lookee what i bought for $650 :)

bet you guys were thinking I bought a guitar...nope. its a truck. spent $650 on a 87 silverado with 152k. despite the relatively low mileage, the truck is 100% trashed out. the body is rusted and slathered in (cracking) bondo. the steering column is broken. the windows dont roll up (power) and the power lock only works one lock. the door key doesnt open the passengers door and the drivers door doesnt close all the way. the truck was mysteriously smoking from the area of the left rear brake for 20 miles (either because of old/ bad gas or because the brake was trying to catch on fire). the trans had about 1/4 of first gear left (it had a top speed of 40 mph when it wasnt slipping every other time you pressed the throttle.) when my dad test drove it , it died (talk about your heart sinking). he parked it and turned it off to switch gas tanks, since the one was on empty. went to crank it over and nothing...just click click click. had to call the guy to come down. he put his battery in the truck, turned it over, and then put the bad battery back in the truck (obviously this means we couldnt turn off the truck). the truck ran for almost 2 hours constantly. didnt smoke at all and the engine had plenty of power (not that you could do anything with it because of the transmission.)The truck drove back from alton illinois to south st. louis without incident (about a 40 mile drive...doing 35 mph). the motor didnt smoke, overheat, or make weird noises. the exhaust system had separated, so it was a very loud ride with the occasional backfire when I let off the gas
Here's a few positive things about the truck...
1. the motor runs, and runs well.
2. it has a new AC compressor
3. it has a new brake booster
4. it has a nice back bumper.
5. it matches my cadillac (yellow paint matches the body of my caddy and the brown matches my top)

so without further adieu, heres some pics of the newest addition to my fleet



so why would I buy what I admit is an awful truck? simple- I bought it for the motor for my cadillac. the motor runs great, doesnt smoke, and has plenty of power. plus after I part out/ scrap the truck, I'll make about half of my money back.

I was going to say you paid too much, but if you have the skills to transplant that motor into another vehicle I guess it is worth it.

Had a couple of those trucks where I used to work, long ago. They were ok as off-road 4x4 beaters, but nothing I'd want to drive again!

Sweet. Are you going to drop that motor in yourself? Any plans to mod the motor? Timing chain, water pump, valves or anything like that?

I am having my mechanic put in the motor (along with a built 200r4).
I don't plan on doing any performance work to it (other than ceramic coated headers and a dual exhaust.) I'm not planning on racing it. its a 4500+ lbs. car. I just opted for the exhaust because I needed a new exhaust anyways (my current exhaust has a rust streak going down the full length of the car.)
btw, heres a picture of my caddy.

That truck would fit in perfect in my neck of the woods. Just needs a gun rack and a NWTF sticker

Such vehicular diversity at LTG. Today we have threads on a Rolls Royce and a beater Chevy pickup. :lol:

Good luck with the project, Kevin. I know you're anxious to roll in the Caddy. Keep us posted.

Dr. Spivey said:

Such vehicular diversity at LTG. Today we have threads on a Rolls Royce and a beater Chevy pickup. :lol:

Good luck with the project, Kevin. I know you're anxious to roll in the Caddy. Keep us posted.

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thanks doc I've been waiting almost 1.5 years to drive my caddy again. Driving it down to my mechanics shop was such fun. theres nothing quite like rolling down the windows on a nice day, and cruising down the road in an old cadillac.
... and I imagine the hood ornament on the rolls costs more than my truck. lol

Every Fleetwood ever made is a beautiful car IMO. I had an '81. Glad you're keeping 'er alive.

"No matter where you're going, how near, how far... it's a Cadillac Car"

zulu said:

Every Fleetwood ever made is a beautiful car IMO. I had an '81. Glad you're keeping 'er alive.

"No matter where you're going, how near, how far... it's a Cadillac Car"

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got any pics (or at least some more info) on your '81?
and I agree about the fleetwood (and by extension the devilles which shared the same body) being beautiful cars. the 80-89 design was IMO very striking and imposing, and above all...classy.

Hmmmm somewhere I think I have a film photograph... somewhere...
I used to throw my Fender Twin and guitar case in the back seat and still had room for 4-5 people comfortably.
It was red. Red paint, red top, and red leather. It had a baby V8 (249 or something like that?) Looked like this one:



It wasn't in real nice shape like yours, but it was OK. nice and straight until some guy ran a stop sign and I T-boned him. His Ford Ranger was totaled, and all it did to the Caddy was pop the front grill/headlight assembly off. I drove it around with the front clip held on with baling wire for a few years, until it developed a nasty engine knock, slipping transmission, and a wiring problem. I had to start it by shorting the starter terminals with a quarter.

I sold it to a crazy artist dude for $100 and a ***bie. Ahh the good old days. Thanks for stirring up some memories. :lol: TMI?

LMAO zulu. thats a great story. thanks for sharing (funny how everyone who sees my caddy tells me a story about their caddy or a relatives caddy from the 70's or 80's.)
81s had the V8-6-4 cylinder deactivation system (368 big block) and the th400 trans. they were rock solid other than the cylinder deactivation system (which only required cutting 1 wire to deactivate it.)
the 249 ("High Technology" HT4100) V8 would have been in '82. those came with the TH200-c IIRC, which wasnt a very good trans as far as longevity.

