A Quarter Million Miles and Still Running Smoothly: A Review of This Classic Pickup Truck

As we approached this classic pickup truck, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia wash over me. The vehicle had been sitting in a driveway for some time, with only two toyotas currently occupying the same space. Despite its age, with a quarter million miles on it, this old pickup truck still managed to impress. Its mileage system, typical of older vehicles, required regular maintenance and upkeep, including fuel injectors that needed cleaning every now and then.

The engine, in particular, was running smoothly, with only minor fluctuations in the fuel trim reading. I observed one gauge showing a value of 2.344, while another showed a reading of zero. The latter indicated that the engine was still subtracting slightly, but overall, it was running at optimal levels. A cleaner could be added to the tank, and the vehicle would continue to function without issue.

One notable aspect of this truck's condition was its air conditioning system. The AC unit worked beautifully, even with the windows rolled up, allowing us to hear any unusual noises more clearly. I was pleased to find that the bearings were relatively quiet, with no signs of excessive wear or tear. The rear differential did not exhibit any noticeable issues either.

To test the truck's performance further, we took it out for a spin on my newly paved drag strip. As expected, the vehicle shifted smoothly through its gears, without any significant hesitation or hesitation. Under load, the engine performed well, responding to our every need. I also noticed that the ABS system activated as required, providing an added layer of safety.

Passing gear proved to be a bit rough, but hardly noticeable. The truck's performance was impressive, considering its age and mileage. In fact, it seemed like this vehicle still had plenty of life left in it, with 3,500 worth of driving experience still available. A test drive revealed that the truck handled well, with some minor drifting issues due to the road's drainage system.

Another interesting aspect of this pickup truck was its interior condition. Despite being an older model, the interior had been redone, and the result was a comfortable and well-appointed cabin. However, I did notice one burnt-out turn signal bulb, which required attention. Overall, however, the vehicle presented itself as a solid choice for anyone looking to purchase a classic pickup truck.

It's worth noting that these older vehicles have several advantages over their newer counterparts. They are typically simpler in design, making them easier to repair and maintain. Additionally, parts from these trucks can be sourced inexpensively from junkyards or salvage yards. Furthermore, they offer an opportunity for owners to customize and modify their vehicles to suit their needs.

In conclusion, this classic pickup truck offered a compelling combination of performance, comfort, and reliability. With proper maintenance, it's clear that this vehicle will continue to run smoothly for years to come. If you're in the market for a reliable workhorse or simply enjoy driving older cars, this might be an excellent choice. At $3,500, this pickup truck presented an attractive price point, especially considering its condition and mileage.

A Final Word of Caution

It's essential to remember that purchasing an old vehicle like this comes with some inherent risks. The transmission may require more frequent maintenance, and engine components may need to be replaced over time. However, for the right owner, these challenges can be managed with a bit of TLC and mechanical expertise.

