Recent Purchase

[6772owner]

Hi all,

First a little background:

I have been around the forum a long time, I previously owned a 1967 K10 and a 1972 C10. I sold the 67' to buy a house, do what you have to do it, not what you want to do. I later sold the 72' because I was at a cross road with and it was time to move on. Well time went by and I missed having a truck, I had to borrow one here and there for things and just hated not having one of my own... So I started the hunt for a "new" truck and couldnt really decide what I wanted, I had a target price/payment in mind and an idea of what I wanted. I couldnt find anything that really jumped out at me (in my price range/desired configuration) and went a few different ways several times. One day I asked a buddy if he knew of a decent trucks for sale and luckily he did and it was him... (This is the same friend I purchased the 72' C10 and my 95 Camaro from, as luck would have it) So I had him send me some pics/info on the truck and I fell in love with it, so I bought it.

Anyway, the truck is a 1994 GMC C2500, Ext Cab/Long bed, 454/4L80E, Tan Interior, Bucket Seats/Console. The PO (before my buddy) had the two tone tan repainted to a single color (the factory dark blue metallic), added a steel roll pan, newer GM "HD" wheels, cab lights and had some aftermarket taillights installed. Here are some pics I have so far.


Let me know what you think.

[6772owner]

I have already started working on the truck, it needed a few little things when I bought it and you all know how that snowballs...

The radiator was cracked when I picked up the truck, nothing major, but it was bleeding coolant. I made it home fine and wasn't that worried about it, I started the truck the next day and backed it into the garage... It took me a few minutes to get the truck in the correct spot so that I could pull my Malibu in and after it had idled for a few minutes in the garage I noticed it puking coolant all over the floor.

Tight fit, but it works!







So that started the first snow ball, well if I have to replace the radiator, I might as well replace the hoses and t-stat... well then the engine oil cooler lines were leaking (imagine that), so replace those and do an oil change. The coolant overflow bottle wouldn't clean up very well, so replace that.

While swapping the radiator I noticed that a few of the plastic vac lines were electrical taped together (?) so I made new ones out of steel brake line and short pieces of fuel hose.

Then while replacing the oil cooler lines I notice the ball joint boots are toast, I look at the upper ball joints and they are riveted, so I assume original (truck has 153K~)... So I ordered all the front end components, then I notice that the steering box is leaking... UGH!

Anyway, the story continues...

More Pics:

[b454rat]

That's a good looking truck!! I miss my 97 that was pretty much as yours just different colors and 4wd. I always liked the looks of an ECLB. I think whenever we buy a new to us truck, see one thing wrong and fix it, leads to one thing after another....still waiting to get my truck fixed after buying 4 months ago. Now it needs an engine....

[iluvmy72]

Love the truck.....HATE THE ENGINE!!!! I have a 94 as well....same drive train. Currently swapping to Vortec 350. The TBI 454 ran hot and was gutless wonder gas hog.

[6772owner]

@ b454rat,

Thank you, I appreciate it! I thought it was pretty nice truck and I got a good deal on it, so I dont mind spending some money to fix it up and make it reliable.

@ iluvmy72,

Thank you! I understand, it seems to be a love/hate thing with this series of BBC... most love the torque, but its surely not a high horsepower producer. There some small things you can do to get them up to modern power pretty easily, its just all about time/money/opinion.

Ultimately I wouldnt mind swapping it out for something else, but Ill run it as is for now and see how it does.

[iluvmy72]

bottom end they have for sure.......the peanut heads are the real issue. I wish GM made the TBI intake for the vortec heads like they did with the 350.

[b454rat]

If a 454 doesn't have power, then there is something wrong with it. This was a truck that I built years ago, had a rebuild 454 but dunno what was done. It had the TBI454, 400 auto, 3.73 gears and 40" boggers. Motor ran great, and would smoke those 40" boggers. Didn't do it much, new tires and back then were $360 each....

http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/7119/00224amd1.jpg

[special-K]

That's a mighty fine truck you bought. That color combo is stunning. I like the '94s for having the new grille with my preferred interior. I had those exact seats in my '92, color and all. Can't beat an interior same color as spilled coffee with cream and job site dirt. Aren't those seats comfortable? For me they were like therapy for a sre body at the end of the day. I drove that thing on long trips and never hurt.

[BigBlocksRule]

It ain't the heads, it's the combination.

GM's TBI intake will bolt to L29 Vortec heads - they have the same bolt pattern as all big block heads. Even the aftermarket Edelbrock intake has peanut ports. You need to go with a conventional oval port intake and an adapter to run large ovals.

That said, I've seen peanut port engines outrun large ovals. Bump compression, clean 'em up and run the right cam and they'll make great power and outstanding torque.

[6772owner]

iluvmy72,

Thats what I hear, the compression ratio and cylinder head design are not the best combo for power.

b454rat,

I have heard that they will burn the tires off easily, but havent even driven mine since I brought it home.

I associate that to the torque/low end power though, not necessarily a high power thing.

special-K,

Thank you sir, I really appreciate it and feel the same! The seats surely look comfortable, but I haven't driven it much yet.

BigBlocksRule,

Well that is good to know, I really dont plan on building a monster, but I would like to use to tow a travel trailer at some point. (Around 6-7,000 pounds I think)

[iluvmy72]

one of my favorite interiors.....cannot believe they changed the cup-holders later on to CD case slots.

[95 S_Trucker]

Originally Posted by iluvmy72

one of my favorite interiors.....cannot believe they changed the cup-holders later on to CD case slots.

