Question for people with Chevys

[Chevy1500z71]

http://daytona.craigslist.org/cto/864264881.html

http://spacecoast.craigslist.org/cto/865732013.html

i do like these 2 though.

btw, does the 2nd one have a body lift? it says suspension but idk, looks like a body lift.

itr doesnt look like it has a body lift, could have gap gaurds, hard to say. my guess is that it has some 1" blocks and keys and a massive crank up front. the older one sure looks pretty but in reality, your going to be working on it. from some of your posts, i can tell your not the kind of guy who wants to own that kind of truck, im sure you could handle dealing with small problems constantly, but it would get old unless you consider it a hobby. the 95 should be a very reliable truck, i would know, i have one lol

[Chevy1500z71]

actually, that truck says it has a 3" rancho kit, which is a true suspension lift offered by rancho for about 500$, but i have no idea what it consists of, it could just be blacks and keys for all i know.

[Fox17]

i dont mind some stuff but i dont like my truck to be down. workin on bikes is almost as fun as riding them but i dont depend on them every day. ive done stuff like slave cylinders, master cylinders, and other small stuff like that. but i dont want to replace the heads or the clutch. not enough time and i rely upon my truck too much to have it down. im screwed right now with no truck. im bumming rides off everyone to get to work and etc.

[Chevy1500z71]

i dont mind some stuff but i dont like my truck to be down. workin on bikes is almost as fun as riding them but i dont depend on them every day. ive done stuff like slave cylinders, master cylinders, and other small stuff like that. but i dont want to replace the heads or the clutch. not enough time and i rely upon my truck too much to have it down. im screwed right now with no truck. im bumming rides off everyone to get to work and etc.

a truck like that will basically be a money pit, it will constantly need parts, extremely cheep and easy to replace parts, but it'l need them. if it were me, id get either or, obviously i love my 95. but i just love the way the older ones look. im constantly working on my truck becasue there are so many after market parts on it and it has 200k miles. the truck never lets me down, its always running. but for example, right now im driving it, but its backfiring. i need to check the timing, and possibly replace the distributer gear. would you have a problem with dealing with little problems like this? if you want a truck that you wont have to touch under the hood, that 95 is probably a better choice, becasue its alot newer and mostly stock. if it were me, id probably buy the older truck... but im not too smart, i just love those kind of trucks and if i have to work on it, so what. i dont mean to scare you away lol, for all i know both of those truck could never give you a single problem, i just dont want to see you get a 4,000$ truck and then complain how chevy makes crappy trucks becasue you cant deal with changing 20$ parts that are 20 years old with over 100,000 miles on them. just remember your buying an old truck... and its not your little yota, its a big heavy truck with a v8, there is alot more stress on everything and sometimes things break.

[Sleazy_Rider78]

Fox,

I have had two Chevy's in my life and have never had any major issues with them.  My first Chevy was a '93 S-10, 2.8 V6.  My second truck (which I still own) is a 2000 silverado 5.7 V8.  The S-10 had 160K miles on it and still ran like a champ when I got rid of it and my Silverado is still going strong with 150K miles.  You may want to look into a smaller more fuel efficient truck unless you are going to be towing heavy loads.  I would tow a 17 foot bass boat with my S-10 and it pulled it with no problem.  If you look into the older S-10 try and get one with the Tahoe engine.  If fuel economy is not a concern then go with the V8, surprisingly I get 18 miles per gallon highway in my silverado.  Of course thats not towing anything and I only have small modifications such as air intake.  Overall you seem like a smart guy and will make a smart and informed decision, but I would be hesitant to buy an older truck such as an '85.     

[Fox17]

i can do smaller stuff like that. thats ok, i just dont wanna replace the engine or tranny. suprisingly, i had to replace alot of stuff on my Toyota. i know im getting a old truck and it will have stuff go wrong. im worried about the tranny dropping out or it throwing a rod through the block or something. my main concern is are the 350 or 305s good and are their manual trannys good? i know ford manual trannys are ok and the 302 is a good engine. but i know auto trannys from them suck. somethings just are notorious for breaking.

and no, gas mileage is not anything im concerned about.

[dodgefsu]

I traded in a 95 dodge Ram 1500 for a 2006 silverado z71 worst mistake EVER.
Now it does have a 3" body lift, tires and wheels, It looks kinda nice, but it is vey very week, I might get 15-18 mpg while going down the road at 55-mph But you put a trailer behind it and man does that suck, i think i get like 10-12mpg. There is no way in hell i would ever buy an older truck and expect it to work or preform like modern day trucks do.  Used trucks are money pits, and mpg should be an issue on anything you buy....... Just my opinion...

