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Would you buy an 1989 C1500? For 1500? With 86000 miles?

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Pookster

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i think I found a jem of a jewel- 1 1989 C1500 with 86000 miles, silverado edition. The frame is straight, the body is clean, besides a hood which has some paint flaking. The bed is almost like brand new inside and out, and almost no signs of rust. The Exhuast smells good, so at least the o2 and CAT are working.

The story goes- "My father in law owned this truck. He passed away a few years ago, he used to tow his little airstream with it. We're moving out of the country, so it had to go. "

Of the weird things I found in it was a digital brake porportining valve. I've never seen one, I've seen the manual dial that you can adjust , but this was a new one for me.

Oh yeah, its got 4 bridgestones with lotsa tread, interior is in great shape.

So.. is it worth 1500? Should I get it???
 
Sounds like a sweet deal if you dont need a 4x4--but before I'd buy any "new" style GM pickup(88-up)I'd put it up on a lift and inspect the fuel and brake lines,and the frame rails,and where the torsion bars mount--I've seen many that are badly rusted underneath,but have perfect sheet metal.And the gas tank and sending units often rust out often,especially on a truck that has sat for quite a while--and are very costly too replace--if it looks good,I'd buy it--not much for decent trucks around here for that price!.
 
yeah, definitely watch those torsion bar mounts. i looked at my C1500 before i sold it, and it was rusted so bad at the torsion bar mounts, they apparently rusted off and someone put coil springs in it. /forums/images/graemlins/screwy.gif

might wanna do some research or have a clue as to how the truck is setup before posting recomendations on it. /forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif
 
Sorry,I forgot only the 4x4's have torsion bars--excuse me for trying to help- /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif. I'll go rake some leaves now. /forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif
 
Nah, dont be, Sometimes im short a few cups of coffee in the morning myself!

I crawled as best I could under the truck- It is 2wd, so the clearance isnt that much. The brake lines looked ok, The check I go by is whether or not the drive shaft, pumpkin, and e-brake is rusty looking- Everything looks clean. Becuase the truck was 2wd, and the guy had a little airstream, they didnt really drive the truck in winter, and when he did, it was down south to "warmer areas". There's just a little sign of surface rust in the wheel well, about 3x3", nothing a little touch up undercoat wont fix.

I already have 2 4wd trucks- in all honesty, I dont need 4wd that often, other than to get through some sandy pits, or up some steep grassy hills. In winter, I acutally prefer tire chains or snow tires rather than part time 4wd- unless its really deep stuff and you travel slower than 30. Unfortunately, over here as some might know, it can be 5 inches of snow in a blizzard, and people in suv's will still go 75, and try to run you over. I still have my other pickup for deep winter traveling.

I just thought it would be a good idea to get one as I being axle swaps and other "truck"(s) projects.
 
[ QUOTE ]
might wanna do some research or have a clue as to how the truck is setup before posting recomendations on it. /forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Damn, that's kinda harsh. If it were me, I'd just hang him from the highest tree in town or tar and feather him ... but flame him on the net ... you're one cold MoFo.


I'm not a big fan of the 3rd gen. trucks, plus I don't know a thing about them (torsion bars, coil springs??), but $1500 for any clean truck with 86K on it sounds like a good deal.

Maybe someone can post a link to a forum that deals specifically with the 3rd gen., 2wd trucks. You can find out if there are any "oddities" you should be aware of for that year / model truck.

Eric M.
 
I have that same truck and it really just now has 86,000 on the ticker,..

I will just say I personally think Chevy started using cheaper plastic because the plastic pieces (had to change the heater core and the housing cracked when I unscrewed the retaining screws so the core is held in place Okkie style since I am not replacing the whole plastic housing...lol)
But for 1500 it would be worth it to me..I paid a little more with only 52,000 on the ticker last summer.. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
 
I replaced the whole dash on my 92- same as this style. THe gauges are a freakin oddity though. they dont have needles, the whole dam thing is like a big circle with a paint mark on it. Its similiar to the way they made the s-10's of the same era. The only thing I am happy about is the fact that it has the latest revision of the 700R4 (I didnt look that closely so it might have a 4L60E). And the fact that he did tow something without the use of an auxiliary tranny cooler is a bit bothersome too. First thing Im gonna do when I get it is put in an auxilary stacked plate cooler, and change the tranny fluid.

Third gen trucks are pretty much like second gen in the 2wd versions, from what I can tell. Wider frame to move the gas tank inboard, coils in the front, and leafs in the back.

Same ol 5.7L (more or less), same ol Tranny (more or less), pretty much the same ol rear end.

Certainly a chincy-er (is that even a word) interior, IMHO. i think people confuse Cheap with Ergonomic & New. Second Gen dashes were not that cheap, and were made with steel. Third gen is kinda brittle plastic only- third and a half gen got the softer more "Useful" dash"- Though in my opinion also the third gen trucks lost a lot of interior space.
 
No, its just to control the amount of braking the trailer brakes do when the pedal is applied, it ha nothing to do with the trucks brakes.
 
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