1984 C10 Common Problems? What to look for

[Ben13245]

Hey guys! I am seriously looking at my neighbors 1984 Chevy c10. It has a recently rebuilt 350 4 bolt that has 4000 miles. Runs and drives good (or so he says). Wanting to know what I should be looking for as to problems that will occur down the road. I don’t exactly have money to replace tons of parts right away so I’d like to know what I’m getting into before hand if at all possible. Thanks so much!

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[Charlie]

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Was it in a head on accident at some point, or is that just priming that happened? If you don’t know, just make sure everything’s aligned properly. I see the typical parts store engine dressing, which doesn’t say much, and I personally don’t care for it, but everything else looks pretty stock. That’s a good sign. Electrical issues are what I would look for the most. Any excessive hackery under the dash, in the engine bay, etc. is not a good sign. It’s never the truck’s fault, but you should either be prepared for the fallout in dealing with that if someone’s gone in over their head or move on to another prospective buy. Nothing is just going to flat out break for no reason, but things do wear out or spontaneously happen with age and mileage as they do with any vehicle. As far as things that all these trucks do, the window and vent seals generally wear out, the steering box gets sloppy over time, vacuum leaks and emissions issues crop up, the A/C goes out eventually, and little picayune stuff like that. I’ve found that 99% of the time, unless you’re getting a vehicle going that hasn’t been driven much or parked for years, it’ll tell you what’s going wrong and give you plenty of time to deal with it. At least older GM vehicles I can say that about in my experience. There are some really ****** automobiles out there that just do what they want when they want.

 

[Ben13245]

The truck hasn’t been in an accident it’s whole life. My neighbor is the son of the original owner. He did some priming obviously and got sidetracked with one of his projects. It looks pretty good electrically, not all hacked together. Dash cover is cracked. But it shifts real good and the engine idles well. It takes a couple pumps of the gas to get it started first thing in the morning. Other than that it seems solid. The truck is very straight which is why I like it. Drives straight as an arrow. The 700r4 trans is pretty good as I remember? My 1990 GMC Burb had one with almost 500,000 miles never rebuilt so I have grown to like them.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

The truck hasn’t been in an accident it’s whole life. My neighbor is the son of the original owner. He did some priming obviously and got sidetracked with one of his projects. It looks pretty good electrically, not all hacked together. Dash cover is cracked. But it shifts real good and the engine idles well. It takes a couple pumps of the gas to get it started first thing in the morning. Other than that it seems solid. The truck is very straight which is why I like it. Drives straight as an arrow. The 700r4 trans is pretty good as I remember? My 1990 GMC Burb had one with almost 500,000 miles never rebuilt so I have grown to like them.

The pumps are a normal part of a cold startup for me. The dash can be DIY recovered if you want to do that over spending the big bucks on a new pad that doesn’t even fit hat great. 1990 was a great year for the 700R4. 1984 was a watershed year for it in that it didn’t suck like the first two years, but it wouldn’t be able to be called a good truck transmission until 1987 or 88 depending on who you ask. My ‘86 Caprice has one with 271,000 miles unrebuilt, and my Jimmy is around 184,000. I like them a lot. You just have to be aware of what they can and can’t handle. If this one’s in good shape, I’d consider putting a Transgo shift kit (regular not the junior) in it to help it out and see if it’ll last longer. The kit would address some of the transmission’s inherent issues and reduce slippage/help the juices flow better. A transmission that has crisper, firmer shifts will generally be the one that has shift improvement parts in it. A mushy one generally doesn’t. That and keeping it cool are the best things for it. You don’t have to go all the way out there and do an external cooler if you don’t want, but it would be a good idea to make sure the torque converter lockup circuit is good and locking it up in OD. Otherwise it’ll run too hot cruising down the highway.

 

[marks86]

Rocker panels and cab corners number 1 problem with square body chevys. Welcome to the forum.

 

[75gmck25]

I almost have to laugh about the "recently rebuilt" engine, since that seems to be the description you get for every used truck with a tired stock engine. And they often also have an easy to fix "problem with the carburetor" or a "wiring problem", which is why the don't run quite right.

Engine and transmission problems are usually relatively easy to fix if you have time and patience, since parts are still available at reasonable prices. However, most folks can't do body repair at home, and there are very few cheap body shops out there because of the EPA rules on emissions from painting. If the body is solid enough that you are willing to run it as is, or just do a quick paint job, then its at least a good DD. But if you need to repair cab corners or floor just to make it comfortable to drive, I would get an estimate of how much that will cost before you buy.

Bruce

 

[Snoots]

You didn't mention how much $$$.

If you're just going to buy it for a reasonable amount, put a new radiator cap on it and you'll be on your way down the long list of things. It's soooo much fun!

Welcome to GMSB from Georgia.

 

[TravisB]

I came to mention the transmission. I've had 2 84 models both were 4x4. One had a 700r4 and the other a th350. I still have the one with the 350. I replaced the 700r4 3 times before it hit the road. That could just be my experience with them but I will never have another vehicle with a 700r4.

 

[Crispy]

Its an old chebby, your biggest issue would be the body shape. 350 replacement parts are a dime a dozen and priced as such so barring anything major you should be ok in that department. If it runs and drives and the body is in acceptable shape I would buy it...for the right price.

 

[DBarre]

If it drives well, just check all the fluids and make sure they're all topped off and in good condition.

Rust is my number one thing to look for. Take a magnet to the cab corners, rockers and wheel wells. There could be bondo hiding some bad rust underneath.

After that, price is the kicker!

Also, I just noticed it has dual tanks. Check if it switches between and runs on both tanks.