Help w/ big decision (might include you too)

[Avery4jc]

Hey guys I have the opportunity to buy a 1983 Chevy one ton srw w/ a bb454/14ff/d60/np205/th400. It is a fairly straight looking rig and it would put the spank down on my truck's drivetrain. The engine is a GM crate engine w/ about 50,000 on it so it still has a good amount of life left in it and the rest of the truck looks pretty decent. He is willing to let it go for $3500 but here is the catch....
Even though it is in Bakersfield California he has it registered in a non-smog place (don't know the legality of it but I remember an old thread where K5MonsterChev mentioned something about finding a non-smog bubble then registering you vehicle with a PO box in that place ) so to keep this short and to the point it doesn't have smog equipment on it.

Here is my delima. I could get it and for $3500 it doesn't sound like a bad deal, it has 33" tires on 16.5" welds and with the 8" Superlift on it the truck looks a little wierd but the drivetrain is so stout that I could take the 14ff/d60 and put it in my rig then part out the rest of it, (454 would be a real attention grabber plus a clean 3+3 truck and 205).
Or I could get it and try to get the smog all put back on it, I think I am allowed a 6-12 month exemption on the vin one time in it's life to get that taken care of so I bet I could do it in that time frame but what does a complete smog setup run, any ideas?
Or I could pass it up and let it go onto someone else who is willing to do something with it.

Thanks!

-Avery

 

[Avery4jc]

more...

-Avery

 

[supersize75k5]

its not that hard to get all the smog equipment,

also is this a toy, daily driver or tow rig for ya?


if a daily driver....enjoy the fuel if yuo drive alot, I fill up my 40 gallon tank every 3 or 4 days minimum....but I drive ALOT

 

[Chevy305]

It need at the very least 35"s those 33s just look like crap

Also if that is a crate engine why does it look like a turd?

 

[Zeus33rd]

It looks like a turd cause it has 50k miles on it.


I wish I could find a srw crew cab with a 6.2. Then I could yank the 454 from my K20 and swap it in and not worry bout smog. I have ALWAYS wanted a srw crew cab.


Sweet lookin truck.

 

[4xcrazy]

Well, what i was thinkin from those pics,,,,50k miles, and that motor looks like THAT ??? IMO something is not right there.

I'd offer $2200, there's alot just from those pics i see wrong with this truck.

 

[roadnotca]

Parts truck or Tow Rig, its just too long for mtn. trails.
Otherwise it does look like a final resting place for wayward components.
Does it have a diesel VIN?
Hmm, update front end!
Zip-tie mounted fan shroud.

 

[thatK30guy]

I just don't understand the Cali look of short tires and wide rims. Those Welds have gotta be 14" wide. Looks ridiculous. Get narrower rims and taller tires and call it done.
Like the others say, get him down on price. I've seen trucks with much cleaner motors and engine bays than that that have sold for less before. Even with higher miles, too.
What are the plans for it? Using it for a daily driver? Good luck finding a good paying job to keep up with the fuel bills. I drive my '85 K30 daily and it sports a 454 also. Not fun at all. Waiting to sell house and buy a cheaper one so I can find a nice car instead.

 

[Citizen Rider]

IMO thats not a crate engine. Looks like something pulled from a junkyard...

I like the masking tape over the shifter hole for the old manual tranny

Avery, send that to Texas.....Id be glad to drive it for you

 

[Avery4jc]

Thanks for the response guys.
Well to answer the driving question whatever truck I have is my dd/toy. I am 17 and just can't afford to have two vehicles if one is just going to sit. I only drive to school (10 miles, 20 round trip) and to work (5 miles, 10 round trip) so to answer your questions I don't do too much driving. My current job pays $7.30 an hour which isn't a ton but at the same time all I do is pay for insurance ($70 a month) and gas (repairs when need be) so it isn't like I'm rolling it in but I can survive, plus gas just dropped to $2.90 around here.

Yeah I was wondering about that "crate" engine as well.
The hole from where the sm465 used to be makes me wonder also.

I just wanted something with more cargo room and interior space as my short bed standard cab truck gets the job done but I fill it up pretty fast as far as interior space goes.

