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I like how trucks were compact in size yet they still did their job. Nowadays, they are the size of an U HAUL yet people just buy them to drive them around the town.
MrFloppypancakes shiny twuck shame? Using a fullthize pickemup twuck for the same purposes as a twenty year old girl uses her Rav4? Shoulda just gotten a Rav4 and butched it up with some black rims.
The Driver We were doin so good until about 10yrs ago and everyone wanted big trucks again. Fuel economy hasn’t gotten any better either, the 2016 ford work truck averages 12.5mpg, hideous.
Flat Yea I hear ya. There should be so much room inside a big beast. I’m only 5’10” and it feels a little tight in the 2016 ford work truck. to be honest when I sit in the wife’s 2004 passat I have more room all around me.
It's not unusual now for a 2019 pickup to cost $ 35,000. and require a step ladder to climb into. Want economy, get a 1988 Chevy S-10 with 2.6L V-6 & overdrive stick shift. today's Silverados get nowhere near the 28mpg my 1988 S-10 got, my 1986 Isusu Spacecab Turbo Diesel got close to 37 mpg on the German made diesel (Unfortunately only made 3 years before being discontinued.😯
The last one of these I saw in person was in a junkyard in Illinois, as a victim of cash for clunkers. It’s not the greatest truck in the world but it deserved better than that.
Lower income people suffered to appease environmentalist. Affordable transportation with a few usable years left taken off the market. These vehicles would have found their own way to a crusher (or restoration) eventually depending on the value they had left. The government had no business "helping" them along. The government spent millions, if not billions, in taxes. The result? Auto manufactures sold more new cars at a higher prices, because of an incentive that we all paid for even if we did not get a vehicle. Lower income workers paying more for a used car, because the supply dropped, but not demand. Nine words that can strike terror in the heart of the average citizen: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help".
@@davidg4026 That was definitely true for some Mexican spec Silverados. Chevy put some 400SS stickers on some mid to late 90s single cab step side models even though they were 350 powered. Those stickers and appearance package returned for the GMT-800 Silverados until 2003 or 2004. Just like the older ones, there was no 400 engine anywhere, just a regular 5.3
This was the Golden Era for GM trucks. 88-98. The GMT400. They're just such good machines, good personality to the truck, good looking.... The GMT800 is a close second, but the GMT400 will always be the perfect GM trucks.
First truck I ever owned was a '95 Chevy Silverado with a 5.7 V8 RWD. That truck was so beautiful, it killed me inside when she got stolen and destroyed.
My first pickup was a 98 Z71. Loved that truck. The 5.7L had power and would do burnouts no problem. Now im in a 2018 Z71 with a 5.3 and the computer wont let it do burnouts.
a customer of mine had 1 we decided on brodex heads and a lunati race cam chipped the cpu tweaked the injectors and ended up with 375hp and around 465 fpt once tuned and ran on the dyno but we weren't happy we got rid of factory intake went with edelbrock rpm through a new holly quad tbi on it with its own programmer back to the dyno we finally hit 455 hp at 520 fpt we are very happy !
chris chilson you are an idiot. The truck weighs 4400 lbs and has 450hp that is way faster than v6 camaro of today. I did all he did to that truck and i put twin turbos on it and im making 850hp and 1175 ft lbs of tourqe with my tune. you can scoff all you want that is alot more power you make. Plus i can haul a trailor or my quad in the bed and do work with it. Its my daily driver i get 7mpg with it. I can afford 7mpg it can you?
