Dr_Snooz]

Probably more accurate to say "another" truck in the drive. I bought an '89 V2500 Suburban today.









It looks like a wreck, but runs great and the interior is frankly unbelievable. The seller just had the seats reupholstered.







It drove real smooth all the way home, though it does need some suspension tuning up and a good wheel balance. The best part is that it's got a 350 TBI and is geared high. It is shifting into 3rd where the truck is winding out in 3rd. Now our weekly grocery runs into town won't be at 8.5 MPG. Also, I can lock materials, lumber, tools, etc. in it while we're running into stores.

It needs a ton of routine maintenance done, like brakes, belts, brakes, hoses, brakes, fluid changes, and brakes, etc. Definitely needs brakes. Did I mention brakes? They squeak going and stopping. Probably need some new rotors too, but we'll see.

It also has a bunch of little things, like the back glass doesn't roll down and the hood takes two people to open.

So far there are no puddles of anything beneath it, and that's always a plus. You'll probably be seeing a lot more of me as I uncover new problems and come here to moan about them.

[LTZ C20]

Looks good man. Should be a good pick to start some type of build with.

[blazer74]

Square body win, enjoy.


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[Dr_Snooz]

Thanks guys. Plans for this one are to get it smogged first. It's been non-opped since 2008, which means it hasn't been driven or smog tested in 7 years. Once I've fed the CA smog nazis to their satisfaction, I'll get all the maintenance stuff up to par and DD it. It will be the family wagon, seeing that we have 8 people living here now. I'll also use it for work when I need to pull the trailer up slippery driveways in the mountains.

Beyond that, I might try to put a rear A/C in it and some cooling system upgrades, like a bigger radiator, along with trans and oil coolers. I might try doing some bodywork too, seeing that panels for these trucks are relatively inexpensive.

I don't know what it is about these old trucks, but driving them just puts a smile on my face. My work truck (the newer body style, green and silver one in the background) is all the same drivetrain, but not anywhere near as fun. I don't know why. (?)

[fitz]

Nice Burb.
I hear you about how driving a square body puts a smile on your face.
  My 2000 k2500 crew cab has everything I could ask for in a truck as far as cold air cond, overdrive trans, cruise, & power windows, but its just not the same as driving my bare bones 84 M1028.
  How hard is it to get your truck smogged in California?
  Is it a rust free California truck?  I have a 91 Burb that came from California a few years ago. Living in the rust belt in Mass, its hard to believe how clean the California trucks are rust wise.
Looking forward to seeing the progress on yours.
 

[Dr_Snooz]

How hard is it to get your truck smogged in California?

It all depends really. If you know what you're doing, it's relatively painless. The big problem is that no one knows what they're doing, and by that I mean the shops especially. If you fail a routine smog check around here, the shops start throwing some very big numbers at you and it can be scary. When I put the new carb on my '86, it failed badly because I didn't do any tuning to the carb. The shop threw an estimate of $2,500 at me for a valve job or some jazz. I bought a jet kit ($50?) and passed with no trouble. So basically, there is a lot of fear and misinformation about CA smog checks but you can get through if you know what's up.

I actually wrote a tuning guide for another website that people can read if they want (http://www.3geez.com/forum/3geez-accords/76568-how-pass-smog.html)

Is it a rust free California truck?

There is a little bit of cancer on the front right fender and wheel well, and some surface rust on the roof. Other than that, nothing really. The body and paint are pretty ugly all around, so the rust isn't a real big deal. I may deal with it someday. I'd be real surprised if it spread aggressively.

[stretch86]

Not bad i like the single headlights id like to do that to my 86 c10 suburban  as im not feeling the duals

[Dr_Snooz]

When I drove the truck home, it was scary. The steering was all over the place and it was hard to keep the thing on the road. I figured I had some serious suspension issues but subsequent inspection revealed nothing unusual. However, when I repacked the front bearings, I found the adjuster lock nuts to be finger tight on both sides. When I got those adjusted properly, it tightened up the whole front end. It tracks real nice now.

Yay!

[Dr_Snooz]

Took it in for a smog check today and FAILED!!! Doh!!! Fortunately, it passed the sniffer just fine, but a leaky gasket on the fuel tank messed me up. I have to drop the tank and fix it, but it should pass no problem after that. Bummed that I have to spend another $70 to have it tested though.

[roundhouse]

How do they test the fuel tank gaskets ?


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[Dr_Snooz]

They pressurize the tank and see if it holds. I knew the gasket was bad but it didn't occur to me that it would make me fail smog.

[roundhouse]

They pressurize the tank and see if it holds. I knew the gasket was bad but it didn't occur to me that it would make me fail smog.

hmm.  Never seen that
In GA they screw a pressure tester to the cap while it's off the car to see if the cap holds pressure



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[Dr_Snooz]

Yeah, they do that here too. The pressurizing the tank thing surprised me though. I guess they don't want gas fumes venting to the atmosphere. That would create smog and smog is bad. GMO crops are okay and all those chemicals they spray on them are okay. Fracking is okay and whatever it is they sell at McDonalds is okay. But smog is bad. Whatever the Chevron refinery leaks on the hapless residents of Richmond, CA every few months is also okay, apparently. But I must not make smog.

No smog.

[Dr_Snooz]

Re-tested today and passed. I think someone replaced the fuel pump at some point, but didn't get the retaining ring on the top of the tank set properly. Since I had to drop the tank anyway, I replaced the pump again, just to be safe. After the test I went and paid the Piper at DMV. The new pink slip should be here in a week.

Get this. My registration comes up for renewal again in 3 weeks. DMV said they'd pro-rate the current year's registration for me. The full year's registration is $108. The pro-rated registration for the 3 weeks remaining this year? $88.

O... M... G...

The truck is going to have to sit for another 3 weeks because I won't be robbed another $88.

[AZ87V10]

Well, that's California for you! Nazis! That's one of the reasons why I moved out of there! Here in AZ, as long as you don't live in the Phoenix or Tucson metro areas, you don't have to undergo smog testing! Plus, I just paid the state like $50 last year and my registration is good for 5 years!