stutaeng
I'm Awesome
Well, that's a shocker! LOL.I was talking with a coworker on Tuesday and mentioned that I'd taken some of the Cadillac to scrap and steel prices were up to $100/ton for tin.
He replied, "I need to take that old truck to scrap. I got an old '88 Chevy one-ton with no engine or transmission. I need to haul it off."
"Wait, what? Tell me more. Is the body okay?"
"The body's good. The back glass is out, but intact. I sold the 454 years ago, but I can't remember if I have the transmission. If I remember right, I'll have to use the tractor to load it because the rear end is locked up. It's a single rear wheel axle."
Long story short, he needs to borrow my door-installation tool for another project, and I might be acquiring the truck. It all remains to be seen because the weather is nasty this week. This kind of rolls into another issue. While I built Way Cool Jr to be a light-duty tow pig, I really could use a heavy-duty tow pig for long hauls with the race team. If this happens, WCJr will be getting a 5/7 drop and some serious weight reduction. The 3500 would get some serious comfort, sound deadening, and a 350 built for torque and fuel economy.
It's a slow day at work, so I'm already brain-storming it out. The transmission will be an issue. As much as I think the 4L60 is under-rated, it's not the transmission of choice for towing, nor is the NV3500 in my shop, but I want an overdrive gear for the highway. I like 97Centurion's 6L80 swap, but at $2000, I'm hoping for a much more budget-oriented option. A Gear Vendors overdrive is about $3000. I haven't seen an NV4500 at Pull-A-Part, and I'd prefer an auto for a tow pig.
We'll see how this works out. If I end up with the truck, I'll start another build thread for it, and WCJr's conversion to an autocross truck will happen on this thread.
Is the 88 also a GMT 400? Just slap a TH400. Didn't you have one from your Cadillac?
Or a 4L80e if you want overdrive.
In reality, you likely won't use it enough to justify something fancy transmission, if it's a second truck dedicated for hauling. At least that's my experience having a 1500 for light duty use like picking up a shower door, a few sheets of plywood and grocery shopping. My 3500 is delegated for picking up 20' sticks of angle iron, a yard of flex base, 25 sheets of 5/8 4x8x12 sheetrock and stuff like that. The high payload and 8' bed is a real blessing.
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