[Chevy1500z71]

I traded in a 95 dodge Ram 1500 for a 2006 silverado z71 worst mistake EVER.
Now it does have a 3" body lift, tires and wheels, It looks kinda nice, but it is vey very week, I might get 15-18 mpg while going down the road at 55-mph But you put a trailer behind it and man does that suck, i think i get like 10-12mpg. There is no way in hell i would ever buy an older truck and expect it to work or preform like modern day trucks do.  Used trucks are money pits, and mpg should be an issue on anything you buy....... Just my opinion...

you get great mpg, you know you have about 300hp under your hood right? and 15 mpg, how can you knock chevy for that? all new chevys feel like dogs becasue of torque mangment, if you got a tuner and removed evn just 50% of torque managment you would know what im saying, its like a whole new truck. the older chevys have alot more way down low power, the ole 250 will pull really hard way down low and then fall flat on its face, the complete opposite of a new chevy like you got. do you have a 6.0 or 5.3? half ton right? id guess you have the 5.3...

what kind of dodge did you have? if you traded a cummins for a 4.8 crew cab chevy or something ridiculous like that then what do you expect...

[Fox17]

I traded in a 95 dodge Ram 1500 for a 2006 silverado z71 worst mistake EVER.
Now it does have a 3" body lift, tires and wheels, It looks kinda nice, but it is vey very week, I might get 15-18 mpg while going down the road at 55-mph But you put a trailer behind it and man does that suck, i think i get like 10-12mpg. There is no way in hell i would ever buy an older truck and expect it to work or preform like modern day trucks do.  Used trucks are money pits, and mpg should be an issue on anything you buy....... Just my opinion...

well, if you wanna give me 25k for a new truck then by all means....... but, im 18 and need a truck to replace my 94 toyota. i dont have alot of money. its gonna be used. im not buying a dodge. my dad went through that. im not gonna do it too. and i really dont care what kind of mileage it gets. its a 4x4 truck. i know it uses alot. my toyota got like 22. and it was a 4cyl. i make plenty of money to pay for the gas/repairs etc. i just dont want a truck payment for ever.

[Chevy1500z71]

my dad has had a dodge, iv seen how dodges last, my dad has driven nothing but fords as his work trucks for the fire dept. and they all have been crap, from my experience and what iv seen, nothing really compares to chevy especially when it comes to what you get under the hood when you buy a chevy compared to the rest... unless you want to go with the older fords, they are nice trucks, not nearly as powerfull or anything, but reliable.

[dodgefsu]

Well you see that is where i find the problem with the whole ford, chevy, dodge,toyota, thing all of these trucks are decent vehicles, It should not really matter what BRAND you buy they all have comparable horsepower and torque, so really what difference does it make. The difference is in WHO owned the truck before you and what was it used for. As far a different opitions like color, the seats, cup holders the radio etc...... all makes very but as far as the steal and rubber that make up the truck, it all comes from the same iron ore and rubber trees. Really all you need to do is look at how many miles are on the truck who owned it and how does the manufacture get the torque from the engine to the wheels on the round... You can have all the horsepower and torque you want, if you can't get it to the wheels then it is worthless... Kinda like my z71 1500 5.3

[Chevy1500z71]

Well you see that is where i find the problem with the whole ford, chevy, dodge,toyota, thing all of these trucks are decent vehicles, It should not really matter what BRAND you buy they all have comparable horsepower and torque, so really what difference does it make. The difference is in WHO owned the truck before you and what was it used for. As far a different opitions like color, the seats, cup holders the radio etc...... all makes very but as far as the steal and rubber that make up the truck, it all comes from the same iron ore and rubber trees. Really all you need to do is look at how many miles are on the truck who owned it and how does the manufacture get the torque from the engine to the wheels on the round... You can have all the horsepower and torque you want, if you can't get it to the wheels then it is worthless... Kinda like my z71 1500 5.3

you are right, but i will have to disagree on the motor part. a 5.3 chevy may make about as much as a ford 5.4, but the 5.3 is an ls based engine, its based from the same motor in the corvets, camaros, ect. the after market for them is endless and they make tons more power than a 5.4 could ever dream of when adding the same parts. take the ford lightening for example, 390hp with 8 pounds of boost, the joe gibbs silverado also has 8lbs of boost, about 400hp and its using chevys smallest v8, the 4.8, if you put 8 pounds of boost on Chevy's biggest motor package, the 6.0, it would be ridiculousl, it would outdo the corvet, they just couldnt do it. i use that example becasue it gives you sort of an idea of how far ahead chevys engines are than the rest, it also shows that they are more eficient. i wont get into the hemi, but its nothing special just like the 5.4.

if your a gearhead, you know chevys the way to go. ford fans are more of the offroad group.