I owned one of these in the early '90's . At that time I was remodeling my first home, you can only imagine the look's I got from people when they would see me going to the dump fully loaded with trash !! It was a cool truck and wish I still owned it.
covert I still own mine. I had to start keeping it in the garage after repeated knocks at the door inquiring if it was for sale with no for sale sign on it. I promised my newphew he could have it when my days on earth are done. I drove this truck from Houston to NC many times and didn't care about the gas mileage. True story...I was driving it on I-10 east thru Biloxi MS when a MS state trooper started following me.(black man in a black truck lol). Well he finally hit the lights and pulled me over. I wasn't speeding and as far as I know the tag was on it etc. He came up to the truck and apologized for stopping me and told me I did nothing wrong but he just loved these trucks and was trying to talk his wife into letting him get one. I got out raised the hood he got in the truck and was like a kid at Christmas. After about 15 minutes on the side of the road talking to him about my truck he told me to have a good day and told me to punch it for him as I left. When the traffic cleared I got on the interstate came to a stop and did a burnout for him. I started down the road and he was back there pumping his fist in the air. I got to Carolina and told my dad and he called me all kinds of stupid haha. True story. I still have my truck and a Dodge Ram 3500 diesel which is a much bigger truck but it doubles the mileage of my 90 gas truck. Technology has come a long way.
Loving all the people laughing at the numbers, obviously having been spoiled by modern cars. This was 1990! This was a big deal back then! Keep in mind these trucks were a lot lighter and smaller than their modern brethren!
James Noble ikr... even for 1990 you say , shit they made 400 hp out of 427ci corvettes in the sixties .. not to mention the 426 hemi ! What a joke this is
Wow. This was a bright spot in a dark age for performance. I remember these things from when I was a kid and it was a pretty big deal to see one out on the road. They were very cool at the time. People laugh at the 230hp output today but the torque was respectable...and it’s important to keep this in context. The 454 motors in their original performance applications had much higher compression and no emissions concerns. It was a motor from a different era, strangled to work in the 80s/90s. Anyone who knows cars also knows the potential for this motor with some mods! The BBC is legendary. In any case, the 3spd auto is almost certainly responsible for the relatively weak stock performance and terrible fuel economy. I wonder how this same truck would go after a T56 swap.
A T56 swap and 4.10 years would have this in the 13's in the quarter. Now swap the cam, heads, intake, valve train and exhaust and you'd have a 650 hp monster.
Maybe the early production models had the 3 auto, but every 1 I've ever seen, and I've worked on a few, had the 700R4 OD trans. Either way, these were very fun trucks. Lots of grunt and 0-60 sure felt a lot better than 7.7, bone stock. They also came with the 3.42 rear gear with posi, and I've been told you could have the dealer install 3.73s. At the time, a lot of die hard Chevy fans were angry that this 454 engine wasn't built by Chevy ( though it was their design obviously) but built by a company out of Mexico. That's kinda the norm now days....
Mike Honcho I agree but the 1990 Corvette had 250 hp. I mean having an engine from the same company that’s 1.7 liters bigger yet delivers less horsepower??? That was shameful, even for 1990 standards. I understand torque is more important for trucks but it looks like GM did little to no research on making the 454 powerful. Anyway, years later it’s easy to comment😉
Mike thats what I did. Headers,true dual, Edelbrock performer package. The only thing I regret was going to a carb but I will correct that soon with the Edelbrock Pro flo 4 multiport injection.
I hope to buy one of these, or build a clone. I'm going to upgrade the handling and power at the same time, with an all aluminum 540 (which would weigh 150-200lbs less than the all iron stock 454). Keep the power mild at around 650, with a hydraulic roller cam and multiport EFI and it'll get decent enough mileage I can drive it more than a few times a year.
I had one in 90,headers,3 inch duals with flowmasters,a chip,a k&n air filter and under drive pulley got me 14.7 in the quarter mile.A 150 shot of Nitrous got it down to 13.47.
I had a neighbor that had one. He changed out rear gears, after market exhaust and supercharged the motor (I have no idea what other motor mods where done). That thing WOULD LAUNCH!!!!
The thing is, very few people really want something like this. There's a group of enthusiasts who say they do in RU-vid comments, but not enough actually would buy one to make it profitable for a major manufacturer to build them. Only low volume high priced makers can really make any money selling small numbers of a vehicle. It's like "retro" motorcycles, commenters clamor for the chance to buy one, but whenever one of the big makers takes a chance and offers one in the US market sales figures are dismal and 2 years later it's gone.
