An odd project model

[Pampas56]

Hello everyone:

I have a 1989 k2500 ECLB truck that I have been trying to get running for about 10 years. the engine went bad, and it took 4 years to get another used engine put in it. Then six months later the tranny crapped out and the same donor truck gave me a tranny. it works now fairly well but could be better.

Fast forward to now. I am retired and have some money from my retirement and my wife keeps saying " why don't you get rid of all your old rigs and just buy a newer truck?"

Being a smart husband, I listened and started looking around on craigslist. to my surprise there is NOTHING out there worthwhile for less than 25K. remember I am looking for 2 doors, 6 seats, 8" box and 4WD. I can find small boxes, 4 doors and 2WD all day long! The other problem is most of what I look at is 200-300K mileage. For $12-18K.

This got me thinking (I know! Dangerous.) that if I have 15K to spend would it make more sense to fix what I already have rather than buy another high mile fixer.

A little background/ inventory:

Body: A few dents, and paint job is all there with the clear coat peeling on the hood and canopy. not a problem for me because at the end of the day this is a working truck, not a cruiser or show piece! The drivers door does not latch correctly and passenger door is hard to open. The glass is all there and fairly good. I have a new grill on the way

Interior: The seats are wore out and the latches do not work. I would like to find a set of 60/40 seats to replace my 40/60 setup with a rear bench to match. carpet will either clean up or be replaced. My dash is VERY good- no cracks or tears in the surfaces and what stains are there I can live with. No headliner left, but I can find something from a ECSB to replace it. Door cards shouldn't be too hard to source.

Wiring: This is where it gets interesting. The PO did a GREAT job of hacking the wiring- engine compartment AND dashboard. I fixed the problems under the hood when I swap the engine. The moon gauges are terrible so I am thinking wiring from a 92-94 truck with a tach cluster would be possible. Or a painless harness might be easier. I am a retired hydro electrician so the wiring shouldn't be too hard.

Running gear: The steering is sloppy but it tracks well. The brakes are OK but will be replaced near the end of the project. The 4.10 gears are not my favorite, would 3.73s be better or worse. Remember the truck is going to be a snow/tow 4by not a rooting rig. Logging roads and the occasional yarding job in the pasture are going to be most of the offroad usage.

Motive power: A used engine/trans from a donor truck and NP205 t-case are good for now. Maybe down the road a 4l80 with stand alone controller and/or a newer crate modern FI engine. Or rebuild what came out and stick it all back in.

Thank you for reading this far. Any help or opinions will be greatly appreciated

To quote Liam Dunn in "Blazing Saddles"

Rev. Johnson: [praying] O Lord, do we have the strength to carry off this mighty task in one night? Or are we just jerking off?

Townspeople: Amen.

Thank You
Steve Bauer

[EVRLET]

Here’s my $0.02:

I own three 88-98 trucks (GMT400), four 99-06 trucks (GMT800), one 07-13 (GMT900) truck.

While I love the 88-98 body style, known as the OBS (old body style), I hate working on them. It’s like GM wanted to improve some of the 73-87 mechanicals, but didn’t put much effort in it and tried to pass off the 88-98 trucks as new and modern. Crappy window regulators, crappy fuel injection in both the TBI and spider injectors, crappy interior panels, old style spindles, crappy computer, blah, blah, blah.

To me, GM got the 99-06, known as the NBS (new body style) trucks right. Technically, the NBS went into the first half of 2007, known as the classic, but the majority just say 99-06. All the mechanicals were re-engineered and the LS engine is tough to beat. Except the 4.8 engine is not as stout as the 5.3 or 6.0. There were some quirks in the 99-02 grouping, but the 03-06 got better with each year. They are 10x easier to work on and parts are plentiful. Sure, people will complain about the 4L60 transmission, but if you’re not beating up the truck, it’s a good transmission. But a better transmission when built up a bit.

The 07-13 trucks, known as the NNBS (new new body style), is hit or miss. I had to replace the entire fuse block when it was covered under warranty. The fuel efficiency logic is what makes this year group frustrating. The DOD (displacement on demand) and the AFM (active fuel management) created internal engine issues. Even though DOD and AFM was used in some vehicles beginning in 2005, DOD and AFM was rampant in the 07-13 trucks. To me, the 07-13 trucks were the platforms that were using more and more electronics, thus making maintenance and repairs a little more challenging. They also did away with the 4L60 and used the 6L80 instead. The six speed transmission was part of the fuel efficiency equation.

Then the 2014-2018, 2019-2021 year groups has their own horror stories with AFM lifter issues and wiping out cam lobes. Not to mention 6L80 transmission issues and so on.

So if it was me facing the fork in the road that you’re presented with, I would look for a good 99-06 Silverado or Sierra, more specifically the 03-06 grouping which does include the 07 classic. The 99-02 grouping is fine too, but I prefer the 03-06 in styling and mechanicals. I don’t know about where you’re from, but you can get a good 99-06 truck for $15k or less here in Vegas.

The best choice would be the 06.5-07 Duramax known as the LBZ engine. But I’m bias because I own two of them.

I’m sure others will chime in with their own experiences…

[Pampas56]

Thank you

All good info, but ECLB is hard to find. Add K2500 and nothing shows up.

I like the simplicity of the tbi/computer of the 5.7, but agree that the700r4/4l60 is a weak link in stock form.

I will look farther away to see if my configuration is available

Again thanks
Steve

[EVRLET]

I’m not sure if you meant you were searching using “K2500”. While it is true that GM uses C and K to distinguish 2wd and 4wd, the 99-06 trucks are not referred to as K2500. They’re known as 2500hd. K2500 seems to be used exclusively for the 88-98 trucks.

