Amcar enthusiast from Poland here!

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SpitShine_PL

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Sep 26, 2022
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Poznan, Poland
Hi there!
I'm based in Poland, as I'm a Polish native (well, go figure, haha!).
Have been an American car enthusiast for more or less a decade and acquiring a taste for survivors, which means minty whips of yore that they 'don't build anymore'. AKA "Shitbox life", me thinks!
My last vehicle was a 2000 Grand Marquis LS with HPP (the Handles Pretty Poorly Package) I modded somewhat for compliance with Euro traffic laws and high-speed manouverability.
Now, I'm on the market for a GMT400, because the boxy OBS burger grille land barges are not that unreasonable to own during recession in Europe. Not to me, at least!
 

DonYukon

Dont stop until it sounds expensive
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Fayetteville NC
Hi there!
I'm based in Poland, as I'm a Polish native (well, go figure, haha!).
Have been an American car enthusiast for more or less a decade and acquiring a taste for survivors, which means minty whips of yore that they 'don't build anymore'. AKA "Shitbox life", me thinks!
My last vehicle was a 2000 Grand Marquis LS with HPP (the Handles Pretty Poorly Package) I modded somewhat for compliance with Euro traffic laws and high-speed manouverability.
Now, I'm on the market for a GMT400, because the boxy OBS burger grille land barges are not that unreasonable to own during recession in Europe. Not to me, at least!

Welcome to the forum.

Always good to see anybody from across the pond enjoy these vehicles.

Which model were you thinking of getting?
 

SpitShine_PL

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Poznan, Poland
I was considering a GMT 900 at first, but the more I learned about different gens of the platform, I moved 'back in time' towards GMT 800... Which would be very nice to own if not for a short supply of used ones here, and owning one being chomped up by rust, and being a 20-yo GM with electrical issues--well, God would have to grant me plenty of mercy.
Importing one from outside the EU is a PITA, probably as big as importing a car younger than 25 years into the States (here: shipping + 18.6% excise for 2.0+ liter displacement, + 23% VAT... somehow).
Then I got interested in OBS vehicles and the GMT 400 simply grew on me. Probably because of my young days... People would import a ton of U.S. vehicles here back in the 1990s, when the Iron Curtain finally collapsed on its ugly ass face.
I am currently eyeing up a very mint '99 LT, Storm Grey Metallic with velour seats and the factory Offroad package (and interestingly, a split tail gate in lieu of the barn doors), plus an LSD in the rear diff. It has 188k mi clocked on it, but it's an import from Cali, virtually with ZERO rust. The price is kinda steep tho... 10k USD. Prohibitive? Maybe, but then again, it's 10k USD for a perfectly clean car (from a trusted seller (his personal weekend/U.S. car meetup vehicle) who runs a service garage specialised in American cars) or something you could potentially have for anywhere from 3 to 6k USD and pour 3 thousand more into it just to keep it running...
Sure, got two more options on the market now. A non-airbag '95 (the first year to run full OBD2, AFAIR) and a '96 with a single air bag, and still the transfer case selector on the floor. Both of these have that lovely sea blue paint. Both cheaper than the '99 LT, and the '95 looks promising, it runs, drives, and the front diff is still running strong... It's just about how much money and time it will require to bring it to a 'dailying' shape. (Oh, both of those are basically rust-free; the '96 was rebuilt and represerved).
 

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Dariusz Salomon

I'm Awesome
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Jun 4, 2020
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UK,Oxford
Hi there!
I'm based in Poland, as I'm a Polish native (well, go figure, haha!).
Have been an American car enthusiast for more or less a decade and acquiring a taste for survivors, which means minty whips of yore that they 'don't build anymore'. AKA "Shitbox life", me thinks!
My last vehicle was a 2000 Grand Marquis LS with HPP (the Handles Pretty Poorly Package) I modded somewhat for compliance with Euro traffic laws and high-speed manouverability.
Now, I'm on the market for a GMT400, because the boxy OBS burger grille land barges are not that unreasonable to own during recession in Europe. Not to me, at least!
Hey-welcome to forum. I'm Polish too-live in UK-don't hasitate to ask any questions here or dm.
 

Hoplite

OBS Enthusiast
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Jun 15, 2015
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Texas
Welcome to the forum from Texas. As an owner of a 95, just a word of caution. 95 has the year update but the engine is still a ODB1, TBI350. 95 has allot of one off items on it and weird quirks. Nothing real bad but something to be aware of.

Also, the Vortec 350 (96+) makes quite a bit more power than the TBI 350.

Once again, welcome to the forum!
 

df2x4

4L60E Destroyer
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Welcome!

X2 regarding the 1995 model year. They had some weird one year only items.

Also just something to be aware of, if you're planning on ever modifying anything in the PCM tune, the '98+ trucks are supported by popular tuning software like HPTuners or EFILive. Anything older than that will be a little more difficult.
 

SpitShine_PL

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Poznan, Poland
Thanks, guys!
Speaking of one-year weird things... Yeah, I already read about those somewhat. Given this opportunity, should I be aware of anything else, specifically, about a 95-96 K1500 with 160,000 miles to consider in the "service-after-purchase" budget? (Yes, the Polish currency is tanking to USD now... :D ).
 
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