I figured I wouldn't hog up the other threads on the site with questions and whatnot about the new truck, so here she is....
New to us 1990 454SS C1500. Always wanted one of these since I was a freshman in high school. Said one day I'll buy one, and then there went that dream a few weeks ago when we made it a reality.
Nothing really special above and beyond what they came like from Chevy back in 1990. I bought this one from the second owner out of Utah. The original owner was from Arizona where it spent almost 30yrs of its life. Mileage is around 78k before the Dakota Digital VHX Dash swap, which now has about 2300miles on it. Other mods it has from when we purchased it include exhaust (custom, nothing name brand that Im aware of), 5/7" bell tech drop, 20" Billet Specialties Speedline wheels with Nitto 555 tires (soon to be for sale), Wildwood 6-piston 16" front and rear brakes, cowl hood, rear roll pan, and a spray in bed liner. The truck has the original paint. Its been corrected and ceramic coated. original bed decals as well. Headlights have been replaced and have LEDs, which hyper flash and drive me crazy, but I will put resistors in shortly to stop that mess.
Since we took ownership a few weeks ago, I have ordered the following; complete QA1 Level 2 Coilover suspension front and rear. The rear only works with 10-bolt rears, so we have a shop that is going to fabricate a torque arm bracket to work with the 14-bolt. Not sure why QA1 doesn't offer that, but it is what it is. Also have a new front valance ready to install on it. I hate the look without one on the C1500 trucks. And lastly, we are ordering 20x8.5/22x10 Billet wheels for it. I am dead seat on Budnik Gasser-D wheels in full polish, but I am easily swayed to some other wheel designs that the wife is drooling over. So we will see on that one.
Other than that, I might keep it just the way it is. Even driving the lamborghini, I don't get as much attention as I do driving this. a lot of thumbs up and conversations at red lights about it. I enjoy knowing who the real enthusiasts are out there and can tell when they immediately recognize the 454SS letters on the bed. My son, who is 13 at the time I author this post, is absolutely in love with it. He just sits in it sometimes and tells me not to touch the interior (as old as it is) and that he likes having the buckets with the jump seat in the middle. Side note: I'm not confident that jump seat is factory, although it matches the cloth seats EXACTLY.
Future possible mods? The transmission. It's a must at this point. That extra gear is absolutely necessary. I plan to bring it to a friend of mine, Miranda Built, in the next week or so to look at some more options. For those of you in the restomod scene, you'll know Jeremy (Miranda) from his Sema builds. He's done a few Riddler cars and Great8 cars, and got Top 12 SEMA build this year. Solid guy who knows his shit about these older vehicles. With that said, he's got me almost convinced to run an LS Swap in the truck. I don't think I am quite there yet only for nostalgic effect of having an original 454 big block in an original 454 truck. I considered an LSX 454 swap, but after some research I've seen how the added weight of that motor and massive costs doesn't make sense when one can run an LS3 with forced induction for less and blow the doors off the LSX. So, that will be an option in the future as well.
Anyhow, here are repeated photos from earlier in the other topics on this forum. I will add more as things start to progress with her. Right now, I just enjoy riding around with the windows down enjoying the sound of 7mpg flowing though the tailpipes.
Enjoy...
New to us 1990 454SS C1500. Always wanted one of these since I was a freshman in high school. Said one day I'll buy one, and then there went that dream a few weeks ago when we made it a reality.
Nothing really special above and beyond what they came like from Chevy back in 1990. I bought this one from the second owner out of Utah. The original owner was from Arizona where it spent almost 30yrs of its life. Mileage is around 78k before the Dakota Digital VHX Dash swap, which now has about 2300miles on it. Other mods it has from when we purchased it include exhaust (custom, nothing name brand that Im aware of), 5/7" bell tech drop, 20" Billet Specialties Speedline wheels with Nitto 555 tires (soon to be for sale), Wildwood 6-piston 16" front and rear brakes, cowl hood, rear roll pan, and a spray in bed liner. The truck has the original paint. Its been corrected and ceramic coated. original bed decals as well. Headlights have been replaced and have LEDs, which hyper flash and drive me crazy, but I will put resistors in shortly to stop that mess.
Since we took ownership a few weeks ago, I have ordered the following; complete QA1 Level 2 Coilover suspension front and rear. The rear only works with 10-bolt rears, so we have a shop that is going to fabricate a torque arm bracket to work with the 14-bolt. Not sure why QA1 doesn't offer that, but it is what it is. Also have a new front valance ready to install on it. I hate the look without one on the C1500 trucks. And lastly, we are ordering 20x8.5/22x10 Billet wheels for it. I am dead seat on Budnik Gasser-D wheels in full polish, but I am easily swayed to some other wheel designs that the wife is drooling over. So we will see on that one.
Other than that, I might keep it just the way it is. Even driving the lamborghini, I don't get as much attention as I do driving this. a lot of thumbs up and conversations at red lights about it. I enjoy knowing who the real enthusiasts are out there and can tell when they immediately recognize the 454SS letters on the bed. My son, who is 13 at the time I author this post, is absolutely in love with it. He just sits in it sometimes and tells me not to touch the interior (as old as it is) and that he likes having the buckets with the jump seat in the middle. Side note: I'm not confident that jump seat is factory, although it matches the cloth seats EXACTLY.
Future possible mods? The transmission. It's a must at this point. That extra gear is absolutely necessary. I plan to bring it to a friend of mine, Miranda Built, in the next week or so to look at some more options. For those of you in the restomod scene, you'll know Jeremy (Miranda) from his Sema builds. He's done a few Riddler cars and Great8 cars, and got Top 12 SEMA build this year. Solid guy who knows his shit about these older vehicles. With that said, he's got me almost convinced to run an LS Swap in the truck. I don't think I am quite there yet only for nostalgic effect of having an original 454 big block in an original 454 truck. I considered an LSX 454 swap, but after some research I've seen how the added weight of that motor and massive costs doesn't make sense when one can run an LS3 with forced induction for less and blow the doors off the LSX. So, that will be an option in the future as well.
Anyhow, here are repeated photos from earlier in the other topics on this forum. I will add more as things start to progress with her. Right now, I just enjoy riding around with the windows down enjoying the sound of 7mpg flowing though the tailpipes.
Enjoy...