I agree that ECLB is not easy to find, but they’re out there in 4wd.

It looks like you’re looking for a 3/4 ton. The 99-06 also came out with a 1500hd that is on a 3/4 ton frame and 8 lugs, but had some 1/2 ton features. It was GM’s way of building a truck that has heavy duty capabilities in towing and hauling but still had light duty features.

[EVRLET]

One other thing I’ll add about the 99-06 trucks. The actual mileage is housed on a chip in the instrument cluster and not the computer. What sellers are doing is swapping clusters or programming clusters to read low mileage on the odometer to raise the price tag. Once the original cluster is swapped or reprogrammed, it’s difficult to know the true mileage.

Carfax is the only way I can think of to know what the approximate true mileage is. So if you’re going to purchase a 99-06 truck, take any “low mileage” description with a grain of salt.

[special-K]

I feel very differently about the GMT400s. First of all, I can't call them OBS when they were the "new body style" for ten years before the GMT800s came out. What do you call the 88-91 R/V Squarebodies? GM named the trucks GMT400 and that works through all the years perfectly. Even the later overlapping years. "classic" was used back then as well as for the overlapping GMT800s. The traditional terminology would be 1st Series and 2nd Series. I see no need for yet new less accurate term and not hopping on that train.

I feel the GMT400s are one of the best designed and built trucks GM ever built and the proof is in the pudding with all these trucks up to 34 years old still in daily use. The known fact is, GM invested huge money into the development of the GMT400s. At the time they were a huge leap forward. I hated them at first, for being such a huge change from the trucks I always knew. Then I witnessed them perform and dispel any rumors of them being weaker or lesser of a truck. They were the first 300,000 mile light truck GM built while staying relatively simple by comparison to todays trucks. And that is a huge benefit for those today relying on them for transportation and hard work. You don't see them getting junked due to astronomical repair costs. I have owned a few EFI trucks and know nothing about that system because I have never had a single issue with it. All EFI has done for me has been give hundreds of thousands of miles of trouble-free service.

My reliable daily transportation for the past 8 years and over 100,000 miles has been my $3,000 '95 suburban K2500. I've had great use from it as much as anyone who bought a new '15 the same month for tons more money.

If you are retired and it's not your only vehicle I'd say you have a good plan.

[MiniD]

https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/ctd/7553629980.html

I agree with much of what EVRLT said. I love my 1995 2dr Tahoe but would definitely rather have it with 2001-2006 running gear. I'd rather have it with that body style too, except there were no 2dr options. Parts are more readily available and cheaper. It is like the golden era of used Chevy trucks.

Body work is a money pit unless you have very good connections or can do the work yourself... especially when it comes to painting the whole truck. $15k would do the trick for the body but wouldn't leave much over for anything else.

[special-K]

Parts are as plentiful for GMT400s. Never had any problems. You guys are attributing their age as deficiency. Ok, so you like the trucks with LS engines or you prefer the newer body style that stemmed off the majorly changed GMT400. The GMT800 body style is just the GMT400 design with superficial changes... after a 22 year run of one of the cleanest no BS designs ever. We all have our opinions. Buy what you like. But yiou can't take something designed off of something else and call it deficient. The latter could never be what it is if not for it's predecessor. That's like these people saying Jimi Hendrix wasn't that great a guitar player after hearing what has come after over a 50 year period of people influenced by what he did that no one had done before. I wish my GMT400 had an LS but GM decided not to introduce it until they moved away from the GMT400. I just can't find anything wrong with a 20 year old truck I bought and drove 8 years ago and drove 120k virtually trouble-free miles. If someone likes the newer trucks better then they should have one.

K2500 is not exclusive to GNT400s. I own a '72 GMC K2500. if the C and K designations are no longer used that means GM went backwards to be like Fords that never distinguished between 2wd and 4wd in their designations, which I have always felt was retarded.
Ford guy says, "I have a '76 F250". Other guy asks, "I love those hi-boys". Ford guy says, "Mines a 2wd"

Chevy guy says, "I have a '76 K20". Other guy says, "I love those beefy 4wds". Chevy guy says, "Me too".

The designation is still there whether GM marketing chose to use it or not. There are 2500HD 2wds and 4wds. They need to be distinguished from one another for obvious reasons, but mostly because they are two different models

[Pampas56]

Update:

I just spent the last week on the Internet picking up parts for phase one of the "functional restoration" of my truck. A master rebuild kit and 3.73 ring/pinion set and brake hardware kit for the rear end. For the front, a suspension kit and master rebuilt kit for the front differential. It is already 3.73 out of a donor truck.

I was a bit nervous about the tab while I was shopping, but when I totaled it all up, it was just barely north of $900.00. Thank you Ron's Machining Service and especially Summer at Parts Geek.

This SHOULD cover everything on both axles except brakes and maybe wheel bearings. If anyone sees something I have missed, please let me know.

Now for a question for phase two.

The plan for the interior is to get rid of the 40/60 seat and replace it with a 60/40 seat from a newer rig. I am aware that a 95-99 seat is virtually a bolt in job. Maybe a few holes to drill or minor fab work on the seat/frame. Will a seat from this century (a) fit at all or (b) be too big a PITA to be worth the time?

I have a line on a grey set of seats (front and back) about 140 miles away, but would rather find a tan set. Any opinions on how light grey seats would look in a tan/brown interior? Remember, I am not going for show quality, just a decent looking work/play truck!

Thanks
Steve