I always like starting with the “Bottom Line Up Front” – so here are some shots of my recently restored 1990 C1500 Stepside:
Now for the long version:
2015
I grew up in Southern California, and joined the Marine Corps after college. Spent some time in Quantico, VA, then Newport, RI, and was lucky enough to get stationed in Miramar, CA. Shortly after moving back to CA, my Grandfather (Grandpa Arnie) gave me his ’90 Stepside:
Originally, he purchased a brand new light blue 1996 (I think?) C1500 that I remember seeing growing up. Years later he let one of my cousins borrow it and unfortunately it got stolen, and was found on the side of the road parted out. After that, he bought an early 2000’s Chevy truck, ended up giving that to another one of my cousins (I guess he didn’t like the newer trucks? haha), and then purchased another GMT400 – this time a 1990 truck sometime around 2004 I believe. I had always told him that if he ever planned on getting rid of it to sell it to me, so I’m glad I got my name in the hat early haha.
Grandpa Arnie worked for IMPCO Technologies, which converted fleet vehicles to alternative fuel (LPG i.e. Propane). He had his original blue truck converted, and after it got stolen and he recovered it, I’m pretty sure he transferred the same system to the 1990 (I don’t believe the thieves touched the system). The truck was dual fuel, and had a switch in the interior that allowed you to change between LPG and regular gasoline.
He had his shop install it and maintain it for him, and I’m pretty sure he was able to fill up on site, so it was a no brainer for him. For me, however, the system was mysterious, filling the tank with propane took significantly longer, the tank was a bit of an eye sore now that it had some surface rust, and it took up quite a bit of bed space. I planned on removing the system at some point.
Over the years, I used the truck primarily as my home improvement store transportation, and the truck has left me stranded a few times for a variety of reasons. The interior was pretty dirty, there were some electronics gremlins, the driver door arm rest was duct taped in place, and the paint was starting to oxidize and peel. I had a long list of planned repairs that seemed to grow continuously, and I just figured I would get to them all eventually.
2020 (i.e. “Eventually”)
Fast forward to January of this year. I had a 2013 Jeep Wrangler that I absolutely loved. Got into what I thought was a fender bender getting off the freeway, and my insurance ended up totaling the vehicle. Very sad to see the Jeep go:
My first instinct was to get into a new Wrangler Unlimited, but I had gotten used to not having a car payment, and didn’t really want to get a $30k+ base Wrangler. Was looking at some used Unlimited Rubicons also in the $30k+ range, but again, wasn’t really feeling it. My crazy thought was to use my Jeep payout to fix up the Chevy and make it my daily driver, and after some self convincing I decided to go for it. On a deeper level, it feels great to keep a 30 year vehicle on the road, as new cars are sadly disposable commodities in today’s global economy.
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New 5.7L 350 crate motor was ordered from a local Chevy dealership, and delivered to the shop doing the install. They removed the propane system in its entirety, and brought the system back to stock. Along with the motor, they added an edelbrock intake manifold, cold air intake, shorty headers, and dual cat-back exhaust, and replaced a multitude of worn components and connectors.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
Now for the long version:
2015
I grew up in Southern California, and joined the Marine Corps after college. Spent some time in Quantico, VA, then Newport, RI, and was lucky enough to get stationed in Miramar, CA. Shortly after moving back to CA, my Grandfather (Grandpa Arnie) gave me his ’90 Stepside:
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
Originally, he purchased a brand new light blue 1996 (I think?) C1500 that I remember seeing growing up. Years later he let one of my cousins borrow it and unfortunately it got stolen, and was found on the side of the road parted out. After that, he bought an early 2000’s Chevy truck, ended up giving that to another one of my cousins (I guess he didn’t like the newer trucks? haha), and then purchased another GMT400 – this time a 1990 truck sometime around 2004 I believe. I had always told him that if he ever planned on getting rid of it to sell it to me, so I’m glad I got my name in the hat early haha.
Grandpa Arnie worked for IMPCO Technologies, which converted fleet vehicles to alternative fuel (LPG i.e. Propane). He had his original blue truck converted, and after it got stolen and he recovered it, I’m pretty sure he transferred the same system to the 1990 (I don’t believe the thieves touched the system). The truck was dual fuel, and had a switch in the interior that allowed you to change between LPG and regular gasoline.
He had his shop install it and maintain it for him, and I’m pretty sure he was able to fill up on site, so it was a no brainer for him. For me, however, the system was mysterious, filling the tank with propane took significantly longer, the tank was a bit of an eye sore now that it had some surface rust, and it took up quite a bit of bed space. I planned on removing the system at some point.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
Over the years, I used the truck primarily as my home improvement store transportation, and the truck has left me stranded a few times for a variety of reasons. The interior was pretty dirty, there were some electronics gremlins, the driver door arm rest was duct taped in place, and the paint was starting to oxidize and peel. I had a long list of planned repairs that seemed to grow continuously, and I just figured I would get to them all eventually.
2020 (i.e. “Eventually”)
Fast forward to January of this year. I had a 2013 Jeep Wrangler that I absolutely loved. Got into what I thought was a fender bender getting off the freeway, and my insurance ended up totaling the vehicle. Very sad to see the Jeep go:
You must be registered for see images attach
My first instinct was to get into a new Wrangler Unlimited, but I had gotten used to not having a car payment, and didn’t really want to get a $30k+ base Wrangler. Was looking at some used Unlimited Rubicons also in the $30k+ range, but again, wasn’t really feeling it. My crazy thought was to use my Jeep payout to fix up the Chevy and make it my daily driver, and after some self convincing I decided to go for it. On a deeper level, it feels great to keep a 30 year vehicle on the road, as new cars are sadly disposable commodities in today’s global economy.
/////
New 5.7L 350 crate motor was ordered from a local Chevy dealership, and delivered to the shop doing the install. They removed the propane system in its entirety, and brought the system back to stock. Along with the motor, they added an edelbrock intake manifold, cold air intake, shorty headers, and dual cat-back exhaust, and replaced a multitude of worn components and connectors.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
