400 vs newer

[DerekTheGreat]

I hated C5's until my dad got one. Now I really like them. I've driven an '02 Tahoe with a 5.3 and a 4L60E. It has 265k miles on it, yet that transmission shifts better than any 4 speed auto I've ever driven. The 5.3 is really nice. The whole truck rides really nice. Since prices for GMT400's have gotten nuts, I think I'd like to eventually own an '02ish GMT800 short box regular cab 4x4 stickshift with a 5.3.

 

[Caman96]

After buying a brand new 2018 Z71 LT Crew and THEN buying my 1996 K1500 w/46K it was an easy decision to say goodbye to the 2018. And I agree with JOHNGAAA1 the new GM trucks are junk, transmission was problematic from the start. Much, much happier with the 96! Ice cold AC, power windows and aftermarket remote start is all I want or need. Don’t miss the heated seats and other unneeded bull chit! This truck is still solid.

 

[johnckhall]

If you're thinking about LS swapping it, just buy a C5.

My next search in a couple of years when my son is out of college might be a C5 Corvette. I've been looking and it's the most affordable in low mileage. It would have to be a convertible for cruising only.

 

[OBS Oregon]

I have two GMT 400. 1996 Chevy K1500 4.3 and a 1997 GMC K1500 5.7. (Just sold a 1996 C1500) I was looking to buy a new truck, but couldn't afford / or wanted to spend, $70K or more on a truck. My 96 with the 4.3 is like that "Everready" car, it doesn't look like much. Has a bench seat with no air, but it has never failed to start or get me to where I need to go. Rebuilding the engine or trans is not as expensive as the newer trucks. Open the hood and everything is right there. No covers and everything is relatively accessible. If I spent 15-20K rebuilding everything it still is cheaper than a New one. My only complaint are those damn door hinge pins. Ugh? I'm retired, and in my 60's so the only one I have to impress is me! Sometimes the wife. Go with what you like....

 

[Trenton]

When I moved from Arizona to Colorado I had an 83 K5 Blazer as my daily.
Just awesome offroad trucks.
The NP208 transfer case has a 2.98 to 1 reduction and the combination of that plus a live axle front end and an insane ramp travel articulation and really short entry and exit makes for a great offroad platform.
And you can fit 32x11.5 on 10 iinch rims
without a lift and they dont rub.
And I really dont recomend a lifted square body on Colorado trails.
There is some spooky tip over rolling over **** to be had.
The only downside was the friggen 700r4 transmission.
I went through a bunch of them before I got it right.
And I let my ex wife talk me into donating it to a charity for the tax right off.
I should have kept the truck and donated her to science.
But I had just bought a brand new Jeep Cherokee Sport with the Up Country suspesion package and 2 inch lift and offroad floor mats and mountain rated air freshioners and all of the rest of the nonsense they were selling.
Bought it in Arizona.
All was well
It had about 6k on it.
It didnt try to kill me untill it died coming back down from Pikes Peak.
Check engine light, 2 pops 3 or 4 farts and no power brakes no power steering.
Really not a good place for that to happen.
Im from Seattle. Ive have some mountain driving experiance.
Everyone else in the Jeep was from Detroit.
They freaked out and opened the friggen doors and bailed out on that ****** road while I was dead sticking this thing to a stop.
They all managed to stay on the road after a bit of rolling and ass over teeth action and a bit of asphalt skin removal.
Airplane crashes are often caused by information overload.
Too many things happening at the same time and your brain cant react fast enough.
It was like a clown car crash.
Im pulling the E brake handle through the roof with no power and they are rolling on the road behind me.
I stopped the damn thing. I tried not to laugh.
No I didnt, thats a lie.
It was epic .
They just blew out the doors like the thing was on fire.
Got it stopped at the next turn and parked it to let the brakes cool and waited for the bailout victoms to peel the rocks out of their limbs .
It started back up. It was an ECM software problem that was altitude triggered.
Because it was a Phoenix Jeep and not a Denver Jeep.
I took it out of its programmed parameters.
Way way back in the old days we would have performance problems with quadrajets if we tried to run them from sea level to high altitude on the same carb without a tune.
And, if you are looking at buying a replacement Quadrajet.
They come in hundreds of different flavors.
The big deal is to pay attention to the carb linkage geometry and how that relates to the 700r4.
You can smoke that transmission just by taking the Quadrajet off and putting on a Holley or an Edelbrock or an old Carter.
Whatever.
That geometry and its relation to the "throw" of that cable determines the the timing and the high pressure and bleedoff and a the ratio between how much money you have spent compared to tools you have thrown across the garage