Ultimately, if you're looking to own a classic pickup truck like this one, don't hesitate to give it a closer look. With some patience and attention to its needs, you might just find yourself driving off into the sunset in a beautiful piece of American engineering.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrev up your engines okay old pickup trucks it's a 99 are they worth buying are you buying somebody else's problem lady just bought this for 3500 we're gonna go through it see if she got a deal or not now cosmetically of course it seemed better today paints fading but the chrome is still good the wheels are in decent shape and one of the crucial things on these is you don't want us rotted away it's one of the southern cars you can see it's just superficial scratches it's not rotted a lot of times these tailgates are routed away hey now you'll notice one thing when i close it it wraps because it needs a new hinge no big deal she doesn't care it holds it in place she's not going to fix it but that's a minor flaw now the major things to check on these babies is the frame full frame solid now yep the rocker panels are gone well you can cut the metal off weld new ones if you want bar solid this is the rocker panels the bottom of this quarter panel we'll check the other side too and as we go down here we see this rocker panel's been eaten away you can replace rocker panels they just weld on now you can see there's plenty of good metal left to weld more stuff on it's not all riding through and in this case panel here is okay so it needs rocker panels big deal as you see nice solid frame now let's say the frame was rotten don't buy it get one with a solid frame first you crawl under the frames gone walk away go to the next one this is a classic gm pickup it's just rear-wheel drive you can see what they're known for big old v8 engine has a 4.8 liter v8 engine it looks to be in good shape superficially now the guy put a cold air intake i'm not a big fan of that but let's see what it sounds like well we'll start her up starts right up crank windows yes crank windows it's got an excellent sound the exhaust has been modified too but the engine running pretty smooth isn't shaking and when we level up we look out the back no smoke okay this baby's got a quarter of a million miles on it but heck the ac still blows cold you had mixed noise because the blower motor is wearing out but it's still blowing cold now would i buy modern gm 1500 silverado no way but this baby baby we met in a great state of indiana go hoosiers fort wayne midwesterners built these trucks and they built them well a quarter of a million miles thing is still running quite well now we're going to check out the transmission and i know it's got to be worn as far as i can tell it's still the original one that's the thing that goes out first on these and a quarter million miles don't be surprised if you have one of these eventually you'll have to either rebuild it or put a rebuilt unit in but they're relatively simple transmissions which can be either rebuilt or my favorite is by a fully remanufactured one that was done by pros who know what they're doing maybe you want the best gas mods they'll set it up that way maybe you want one that tows the most they can set it up that way this one still goes but i'm sure when we drive it we'll feel a little funkiness in the transmission they're almost all that way with this kind of mileage not leaking anything under top's pretty clean doesn't overheat idling so let's get the old computer out okay we'll plug it in the data port it's a 99 it'll be kind of slow but still is obd2 we'll plug it in see what happens we turn the key on so the idiot lights are on but it's not running it's going to have a limited amount of data but it gives us enough to see what kind of shape it's generally in bald ones they got to go through the different protocols until they find the right one and here we have okay and we will read both codes and we're talking gm and here we go evap vents circuit is open the malfunction lamp control circuit those are minor codes especially here in tennessee you notice there's no sticker on the windshield down on spec cars now if you live in a state where they inspect cars you're gonna have to fix that stupid thing to get legally inspected which is a pain in the butt always consider that if you live in an area but also check the dates and areas because if this car was in rhode island it would be grandfathered it's too old and it doesn't need emissions testing anymore so always look into that kind of stuff in your area if you can get an older vehicle you don't have to get inspect that's one advantage of buying an older vehicle you know to deal with all that crap back what i really want to see is reading the live data collect everything and we'll look at the data the air flow mass air flow sensor the air flow rate is pretty good 5.6 5.767 it's a big engine that's close to the leader of the engine at idle and drive which is what you want now the engine coolant you notice is in the red and that's because it's too cold see how low it is here well i can just about guarantee you what's happening there it's 90 something degrees already and it's running that cold somebody took the thermostat out now you can run them that way they'll run perfectly fine except if you do it in the modern car it'll put the check engine light on then you can't get your car inspected but here in tennessee when it gets hot a lot of guys will take the thermostat out and then in the winter when they want heat inside to warm themselves up they'll put the thermostat back in if this was mine i would just put a new thermostat in and see how it runs and if it ran fine i'd just leave it in the whole time but you would much rather have a vehicle that's running cool like this instead of one that's running way over here by 260 meaning it's overheating it's an old vehicle the long-term fuel trim bank one is adding 2.3 and bank 2 is attracting 1.5 2 banks right i can feel a slight little jitter so it's not running perfect it's adding a little fuel on bank one short term and subtraction a little on bank two with this kind of mileage system that this vehicle has on it that's typical you could put in new fuel injectors why you might want to clean them runs good enough but you might want to clean them try to get a little more perfect but those are good reading it's a small amount anything that's two percent or less is good for a vehicle with a quarter of a million miles since the long-term fuel trim isn't that bad not one up to 2.344 and the other one's still subtracting a little bit yeah it's off and now they're both exactly similar one is adding and one is subtracting so basically an engine that's running as smooth as this i'd put a little cleaner in a tank and leave it at that it's not burning oil runs this smooth this time just still got a lot of life in it keep our spin and i can roll up the windows because the ac is working and with the windows rolled up we'll be able to hear all the noises better than with a roll down here we go no backup camera is an aftermarket pioneer stereo i love this old ac that's working gm always did make pretty good ac systems even when i was a kid they're putting out some pretty cold vehicles that's a pickup truck it's high up in the air and we're listening for odd noises so far the bearings are pretty quiet i don't hear any big roaring noises i don't hear the rear differential howling and it is a big old pickup truck with a quarter of a million miles but the front end isn't all that bad still handles pretty good it's not particularly wavering in the corner but i always worry about these on automatic transmission so we're going to take it out for a spin and see how it shifts under load it's not doing too bad at low speed it downshifts without any clunks i will check the brakes out they still work pretty good the abs is activating it's not squealing the tires even this old 99 has abs brakes mind you it's an older system i sure wouldn't bet my life on it i'll tell you that so let's take it to my newly paved drag strip look at those lines smooth all right there's nobody behind us so imr get set go go burn the rubber really doesn't shift that bad under load it's a little rough but hardly at all and we'll see how passing gear works all right it goes down picks up and goes faster as far as i can tell she's really getting her 3 500 worth out of this old pickup truck right not stable look ma no hands it's always going to drift a little to the right that's how this road drains and they just bring paper it's just pretty smooth you don't feel any jerking it's going in all the gears no halloween noises now if i only had 3 500 bucks to spend i'd definitely buy this pickup truck of course we already got two toyotas sitting in a driveway they'll probably last another 30 years so i'm not looking for one but she was she found this and interestingly enough her other vehicle is a tesla electric car so kind of ironic there oh even the interior's in pretty good shape in this thing seems to me it's been redone it did a pretty good job dude it's comfy and it looks good the only thing i can really find wrong is this one of the turn signal bulbs is burnt out so all in all don't let the superfish your rocker panel route not scare you away from one of these the rest of it's still rock solid yeah the paint's faded away but the metal underneath is still in pretty good shape and realize one more thing these aren't like the new crap they're throwing out they're simpler they were solid built if you got to replace the transmission not that bad the engine you can modify it do whatever you want put aftermarket parts on if you want there's tons of cheap ones here lots of them in junkyards you can get parts from if you smash up a fender these things can run for ever and unlike those new cameras with melting mirrors this is the original mirror and actually even got it with good tires on it she didn't have to buy tires for the thing you find something like this buy it fast before the next guy toss the frame solid the engine runs great the still shifts good there's nothing not to like in this in an old pickup truck fix the rocker panels if you want or just let them sit rust and away it's your choice you could make this like a new truck if you want or you could keep it as a rat truck either way 3 500 bucks for this thing it's pretty good deal so if you never want to miss another one of my new car repair videos remember to ring that bell you\n"