need a truck, give me your opinions

[400exrules]

Im going to be getting my first truck soon, and i have to pay for it so im looking to spend no more then about $8,000. I have my heart set on a chevy Z71. should i get a 5.3 or a 5.7? how many miles are silverados good for? How is mileage in the 5.3 compared to the 5.7? I want to get the old body style, somewhere around 1993-99. I want either a standard cab, or an extended cab, i havent decided on one or the other yet.
Anything i need to lookout for? give me all the info and opinions yall have

[NorCalRacer]

96-98 5.7 You can't do better.

[400exrules]

how is the mileage on the 5.7's?

what about vortecs?

[NorCalRacer]

Depends on how you drive, but comparable to any 8. The vortec's are the chit. 96-98 have the best R & D chevy ever offered. 88-98 are pretty good, but they made them best between 96-98, they have the best ECU's:D 88-98 were also made with vortec heads.

My uncle has an '98 "I think" Z71 and it's kickazz:p I love that truck. It's a 5.7 4x4. I don't know the gas mileage thought. But I do know it has power and lots of it.:D

[hondardr4life]

I'm a big fan of the z71..... The 5.7l is a very nie engine, and suprisingly, it doesnt get that much worse milage than the 5.3. I plan on picking up a 99 1500 ext. cab with a 5.3. The 5.3 engine seems very restricted stock, but with a cold air intake, dual flowmasters, and a power chip, that motor will rip.

[mxdad]

I'm not a big chevy fan but I will tell you that you should get the extended cab. I had a reg cab pick up and there is no room for anything!!! I have a crew cab now and love it!!!

[Mxjunkie]

Deff get the extended cab, buddy of mine has had single cabs 2 trucks so far and its eh..

The 5.7's and 5.3's are gas hogs but eh it's worth it for the power and the v8 sound.

[MOFO]

You can't get a 5.3 in an old body style... I also doubt you would find a newer body style within your price range.

The 5.7 is a great motor as is the 5.3... you can't go wrong.

I have a Z71 with a 5.3 and love it. If I drive normal, I usually get around 16MPG (mixed highway/city). Not bad if you ask me... then again, I drive it about 100 - 200 miles a month now.

[ELewandowski]

If you can get a newer year with the 5.3 I would do that, more power than the 350 and better mpg. The 350's are fun though, tons of parts for them. I think the 5.3 is a better engine though.

[Camaroguy87132]

the 5.3 are only availible in 99+ trucks

old body style trucks are 88-98 therefor the only engine packages availible are 4.3 5.0 5.7 TBI 5.7 VORTEC and diesels

The 5.7 TBI were availble in 88-95 trucks and the vortec was 96-98 the vortec is a better motor than the TBI but the TBI is still a great motor.. They all last a very long time if you take care of them and do all the oil changes and things you are supposed to do.

If you wanna know how much chevy trucks can take.. hell just take a look at the Police Chase in Texas yesterday.. that guy put that chevy thru hell and it was lovin every bit of it

[Camaroguy87132]

also.. go on www.fullsizechevy.com if you want to learn about silverados.. a ton of great info on there

[underpowered]

why do you say 93-99? that body style (know as the OBS) was made from 198801998, with some still made in 99 and a few still in 00. you cant go wrong with the 350 (5.7). i would guess somewhere about 15mpg is what you would get, but is has enough power to do whatever you would need to with a 1/2 ton truck (correct me if i am wron, but i believe teh vortec has 250 hp) the vortec engine was first available in 1996. previous years had the TBI motors in them, which iw way underpowered. they only were pushin about 200 ponies and were barely adaquate, so i would suggest you get a 96-98. the TBI motors (avail. 88-95) were low on power but simple and reliable. the vortec (96-98) were good motors, reliable but with more power than the old TBI. i would suggest an ext. cab just cause i like them better and give you the ability to have more than just three people in the cab. just my .02

[400exrules]

yah, i wanted a standard cab for easier manueverability (sp?) in tight parking lots, but i want the extended cab for the extra room. So you all think i should take the extended over the standard? i dont have alot of experience driving a full sized truck, how difficult are extended cabs to manuever with the extra length?

and is the vortec just a completely new engine over the TBI? sounds like i will be looking for a vortec

oh yah, and do the vortecs last longer? how many miles is safe....because here is a vortec with 141k on the truck, and 45k on the motor for $6,000

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=204913352&dealer_id=58076300&car_year=1997&model=HDP&num_records=&bkms=1153541685627&lang=en&isp=y&start_year=1990&mod_bookmark_id=null&certified=&search_type=both&distance=100&make=CHEV&min_price=1&address=38017&advanced=&end_year=2007&max_price=8000&cardist=26

[MOFO]

Originally posted by 400exrules
yah, i wanted a standard cab for easier manueverability (sp?) in tight parking lots, but i want the extended cab for the extra room. So you all think i should take the extended over the standard? i dont have alot of experience driving a full sized truck, how difficult are extended cabs to manuever with the extra length?

and is the vortec just a completely new engine over the TBI? sounds like i will be looking for a vortec

oh yah, and do the vortecs last longer? how many miles is safe....because here is a vortec with 141k on the truck, and 45k on the motor for $6,000

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=204913352&dealer_id=58076300&car_year=1997&model=HDP&num_records=&bkms=1153541685627&lang=en&isp=y&start_year=1990&mod_bookmark_id=null&certified=&search_type=both&distance=100&make=CHEV&min_price=1&address=38017&advanced=&end_year=2007&max_price=8000&cardist=26


The motor was replaced before it had 100k on the clock? Sure sounds like abuse or major lack of maintenance. 5.7's will EASILY get well over 100k with regular maintenance.

