'84 6.2L 4x4 3+3 long bed ... What should i know before buying?

[Affende]

I have been considering an early/mid 80s 3+3 for about a year (to compliment my 83 C10 that is a currently unstarted project) ... and one just popped up in my area. I have always preferred a diesel for these and i absolutely love the styling of the old trucks.

the one that just came up for sale is an '84 3+3 4x4 6.2L Diesel with a banks turbo kit on it and (supposedly) the Turbo400 has less than 10,000 miles on it (unkown if this is a rebuilt tranny or a new one).

The body is in ok shape ... it needs paint but there doesnt seem to be too much rust or any damage from the pictures.

What are the common problems i can expect and are these endless money pits? (my 93 BMW 5 series is a never ending money sucker ...)

I recently moved to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and i need 4 wheel drive. I do alot of camping and hiking and the trailhead roads can be impossible in the wet or winter months for anything other than 4x4.

I have wanted a 3+3 (wife and kids take up a lot of room) for a long time ... but i dont need a money pit or want a $40k truck ... but i do need reliability (my BMW is no longer worth fixing, and its beginning to be unreliable with 2 no starts in the last 2 months).

What should i know about these before i go look at it or buy it?

Thanks in advance.
-C

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

You sound like me. I daily drive an '06 VW Jetta TDI, and what a piece of **** that is. It's been a lemon and a nonstop shop hog from day one. I'll be parking it a under a tree soon, as the engine, transmission, fuel and throttle systems, and electrical system are all failing. I'll probably get me a Crown Victoria to daily drive since my Jimmy is for babying and not for dailying. Anyways, the Detroit Diesels are excellent motors in terms of reliability, granted that the PO took care of everything. Parts accessibility is nominal, and it's a relatively simple indirect injection motor so if you're a do it yourself person, you can easily learn how to work on it. If not, pretty much anyone that you would trust to work on a car can diagnose and repair it. The only stipulation that 6.2L owners face is lower torque than say a 7.3L Powerstroke, Duramax, or Cummins. It's an older and more primitive design so that comes with the territory, but if you plan to haul the family and/or light tow, it should serve you well.

 

[lessersivad]

Hey there Affende.

As for the 'money pit' question, really the 6.2 isn't that expensive to get parts for.

Now even though it has a Banks turbo don't expect to set any land speed records or pull down entire forests of trees. It ain't gonna happen.

I would hazard a guess that even with the turbo your HP and torque numbers are probably gonna be in the ball park of a stock 350 gasser. Maybe slightly better but not much. A non turbo 6.2 has numbers close to a 305 for comparison.

The 6.2 wasn't meant to be a torque monster. The intention was to have a close to direct swap for the gasser V8 while returning decent fuel mileage.

If you intend to try to do any heavy towing you may not be too impressed. My non turbed 6.2, SM465, 3.73 geared, '85 K2500 pulls my tandem car trailer decent even loaded with 3 tons. Is it gonna set anyone 'back on their heels in aw' with the time it takes to get up to speed? Nope.

Does it do pretty much all I would expect a 305 to do? Yup. So far in the years I've owned my truck I've been pretty satisfied with the reliability and going into it not expecting a lot, I've been content with the performance.

 

[Affende]

Thanks for the replies guys. I contacted the seller at the same time i posted this question and just missed the buy.

But i am still looking for one. I can find a few 2wd trucks from time to time, but so far i have only found that one 4wd truck.

I am definitely mechanically inclined ... i usually dont let shops touch my stuff, unless its a jod where the PITA factor outweighs the money factor.

Right now, considering that i will have access to a 2400 sq ft shop soon, i am giving honest though to converting a 2wd to 4wd.