@@fluorine7575 regular cab raptor? The majority of people want 4 doors. Sad but true. The majority of people only really NEED a Maverick or Ranger sized vehicle too, but want is greater than need for most.
When I lived in Brazil in the 80’s/90’s my friend bought one , the then president Collor had gone visiting USA , he went back and drop the import Tarif to 0%... I was in heaven , there was 90’s American trucks everywhere... ever since that 90’s trucks stuck in my heart for ever , my friend had this 454SS very exactly same one ... everyone used to make fun of the red velour interior but I just loved it so much ... for me I I couldn’t never understand how come this truck didn’t come SportSide/StepSide bed tube .... however it’s a a hell of a truck or the “Truck from Hell” like they call it anyway, I’ve got a 454SS watch the reads on the face “454SS the truck from hell “... Australia 🇦🇺
The cloth interior on those trucks is so much better than the plastic shit of today, regardless of what the critics say. I loved the "difficult to use" walking gauges on my 1990.
I was 11 in 1990, but I'm not comparing cars of today to cars then. We lived in different times then and technology was different compared to today. Can't really fairly compare vehicles this far apart in age, even though some try to - not sure why, it doesn't make any sense to do so.
In 1988 when this body style came out, it was considered high tech, it was really sleek when it came out I never thought I would be able to afford one I got married 3 years later and we bought a brand new 91 extended cab. I pulled my brand new bass boat with my 85 z28 Camaro , so it was really nice to finally get a dream truck, especially a brand new two tone blue and dark grey,same color as my new boat, I was only 20 years old making 2 dollars over minimum wage working over time. These days, all these kids want is their I phones and Uber rides! They are not interested any new nice vehicle!
I felt blown away by the Chevrolet 454SS because it is a cool and performance pickup truck. The cherry red velour interior in the 454SS looks cool and nostalgic! 💪😀💖🚛🎅
@@animalcorvair Nice! Modern vehicles with cloth interiors got an upholstery that reminiscent of athletic apparel and footwear from brands like Under Armour, Adidas, Nike, and Russell Athletic.
This was my first ride at the age of 16. I worked hard at a carwash fulltime and also worked construction to pay for it . My God do I miss this truck. I was very Lucky to own one . What a Beautiful truck and a head turner for 1990.
I remember those! I loved those cool early 90s ideas like the awd gmc syclone, 5.0 rangers, f150s with 351. For those times it was our "challenger hype" I've seen a few up close, its too bad it didn't catch on then.. I have to admit gm had some great ideas from 84 to 96 like the GNX , olds 442,454.
I remember when this truck came out. It was awesome for it's time. I've seen one recently redone with the LS motor and new suspension. Still looked awesome
No, these were just car performing, small pickup trucks and perform nothing like a real truck does off-road. Toyota ruled off-road from the 80s to the 2000s
Challenge accepted. Modern trucks have big chrome wheels for pavement, luxurious car like interiors not ment to get dirty... Rediculous chrome trim everywhere, and overall usually not built ona rugged chassis. They are no longer simple durable machines but have gone in the direction of modern cars, becoming more complex than they need to be... Working on your 2018 chevy silverado at home? Good luck. Btw i am 33
I remember one of these pulling up beside me at a light back then. He opened up that tbi and i heard that big block roar. I was in love ever since then.
When this debut’d I was drooling. I mean a 454 in ‘90 ? Loved it. A friend of mine had a Big 10 454 and with just a few mods was very fast for a large truck.
