Unbelievable find

[Bird_Freak]

Sometimes you run across something you just have to buy even if your not looking. Ran across this in a small town.
1995 Chevy 2500, 4 wheel drive, extended cab, 8 ft bed, 6.5 turbo diesel. Owned by volunteer fire department since new. 41K miles. like new. $3000 obo.
I pick it up Wed.

[ktosv]

Maybe it's a geographical thing on if this was a good, great or exceptional find. I drive by a farm daily that for the past couple of weeks has had 2 of the same vintage GM trucks sitting out for sale. One was a regular cab and they wanted just over $3000 for it. The other is a extended cab and they want just under $3000 for it. Both are/were 4x4. From the road, both were in rough shape (rusted, dented, etc). The regular cab has been gone a few days and as of yesterday the extended cab is still sitting there with the exhaust laying on the ground under it.

Had I come across a $3000 truck in that great of shape I think I would have jumped on it as quick as you did and thought I had found an exceptional deal.

My neighbor is a diesel mechanic and I know that he would take something with the 6.5L in it before some other diesels.

[Grit_dog]

MegaCab_PL wrote:
This is a nice find. Any GMT400 in good condition (I know - frame) and this is rare one. I have a soft spot for those 89-99 GM trucks.

I've ragged a couple half ton GMT 400s to death and they didn't die and had a couple more that were stellar. Like I said above, for reliability and capability they don't give up much of any to most newer models. And if it has a NV4500 you'll never worry about the trans. Bulletproof. I sold one of them once and had 3 guys lined up and a bidding war for it! I wasn't home. The losers helped the high bidder load it in his truck!
The 6.5 is cool but the mixed emotions about it here are appropriate for good reason. My take on them is you need to be a tinkerer/decent wrench to not hate the 6.5. Understand the issues and they give good service. Expect to put diesel in it and drive it for years without touching it is a pipe dream though

[MegaCab_PL]

This is a nice find. Any GMT400 in good condition (I know - frame) and this is rare one. I have a soft spot for those 89-99 GM trucks.

[blt2ski]

Thats not as bad a truck as some think for an LD2500. The trans is or should be a 4l80E, not the normal 4l60 put in 6 lug trucks. Rear is was supposed to be a full floater, do not remember if it is the typical 9.5" or a 10.5" rear. power wise, being a 6 lugger, it is short of the 8 luggers, at 175 vs 185. Torque is around 330-350 vs 385. Being a 95, it is the first year of the electronic injection pump.
If it has some overheating issues, put the post 97 fan, dual t-state setup and that helps tremendously this issue. Also remember to use a robert shaw or std GM t-stat, not a stant or equal. As those do not flow as much water, and will cause some overheating too! You can also put a later model turbo on it, ie bigger capacity, that also help cool it better. If you have access to being able to time the motor, try to get it to -1.94. That seems to be the best place for that motor. The manual NV4500 5 sp option kept the engine cooler, and had better performance than the auto version.
At one time, TheDieselpage.com had some of the best info for how to take care, use, tune better etc the 6.5 motor. Not sure if that info is still on the site, hopefully it is. It helped a lot to keep my 96 6.5 moving. It was not the worst engine I had, not the best either. It worked well for what it was. With 175 hp it will not be a barn burner of a motor, but it will get the job done.

Hopefully your friend enjoys the truck.

Marty

[Bird_Freak]

bucky wrote:
Sorry, my brain turned rebuilt into salvage.

Sometimes I think my brain IS Salvage. :B

[bucky]

Sorry, my brain turned rebuilt into salvage.

[jerem0621]

I think it's an incredible find.

good job OP passing this on to someone else.

A 3,000$ truck that will serve someone for several years. Heck. That truck cost much less than some people's interior option on their new trucks.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[Bird_Freak]

dodge guy wrote:
Wow! This thread went negative fast!!!!

They always do when those folks start posting. Shows you why new membership seems to be down.

[dodge_guy]

Wow! This thread went negative fast!!!!

[alaska511]

It will need an injection pump next week 😄

[rjstractor]

westernrvparkowner wrote:
Actually, $3000 is probably nothing more than a fair price.

I agree, it's a good price but not the deal of the century. It's really a 1500 series truck with a 2500 badge on the side. IIRC it's only 7200 GVWR, so with it being a 4WD extended cab long box with a diesel it won't have much payload.

[Camper_G]

.

[westernrvparkow]

Actually, $3000 is probably nothing more than a fair price. It's 23 years old, like it or not. It has a rebuilt title, that destroys resale value. It might be a good truck. It might end up being a great truck, but it isn't an "Unbelievable Find". That would imply it was either extremely rare (like a Gull Wing Mercedes) or a screaming financially great deal (like that same Gull Wing for $500.00). Hope if works out for your friend.

[Bird_Freak]

4x4ord wrote:
The 6.5 was a garbage engine. I had a '93 with that engine in it. It was replaced under warranty at 150,000 km. Then at 400,000 my son in law put a Peninsular diesel in it. It was very expensive but I think it will be a good engine for him. It gets fantastic fuel economy.

Some of you make a big deal about this engine but if it only runs 50K miles he got his money out of it and the red neck boys around here will pay a bunch just for a good 4wd chassis.
I didn't post this for all the haters to chime in, just to show a 20 year old low mileage find in great shape.

[4x4ord]

The 6.5 was a garbage engine. I had a '93 with that engine in it. It was replaced under warranty at 150,000 km. Then at 400,000 my son in law put a Peninsular diesel in it. It was very expensive but I think it will be a good engine for him. It gets fantastic fuel economy.