Quote:
Originally posted by Hookups
I dont know if this is the right place to post about this or not, but I'll give it a stab anyways.
Im looking to buy a truck in the summer. I would eventually like to take it to the drag strip, while keeping it a daily driver. Keeping in mind I'm only 19 years old, so I dont have a huge wallet to fund an all out dragster.
Im looking for a good platform to use. I dont know much about trucks, so I dont know which manufacturer to look at in terms of quality and reliability.
So if anyone could tell me what would be a good option in terms of purchasing a truck (probably early to mid 90's) and what performance upgrades should come first and/or which ones would give the greatest performance without spending thousands of dollars on custom turbos and engine build ups.
Thanks in advance.
|
I know you said early to mid 90's, but thats no good for a drag truck. The trucks from about 88 on up were junk. You need a truck with stout components from the factory. My dad's truck is a perfect example, a 1973 GMC 1 ton 2WD pickup. The thing is practically bullitproof in the drivetrain-TH400 transmission, 14 bolt Corporate rear with full floating axles. And it came with a 350, but my brother built up a 383 stroker with 425 HP, and 450 Ft/lbs and the truck handles it no problem. The only problem is traction, next step is a Detroit locker. Oh one other thing, it came with 4:10 gears from the factory-you wouldn't even need to change them. And it came with a good 4 bolt main block, mid 70's 4 bolt's are the most sought after block in the performance field. They are so strong I think the block itself can handle about 800-1000 HP levels.
Although you would be hard pressed to find a mid 70's chevy without much rust. We spotted the perfect deal, our 73 we found had practically no rust, fresh paint job, blown engine(thrown connecting rod), 54K original miles, new tires, all for 400 bucks!!! We thought it would be 154K miles, but upon further inspection of the cylinder walls after we started tearing it apart, we found it was 54K original miles. What a find.
This is one of the only trucks that can handle in excess of 400 HP from the factory. Truck doing that in a 88 on up truck, something is going to break.