I had a chance to drive an SRT10 6 speed Ram when they first came out and Chrysler was a sponsor for our college's auto tech program. That thing was scary! I didn't like the school bus shifter in it though. As far as reg cab 2wd short bed trucks, I'm with ya. I special ordered a 1998 Dakota sport 2wd, std cab, std bed with the 5.2 Magnum, and NV3500 5 speed manual ( which I still have today) and it is as quick as the Dakota 5.9 r/ts that came out later that yr. And it will still haul/tow things, which the R/T's can't....
As of now, doesn't look like ram or gm will offer a reg cab short bed for 2019. Gm will come out with a fleet model, long bed only, some time next year.
Grew up wanting one of these "bad boys". A local fella that did drag racing back in the day had one and I always got excited when I saw him cruise by in town.
I have 2 friends that own/ed a 454 and just met another guy that is rebuilding his. These 454 pickups are instant classics which means the value would go up.
Kill People have a guy up the road who has two. Both are junk and sitting in his back yard, yet for some reason every time I’ve asked if he wanted to part with one he gives me the same answer if I’m gonna fix them up one day, well it’s been 15 years since he parked the second, I don’t think he’s ever gonna do anything and if they don’t move soon they will just rot.
Man, these old GMT 400s were awesome trucks. I have a 99 Tahoe with 105,000 miles, only issue was the transmission. People say the intake gaskets fail but it's never happened to mine. It's a great truck. This thing looks awesome. My automotive teacher has a K5 blazer which he took the 350 V8 out of and put a 454 in. After watching this video, that sounds awesome.
Thanks for uploading this great blast from the past! I loved this truck in my youth and wouldn't mind owning one today. The body style still looks good today in my opinion. While it was a great truck for it's time, anyone else think it would have been amazing if they offered a 454 option in the 90's Impala SS? I think the 10 mpg killed any chance of the 454 engine being dropped into a sedan.....still would have been cool!
Towing ratings are based off of braking capability. You can tow all kinds of shit with trucks, cars 4wheelers, utvs, etc. What you can't do is stop so well under a load.
my elantra is rated for 1500 lbs and my Buick Ranier is rated for 6700 lbs with 3.73 gears and 7200 lbs with 4.11 gears. 5000 lbs with a full size truck is not good. 1000 lbs cargo is also very low.
Yeah, by ''regular truck'' standards they were kinda quick for their time, but as already stated, the first gen Ford Lightning's shit all over these trucks with a significantly smaller engine.
You need to read the comment and control your emotions. I said it was quick in its day and it was. I didn’t say it would beat a Lightning, Mustang 5.0 or V8 Camaraderie etc. but it was faster than most trucks and many cars . In the early 90’s any attempt from a manufacturer to add muscle was welcome. Take your Ritalin and go to bed.
@@daleostrom3613 The Lightening came out 3 years later. This 454 was the same unit in Chevy’s work trucks. Nothing special. Still, it had much more torque than the 351 in the first year Lightening.
My friend kept his 1st vehicle from when he was a kid: a 1979 Chevy stepside pickup. He built his own "SS" by dropping a 600hp 454 that he built using aftermarket heads and all kinds of high performance parts. It kicks ass!
@@BuzzLOLOL you can..but for $3k or less, you can have new aluminum heads, manifold, valve train and cam. Be pushing over 650 hp with that and a computer chip enhancement.
I have seen two of these beasts in person, one was at a car show, the other was being driven by a gentleman that was likely in his mid 60s, the truck was absolutely clean, and had an obvious aftermarket exhaust. When he left the parking lot, he barked the hell out of the tires, and damn I want one so bad.
I had the '90 Silverado 3500 454 4X4 which had raw power to spare. I'd run out of room in the bed before running out of weight- carrying capacity. It was fast alright but one needs to remember that Saddam Hussein had just invaded Kuwait and fuel prices were heading way up. This action sparked a recession corresponding with the oil crisis. I could never coax more than 14 MPG out of mine with the 3 speed automatic transmission but that thing could pull a house off of its foundation.
This was a period when vehicles were starting to get fun again. Considering what we experienced in the early 70’s, this truck (along with a few other vehicles) was helping remedy over a decade of stale performance.
