The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk YEEHAW! Got my 454!

Actually, I got the whole truck for $500.00. It's a '89 C3500 Silverado with a TBI454 & THM400. It's a Canada truck so I believe it has less smog stuff. The odometer says 130,000. That's something like 81,000 miles. It runs and drives great, so I almost hate to tear it apart, but that fuel injected 454 is just what I want for the '47 ton dually panel. I'm thinking Use the engine, front suspension, power steering and brakes, (I already have a '88 Dana 73 rear dually axle in it...) parts of the firewall and floor to fix my bad floor and get the modern pedals , the heater and AC workings and I also believe the computer mounts on the passenger side firewall, inside the cab. Hmmm, what else, oh yeah, the tilt wheel column and the fuse block and wiring harness. I'll probably think of a few more things too, like for instance, seeing if I can assimilate the taillights into those extra wide rear fenders of my panel.

Why not the Turbo400 Tranny? I know you're wondering... Here is my dream transmission. Now that I have gotten so many parts for so cheap I think I will be able to justify the price of the tranny.

The best part is, I am sure I can sell the box, front body clip, doors, stereo and other stuff for more than the $500.00 I spent for the truck.

$500 for a good running 1989 truck with 130,000 KM? Wish I could find a deal like that. It will cost me about 3 times that just to rebuild my Turbo 400. What's your secret?

I have been flirting with this guy for over a year about this truck. He wanted $800.00. I thought it was a deal for that! When I told the wife about it I checked her mood ring to see if it was green for "good mood" I found that it left a big red welt on my forehead. (That was right after I brought the panel home.)

His story is that it is just too heavy duty and thirsty for his needs. He got a deal on it because he bought it new, two years after it was new. It was an ordered unit that fell through and the dealer ended up eating it. So it started life with few miles at first. Since it is so heavy duty he avoided driving it unless he had to. Now his wife is tired of driving around it to get into the garage. She told him to get rid of it by winter. I ran into him at work again a couple weeks ago and asked him if he still had it. He said yes, but not for long, and told me about the deadline. I asked him how low I could weasel him and HE'S the one who said $500.00! I didn't have the heart to try to counter offer him. So I went last Sunday to look at it, and made the deal. He had to get his Ontario title transferred to Iowa. Apparently they will register them here without making you transfer your title. So it seems like I held my breath all week waiting for this deal to go through. I rode home with him after work and drove it home. Doing 110 down the interstate (kph, that is...) Ran like a champ. It's tempting to just paint it and run it, but then I would be back to square one looking for a parts truck for the panel, and I'd be really fortunate to find another deal like this.

Christmas comes early to your house! Sounds like an interesting project coming up...

I spent a few hours fixing everything that was wrong with this "parts truck" over the weekend.

Hood wouldn't unlatch - $4 clip.
Tailgate wouldn't latch - a little oil, a little elbow grease...
Outside mirrors missing glass - $40 at a junkyard.
Pretty dirty - well, OK, still working on that.
Gave the 32 bags of landscaping rock in the back to the neighbor.

Found a set of new spark plugs under the seat. I'll try to find time to throw those in, G.O.F. and winterize it in the next week or so.

Tax, title, registered and all fixed, $599.40.

It's a good thing it needs paint. I'd be tempted to keep it for driving.

Man, what some guys will do for a good deal on a truck!

:p

It is amazing, another guy on this forum actually wore a dress.

Way to go Brad! I always tell guys looking for an engine to look for a whole truck instead, it's cheaper. After you sell those extra parts, you'll have gotten paid to take the big block for your project. Can't beat that.

Right now I'm assessing the possibility of stretching the '89 frame and moving the panel body. If it does not take a lot of changing of the body, it may be the thing to do to get the panel back on the road ASAP, then take my time doing the original frame the way I want.

Oh, and for you guys that feel threatened by words like "dress" and "flirting" I hope you never go to prison!

Seems to me he was wearing a Marine Corps dress uniform. I would be proud to do that. (But I would have a problem with wearing it, even for a movie, because I didn't earn it.)

Don't feel bad, Brad -- I have a problem wearing the Marine Corps Blue Dress Delta uniform these days, too...

(doesn't fit anymore!)

Semper Fi,
John