New from the Netherlands (Europe) • 1980 GMC C1500 Stepside

[FireTruck1984]

Welcome from the Motor City Detroit…
We appreciate the photos ! You must’ve received the memo

 

[RecklessWOT]

Welcome from New England!

Truck looks great! Cool to see one half the world apart. Hah, you even look like the sort of guy who would own a square even over here! Though these trucks are MUCH more common over here than in the Netherlands I'm sure, yours is still nicer and cleaner than most of the ones I see on a daily basis. So it's rare regardless of where you are, really a beautiful vehicle

Also I had both a 98 Dodge and a 97 Plymouth Neon back in the day on two separate occasions when I was hard up and needed wheels, what pieces of crap (both were 5spd and I bought them each for $400, this was probably in 2008 or 2009 and they had pretty low miles- nowadays I couldn't imagine buying a car that was only 10 years old and had barely 100k miles on it for so cheap, was proof of quality I suppose). Welcome to having a real vehicle! Lol I kid, the SRT4 was kind of an iconic car from my late teens-early 20s, I knew a bunch of people who had them and they sure were quick, but man there's nothing quite like having a full frame vehicle with a gas guzzling V8 that roars at you when you put your foot down

 

[1973c10]

Welcome aboard

 

[Wrench At Home]

Welcome! I also had a 2005 Neon SRT-4. I bought it through the military sales program when I was stationed in Germany, so they shipped it over there for me for free. That was a fun car to drive around the back roads of Germany and on the Autobahn.

Thank you! Yeah the SRT-4 sure was an awesome car, and people always underestimated it, especially here in Europe where almost nobody knows what's actually underneath that hood until you pull away from them at traffic lights, lol!

My SRT-4 also happened to come from Germany, pre-owned by an American soldier who was stationed there! It was sitting in a garage in pieces though, because the guy stripped a sparkplug hole and ended up ordering a new head for it. He should have never attempted a head swap because it was way out of his skill level. While the car was down, he got into a fight with his commanding officer (literally fight) and got into some trouble. One thing lead to another and he got caught doing drugs while in the military. Needless to say, in a very short period of time they discharge him. All the while the car is sitting disassembled. He couldn't ship it because it didn't run. He couldn't sell it because he didn't "own" it but he left a power of attorney with his unit so they could handle it for him. Some guys from the Netherlands managed to track the car down and put her back together, so I could enjoy her a couple of years (and owners) later.

 

[Wrench At Home]

Welcome from New England! Truck looks great! Cool to see one half the world apart. Hah, you even look like the sort of guy who would own a square even over here! Though these trucks are MUCH more common over here than in the Netherlands I'm sure, yours is still nicer and cleaner than most of the ones I see on a daily basis. So it's rare regardless of where you are, really a beautiful vehicle

Also I had both a 98 Dodge and a 97 Plymouth Neon back in the day on two separate occasions when I was hard up and needed wheels, what pieces of crap (both were 5spd and I bought them each for $400, this was probably in 2008 or 2009 and they had pretty low miles- nowadays I couldn't imagine buying a car that was only 10 years old and had barely 100k miles on it for so cheap, was proof of quality I suppose). Welcome to having a real vehicle! Lol I kid, the SRT4 was kind of an iconic car from my late teens-early 20s, I knew a bunch of people who had them and they sure were quick, but man there's nothing quite like having a full frame vehicle with a gas guzzling V8 that roars at you when you put your foot down

Thanks man! Haha the 'normal' Neon was the first car I owned, and man was I happy with it, mainly because it was a Chrysler! My first car was American made! Of course it was just a family mobile, but for 1250 euros it had airconditioning, a back seat for friends and/or family, a big trunk for subwoofers (lol) and a 2 liter engine which was pretty fun. It wasn't quick of course, but it's a lot of fun to drive a slow car fast! I had a great time customizing that thing. Did engine upgrades, carbon fiber hood, lambo doors, audio system, the lot. Very ricy, yes, but I learned a lot during that period!

 

[Corvette Ed]

Welcome to the forum from East Tennessee. Sweet ride.

 

[Bextreme04]

Thank you! Yeah the SRT-4 sure was an awesome car, and people always underestimated it, especially here in Europe where almost nobody knows what's actually underneath that hood until you pull away from them at traffic lights, lol!