[spdygonzalez450]

i have a 1995 Z71 on 35s with the 350 and i love it. it has 142,XXX miles and it runs amazing. gets alright gas milage not the best but it is a lifted truck so what do u expect. haha when you get one you will love it. i am aobut to sell mine time for a new truck crew cab with the 6.0 liter but i love my z71 it has been the best truck i have driven. i have had it for 5 years and not one problem you cant go wrong when buying a chevy great trucks

[underpowered]

Originally posted by 400exrules
yah, i wanted a standard cab for easier manueverability (sp?) in tight parking lots, but i want the extended cab for the extra room. So you all think i should take the extended over the standard? i dont have alot of experience driving a full sized truck, how difficult are extended cabs to manuever with the extra length?

and is the vortec just a completely new engine over the TBI? sounds like i will be looking for a vortec

oh yah, and do the vortecs last longer? how many miles is safe....because here is a vortec with 141k on the truck, and 45k on the motor for $6,000

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=204913352&dealer_id=58076300&car_year=1997&model=HDP&num_records=&bkms=1153541685627&lang=en&isp=y&start_year=1990&mod_bookmark_id=null&certified=&search_type=both&distance=100&make=CHEV&min_price=1&address=38017&advanced=&end_year=2007&max_price=8000&cardist=26

the Vortec is the same basic block as teh TBI but has other than that most stuff was changed like the intake, heads, fuel injection system, ECU, ect, ect..... It is a chevy 350, they will last forever as long as you change teh oil every 10,000 miles or so (j/k do keep a regular mainanence schedule) they are great motors, my old tbi had 23X,XXX on it before she let loose and those were some very hard miles.(seriously, a TBI 350 on stock internals should not see 7000 RPM and still hold together LOL)

as far as length goes, an Ext. Cab short bed is about the same length overall as a standard cab long bed so it really ain't that hard to manuver in the parking lot. i never had any problems with mine.

[400exrules]

Originally posted by underpowered
the Vortec is the same basic block as teh TBI but has other than that most stuff was changed like the intake, heads, fuel injection system, ECU, ect, ect..... It is a chevy 350, they will last forever as long as you change teh oil every 10,000 miles or so (j/k do keep a regular mainanence schedule) they are great motors, my old tbi had 23X,XXX on it before she let loose and those were some very hard miles.(seriously, a TBI 350 on stock internals should not see 7000 RPM and still hold together LOL)

as far as length goes, an Ext. Cab short bed is about the same length overall as a standard cab long bed so it really ain't that hard to manuver in the parking lot. i never had any problems with mine.

so whats the max mileage i should be looking for....because some of these that im finding are 185,000+ miles, and they're really cheap.......is it safe or is that too many?

[Camaroguy87132]

Originally posted by 400exrules
so whats the max mileage i should be looking for....because some of these that im finding are 185,000+ miles, and they're really cheap.......is it safe or is that too many? When i was searching for trucks.. i searched for about 5 months.. never found exactly what i wanted.. i looked at a lot of trucks and was very pissed about some because when i got there they were already sold and what not.. but i searched on every website in every magazine and just EVERYWHERE and i finally found what i wanted.. i looked at trucks for more than the one i got and they were in worse shape... for example.. i bought my truck for 3900 its a 1993 silverado 5.7 Z71 with only 116k miles on it... i looked at trucks that were from 1989 in worse condition with 140k on them for around 5k.. You just have to keep looking and sooner or later the right deal will come along.. My truck has never given me any problems and i know it will last another 80-100k

[400exrules]

k today im goin lookin for a 96-98 vortec extended cab.....hope i can find one without 180K+ miles

[250r4life]

Originally posted by MOFO
You can't get a 5.3 in an old body style... I also doubt you would find a newer body style within your price range.

The 5.7 is a great motor as is the 5.3... you can't go wrong.

I have a Z71 with a 5.3 and love it. If I drive normal, I usually get around 16MPG (mixed highway/city). Not bad if you ask me... then again, I drive it about 100 - 200 miles a month now.

exactly... in 99 you have the choice of new or old body style, but the new body style has the 5.3 and the old the 5.7. the 5.7 is actualyl supposed to have more power than the 5.7....

i have an 03 gmc z71, i get on it pretty good and i get around 15 in the city...