I've already spent some time on Colorado trails in my '98 K3500 CCLB so I'm not really worried about a taking a MUCH shorter square body.

I want to swap out the engine and trans with a newer 5.7L Vortec/4L80e trans. That's what's in my '98 and I never had altitude issues since it's basically a computerized 350/th400. From 400 ft elevation in East Texas to clear over 12000 feet where I drove.

 

[Supercharged111]

I've already spent some time on Colorado trails in my '98 K3500 CCLB so I'm not really worried about a taking a MUCH shorter square body.

I want to swap out the engine and trans with a newer 5.7L Vortec/4L80e trans. That's what's in my '98 and I never had altitude issues since it's basically a computerized 350/th400. From 400 ft elevation in East Texas to clear over 12000 feet where I drove.

The miracle of EFI. Yet so many can't wait to swap a carb on instead.

 

[Trenton]

The miracle of EFI. Yet so many can't wait to swap a carb on instead.

That's what I'm saying! Sure, a carb may be simpler, but that carb is only good for a certain amount of elevation before it chokes out.

In my '98 K3500, I can drive from sea level in Texas, go up to 12,097 ft over Independence Pass, then drop back to 8000 ft in Aspen without any tuning adjustment.

 

[WhiteUCF]

My uncle had a 400 when my dad bought his new '04 800. The 800 was a great truck, my granddad uses it daily now. But seeing the two sitting side by side at lunch time on Sundays at my great granddad's house just felt odd. Even as a 12 year old, the 400 was cooler. It wasn't even old, it was just cooler. 15 years later, I bought my first and only 400 to date. I love my truck. The windows go down at the push of a button, the ac will eventually blow into my luscious brown hair whenever it decides to.
My cab corners look better than most new vehicles. What more could I want? Simply fitting a double din head unit in that connects to my phone the second I turn the key would be nice. AC/DC and Dion & the Belmonts don't just come on when I want them to. Nonetheless, my truck will be with me until I die. Then, it'll be my headstone - I'll be buried in my Lexus.

I've driven all of the newer trucks at this point. The 400 is the best. No frills, comfortable, reliable, and better looking. The new stuff is just a bigger car. Everything has to be a car now. Our trucks are the last real trucks. Sure, technology has advanced and allowed for trucks to pull absurd amounts of weight, cool. But now, trucks aren't trucks. I drive a truck, not a bloated car that can haul my 2x's. I can fit pre-cut 2x's in my Lexus. The "big wig" contractors drive new trucks so they can pretend to be successful. It's all a show nowadays. Trucks have went the way of "keeping up with Jones'". That's why us here don't care about what other's think- our trucks are our trucks whether we're broke or make a million a year. There's something that that will make us choose our "old" trucks over anything new. Even if our "old" trucks are money pits. At least our "old" trucks are paid for, are cheap to insure, and the county doesn't charge me property tax because it's so old.

P.s. whomever mentioned millennials changing everything needs to wait to have that argument for another 5 months. I can't get into the lounge yet. We're barely even old enough to run for office, we can't mandate ugly front ends because people can't look both ways when crossing the street! C'mon now! I'm joking - I'm just a millennial that doesn't understand, just like the rest of y'all.

P.s.s.
I apologize for the rant, I had a few for the first time in a very long time..

 

[Caman96]

and the county doesn't charge me property tax because it's so old

Wait- your county charges property taxes on newer vehicles lol?

 

[454cid]

Wait- your county charges property taxes on newer vehicles lol?

Some states have a personal property tax on vehicles. That's why some people get in a hurry to off load something they're not using anymore.... it's harder to just "park" a vehicle.