The last decent truck GM produced was the GMT400 series 88-98. Anything after that is a big disappointment in reliability. The C/K square body's 73-87 were by far the toughest.
A couple of reasons for square bodies getting so expensive. First, the very popular 67-72 trucks have been fairly well picked over, especially in the north. Getting a solid project truck in that generation is nearly impossible. Second, the generation who grew up riding in the square bodies are now of the age to start collecting. You tend to want what you remember riding in as a kid, the one your dad had.
If anyone looks at this and says “it’s junk” or it’s way to old” then we can’t be friends. I’ve always loved those 80s C/K I daily drive a 95 Chevy C1500
Same year as mine. Probably needs a new choke pulloff. Don't lug the engine, it's very hard on it. Based on how it sounds I bet it has a 2.73 rear gear, otherwise 1st would be so low you could get out and walk beside it. Do NOT put undercoating over a rusty frame, EVER. You are just creating a worse problem. That's bad information. In fact I wouldn't put undercoating on anything I were going to keep.
I saw this too. My thought was I would have done a retake. I know that's a pain, but it's a dog doing its business. Then about 3 seconds later it looks like he did a retake on his approach to the truck! Lol.
I'm thinking that MPG figure at the end is inflated a tad. You've got 35s and basically 3 gears. Your speedo is off which means your odo is off. Strangely, based on their mph you said you were off, this would add mpg
They are all over and rust-free here in southern Nevada. No salt, ever and hardly ever rains with low humidity. If you're smart, you'll watch the classifieds and buy a one-way ticket and drive home. NEVER TO SEE WINTER weather and it will last forever.
@@TheFuzzyhippo I moved here right after graduating (boring suburb of Chicago) BEST f'ing thing I ever did! Couldn't deal with gloomy cold winter weather. It's almost eternal summer here. Even the heat isn't bad with no humidity. And if you like offroad stuff (jeeps, mx bikes, SxS''s ect) it's offroad heaven here. All public land. Trails hundreds of miles long. I'm a real person, chris7613@hotmail If there's anything I can do to help you get out of the cold. Jobs:www.governmentjobs.com/careers/clarkcounty for government jobs (I work for the local county here in Las Vegas. It's a good place to work.
@@TheBandit7613 yo thanks so much for the info! It's really nice to hear from someone who was in the same boat as I am currently. I will definitely check up more on this....
@@TheFuzzyhippo Keep my email if you need it. Most people think vegas is all about gambling. It's a regular city away from the strip. It's growing so jobs are easy to get. Remember, even the Raiders gave up on the Bay area and will be opening in their new stadium this fall. Don't give up. When I moved I put my clothes in my Jeep with very little money, started driving west. I ended up here. If I did it, you can too. Don't be afraid to follow your dreams.
I've always loved these oldschool square body chevys and thats coming from a hardcore toyota 4x4 guy. To keep it alive use Krown Rust proofing every year. Has been keeping my 84' and 89' Toyota trucks alive for years.
No your crazy you just have to look harder ive sold a good running 81 scottsdale k10 for 750 and a 86 running silverado k10 for 1100 just got my 85 k5 for 2100 , 1 from florida 1 from georgia 1 from NC
Great buy! Congratulations. Been thinking about one myself. They were designed at the height of GM's engineering and manufacturing excellence (see On a Clear Day You Can See GM) and LOTS of NOS and reproduction parts.
my grandpa drives his 1973 K10, it gets about 1 mile a gallon fuel economy. it is teal with and white with a grey fender and brown tailgate with black wood racks. He uses it to haul wood the truck still runs pretty well just needs a new transmission, it still hauls wood and gets the job done.
Odds are it hasn't been re-geared. Put the correct size tires on it (or a set of 4.10s ) and you'll likely see better performance, better mileage, and less stress on your clutch.
I bought a 1985 K2500 new. traded 9 yrs later with 90k still awesome truck. I had sprayed oil in the doors,etc. and it never had rust develope. I miss it. Simple and strong. Now I'm running a 2019 F350 Diesel. Much nicer but man paid twice as much as my home did in 1981.
For $3200 id say u did good. “Fair” price for a running/driving 4x4 in useable condition and “presentable”. I dig the old school camper too! 87 should be tbi fuel injection.
