[DetroitDan]

I keep my 82 for chores, dumpruns every weekend, hauling a ton of pellets every two weeks in the winter, now has a snow plow on it too. In the summer it hauls our 11k camper up to the mountains 100 miles. I would love to be able to drive it everyday, but 7-8 mpg kills me. So I bought a 70 Z/28 for a DD, figured a little 350 would save me money on gas, and it does. Not Prius-level savings, but noticeable. Probably going to swap the th350 for a 700r4 for better 1st gear and OD. Mostly I just like driving cool stuff, but I tell my wife it's for gas savings over the truck. Well, winter comes along so the Camaro has to go into the garage, and since the K30 is so bad on fuel I had to get yet another vehicle, (to save on gas). I went to look at an 87 C10 for $1500, but it was a POS so I was going to walk, then the guy asked if I was interested in his Suburban. Ended up buying a 98 GMC C1500 Sub for the $1500, Vortec EFI with OD gets better mileage than the Camaro, has a remote starter and heated seats and loaded with leather etc. So I figured it's the ideal winter beater, trucks the kids around and is (fairly) cheap to operate. People think I'm nuts, buying a V8 Suburban for an economical commuter, but it's all in comparison to what I was spending to feed the 454. Subs from California, has not a speck of rust anywhere on it, only negative is it has over 230k on it, so there is no resale potential at all. Did the math and if I run it til spring I will be slightly ahead, if I can get $1000 for it I'll be ahead.

Love coming back and re-reading this old thread from time to time, it really makes me re-dedicate myself to my 82. Still plodding along with restoring it, haven't had much extra money to put into it, but it hasn't given me any reason to need to. Maybe in the spring I'll finish up a couple weak spots on the body and get some paint on it, that will make all the difference in the world.

I almost want to try driving the 82 daily for a month, just to see how the fuel mileage would stack up against a truck payment. But it's so much easier to push the button and start the Suburban from inside my warm house.

I have considered a lot of different ways to build my crewcab to make it more efficient. Gear Vendors, OD transmission, 6.2 with a turbo or a 6.5 turbo and a 4l80e, but it would all cost so much to save just a little. At this point it makes more sense to me to keep it for the heavy lifting, and run smallblock stuff for DD. Can't wait to get rid of the Sub and start driving the Camaro again. As nice and comfortable as it is, I hate driving it because it is so bland and unnoticeable. Maybe I have ego issues, I need that occasional thumbs up or wave I get when driving the old crew or the Camaro;>