I know that the best tow vehicle for the money is probably a ten year old Silverado/Sierra, but I don't want one. They are good, but boring.
What do we think about something like this? C20, Turbo 400, SBC, seems like a brake upgrade away from being capable of pulling 5,000#'s down the highway, right? It sure would look nice parked in front of my place.
ultimate old school tow rig
Take that truck, drill out the rivets holding the front crossmember on, find a crossmember from a truck built in the 80's and bolt it in the holes, slide a 6 liter out of an Escalade into it, enjoy.
I plan on towing with this thing. I'd say go for it.
Its an 87 Suburban frame and mechanicals. Really just plan on putting on some helper springs and real hitch.
If your going to do any long distance stuff nothing beats a big diesel dually but your results may vary.
What about something like a 3-door Suburban with a modernised drivetrain and brakes?
Nice, they're easy (and relatively cheap) to find in good running shape, even up here in OH/KY. I'd keep the SBC/TH400 that most of them come with for the time being, I wonder how hard it'd be to put that 6.0 in front of a T-56?
BoxheadTim wrote: What about something like a 3-door Suburban with a modernised drivetrain and brakes?
I wouldn't be opposed to a Suburban. I'm wondering if I'd have to upgrade the drivetrain, suspension, ?, or if I could just beef up the brakes and throw some new shocks on and pull easy with it.
I haven't got any experience with the late sixties/early seventies Suburbans (the ones that have, err, three doors instead of four) apart from liking their looks. I would assume that you have to come up with the same sort of upgrades you'd have to for a truck of similar age.
I have no idea what this thread is about. 
Those Chevys are the bomb, but I'm a Ford guy, so I make do with this. Disc brakes bolt right on from a pre-79 donor. 15 mpg unladen, 11 mpg towing as shown. Everyone at the track loves it. My wife loves it. It cost less than 3 grand, runs antique tags (no inspection) and tows at 70 mph comfortably. 
That's a cool truck 
.
You had best be layin' frame, brah.
ShadowSix wrote:
C20 means 3/4 ton.. people were hauling a LOT more than 5000 pounds with them back when they were new.. i'd say to make sure everything's in good shape, add a big trans cooler, put on a receiver hitch, and add a trailer brake controller and you'd be good to go. if it's got the 16.5" wheels, i'd look at swapping to later model 16" wheels to make it easier and cheaper to find tires for it in the future. someone out there would want the 16.5's just because they are old school.
I want to do the same thing with a '70s Ford.
ddavidv wrote: I have no idea what this thread is about.
How do you insure it? Classic policies I've looked into outlaw using your old truck for anything actually truckish. I have a 54 willies I'd like to use as its on a 1996 s10 4*4 chassis so mildly capable.
I used to have a '71 C-10 (similar to the one you showed).
I never towed with it, but it could sure get tail happy with no load. When loaded, the steering got sloppy.
Upgraded brakes are a must.
You guys are nuts. On a long road trip, I'll take my 2011 F-150 with Sirius, heated and cooled leather seats, sunroof, 21mpg Ecoboost motor, 9k-plus pound towing capacity, etc, etc.
Tom_Spangler wrote: You guys are nuts. On a long road trip, I'll take my 2011 F-150 with Sirius, heated and cooled leather seats, sunroof, 21mpg Ecoboost motor, 9k-plus pound towing capacity, etc, etc.
You know, they do say that half the fun is getting there...
Tom Suddard wrote:Tom_Spangler wrote: You guys are nuts. On a long road trip, I'll take my 2011 F-150 with Sirius, heated and cooled leather seats, sunroof, 21mpg Ecoboost motor, 9k-plus pound towing capacity, etc, etc.You know, they do say that half the fun is getting there...
...and the other half is being awake when you get there...
I used to have 2 of those trucks (like the blue one), I got rid of them because they needed quite a bit of $$$ put into them to be useful and they used too much gas. They are very simple, the only big problems are they aren't that comfortable to drive for tall people, and straight original body panels are nearly impossible to find. Thin Chinese reproduction sheetmetal and pretty much anything else is easily available though.
Tom_Spangler wrote: You guys are nuts. On a long road trip, I'll take my 2011 F-150 with Sirius, heated and cooled leather seats, sunroof, 21mpg Ecoboost motor, 9k-plus pound towing capacity, etc, etc.
you're doing it wrong.
Tommy Ivo towed to the races with a Buick Riviera.
I'm planning on something along the same lines.
Shawn
A late model f-150 was the absolute worst vehicle I have ever driven. I have to agree with the people who prefer the older stuff. Lol
In reply to ShadowSix:
Both in Ohio:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1976-GMC-SIERRA-CLASSIC-2500-CAMPER-SPECIAL-8400GVW-4X4-4wd-V8-AUTO-PICKUP-TRUCK-/200687367281?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2eb9e63471
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1990-dodge-cummins-diesel-2wd-/120827519426?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1c21e1a1c2
I have a perfectly capable late model truck that does a great job of towing my car trailer, gooseneck horse trailer, making dump runs and general work around the farm. For no logical reason I want to replace it with a 1960s pick up. I don't want a show truck just a decent work truck. It must be some sort of sickness that we all share.
ddavidv wrote: I have no idea what this thread is about.
This is pretty much what I wanted to hear!
Somewhat related question, will all the 3/4 and 1-ton GM's have Turbo 400's? I guess I should check on any truck that old anyway.
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