Who here daily drives their square body? (long(

[tucsonjwt]

I have daily driven 73 C20 454/400, 76 C20 350/350 and current 83 C20 454/SM465 at various times in my life. Bottom line - these are gas hogs - so if you drive a lot you will be better off with a beater small card daily driver. I recently bought a 2002 Cavalier DD for just over $2K and it gets about 22 mpg city - which is the only place I intend to drive it.

Keith has apex of square technology and economy in a 1987 fuel injected 6 cylinder, so if you can find one of those in a 1/2 ton it would be close to a modern small car, except my Cavalier gets 22 city and 32 highway, so it would be more fuel efficient on the highway.

I used to buy a new GM vehicle every 6 months using a GM employee discount and timing the purchase to coincide with rebates and GM credit card bonus offers - usually was able to drive free, including all costs, for many years. However, it got to be too much of a hassle to keep the vehicle ding free and always clean, and the dealers would no longer give me wholesale price on my almost new trade in, so now I just rent a new car when I need to take a trip out of town.

Also, any old vehicle will need a lot of $$$ spent on the normal stuff (brakes, tires, shocks, alternator, starter, ignition switch, plugs, wires, distributor cap, and add sensors, etc., for a fuel injected 87. In addition, you can read about pesky problems many of us have - power windows/locks, heater/air conditioner controls/performance, cruise control, etc. So, be prepared to keep shelling out money on an old truck until you get everything fixed, then expect to find more bugs to work out.

On the plus side, you can't "beat" and old beater when you need to haul something to the dump, move furniture, drive slightly off road, etc.

[tucsonjwt]

Depending on the price of diesel where you live, a diesel conversion will likely not pencil out in terms of overall economy. Where I live, diesel is consistently 15-18% more costly than gasoline, so 20 mpg in a diesel is really 17 mpg gasoline equivalent here today.

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by tucsonjwt

Depending on the price of diesel where you live, a diesel conversion will likely not pencil out in terms of overall economy. Where I live, diesel is consistently 15-18% more costly than gasoline, so 20 mpg in a diesel is really 17 mpg gasoline equivalent here today.

I went through this dilema when my 79 spun a bearing in the original 454 last year. I wanted a newer diesel truck. Swapping a diesel in the 79 just wasn't an option, I consider it too nice of a truck to start changing things that drastically, and BBC trucks seem to be getting scarce.

Then I started paying more attention to diesel gas prices. For an unrefined fuel I can't believe this stuff cost more than regular gas. Right now in my area diesel is 70 cents more per gallon That's just laughable, I feel sorry for the diesel guys, and I'm seeing alot of them forsale lately.

In the end I decided to just install a new BBC in my truck and keep it. I don't drive the truck enough to warrant replacing it with a diesel anyway, and $4.39 a gallon for diesel is just ridiculous. That stuff used to be dirt cheap and all the rage 15-20 years ago, alot cheaper than gas, but someone see's a chance to fill their pockets I think.

I'll just keep my truck the way it is and drive it when I need it. It still gets the job done and it doesn't cost me a dime sitting there. Gas mileage isn't all that horrible considering (14 mpg highway and 11-12 city)

[Pyrotechnic]

Where are you at on the payments for the truck? What would be left once you sold it and paid off the bank?

My advice is to get the 454 truck, but take the rest of that and get a car. Find an early 2000's Cavalier, Focus, Civic, Corrolla, etc. That doesn't sound exciting, but the bottom line is you end up with a cool truck with a 454 for when you feel like it, and FWD car that gets great fuel economy when it's gonna break you to get in the truck. Best off all, you end up with both paid off.

[kwin]

Originally Posted by Firebirdjones

I went through this dilema when my 79 spun a bearing in the original 454 last year. I wanted a newer diesel truck. Swapping a diesel in the 79 just wasn't an option, I consider it too nice of a truck to start changing things that drastically, and BBC trucks seem to be getting scarce.

Then I started paying more attention to diesel gas prices. For an unrefined fuel I can't believe this stuff cost more than regular gas. Right now in my area diesel is 70 cents more per gallon That's just laughable, I feel sorry for the diesel guys, and I'm seeing alot of them forsale lately.

In the end I decided to just install a new BBC in my truck and keep it. I don't drive the truck enough to warrant replacing it with a diesel anyway, and $4.39 a gallon for diesel is just ridiculous. That stuff used to be dirt cheap and all the rage 15-20 years ago, alot cheaper than gas, but someone see's a chance to fill their pockets I think.

I'll just keep my truck the way it is and drive it when I need it. It still gets the job done and it doesn't cost me a dime sitting there. Gas mileage isn't all that horrible considering (14 mpg highway and 11-12 city)

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[Number21]

Originally Posted by tucsonjwt

Also, any old vehicle will need a lot of $$$ spent on the normal stuff (brakes, tires, shocks, alternator, starter, ignition switch, plugs, wires, distributor cap, and add sensors, etc.,

I disagree. Squares are a lot easier and cheaper to maintain than a new car. Parts are CHEAP! And there are no stupid plastic covers on the engine! My Mom recently had to replace the alternator in her BMW - it is water cooled, I think it was like $600, plus some major labor. A new 10SI for my truck is like $30 and might take a half hour to install!

[str8axle55]

My DD is my 84 K30 CC. I have a short drive to work, and I`m always hauling scrap from my work. The truck is currently a gas hog, but it does everything I need. It`s ugly, but I don`t need to worry about anything happening to it. I have had an 03, 04, 05 2500HD`s, but this truck beats them all, and actually makes me money. Might not have the power of my D-Max, but it isn`t $500 a month either. New trucks may be nicer, but the old one`s still can do just fine, and parts are way cheaper.