1989 Chevrolet C/K 1500 User Reviews

Cajun Loves Ugly Duckling —

I am a survivor of Hurricane Katrina floodwaters. Bought my 1989 C/K 1500 to help haul repair materials for my home in New Orleans, which was under 10 feet of water for 8 days. The truck was not under water and got it from an older man in Metairie, La, who bought a newer model. Best $50 I ever spent. Had to put all new tires, including the spare on it (all of which cost more than I paid for the truck), new battery, 2 headlights, both tailights, and had both V8350 knock sensors replaced. Had it tuned up by a local mechanic. Replaced both wipers and the oil pressure sender. Most of this I consider to be maintenance. Has "club cab" (small foldable backseat) and very helpful 8-foot bed. Solid as a granite rock, no rattles anywhere. Had to get used to the long bed during turns, and put two dents behind passenger door (where bed begins); had to learn to swing out a bit on turns. Had one accident in a parking lot. An 18-wheeler delivering fish food hooked its rear bumper with the rear bumper of the truck (heavy-duty step bumper) and literally dragged the truck out of the parking lot and onto the street. Bumper is somewhat reshaped now, intend to replace with a Fey bumper, but no other damage. This is one tough piece of Chevy hardware. I got the dents out and decided to paint the truck. Being the "old body," (or so I was told), it has only one "bling," a sole chrome strip across the grille, no other chrome, everything else factory painted. So I got a can of Rustoleum and a medium paintbrush. It came out great, has no polish shine, but no rust signs either. This is a working truck, and now looks it. Mileage is phenomenal, probably because I change the filters regularly, have it tuned once a year, and the guy who had it before me had the engine rebuilt in May 2007. It tracks and brakes well, and is a pleasure to drive, but is hard to find a place to park sometimes because of the long bed. Almost forgot. The driver door had a GMC logo on it when I bought it, but the passenger door had a Scottsdale logo; the title says Silverado. A check with Chevrolet revealed it is indeed a Scottsdale, but is also a C/K, the Silverado marque coming later in the series. Whatever. I don't think it cares, except when getting parts. Taking off the interior plastic cover of both doors showed the passenger door was original, the driver door a different color inside. Unfortunately, whoever changed out the driver door severely damaged the door wiring hookup (it had power windows and locks) and the passenger door glass would not go up or down. Money wise, it was cheaper to replace the passenger door with another exact-fit GMC door that matched the driver door (had to use the paintbrush again). That door was unbelievably heavy to maneuver into place, but perseverance pays off. Found a set of 1973 Chevy hubcaps that look just fine, if you ignore the scratches. It is ugly, though, and is a work truck. Last month, the City of New Orleans put a sticker on the windshield for it to be towed away as abandoned. When I contacted The Powers That Be, someone said, "That ugly thing runs?" Yeah, lady, it does, it's insured, has a current license plate too, so you leave my Ugly Duckling alone. It least it's not a Ford, praise the Lord.

Stallion — The truck is a good truck I thought when i first got it but then after i bought it started to run downhill. I had to fix everything when I didnt have alot of money at the time so it was hard to do. I like it because of the rumble of the v8 and how it looks but i dont like 8 miles to the gallon

Excellent Truck. — Strong truck. I used to tow a 28 foot camper down the highway at 70 mph and no trouble with hills at all.

Worth $500 — I paid $500 for this truck, I wanted something to help me move and this was my first attempt at a winter truck. However, without anti-lock and without the 4x4 working (needed a $250 fix) this 4500lb beast would slide into intersections if snowy out and when I finally did get it back into place, it started jiggling until the whole thing rotated (in place) 90 degrees... I have no idea what caused that. The turning radius makes it nearly impossible to maneuver in regular places cars need to go. The engine will randomly cut out (when coming to a stop or doing a slow hard turn). I'm either going to crash it into a tree or sell it for scrap.