There are different inserts. One with a cd holder, the other with the cup holder. The cup holder one is harder to find. My 99 came with one.

[iluvmy72]

Originally Posted by 95 S_Trucker

There are different inserts. One with a cd holder, the other with the cup holder. The cup holder one is harder to find. My 99 came with one.

Do the inserts come out? Or are they just built that way and you have to replace the whole console?

[95 S_Trucker]

Originally Posted by iluvmy72

Do the inserts come out? Or are they just built that way and you have to replace the whole console?

They just unsnap out. You can usually stick your had in it and wiggle and pull.

[6772owner]

Thank you all again for the input and good words. I drove the truck to work today (the first long trip for me, about 35 miles) and it did great. I would say it has pretty good power for a 20+ year old, heavy, bone stock truck.

I do have some issues though, hoping you guys can help...

So I jump in the truck, fire it up, let it warm up for a minute or two and roll out. I get down the road and decide its a bit chilly in the truck, I hit the heat selector and the display just flashes all the little down arrows at me... I cannot get a temp selected and only get cold air. Is this an issue with the display/control unit or something else? I did replace the blower motor resistor because I only had high speed on my initial drive home (which I only used the A/C, because it was warm out, I never tried the heat)

I am also interested in changing out the stereo and wonder what you guys have done before in these trucks. I know you can get the bezel to place the radio where the tape player is and thats fine, but Im not crazy about how far it sticks out of the dash... Any other good options out there?

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.


***Update: I paid more attention to the HVAC issue on the way home and I could hear something cycle on and off repeatedly the whole way home... I did some research and it appears that the actuator for the hot/cold blend is probably bad. It seems that these are a common failure point due to stripped out gears in the assembly. I am going to dig into it some, but will probably just order a replacement and be done with it.

[iluvmy72]

At some shows I have seen this whole control system taken out and swapped over to a touch screen. I want to do that to my 94.

[6772owner]

Ok, so you mean to remove the stock radio and the HVAC controls for a Double DIN radio... Um, that could be cool, but then what to do with the HVAC controls? Is there another model that had the controls where the tape deck is on the 94' dash? That would be cool if you could swap the HVAC for the tape player and then put a double din in place of the HVAC/Radio. I had read something about the dash not being deep enough for a double DIN to go there?

***Update: I looked at the dash arrangement some more and it appears that the cassette player has very simaliar dimensions to the the HVAC panel... I would think that you could easily move the HVAC panel in place of the tape deck... Any thoughts on this?

Im still not sure how easily a Double DIN would go in place of the stock radio and HVAC panel?

[6772owner]

I am also wondering if this truck may have had factory keyless entry (?) Any way I can decode the VIN or option codes to see if I have keyless (if its even a posibility?)

**The only reason I ask is because my 95' Camaro had keyless and I am hoping the truck does... If not, Ill just get a keyless/remote start kit for it.

[6772owner]

Update:

I ended up just ordering a new blend door motor, waiting for that to come in...

In the mean time, I installed a pair of valve covers my buddy gave me with the truck. The factory covers looked like crap and were leaking from both sides. I purchased new Fel-Pro Perma-Torque gaskets, replaced the spark wires at the same time (new AC Delco wires) and also new GMPP 454 badges. I think these are the same as the 454SS trucks came with (?)

Pics, let me know what you think.

[iluvmy72]

Originally Posted by b454rat

If a 454 doesn't have power, then there is something wrong with it. This was a truck that I built years ago, had a rebuild 454 but dunno what was done. It had the TBI454, 400 auto, 3.73 gears and 40" boggers. Motor ran great, and would smoke those 40" boggers. Didn't do it much, new tires and back then were $360 each....

http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/7119/00224amd1.jpg

Ever wonder why it needed a rebuild in the first place? I can give a few reason's. And the replacement was probably NOT stock. However with that said....LOVE your old truck!!! Why did you not keep it? No 4th gear maybe?

[b454rat]

I bought it with a rebuilt engine. It was a landfill truck, and thinking it had high miles but don't remember. I bought it when I was in Colorado, and know the engines would go over the bodies. I sold the engine to someone on here, he built it up to put it in something. He said it was .40" over, all I know. I never even had the valve covers off. I just got married, and wife turned out to be a total ***** bout everything. I got tired of hearing it, so parted the truck out. Now I'm divorced, and STILL miss that truck. But, it's only a truck, got another one in the makings.....

[6772owner]

Update: I purchased an entire kit for the front end (pitman, idler, idler mount, complete tie rods and ball joints) that I am going to try and install this weekend. Then I just need to replace the front tires (they are worn terribly from never being rotated and/or the alignment is off)

I have also been "restoring" the grille shell that came with the truck, it was originally painted tan and then it was spray painted flat black over that at some point... I sanded all of that off (as best I could) and got back down to the factory paint. I then scuffed that and used some high build Dupli-Color Primer and their Paint Match series paint to get it to the "correct" blue color it should have been.

I also purchased all new lighting for the front, a relay harness and brighter Sylvania bulbs to help out with night vision.

Next up is going through the TBI unit, adding a fuel pressure gauge port, a throttle body spacer and making the stock regulator adjustable. I also purchased a new TPS and a new knock sensor to insure everything is running correctly. (I have a small idle "surge" going on and I think it maybe a vac leak at the TBI base gasket)

I will post more pics after I complete these.

[c10sport]

Keyless entry wasn't available until 1995.