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Almost mine!

y5mgisi

y5mgisi

1 ton status
Joined
Aug 11, 2002
Posts
17,148
Reaction score
280
Location
Portland Oregon
If i just had someone to buy my 78 i owuld go buy this truck! Kinda hard to find them in this exact configuration.

http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/3955348536.html

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I've owned 2 trucks from that era (both were '98 K1500 ECSBs). They're nice trucks, for sure. But I enjoy the 73-87s more. They're easier to work on and cheaper to keep running. And its hard to beat the classic square-body look. The 88-98s had their fair share of common problems too:

  1. Weak/small front brakes
  2. Intake manifold leaks on the Vortec motors until you got the revised gasket installed
  3. Tempermental fuel pumps (don't let it go below 1/4 tank of gas!)
  4. The stereo unit's button lights go out (both mine went almost completely dark)
  5. The fuel injection system is a leaky system
  6. I never had an issue with the 4L60E, but lots of others have. My last '98 had 160k on the clock before the original trans was just starting show its age. I traded it in while I still could. That was tough, because it was Dad's truck and he was the original owner.
The 88-98s are great trucks, they're just a bit too expensive to keep on the road compared to the 73-87s. ie. $700 fuel pump v.s. $40 fuel pump. :eek1: I've replaced my share of fuel pumps on those trucks.
 
$1950.00!!!!!!! Wow! Must be a typo. Or something is wrong. That's super cheap. As least around here. It would no less than 4K here.
 
Its probably in fiarly rough shape. But dern sure better shape than my 78. I would have dumped a solid axle under the front and called it a day.
 
No but really, if i could have convinced the wife to let me get a loan to buy it, and then put the 78 on the market, and then pay off the 96 with the money from the 78, it would be in my driveway right now. But she wasnt going for it. That is, not unless i bought her some stupid 05 BMW X3 she wants... And i sure aint bout to do all that! But i worked on her pretty hard about coming up with ways to let me buy it. I know there are weaknesses to these trucks, but my 78 has one big weakness. It doesn't have an extended cab! If i were to get the 96, i would do several reliability mods to it, put a solid axle under it while maintaining no more than 3" lift. It would have left me with a reliable, comfy, multipurpose truck. Perfect for camping, woods, hauling furniture, yard debris, hunting, helping people move, etc, all while having the extra room of the extendo cab for tools/gear/"people"/dogs, whatever. And i personally quite like the styling of these trucks. THey have a very good pretty to rugged ratio. My long term plan in life involves taking the 78 to the cabin for its retirement, and then having a truck exactly like this 96 as my in town work truck.
 
I wouldn't spend the money on sfa for what you just said you wanted to use it for. These ride sooooooo much better than your 78. And the 3/4 tons have plenty of beef for what you're asking of it. Just my opinion.

Oh, and super comfy seats in those with the lumbar support. :thumb:
 
I'd sure use the ploy that its worth a lot more than it can be had for. As mentioned, That is very cheap for other parts of the country..
 
I know. The wife just isn't going for it. Not like I'm incredibly disappointed. At least I get to keep the 78!
 
Put better riding springs in the 78... The 78 is has classic good looks, that other truck is plain ugly imo.
 
That's funny cause I have always loved the looks of the new stuff. In fact, in 1995 I was in 3rd or 4th grade and I had a 4wheeler magazine and u was doing everything I could think of to get my school teacher to buy a 1995 diesel suburban that the magazine was doing a feature on. I just thought they were so nice looking! Perfect combination of rugged and pretty.

Reality says that the life will go for me is that I will retire the 78 to the cabin and get a late 90s truck for my in town work truck.
 
Thats funny. I wouldnt care if it had gone straight from square body 91s to the round eyed 2000+ styles :haha:
 
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