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I'm looking for a 80's work truck and I need some suggestions as to what to look for. I want to find a truck with a 4x4 tranny for under 2k. I plan on fixing it up somewhat and probably dropping a new crate motor in it. I want it for winter driving, moving back and forth to school, a little offroad duty and occasionally hauling a car or a boat. Does anyone have any experiance with this? What makes/models were good back in the 80's and what should I look out for? I talked to one of my friends and he said as long as there's no rust your fine, dents and whatnot can be knocked out and bondoed over.
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<a href=\"http://community.webshots.com/user/maniacls1\" target=\"_blank\"><b>2001 Firehawk #155 of 504 -M6</b></a><br />437 RWHP / 404 RWTQ -Dynojet (heads/cam)<br />12.34 @114 mph 1.7 60\' (bolt-ons only)<br />12.47 @116 mph 2.0 60\' (street tires, heads/cam) -
The 73-87 Chevy trucks are strong trucks. Parts are dirt cheap, easy to find, and the trucks are very simple to work on. You won't find one for $2k very easilly unless it's in fair or less shape. I just sold my problematic '79 for $2k.
Stay away from Diesels of that era.
'86 was the first year that EFI was available, anything prior was carbed.
Watch out for rust, and cracked frames around the steering box. If colision safety is a concern, stay away too because the fuel-tanks on those trucks are mounted between the frame rails and sheetmetal, so if you get T-boned, 16 gallons of gas will explode on impact.
Check out www.gm-trucks.com and www.fullsizechevy.com for more info.
-Mike<b>Trucks</b> <br />\'05 Dodge 3500 Dually <i>Cummins Turbo Diesel</i><br />\'98 Dodge 2500 4x4 <i>360 V8 (Wife\'s)</i><br /><b>Toys</b><br />\'81 Chevy K10 <i>Stroker/Swampers/Custom Suspension/1-Tons/Beadlocks</i><br />\'99 Camaro Z28 <i>6 Spd, T-tops, Borla</i><br /><br /><b>Real trucks don\'t have spark plugs</b> -
So if I get a 73-85 4x4 and I want to put a new motor in I can just drop in a SBC and it'll run no problems? I really want to get a truck that's got a 350 already. What models are equiped with the 5.7?<a href=\"http://community.webshots.com/user/maniacls1\" target=\"_blank\"><b>2001 Firehawk #155 of 504 -M6</b></a><br />437 RWHP / 404 RWTQ -Dynojet (heads/cam)<br />12.34 @114 mph 1.7 60\' (bolt-ons only)<br />12.47 @116 mph 2.0 60\' (street tires, heads/cam)Comment
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That's a big 10-4.Originally posted by V6Maniac:
So if I get a 73-85 4x4 and I want to put a new motor in I can just drop in a SBC and it'll run no problems? I really want to get a truck that's got a 350 already. What models are equiped with the 5.7?
You can get them with a 250 I6, 262 I6, 292I6, 305V8, 350 V8, 400 V8, and 454 V8, plus a 6.0L Diesel. The heaver the tonage (3/4 (20) and 1 (30) tons tend to have bigger engines, and will alwasy have tougher suspensions and axles. Plus the 20 and 30 gives you access to the heaver trannies too.
How to buy a 73-87 Chevy Truck It's a great article, but I do see one error. When it's describing the tonage as 1/2T=K10, 3/4T=K20, etc... it forgot to mention that K symbolized 4x4 and C symbolized 2wd. Example, a C10 is a 1/2Ton 2wd, and a K20 is a 4x4 3/4Ton.
More info...
[ August 10, 2004, 01:44 AM: Message edited by: MTMike ]<b>Trucks</b> <br />\'05 Dodge 3500 Dually <i>Cummins Turbo Diesel</i><br />\'98 Dodge 2500 4x4 <i>360 V8 (Wife\'s)</i><br /><b>Toys</b><br />\'81 Chevy K10 <i>Stroker/Swampers/Custom Suspension/1-Tons/Beadlocks</i><br />\'99 Camaro Z28 <i>6 Spd, T-tops, Borla</i><br /><br /><b>Real trucks don\'t have spark plugs</b>Comment
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