No Reserve Muscle Truck: 1990 Chevrolet 454 SS
With less than three days remaining in the auction, this 1990 Chevrolet C10 454 SS Pickup is for sale in Stuart, Virginia. If you look close, the truck has a few modifications including a cowl induction hood, bed cover and the suspension looks to be lowered. The mileage on the truck shows to be 120,441 on the odometer. The truck is being auctioned here on eBay with bids reaching $9,100 as of this writing. Since the truck is being sold at no reserve, it should have a new owner on Monday.
The description on the truck is limited and there is no discussion about the engine or possible modifications. If you like torque, this is the engine for you. From the factory, GM rated the 454 cubic inch V8 engine at 230 horsepower and 385 lb-ft of torque in 1990. The 385 lb-ft of torque came in at a low 1,600 RPM. A mint 1990 454 SS Pickup sold on Bring A Trailer in September for $33,000 but the truck only had 140 miles on the odometer.
To my knowledge, all 1990 454 SS pickups were painted black and came with a red interior. Even though the truck has over 100,000 miles, the interior looks pretty nice. I would say it is in driver’s condition. Back in 1990, the factory window sticker indicated that this truck had an EPA estimate of 10 mpg city and 11 mpg on the highway. The original manufacturers suggested retail price (MSRP) of the truck was just below $19,000.
The 454 SS pickup was a heavily optioned truck in 1990. The options included included a heavy-duty radiator, transmission cooler, sticker package, oil cooler, 26 gallon fuel tank, locking 3.73 rear differential, handling package, air conditioning and gauge package. The factory tire size was P275-60R15. I can’t tell if there tires are the same but the truck looks lowered in the front end. This truck retains its factory chrome rims. If you like the 454 SS pickup then this driver may be a good choice for you.
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Comments
Really like the feature. Had no idea the 454 was still available so late in the model run (1990). Guessing it was a limited run to liquidate stock of a proven motor (?) There are Chevy guys on here that know !
The 454 was available through the HD trucks until 1998, I think.
Al, I had a 454 in a one ton dually in 95.
My local tire shop owner has one heavily modded. His is more of a pro-street set-up. This was the first modern muscle truck. Before the SRT10 Doge and the Raptor. Good looking truck has aged well.
Not to be rude ( not many women here anyway) but I remember, these were some of the 1st pickups that women took a hankerin to. They were stylish, comfy, and in 1990, it was probably the fastest vehicle you could buy from the factory. While the 454 here was merely a shred of what it once was, it was still the hottest stick out there.
Interesting truck, I remember these when they came out,,, one gripe was no overdrive transmission that year. The early musclecar interest was really coming around at the time, so an SS454 seemed obvious. Only way that was going to happen in 1990 was with a pick up truck.
Loads of low end torque, not great on the top end,, looks like the owner took matters into his own hands here. Aluminum intake and what looks to be an aftermarket 4 barrel carb, open air cleaner, who knows what else…I applaud this stuff..
I’ve always been a Ford guy, but have secretly wanted one of these ever since they first came out.
There’s just something about the 454 engine. Cars and trucks equipped with the Ford 460 seem to run out of breath under heavy loads and when driven hard, but the 454 delivers a smooth rush of effortless power no matter what.
I drove one new and detailed one for a customer. These trucks were comfortable and it marked the return of muscle. The paint was awful, but so is the paint on today’s $75,000 Silverado butt ugly junk with 365 sensors to break and the dreaded brake line rust GM still.has not addressed.
I had a 93 Chevy pickup, only the 5.7 liter. Brake lines rusted through, dashboard shook itself apart. Changing a heater hose involved removing the intake manifold. Massive body rust. But it was easy to work on for the most part.
Now one can buy a 4 cylinder Honda Accord with more horsepower and get 40 MPG. I no longer need a pickup so that’s what I’ve done.
Looks kinda like the one that was offered here a few months back with super low miles?
These originally came with throttle body fuel injection. This has been removed on this truck and it now has a Holly carburetor instead. That may have been a decent move for performance but it is a sure a big hit to the originality and possibly to the convenient start up and go drivability that most are use to with fuel injection.
I had a friend that did some of the same to his. Ditched the throttle body, went with a carb…I think a Carter. Aluminum intake and headers. It really woke it up and seemed to use a bit less fuel. He wasn’t really concerned with originality as it had a salvage title after being stolen and beat to death by the thieves. I think he has it to this day. A fun truck to tear around in.
Phil, At the end of the Craigslist copy for this truck, the owner points out that an incorrect (100,000 miles lower) mileage was previously shown, so maybe it is the same one you saw. That said, at around 10 grand, this one looks like it has possibilities. If the truck was driven regularly, that’s only about 4,000 miles a year. If the engine needs a rebuild, a few grand would make this a real nice toy to own. .
You might just be right.
Even IF I have a “Phlat-head” I STILL try to keep an OPEN mind.
They were torquey. My ’88 stepside 5.7 with a 700 r4 would outrun it though. It had the big overdrive and a 3.40 gear. Still, a big block was cool if you had the gas money.
These were a lot of fun to drive in the early 90’s. I wanted to buy one, but after a good test drive and knowing an acquaintance who owned one, I just couldn’t live with just over 200 miles before looking for a gas station! So I bought a new Reg cab C1500 with the Silverado Sport Package, that came with the same interior with console and high back powered bucket seats and all power with tilt wheel, electric HVAC system, great sound system with equalizer and CD, plus the same chrome wheels and handling package and tow package. In silver an grey. But mine came with the 5.7 V8, with a 5 speed manual that was unavailable in the 454SS. With the same 3:73 Posi! Not quite as quick and tire shredding tq, but lighter and handled better. But there were two generations of the 454SS, the first had the old 454 an TH400 3 speed, but the second had a “new” 454, that Chevy was kind of forced to make because all the old tool&die were worn out, but the new 454 only had an extra 10 hp, but 25 lbs ft tq more. But the best thing was the new HD 4 speed automatic! They were also available in white and maroon, but very rare. I came close to trading my 350 in on a new 454 SS, but the mileage was still terrible.