Maybe if I could get him down a ton on it I could use the 14b/d60 then sell off the rest of it keeping that 454. What I sell would pay for the rebuild/regearing of the axles and then I would have one ton axles with the proper gears and a 454 to start learning how to rebuild.

Maybe that is a better plan.

-Avery

 

[kennyw]

Only way you will get ahead selling off parts with keeping the best of them is if you can get the truck for under $1500 or be able to ship the rust free body stuff East...

 

[muddybuddy]

looks good, but like others said, its kinda fishy...seems like that might not be telling the whole truth

 

[Avery4jc]

looks good, but like others said, its kinda fishy...seems like that might not be telling the whole truth

It sounds like it, or possibly it isn't his truck to begin with, who knows.

Oh and I'm not trying to get ahead but if I could get it and keep the 14ff/d60, 8 lug rims and the 454 I could sell the rest of it and have enough to get a set of gears and master install kits for the axles along with maybe some new driveshafts that are the correct length which I can measure after I get the axles in and the rear perches re-welded back on with the proper angle for the driveshaft.
Then I would have one ton axles w/ the correct gears and a 454 sitting in the garage to tear apart and not worry if I screw something up. Who knows, down the road if it becomes a trail only rig I might just toss it in.

I'll see how low he'll go. I think my best friend now will be time. Once he realizes that nobody around here in California is a) going to want a truck that not only doesn't pass smog but doesn't even have the smog equipment and b) gets terrible gas mileage I bet he will either keep it or come to his senses and sell it to me for dirt cheap.

Anyone want a crew cab long bed body?


-Avery

 

[Avery4jc]

UPDATE: I just checked my e-mail and the guy turned on me. He basically told me to quit wasting his time (what nerve, he is the one selling a vehicle) and that if I wasn't going to take his very low offer of $3500 to leave him alone...

That was the response to an e-mail that I sent him asking for some fairly specific details as to the drivetrain and as to why it didn't have the original stuff in there. Not too much to ask since I was going to be making an hour long one way trip to Bakersfield to go check it out but he freaked out on me.

I sent him this...

"screw it, if you are not willing to answer a few simple e-mails about the truck (which I know you aren't telling the truth about on a few things, some things you aren't mentioning as well which you might as well not be telling me the truth about) then how do you expect to sell it.
I was trying to get some questions worked out on it but the only thing worth anything on that truck anymore is the 14ff/d60 combo. Otherwise your "crate" 454 is in terrible shape, for goodness sake your fan schroud is held on with freakin' zip ties! Not the best way to sell a truck, between you and me just part it out. You'll make more since you are going to be hard pressed to find someone that wants a gas guzzling 454 in a 3+3 crew cab long bed truck especially one that is being sold in California that not only doesn't pass smog but doesn't even have the stuff to do so in the future. The only guys that will be interested are guys like me who want it for the axles so unless your willing to work with people like me expect to be seeing a lot more of that truck in front of your house.

-Avery"

Thanks for the help guys, he made the decision easy for me. Oh, well I guess there will be more one ton axles for me in the future. This just wasn't my time.

-Avery

 

[willyswanter]

Good lord tell me where it's at so I can go put it out of it's misery of having to live life on those tires/wheels...

 

[Avery4jc]

Good lord tell me where it's at so I can go put it out of it's misery of having to live life on those tires/wheels...

lol, the guy won't budge on price and he gets ticked off if you ask too specific of questions so be careful

It's on Bakersfield's craigslist so go find him if you feel the need to.

-Avery

 

[kennyw]

Just post his email addy here and let the masses piss him off with stupid email questions

 

[NoReGrEtS]

Just post his email addy here and let the masses piss him off with stupid email questions

 

[1BadK-30]

hhaa i can come up with a bunch, like mpg, how many lugnuts, how many oil changes, if he puts premium fuel in, what oil, how many can seat in, measure tires, if they have the caps on the tire stems. ahaha i could go on for ever.

 

[Avery4jc]

lol, I would but at the same time I wouldn't want someone to do that with my personal e-mail. I can tell that it is his everyday e-mail address and not some random one he uses so that would be a little over the line.
At the same time if he pisses me off again with his response to that last e-mail it might just slip out.

-Avery