I really wish Chevy would bring back the SS pickup, as I never felt the last iteration did the name justice vs the likes of the Lightning and the SRT10. The 454 SS was a great example for the time, when the Lightning was still naturally aspirated, before the rebirth of the Hemi, and before the release of the Viper's V10.
@@gregrowe1168 The 6.2 liter would seem more sport truck to me with 420 hp, but I'm talking more purpose-built similar to the Raptor or TRX trucks but for the street: lowered suspension, big brakes, fire-breathing engine. Maybe a detuned LT4 from the Corvette.
The 5.3 is the most powerful engine available in the 2wd reg cab short bed configuration. I actually went to the Chevy website. You can configure one with minimum accessories(only thing I added was the trailering package with rear locker) and it comes out right at 30K. If they actually built an SS version, I'm sure the 6.2 would be the engine of choice though. A 2wd Colorado SS with the 5.3 would be great too. For comparison, I went the Ford website and configured a reg cab 2wd F150 shortbed with the 5.0 V8 and it was about the same price with similar options. If I opted for the 2.7 ecoboost in the F150, it would have been $1000 less and still more power and torque than the 454 had. Either of these trucks would smoke the doors off the old 454 SS for a price that is lower by comparison in today's dollars.
MrDj you are right. my 90 has a TH 400 3speed. I'm driving 65 and wrapped up at 3000 rpm but if you punch it it will launch again. I bought mine when it was 6mos old in San Antonio and drove it back to Houston which is only 198 miles. When I got home to houston I had about 1/4 of a tank left lol. I knew then this was a thirsty truck.
I had a 92 C1500 Silverado Single cab step-side with the 350 small block and it was my favorite vehicle ever. Didn’t struggle to pull anything it dared.
@@joshblack4291 possibly...but you won't have the torque. These mid 90s 454s were decent enough but were seriously neutered with the ridiculous smog crap. A couple grand or so into a top end kit, some exhaust work, and you'll increase the torque close to 500 and hp between 550 to 650. Where a 454 should be.
People are talking crap about the power output of the truck, but the performance numbers aren't bad. The 04-08 5.7l Hemi trucks were putting down 345hp/375lb-ft of torque and still running slower than this, while getting slightly better mpg. It could even run with the modern 6.0L silverado. On top of that, the TBI 454 was choked by emissions and could be built pretty easily.
Low hp numbers but a quick truck for it's day with a lot of low end grunt. to my recollection, at the time gm truck engines, 4.3 made 160hp, a 5.0 "305" made 180hp and 5.7 "350" made 200-210hp just about everything was low hp then, a mid size sedan, say something like a Honda accord or chevy Corsica with a v6 made maybe 130-150 horsepower, the same size modern car makes close to or more than 300 with a v6 or turbo4.
@@BuzzLOLOL yep, the corvette and some others were higher hp, i was referring to the tbi engines that were available in full size trucks at the time. Thanks
I remember working for GMC when the Chevy guys came over and seen OUR 454 truck in the RD shop. They got their panties in a bunch so we gave them the 454 SS and we built the Syclone.
I live in McMinnville tn. an there's one of those 2 blocks from where I live an it just sits... With only 53000 on the speedo...makes me sick .it's in pristine condition..
Cana box The key was on the Run position. The engine wasn't running because they didn't start it and they wanted to show what the gauges looked like. Pay attention!
I remember there being favorites of the towing companies in NY. The were notorious for speeding to an accident. Their door logos was barely visible so you couldn't read it. I love them.
To those of you commenting about the Service Engine Soon light being on, it was on because the ignition was in the Run position. The engine was not started. They did this to show the gauges and so it wouldn't pick up a lot of background engine noise. It occurs in every vehicle when you place the ignition in the Run position and do not start the engine. It amazes me how many of you don't pay attention and it also amazes me that if you do drive, that you don't notice it in your own vehicles...
