1988 Chevrolet C1500 W/T review from North America

Worn Valve Guides.

Fuel Pump.

Gas Tank.

Front Brakes.

Very Rusty.

Gas Tank.

I bought this truck for the princely sum of 400 dollars. It must have been a base model, there aren't many frills on this truck. Handling is okay but it definitely gets twitchy above 65 mph. The ride is very nice for a pickup, and it cruises on the Interstate just as fast as any car thanks to overdrive on the 5 speed transmission.

The engine is a 305, it has very good power but typical of most Chevy v-8s the valve guides are worn out. It smokes only on start up, oil consumption is barely noticeable. If someone wants an engine that smokes all the time I suggest getting a Mopar V-8.

Problems I have had have been minor except for the rust. It seems like up here in the rust belt Chevy trucks rust the worst. I swear they make the frames out of compressed rust. Everything scales underneath, it isn't just limited to my truck. Every Chevrolet that is older than 10 years seems to have this problem. Things to look for are holes behind the rear leaf spring mounts. This is where they rust the worst. I have seen more than one Chevrolet with broken frame syndrome. The rust is why I decided to quit driving the truck along with a bad fuel pump and gas tank.

Other than the compressed rust syndrome the truck is a pretty solid design. After driving nothing but full sized Fords almost exclusively I can say that this truck versus Fords of the same era is miles ahead in the ride department and the engines are definitely more peppy. I don't think that the Chevrolet 1500 is as heavily built as either a Dodge or a Ford of the same year.

Right now I am in the process of swapping the 305 and trans into a much more solid Dodge pickup.