99 K2500 Suburban LS - Fmr govt vehicle

[OutlawDrifter]

Nice rig, I've got a similar GMC rig in pewter that I daily drive.

 

[70stroker]

Great looking burb.

 

[GovernmentBurb]

So I haven't done a whole lot to the Burb lately, but I did make a few changes that make it feel a little nicer around the corners.

#1 Replaced the passenger running board.
I snagged a pair on craigslist for free in Malibu. They were just laying on the side of the road. Can't ask for a better deal than that! My old passenger side board had a big hole in it.

Before:

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The find:

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The final result:

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Looking good:

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[GovernmentBurb]

#2 Replaced the AutoTrac 4x4 switch.
The original switch had burnt out lights and didn't function. No shifting, no indicators, no nothing. I took a risk on it being the switch, and that paid off. The new switch works great, and 4hi-auto/4hi/4lo all work now!

Note: I originally bought the replacement part on Amazon (non-OEM), which worked fine, but the backlights were a super bright white LED. They didn't dim, and it was distracting at night. I sent that one back, and bought an OEM Lucas replacement part on eBay. The packaging says 2010, so I assume GM stocked this for about 10 years before discontinuing. Anyway, the one I got seems to be really good.

Before:

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After:

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[GovernmentBurb]

#3 Replaced the bucket seats with 60/40 split power bench.
I know most people go from a bench seat to buckets, but I have always loved bench seats. I drive old Cadillacs and old Chevrolets, and in my opinion both are best with bench seats. I like being able to flip up the console and set stuff on the seat next to me. Plus I like being able to say I have a 9-seater Burb now!

I had been looking for a bench seat for a long time, and one finally showed up on craigslist in Bakersfield. Cushions are all basically new, and the notepad holder wasn't broken. The seats also came with all the necessary seatbelt hardware.

Note: These originally came from a '97 ECSB. Both seats fold forward, and the passenger side would slide forward on its tracks from the rear, too. Driver side is powered and does not have rear slide control.

This note is important because the manual slide-forward riser on the passenger side of the ECSB seat does not fit the Suburban (and presumably crew cabs, either). I could have drilled new holes, but I just switched the riser from the original passenger bucket seat onto the new passenger seat. This allowed me to keep the lower plastic trim, too. The driver side fit just fine (since both were powered and neither had a slide-forward option on the driver side).

All I needed to do was drill the new holes in the transmission hump for the new bench seat bolts. The dimples were already there, so it was super easy. One of the retainer nuts was even welded to the body and ready to go. For the other one, I just used a new nut, bolt, lock washer, and a few fender washers to hold it in place.

Before:

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During (going to need carpet eventually... too many coffee stains from the flimsy dash cupholder):

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After:

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Love that I can sit 3 in the front if needed. Or I can slide my way in from the passenger side if some parks too close on the other side.

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Lucky I found such a good bench seat.

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[GovernmentBurb]

#4 Upgraded the bench console lid to a NBS style lid.
After enjoying the bench seat for a few days, I realized that I had nowhere to put my phone and other items without opening the console. Also, the notepad holder is fairly useless. Even though mine was in good condition, I wanted to replace it with something that made more sense. I always enjoyed the bench seat setup in the NBS trucks, and fortunately there's a seller on eBay who makes these for the OBS style bench seats, too.

If anyone is interested, here's the link to the lid I purchased. The seller has several colors, too. I find the grey vinyl matches the grey cloth very nicely. It feels like a factory piece -- excellent stitching and general craftsmanship.

Before:

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After:

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It seems to be a quality piece:

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[OutlawDrifter]

Progress is looking good and updates have that OEM goodness!

 

[Silvio Iacuone]

Great looking Burb!!