1990 Chevy Cheyenne - "Fire Ball"

[Harry Dawg]

Howdy Folks.

I have been a long time Chevy owner, but this is my first GMT400. Pretty stoked to have one of the best Chevy trucks ever made. Previously I had a 82 K5 Blazer, a 2001 Suburban and a 2000 Z71.

Anyways, back to the Cheyenne. I picked this up a few months ago for 3K, which I thought was a fair price. I wanted a single cab short box for better off road handling, as my Blazer and Ext Cab Silverado where too long for tight trails.

It was originally a 5.0 EFI truck, but the PO swapped in a 350 from a boat shortly before I purchased it. The motor was freshly rebuilt and still had break in oil in it. (One of the main selling points)

- Bored .20 over
- Summit Racing Thumpr Cam
- 600 CFM Summit Carb
- Stainless Steel Headers

Transmission is a Muncie 5 speed. (Another added bonus and major selling point)

A few weeks after buying the truck, I had a little fiasco which resulted to the name "Fire Ball". It had a manual oil pressure gauge on it with a plastic tube that ran from the sending unit on the back of the block to the gauge inside the cab.
Well, the tube fell down onto the header and melted through, spraying oil all over the engine bay. Sitting in rush hour traffic, the headers were red hot and the oil caught fire.
Thankfully, I had a fire extinguisher in the truck, so I whipped it over and was able to put the fire out before any serious damage was done.

Needless to say, I also did an oil change after this. While I was down there, I managed to warp the 90 degree oil filter adapter with a filter wrench, resulting in a massive leak. I am now running a 2WD filter adapter with a Wix stubby to clear the front drive shaft.
Problem solved, and I actually have better oil pressure now compared to the 4x4 version.

I have since swapped in an oil pressure sending unit for a 5.7, which seems to work fine with the 5.0 wiring harness.
I also did this with the coolant temp sensor, so I guess the 5.7 and 5.0 wiring harness are the same.

The seat was pretty beat, so I put this flea bay bench seat cover on there for the time being. I will probably end up recovering it at some point.

I also replaced the passenger side rear axle shaft seal, as it was leaking pretty bad and causing poor brake response due to the added lubrication of the drum and shoe.

Other than that, I haven't done much to the truck.

Plan is to keep it pretty mild and factory like. I am going to paint it back gloss red ASAP, and I also have a tono cover for the bed.

From there, I will probably do either a leveling kit or 3" body lift on 33's. Wheels will either be factory, chevy 4x4 rally's, or U.S. Wheel Sawblades (the latter is the preferred option if I can find a set for a fair price)

I had a leveling kit on my Z71 and it made the turning radius horrible, so I thought a body lift might be a good compromise. I am wondering if this will work with the floor mounted shifter and transfer case selector?

Or, I might just keep it as a PaPaw truck! My grandpa had one that was almost identical, so it would be cool to have a replica of his truck (His was a red 92' W/T with a V6 and Auto trans)

Looking forward to this build, and glad to be a part of the forum!

 

[DethVenture]

Loving that truck blanket! Looking good for the year it is. Stick shifter TC might not like a body lift, the stick lays almost all the way down in the top positions on my 3500- might not have the clearance with a body lift (unless you take the bezel out and do a custom low-pro one)

BTW, what brush bar is on that green extended cab in the second picture? I want one!

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

Loving that truck blanket! Looking good for the year it is. Stick shifter TC might not like a body lift, the stick lays almost all the way down in the top positions on my 3500- might not have the clearance with a body lift (unless you take the bezel out and do a custom low-pro one)

BTW, what brush bar is on that green extended cab in the second picture? I want one!

That brush guard you mention, looks similar to a black version of the chrome one my crew cab has. I actually have 2 more, was going to combine parts to make one complete unit for my Burb.
That unit might be a Ranch Hand, they're powder coated and are pretty solid units. Made in Shiner, Texas. Only one I've got a close look at, on a 400, was on a 2500 Burb in the wrecking yard last year. Time I got back after payday, it was gone.....

 

[Harry Dawg]

Thanks y'all!

Loving that truck blanket! Looking good for the year it is. Stick shifter TC might not like a body lift, the stick lays almost all the way down in the top positions on my 3500- might not have the clearance with a body lift (unless you take the bezel out and do a custom low-pro one)

BTW, what brush bar is on that green extended cab in the second picture? I want one!

That's my buddies truck.
It is an Aries brush guard. Pretty nice unit, although a bit of a PITA to put on. I believe he got it off RockAuto.com.

 

[Harry Dawg]

For my reference more than anything -

The Wix Oil Filter number needed for the 2wd oil filter conversion is 57099. The oil filter adapter is KIPA 3952301 or a Melling MFA350

Gonna treat her to an oil change next week.

 

[Harry Dawg]

Got a coat of paint on her today.

I liked the patina look, but I figured this truck deserved a partial restoration for as good of shape as the body and motor are in.

Went with a single stage "Candy Apple Red", but it ended up being more orange like a Lava Red.

Now I gotta get some decals and cut and buff once the paint cures.