Well I just purchased myself and old but good '84 Chevy as a Tow Rig.

It is a '84 Chevy Silverado C-10

Main reason I bought it is because:
1. Truck is from Texas(not rust)
2. Has 2000 miles on new 350 Engine w/ a 465 lift cam, aluminum intake, new carter 625 carb :D
3. Has 10000 on rebuilt turbo 350 - tranny :D
4. Has 5000 on rebuilt rear end. :D
and a lot of other good items...
I got the feel from the guy his wife wanted him to get rid of it, but he really wanted to make it into a hot rod truck.

Ok onto the Questions:
1. It has a drop bumper that he said he has used and it is fine to tow with.(what he said)
But I have never seen one of these, and I am not sure how strong they are, even though I did check and it is bolted to the frame not the body.

2. Which and where is the best place to get a fuel ingection kit for the 350.
I want to get rid of the Carb and manual choke.

3. Is there any specific Items I should check on the 350, or should watch out for over time?

4. Or just any other items to watch out for on a '84 Chevy?

Thanks
Pics below of rig and drop bumper
Ken

pic 2

pic of bumper.

I'd replace the bumper with a factory unit, and then add a receiver hitch. The bumper will indeed by "fine" until you do a panic stop or get in an accident. A REAL hitch is a good investment. Depending on your gearing, that cam might be a little hot for towing. I'd say you'd need to be turning around 2,500 RPM's (give or take) to be in the sweet spot. Hopefully, you've got something like 3.73's in the rear. If 3.08's, could be trouble.


TEX

If you like the look of the bumper I have had good luck cutting a reciever sized hole where the license plate is. Then put the reciever behind the bumper so its hidden and doesn't hang down too much. I have no idea if that will work with a bolt on reciever hitch though.

If I remember correctly those bumper are good for 500lbs if it's a heavy one.

Thanks for the replies so far.

I think I will get myself a rear hitch just to be on the safe side.

Because since I am pulling like 5000lbs I do not want to take chances with a bumper and my rig attached to it.
I prefer to actually make it to the trail head.

KenC

We are in Raleigh too.

I'd put a 2" class 5 reciever on it and wire it for brakes.
Add a larger tranny cooler with a bypass.
As far as bumpers go just put a stocker back on it, they are cheap enough, or a flat bottem aftermarket. Or drop by the shop and we can build one.

If you need any help hangin the stuff drop by, we have a rock shop in wake forest that we do the hobby stuff out of and fellow wheelers are always welcome.


Joe

Nice looking truck! Since no one has answered your FI question yet, I'll bite.

In my mind, the best way to convert to FI for you is to get the whole factory TBI setup (better yet, the complete engine) from an injected 350. Easiest to swap in would be '87-91. I've done four of these swaps, and if you know wiring, it's not bad. One of the swaps was an '84 pickup. Since the factory offered this setup on the same body style in '87, this one is easy. If you want, I can go into specifics on the swap.

Frame mouned hitch and tranny cooler are must-haves.;) Like Tex said, check your rear end ratio, since in those years, they got stupid with high gear ratios, looking for mileage. I had an '85 C10 with a 2.7X. If it weren't for the 4 spd with granny gear, it wouldn't have been able to tow anything.:rolleyes:

Good looking truck. I had an 81 with a built 383, by the way (hard to tell from the picture) it looks like it has an 81-82 Silverado grill. Just in case anyone cares the doors get a nice wistle at the front next to the windshield at 120 mph plus. Also it was around that time that they switched fromt the 12 bolt rearend to the 10 bolt. Hope if you are towing that it has the 12 bolt. I'm with everyone else on losing the bumper (why do they love those things in the south?) and getting a receiver hitch.

I agree about getting rid of that bumper. You'll have safer capacity with one. One plus with a receiver is the trailer is farther away from the truck. This allows you to turn tighter when backing up with less worry about the trailer hitting the truck.

If that truck is an '84, it should have come w/a 700R4, in which case it may have decent gears.

I agree on the '81-'82 grill, but it is hard to tell from the pics. The easy way to tell is if the turn signals are in the front bumper, they put them in the grill starting in '83.

What is the bumper rated to? It should be stamped near the tow ball somewhere. I think they run those big arse drop bumpers down south to comply w/bumper height laws, but that doesn't really apply in this case.

I'd also reccomend the TBI swap, about the best bang for the buck and simplicity.

'84 should also have a 10 bolt, last year for the 12 was '82. If it blows up, don't waste your time w/a 12, its really not that much of an improvement, just find a 6 lug SF 14 bolt.

Pete

Again thanks for all the info.

postal,
Nice looking truck! Since no one has answered your FI question yet, I'll bite.

In my mind, the best way to convert to FI for you is to get the whole factory TBI setup (better yet, the complete engine) from an injected 350. Easiest to swap in would be '87-91. I've done four of these swaps, and if you know wiring, it's not bad. One of the swaps was an '84 pickup. Since the factory offered this setup on the same body style in '87, this one is easy. If you want, I can go into specifics on the swap.

Frame mouned hitch and tranny cooler are must-haves. Like Tex said, check your rear end ratio, since in those years, they got stupid with high gear ratios, looking for mileage. I had an '85 C10 with a 2.7X. If it weren't for the 4 spd with granny gear, it wouldn't have been able to tow anything.


Well I have started making calls to see who has what and how much it is gonna be, so hopefuly I can get started soon on ths TBI swap.

Also Checked out rear gear ratio found out it has 3.54's. NOt bad

locrwln,
Good looking truck. I had an 81 with a built 383, by the way (hard to tell from the picture) it looks like it has an 81-82 Silverado grill. Just in case anyone cares the doors get a nice wistle at the front next to the windshield at 120 mph plus. Also it was around that time that they switched fromt the 12 bolt rearend to the 10 bolt. Hope if you are towing that it has the 12 bolt. I'm with everyone else on losing the bumper (why do they love those things in the south?) and getting a receiver hitch.

Thanks. Yes it does have a 81 grill in it, guy said he liked it better then '84 ( whatever).

As for the bumper i have decided it is going away, maybe I will sell it on Ebay to someone.


pcorssmit,
If that truck is an '84, it should have come w/a 700R4, in which case it may have decent gears.

I agree on the '81-'82 grill, but it is hard to tell from the pics. The easy way to tell is if the turn signals are in the front bumper, they put them in the grill starting in '83.

What is the bumper rated to? It should be stamped near the tow ball somewhere. I think they run those big arse drop bumpers down south to comply w/bumper height laws, but that doesn't really apply in this case.

I'd also reccomend the TBI swap, about the best bang for the buck and simplicity.

'84 should also have a 10 bolt, last year for the 12 was '82. If it blows up, don't waste your time w/a 12, its really not that much of an improvement, just find a 6 lug SF 14 bolt.

Pete

Well he tranny is a turbo 350.
again yes the grill is a '81 - Good Eyes, guys.

Again Thanks.
Looks like I have a little work to get to.

Ken C