Good deal, I've always owned square body chevys , I kept my 1984 Chevy m1008 military chevy 6" lift on 37" 5/4 ton painted metallic silver , with rebuilt 427 big block, lots people always asking if for sale , these trucks are getting more and more expensive,
Same here man I don't know why people ignore the long beds. There just as nice as the shorts or better. I have a 1985 Chevy c10 Silverado and it's a long bed and I love it. I like long beds better as well
Mine also had black jack headers and dual exhaust with glass packs and doesn't sound as loud in side the cab as yours because I have it run all the way out the back. That helps a lot to quite it down inside. Mine also had a built 350 small block out of a 79 2 ton dump truck, bored 60 over with 1.60 and 2.02 valves.
Awesome truck! Definitely change that muffler! P.S. I have a 2001 Chevrolet regular cab 1500 Silverado, 4x4 auto trans long box 4.8 Vortex V-8 engine with 175,000 miles and I love that old truck. Not nearly as old as your 86 but it hauls my 8 foot slide-in camper very well. It has overload springs on the rear making it a 3/4 ton capacity.
Anything older than 98 is a good fixable and easy to maintain vehicle. Anything newer, you'll run into electronics that cost thousands to fix. Old things are lovely to work on and dont cause un-needed anger. It's the simplicity and practicality that's beautiful.
Thats a great buy. I bought a Loaded, fully functional rust-free 86 k10 Silverado, ding free. original paint....for $10k...mint trucks like these in short bed arent cheap
I daily drove my 85 k10 for years. If you can get over the in cab noise, they are very reliable and totally usable in modern traffic. Still have the old thing, just not daily driven anymore. 456,000 km of hard use.
Nice gem, will not quit like the modern vehicles when you need it. Great investment. Just add oil under the frame, body and a bit on the sides like cab corners for example to prevent rust. Just take care of it and will last you a long time. Lastly… because there very expensive now a days, you won’t find another one cheap no more. There getting popular due to there quality and efficiency of not having mechanical problems like modern vehicles today. I’m telling you from my own experience. Best decision I’ve ever made 👍
If you put it in 2nd gear before you put it in granny 1st it won't crunch like that. Granny 1st isn't synchronized. Put it in 2nd, it stops the mainshaft from spinning, and then it will slip quietly down to 1st.
For what it may be worth. Price was good, truck looks great. I think we should drive what we like. Anyone can drive a new truck, but a classic is cool and fun. Best of luck.
I got an 85 k10 Scottsdale, 350 4 bolt main. And the reason it grinds that first gear is cause you need to lower that idle in a bad way. It wants to take off as soon as you hit it
I would say, if you have not done so already as soon as you can pray some anti rust in the under body to help protect the truck specially with all that snow. Great truck man. You driving it reminded me of my manual dakota 4x4
I've had two military K30's. You did very well paying what you did for that truck. It needs some love, but it's in great shape for it's age. Those trucks get far more rust here in the northeast but you have a survivor. Nice buy for the price.
Not a bad deal at all. I’m buying a 85 K10 ( has the same drivetrain as the 87 in the video. I’m getting mine for 2500.00. Mine has 77,000 original miles but the body is a little bit better on the 87. Good buy
My 84 k10 was just like that that had a 3 inch body lift wit 35s and got it 12 years ago for 2 grand. I love it. Still has a 3 inch body but added 6 inch suspension lift with 39s. 😂 still love it but wish it was a 4spd, has a 350 turbo and that is because I too the 700r4 and NP208 out and put the 350 turbo and np205 when I added the lift and k20 swapped it.
Nice thing about the square bodies is LMC will have all the parts/panels. instead of hacking the rust repairs do it right because those hold value and some of the ways you have fixed others just kicks the can down the road. Door shells are $170 for example rather than grinding and bondo. They also have patch panels for the common areas. Once done NHoilundercoating on the underneath over fluidfil. several places in eastern VT do it.
man I know this feeling so well I just picked up a 94 suburban 2500 rust free for 3500 a month ago. the excitement getting it home is just unreal ain't it? on another note since you went so far out of your way to get a rust free one make sure you dont forget to fluid film it so it wont get all rusted out.
I had an 89 Ford F150 with the 4 speed and a 302 (I bought it in 1990) and what I remember most is you could practically watch the gas gauge drop as you drove it on the highway. Those low gear 4 speeds are pulling monsters though. Pop the clutch in first and you couldn't stall it. Buck like mad and lurch along, but never stall out. Nice truck for a New England 4x4. Hard to get one that's not used to death. It'll look good red. *:-)*
The exhaust sounds great! But the three things that would have been a deal breaker for me is that it has a 305, and it’s not a 87(fuel injection) and no air conditioner! For the area you live in you got a decent deal!
i drive my square body 1983 Chevy Suburban 3/4 ton its my daily driver and my exhaust is a bit louder than yours true dual exhaust with cherry bombs i have videos on if you to see them and just restored my Suburban it's not 100% done just yet though.still have that the window gaskets and the dashboard to fix ,and some new headlight and taillights two,great video bud oh and the Colorado looks good man you did a great job on it.
