Grill Conversion

Grill Conversion

Stock '83 grill converted to '89-'91 Suburban

This web page documents the grill conversion on "BAD BOW". This conversion was suggested suggested by Robert. After the installation, he wished he had thought about making the suggestion because of the temperature on that day. It was a brutal 103 degrees Fahrenheit. We did not finish the first day due to the heat and lack of parts available only from the dealer. On Monday, after the weekend, I bought the remaining parts so we could complete the installation. Here are a few pictures taken during the installation.

This first row of pictures are pictures that show all the body changes I've had done to this truck. For example, shaved emblems, removed rain guards, hood ornament and cab moldings. All the gray portions are actually repaired dents or damage to the truck. The original bed was removed due to damage and replaced with a GMC bed. The GMC bed had only one gas tank. The passenger side gas tank door was removed from the old bed and welded into the GMC bed. The "new" bed tailgate has a custom "Bow Tie" skin welded and a reverse handle installed. The skin has louvers which actually extend out from the flat surface of the tailgate skin. Installed with the tailgate skin is a roll pan with matching louvers. The roll pan was welding into the body for a smooth appearance. Security on the tailgate is provided by the custom made tonneau cover. The four corner holes on the bed were also welded for a smooth flat surface.

The following pictures are the final pictures take of "BAD BOW" with its original factory grill.

The first step was to remove the headlights and all the grill pieces. After all the pieces were removed, we began to unbolt accessories bolted to the radiator support. After all the accessories were removed, the radiator support was unbolted from the frame and fenders. A word of caution: remove the radiator to allow free moving room for the air conditioner condenser. The radiator support fits very tightly. You can remove the support without unbolting the fenders but its a hassle. Its better to loosen one fender to remove the radiator support. While struggling to remove the support, we accidentally put a small hole in the radiator. Cost to repair was only $35.00, but why spend more when you don't need too.

After removing the original radiator support, we took some degreaser and a water hose to remove grime and dirt buildup over the years. Ever wonder what happened to those tools you were using but lost during maintenance? We found several tools lodged under the battery tray along with the dirt buildup. After the cleaning the dirt off, we proceeded to install the new '89-'91 radiator support grill. The cost of the conversion will be detailed at the bottom of this page. After several minutes of frustration, the new radiator support fell right into place and new home. After fitting the support properly, we proceeded to bolt the radiator support to the frame and fenders. All the holes aligned fairly well for an after-market part made in Taiwan. Only caution is to watch out for the sharp edges. You can easily be cut by simply rubbing up against the edges.

Next on the installation list was a new transmission cooler. The 700R4 transmissions are known to fail due to heat. Spending a few bucks on a transmission cooler will save you a big ton of money by extending the life of your transmission. The installation was done to keep the transmission cooler for a future engine upgrade. The new engine will provide more horsepower and torque. This extra cooling will also help at the local 1/4 mile track after the installation of a shift improvement kit from TranGo. A recommended routing of the oil should be followed for maximum performance. I routed the oil pressure line from the transmission to the external cooler. The oil is then rerouted into the radiator before returning to the transmission. Cooling the oil too much will also hurt your transmission. By routing the oil through the radiator before going back to the transmission allows the oil temperature to stabilize close to the same temperature as the engine coolant.

After installing the cooler, next came the new headlights and signal directional lights. Alignment of the after market pieces were not too bad. We did have to make small holes to bold the light bezels to the center portion of the grill. The entire grill was bolted with original factory hex screws. A factory Bow Tie was bought and glued to the grill with M3 ornament glue. Since the grill had a slight bend backwards and the factory bow tie was flat, I had to use some shoe laces to hold the bow tie emblem overnight while the glue dried. Word of caution, do not use too much glue because it will smear the gold color on the factory emblem.