Looks great with the police rims and sport grille!!
Thanks so much! I wont bore everyone with all the minor maintenance/repairs items Ive done but the highlights so far are:
New fuel pump and injectors
New Radiator, water pump, hoses
Tune up
HVAC module completely overhauled with new heater core/evap and all actuators replaced
Dash replaced
Steering column rebuilt
A/C system replaced (New condenser, compressor, lines, Drier etc, R134A conversion)
Drive shafts rebuilt, rebalanced, new u joints, new carrier bearing
New front brakes including hoses.
Hence my dilemma. The truck looks good in photos but the reality is it needs paint badly. The paint is coming off on the top surfaces. Surface rust is starting to form where the paint is coming off. Its weird, there is no clear peeling but it looks like it went through a sand storm and the paint is cracking also. This truck may not have even had a clear coat when new. I think they painted them differently before 92 or 93 or so.
The truck drives great but is very under powered. I have an original 114,000 mile 1993 Police LO5 from a Caprice to drop in its place. Its unique as far as LO5's go because it has a 205 hp rating compared to the 180 hp rating any other passenger car with an LO5 had. Supposedly it has the L98 cam and a better Y-pipe to get the increased rating. The truck manifolds should flow way better than the car application ones so maybe ill get some increase there also. While the engine is out, I figured might as well do a new clutch and get a rebuilt NV3500 to replace to old 5LM60. The snycros are worn between 1-2 on my current trans and has been for years but it still works fine as long as you baby the 1-2 shift. I have seen a few companies online that sell reman NV3500s but would love input from people here that have experience in this area as who they like or don't like. So ive already done a lot of work on the truck and still need to do the engine, trans and paint.
I like the reliability and simplicity of the TBI but given the paint is so bad on my truck, Ive been thinking about trying to find a 96+ truck with around 150,000 or so that still looks good with factory paint. I know they are out there. More power right out of the box plus the third door and the better stereo system. I also wouldn't mind having a crew cab short bed if I could find a decent one but I doubt I will. But I don't feel like I can part with the manual and I rarely ever see vortec trucks (half tons) with sticks but I know they exist I just think they are less common than the stick TBI trucks. I think Ill spend the same money either way so it probably comes down to what I find once I start seriously looking at other trucks. Either spend a lot over time on this one or cough up a large chunk for a newer nicer one.