Ahhh, must have been an '82 because I know it didn't have the 8-6-4. With that little engine under the long hood the fan shroud seemed like it was 3 feet long.

kevin the bass man said:

thanks for sharing (funny how everyone who sees my caddy tells me a story about their caddy or a relatives caddy from the 70's or 80's.)

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I never had a Cadillac. :lol:

kevin the bass man said:

81s had the V8-6-4 cylinder deactivation system (368 big block) and the th400 trans. they were rock solid other than the cylinder deactivation system (which only required cutting 1 wire to deactivate it.)
the 249 ("High Technology" HT4100) V8 would have been in '82. those came with the TH200-c IIRC, which wasnt a very good trans as far as longevity.

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Well I was all ready to give you the primer on how truck motors were usually tuned for low rpm torque through things like camshaft profile and different heads and valve sizes and other little tweaks, and you might find that you do want to tweak the motor a bit to make it behave more like a Caddy motor, but after seeing that I suspect you're already ahead of me there..hopefully I'm not insulting your mechanic's knowledge to say that the the torque curve should be analyzed to make sure the tranny's shift points can be properly matched to it. Nothing more annoying than having it shift too early or late, or not holding to high enough rpms when throttle's pushed far enough, you know what I mean. Or not being able to grab 4th at low enough speed when you're going for ultimate mpg. THAT's the fine art of matching engine to tranny. :wink:
Ideally you'll be able to smoke the tires in at least the first two gears when you floor it, as any decent self-respecting Cadillac could do.
With Cadillacs you don't look for elapsed time in the quarter mile, you look for how long a patch you can get. The best guys know how to blip the the throttle just enough to keep the tires from ever getting any traction at all.
Now that I think about it, you could practice in the truck, since that tranny's just about gone anyway.
Ever thought about entering the truck in a destruction derby?
:lol:
Oh yes, and above all, remember that in street driving, the highest skill is learning how to use the brakes for stopping only, and how to use (or more correctly, not use ) the accelerator, for slowing down. Counterintuitive, yes, but watch your gas mileage and brake life soar. As well as the skill with which you avoid unpleasant encounters with less knowledgable drivers. :wink:

I am aware that truck motors were tuned for low end torque (although GM trucks also make more horsepower than their car counterparts (caprice, camaro/ trans am, etc) with the same motors due to different programming in the computers that advanced instead of retarding timing above 3k rpm, and larger, less restrictive exhaust manifolds and x-over pipes).
at this point I'm not sure if I'm going carbed or TBI. I have a carb. intake, but no carb right now, and I have the complete TBI setup (I'd have to pull it from the truck), just no fuel pump (nothing a trip to the auto parts store or junkyard can't fix).
I do know what you mean about the transmission's shift points. The company I bought the transmission from (bowtie overdrives) included a sheet with the proper specs to setup the transmission for optimal operation (which is required if you want the warranty on the trans. to be valid)
As for using the brakes and accelerator properly, I have gotten pretty good at that (since my current ride is a high top conversion van which can eek out 18 mpg or so city- not bad considering it has an upside down fiberglass boat bolted on the roof and is about as aerodynamic as a snub nosed brick.) :lol:

kevin the bass man said:

(although GM trucks also make more horsepower than their car counterparts (caprice, camaro/ trans am, etc) with the same motors due to different programming in the computers that advanced instead of retarding timing above 3k rpm, and larger, less restrictive exhaust manifolds and x-over pipes).

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I shoulda known you'd be up to speed on that!

kevin the bass man said:

at this point I'm not sure if I'm going carbed or TBI.

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I vote TBI if you're taking votes, for the normal precision of fuel delivery reason, 'specially sincer price of gas prob'ly ain't gonna crash in our useful lifetimes.

kevin the bass man said:

As for using the brakes and accelerator properly, I have gotten pretty good at that (since my current ride is a high top conversion van which can eek out 18 mpg or so city- not bad considering it has an upside down fiberglass boat bolted on the roof and is about as aerodynamic as a snub nosed brick.) :lol:

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I bet that boat's actually helping! Bet you might get as much as another 1/4mpg if you sealed up the gap between it and the roof with duct tape. :lol:

talked to my mechanic a couple days ago. he said hooking up TBI would be more of a PITA than its worth (since they'd have to pull the entire harness, cut it up, pull out the existing computer and harness and mount the new computer in its place, etc. etc. then add a fuel pump. so its getting carbed (and I'll probably pull the TBI harness from the truck and keep it for whenever/ whatever)
my mechanic said he can reuse the old carb from my olds 307 (which was a C.C.C. carb). We'll see.
swung by the shop later in the day to drop off my old edelbrock 350 intake that I've had for 5 or 6 years (since it was going carbed). found out it wont fit without modification (center 4 bolt holes were moved slightly for 1987...seriously GM....?)
I walked in the bay at his shop and found this...

I think somethings missing but I can't put my finger on it....

maybe this....?

yeah thats it....
mmmm look at all the oil being dripped by the cheapo valve covers. mechanic said he can put new gaskets and a lot of sealant on them and they'll be fine

and some interior pictures of "the beast"- as I've nicknamed my truck


oh look...a coustic radio. hope no one steals it. lol

and the odometer

I originally read it wrong (read it as 152xxx, not 15,2xx). oops