My SRT-4 also happened to come from Germany, pre-owned by an American soldier who was stationed there! It was sitting in a garage in pieces though, because the guy stripped a sparkplug hole and ended up ordering a new head for it. He should have never attempted a head swap because it was way out of his skill level. While the car was down, he got into a fight with his commanding officer (literally fight) and got into some trouble. One thing lead to another and he got caught doing drugs while in the military. Needless to say, in a very short period of time they discharge him. All the while the car is sitting disassembled. He couldn't ship it because it didn't run. He couldn't sell it because he didn't "own" it but he left a power of attorney with his unit so they could handle it for him. Some guys from the Netherlands managed to track the car down and put her back together, so I could enjoy her a couple of years (and owners) later.

Ha! What a story, sounds like a few guys I knew. Mine was kept stock while I was in Germany, but once I got it back into the states I ended up putting fully adjustable Tein coilovers on it, custom building an upgraded turbo kit with a custom built 60-1 turbo and equal length stainless steel manifold and putting a Mopar Stage 2 ECU and an additional piggyback ECU/Datalogger/Boost controller on it. It made 471hp on 100 Octane and 380 hp on the 91 octane street tune and was an absolute rocket ship.

 

[RecklessWOT]

Thanks man! Haha the 'normal' Neon was the first car I owned, and man was I happy with it, mainly because it was a Chrysler! My first car was American made! Of course it was just a family mobile, but for 1250 euros it had airconditioning, a back seat for friends and/or family, a big trunk for subwoofers (lol) and a 2 liter engine which was pretty fun. It wasn't quick of course, but it's a lot of fun to drive a slow car fast! I had a great time customizing that thing. Did engine upgrades, carbon fiber hood, lambo doors, audio system, the lot. Very ricy, yes, but I learned a lot during that period!

Hah the first one I owned, the 98 Dodge was riced out before I bought (the 97 Plymouth was plain as could be). As a joke I continued to rice it out farther in obnoxious ways, if people were going to poke fun I was going to give them something to laugh at. But I agree, despite being slow and somewhat embarrassing to be seen in because of how much of an exaggerated hack job it was, it was still a lot of fun to drive. It weighed almost nothing and was a tiny little car and it had a short throw shifter, living in the rural countryside it was a blast to fly down the curvy roads through the woods and farmland, I even had a few hills I could get it airborne over on a regular basis lol. I don't miss it one bit, but we sure had some fun together

 

[Catbox]

I will start with saying I have never owned an embarrassing Neon.

Welcome to the forums from Oregon and you have a swell looking truck sir.

 

[oldretiredafguy]

Welcome to the forum from N. Texas!!

You must be registered for see images attach

Great looking truck. I like that you found a stepside. My family and I used to drive over to Domberg to camp on the beach. We always found your countrymen to be very warm, friendly and welcoming.

Let me know if you need to have some parts chased down.

Mike

 

[dvdswan]

Welcome to the site.

 

[Camar068]

nice truck, and country. Spent about a week there in the early '90's on a biking trip. Getting on the boat back to the UK, the local shop was out of Heineken. The shop owner recommended Grolsch. A let down turned out to be a decision that has impressed me to this day. I'll take a Grolsch over a Heineken any day.

Love Your Country....Salute

 

[MartinWD]

Hallo Nederlander....

I'm originally from Groningen, have lived in the US for decades - just bought a 1991 Suburban 1500 4x4 which I intend to use for an overland trip - will ship it to the Netherlands next year or so.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Welcome!

I also had a 2005 Neon SRT-4. I bought it through the military sales program when I was stationed in Germany, so they shipped it over there for me for free. That was a fun car to drive around the back roads of Germany and on the Autobahn.

did they also conform it to German regulations and bring it back to the US when you were done or did you dispose of it lol

 

[Bextreme04]

did they also conform it to German regulations and bring it back to the US when you were done or did you dispose of it lol

No, they are US spec vehicles. When you are stationed in Europe the military will pay to ship two vehicles there and two vehicles back. They don't have to be the same vehicles.
Lots of guys will buy some nice classic cars in the states and get them shipped to Europe. Sell them for WAY more money than they cost in the states and then go to the BMW or Mercedes factory and get a US spec car custom built for them.