2 Sweet Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 Yeah, another thread dedicated to a beater work truck. Thanks for the inspiration Clay! Sadly, I don't own anything exciting at the moment, so I really have nothing better to talk about than my '89 Chevy K1500 pickup. But I love this thing, and I plan on keeping it for a long time. I typically don't hold on to vehicles for very long, but I really don't see this truck going away anytime soon. I bought this truck about a year ago. I used to be a field supervisor for a local flooring company and drove ~200 miles a day, so I owned S10's since I needed a truck but wanted something decent on gas. After I left that job, I decided I didn't give a shit about MPG's anymore, and wanted to look for an older GM fullsize pickup. Due to the rising prices of the squarebody trucks, I figured I would look for a GMT400 instead. My criteria was pretty simple: V8, 4wd, stick shift. I had a '97 K1500 at one point with the Vortec 350 and NV3500. It was a great truck..... I didn't really need anything "nice" since I basically just wanted a beater truck to do truck stuff. I came across a craigslist ad for a truck for sale near Indian Lake, and knew I had to have it! So here it is, in all it's glory..... It's a 350 TBI, it's a 4x4, and it's a stick (SM465). Hell yeah! And it only had 78k miles on it. Perfect! Apparently the truck was owned by the Village of Forest (just a bit south of Findlay) since new. They traded it to a contractor as a form of payment for a concrete job. The concrete guy planned on giving the truck to his son, but apparently his son wanted something with an automatic. So, he put it on craigslist, and I pounced on it a day later. As you see in the pics, it looked a bit rough around the edges. I don't think it had been cleaned in years. It badly needed tires, and the wheels looked awful. The exhaust has a leak and sounds like hell. The bottom of the fenders are rusted, the cab corners are rusted, and there's a bit of rust on the bed. The rubber floor had a hole in it where they let a bunch of mud/water get in, which destroyed the floor pan on the driver's side. It's extremely thin to the point that there are small holes forming. Not good. On the bright side, it runs and drives great! And luckily the frame is solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted April 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 It had a vinyl bench seat in it. I hate vinyl, and it was missing a chunk of the foam..... Got a nice cloth bench from Marshall's in Circleville...... Out with the old, in with the new...... I added some factory style fender flares (ebay cheapos....fitment is mediocre at best) and some decent wheels and tires. Pro Comp 1069 (16x8) with Cooper Discoverer AT3 (265/75) tires..... MUCH better I still need to fix the exhaust, which will probably end up being fully replaced front to back (headers etc). The rear brakes need cleaned and adjusted. It developed an oil leak over the winter which I haven't bothered to track down yet. So it basically just needs a little TLC. I really want to tint the windows too. Last fall, I had a Buick Park Avenue (PERFECT daily driver) that I traded for a third gen Camaro (NOT a good daily driver) so this truck has been my DD for the past 6 months or so. I recently bought a '98 Blazer from another CR member (David aka Dharris89) which I like so much that I have made it my new DD. So luckily I'll have more time to actually work on this truck now and fix shit up. Let me know what you think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Nice Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 K, yeah, neat....but what about that tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted April 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 K, yeah, neat....but what about that tank? We attempted to hijack it. No dice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 Findlay work truck that was at Indian Lake? Chevy with a worn seat??? IT'S LIKE WE'RE TWINSIES!!!1! Nice truck! I'm debating on keeping the rear fender flares on mine when I upgrade rolling stock. It's a cheap way of adding some clean body accents despite the "patina'd" body. Looking good! Mad respect for the SM465 as well. :thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted April 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 Findlay work truck that was at Indian Lake? Chevy with a worn seat??? IT'S LIKE WE'RE TWINSIES!!!1! Nice truck! I'm debating on keeping the rear fender flares on mine when I upgrade rolling stock. It's a cheap way of adding some clean body accents despite the "patina'd" body. Looking good! Mad respect for the SM465 as well. :thumbup: Hell yeah, I like your style. Great minds think alike :thumbup: Flares are great, especially if you have wheels that stick out a bit. And on my truck, they help hide a lot of the rust The SM465 feels very primitive, in a good way. It shifts about as slow as my father's '57 Chevy pickup with a "3 on the tree" column shift. But it's certainly no race truck, so I don't mind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwashmycar Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 Nice work!. Get rid of that red diff cover! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 Nice work!. Get rid of that red diff cover! YEAH!!! How tacky... ...at least make it chrome!!! *flame suit on* :zoom: https://www.ebay.com/itm/GM-Chevy-Car-Truck-10-Bolt-Chrome-Plated-Steel-Differential-Cover-w-Drain-Plug/220588971443?