If it still has the quadrajet on it, check to see if your choke pull off is opening the choke when the truck fires up on a cold start. That loping is it running super rich and I would bet the choke plate is still mostly closed.
You know i often thought about buying some old 4x4 trucks and cars and selling them in northern states.just because like you mentioned the rust eats them up up there and down here you know you can still get rust free autos. Its just a thought but im not sure how the registration and all would be affected. Anywho have a great day
Awesome truck and a good deal. You can just adjust the choke and it will start fine in cold weather. I posted a couple videos of my 305 Caprice starting in well below 0, it starts first try after about 2-4 seconds depending on the temperature. (2 pumps to the floor)
They are only junk if they are manual and the cab drops from rust. Even then they are fixable. In the late 80's my 73 4wd cab dropped and the clutch linkage was off. I managed to find a cab from the 1 year they were galvanized. Get the underside pressure washed real good and paint the trouble areas with zinc chromate.
1) I think you got a great deal (if it runs as trouble free as you say). Love that burble when you change gears. 2) I LOVE the look of it. It looks a like a truck. A REALLY solid, masculine (but not 'look at me') truck. Today's trucks look almost goofy in comparison. Peace.
Not bad. I’ve owned a few of them of the years still have a 79 k20 and a 89 k5. Those trucks are getting up there in price. You might want to look into some suspension upgrades for the rear of your truck if your going to use that slide in a lot. People around here are wanting 5 to 6 grand for a square in that condition.
People want more for a squarebody chevy now than what they did when the truck was new, a couple years ago I was looking at a 86 unmolested squarebody and the guy that owned it wanted ten thousand dollars for it, it was in nice shape but not ten grand nice.
i really feel that trucks of modern day have taken a collosal leap backwards. all their showy names badges and editions. mobile wi fi hotspots bluetooth screens 4 doors and a price tag the size of a house.i look at this and i ask myself when did trucks stop being trucks? someone who bought this back 30 years ago , bought this kinda truck to do real work bonus praise* I was 6 riding infront of a dodge aries k car a boy shot out of an allyway and hit our car on the passenger fender/door with one of these if that would have been one of the new trucks today i would be dead. - these days i'll be at mcdonolds and a new stink-o-rado's rear bumper goes over the hood of my impreza.
Good deal. I like the long bed better myself and agree with seat change. I'd live a 76 K10 the rusty orange with off white. Yes very specific my Grandpappy had one like it.
Go to 2nd, ease off the clutch a bit then push the clutch and you will have slowed the gears down enough to get into 1st without chewing up the synchro ring, but unless you have a heavy trailer or a load you should stick with 2nd for pulling out.
Don't like the seat swap haha but as a guy with a grumpy back I don't blame ya one bit. Definitely agree on getting a muffler. I love that the red one they had for sale had cab lights. Cab lights and a back rack just make a truck for me. Despite brand. I think you got yourself a nice truck
Pretty decent for a Northen truck. I figured all those would be totally rusted out up there. Smart move looking underneath. We have lots of those still on the road here in the south, but most are 2wd as 4wd isn't needed much here unless you're an offroader
You got a good deal, engine only had 130K it runs well undercarriage looked okay and only a little rust on the door. I like long beds also ( I have a late 90's short bed truck already). Custom Deluxe? If i could find one like that I would buy it. Enjoyed the video!
You should call it The Wolverines Project cause it looks just like the truck from Red Dawn in the beginning...the first one, not the crappy version several years ago.
Nice. I think that using some high quality bed coating or liner, can quiet down the road noise.. It could dress up those door panels also.. Perhaps, some colored liner? Because those always dry out and 'dust away'... Same for the Dash.... ..
that "brush guard" is just a damage multiplier, if you ever hit or push anything with it, it will fold back and destroy the grill. those things are so cheap its not like a real one thats attached to the frame of the truck.
Just get you a new crate 350 and that thing will be good as new but that thing is real loud on the highway my truck is pretty good on the highway you only hear what you want when you want and it’s got dual glasspacks dumped just behind the cab and I agree long beds are better and I assume will be a lot more rare in the future cause people chop them up like sheep to have a short bed