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D50998%26meid%3Df8aacf03a3eb46ea9d3919702f027fa2%26pid%3D100623%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D291834841381%26itm%3D220588971443&_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Nice Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 We attempted to hijack it. No dice Awesome. Nice pickup, pun intended. Like what you've done with it so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted April 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 The rear diff cover is actually more of an orange, and it was like that when I bought it. I actually don't mind it on this truck. I'm kind of bummed it's a 10 bolt; I have the F44 "heavy duty chassis" option which often comes with the 14-bolt. Well unfortunately mine didn't. I want to wire brush everything underneath and coat it with rust converter or something. I plan on painting the frame black, so I'll probably paint the diff cover black once I get around to changing the fluid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted August 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2018 A couple updates, it's been a while..... Earlier this summer I took apart the drums and replaced the hardware. I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth it went. $40 in parts and 2 hours of labor, and the brakes work PERFECT now. The pedal feels great and the truck stops awesome. Oh, I got the windows tinted too..... 15% tint from Performance Auto Spa. The truck's A/C is working fantastic, but I like the added privacy of the tinted windows and it looks pretty nice too. Also, I sold the Blazer. I really liked it a lot, but I didn't really need it. I already have a 4x4 and my wife has an SUV, so it was kind of redundant. I figured I would replace it with a daily that was a little more practical, and I ended up with a 2007 Pontiac G5 5-speed..... I'm hoping to find a good deal on a 6th gen Camaro SS over the winter, but in the meantime I'm satisfied with what I've got. The G5 is great on gas and even though it looks boring and girly, it drives well and the stick shift feels surprisingly decent. As far as the truck goes, I'm still driving it a couple times a week and it's running and driving great. Although the exhaust definitely needs attention sooner rather than later. I really need to get around to polishing the wheels too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted August 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2018 Also, if anyone is interested in buying a cheap pickup, I'll save you a trip to Waverly......avoid this shitbox...... https://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/d/2006-gmc-sierra/6668954828.html I wanted to be cool like Clay and get a truck like his. I found this on CL and I had called the guy before I left and talked to him about it to make sure it was worth the drive. SUPPOSEDLY it had no problems, everything worked, cold A/C, newer tires, minimal rust....the truck looked pretty decent in the pictures. Well, the truck looks wayyy worse in person. Paint looks awful, dings and dents all over, rockers are completely gone, windshield has a huge crack, wheels are crusty, front tires are bald on the inner half (likely needs front end work), HVAC system is completely inoperable. I was pissed. What a damn waste of my time. He has since updated his ad, but I still think he's asking too much money for it. On the bright side, it made me appreciate my '89 that much more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
POS VETT Posted August 25, 2018 Report Share Posted August 25, 2018 Clay is cool now? Since when? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeesammy Posted August 26, 2018 Report Share Posted August 26, 2018 Clay is cool now? Since when? Circa the year his daddy quit paying his bills Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Nice Posted August 26, 2018 Report Share Posted August 26, 2018 Circa the year his daddy quit paying his bills Complex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted August 26, 2018 Report Share Posted August 26, 2018 I’ve been wasting my time this past week with a woman out in Caroll/Lancaster area about a jeep wrangler that she ended up selling out from under me. It’s a tough game trying to find a good used cheap trucks. I like the updates! Tinted windows would definitely be a cool upgrade...definitely look into that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Nice Posted August 31, 2018 Report Share Posted August 31, 2018 Where'd you get your windows tinted and how much did it cost if you don't mind my asking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted August 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2018 Where'd you get your windows tinted and how much did it cost if you don't mind my asking? Performance Auto Spa, $199. Their shop is about 4 minutes down the road from my work, so it was really convenient for me. The only other shop I called is some place in Hilliard right outside my neighborhood, and they quoted me $225. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted August 31, 2018 Report Share Posted August 31, 2018 Performance Auto Spa, $199. Their shop is about 4 minutes down the road from my work, so it was really convenient for me. The only other shop I called is some place in Hilliard right outside my neighborhood, and they quoted me $225.X2. I've used them on many vehicles. Sent from my Galaxy Note 8 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Nice Posted August 31, 2018 Report Share Posted August 31, 2018 Cool. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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