This 1989 Chevrolet Silverado is likely one of the best ones left, with under 6,000 original miles and seemingly in showroom condition. It’s equipped with the rare combination of a manual transmission and 350 V8, and what appears to be the desirable short box / wheelbase design. The deep blue paint still looks sharp, as do the chrome bumpers and the the original steel wheels with trim rings. Finding a Silverado of this generation in anything approaching driver-ready status is worthy of a look, but a time-warp survivor like this should stop you in your tracks. Find it here on craigslist with an asking price of $18,500, and thanks to Barn Finds reader Mitchell G. for the find.
This Silverado bring back warm memories of a truck my brother owned, albeit with the automatic and maroon cloth interior. As he spent several years with at least one yard waster runner in his driveway, the rotation of trucks began to move briskly – except for the Silverado, which was also a single cab, short bed like this one is. The reason it hung around was because it was so damn dependable and useful, with most of its time spent hauling loads to the dump or running to the hardware store to pick up bulky items. We even used it to bring my 1987 BMW 325is project home from Richmond, now clocking in at 10 years ago. The truck wasn’t happy about the long, hot ride in traffic with a loaded trailer, but it got the job done. Check this interior out: the seating surfaces, door panels, steering wheel – all mint.
The 350 is one of the more venerable engines out there, not unlike Ford’s 5.0L V8 or a 318 from the Mopar family.These are the engines that can soldier on almost indefinitely, even with long periods of neglect. Obviously, with the low miles that this example has, it’s not likely to have much in the way of needs anytime soon. For a truck like this to have such low mileage, it would have to be a case of an owner who never had the chance to use the truck as intended, as I doubt anyone was putting their ’89 Silverado up on jack stands to cash in on a future payday. Today is a different story, where there’s a newfound appreciation for survivors like this.
Not a dent or a scratch in sight, looking up an down the sides of the truck. The seller notes the truck is equipped with tilt steering wheel, air conditioning, cruise, and AM/FM cassette. Even better, it left the factory with Ziebart rust-proofing underneath, which is an added bonus for ensuring that a survivor like this doesn’t suddenly begin to develop surface rust while parked on concrete. The truck will come with all owner’s manuals and original purchase paperwork. The asking price may be ahead of the market by a bit, but I don’t think it’s terribly far off for a Silverado in somewhat unrepeatable condition. Would you pay close to $20K for a time capsule like this?
This truck is nice – what you should take to an auction so it can find that discriminate buyer with the funds.. I can see a classic car dealer buying it and adding a $29,995 price on it. Whether he gets that price is another story.
And is sure looks like the long box to me.
It is a long bed.
This body style hasn’t caught on yet so I think it’s a tough sell at that asking price even with the low mileage. The market wants standard cab short beds, that won’t change any time soon.
Steve R
Before the instrument panel redo, you’d have to have the reach of a gorilla in order to access the radio/cassette player controls! Sharp looking truck, but that has got to be the UGLIEST shifter ever! GLWTS!! :-)
WRT the shifter, I have the same one in my 1992 2500 and it’s extremely comfortable to use. I love my country Cadillac. It doesn’t notice a 1 ton load and can actually take almost 2 tons without issue. Mine is a 5 speed but without a really low granny gear. Pulls great with the 350 and TBI.
The 2500 series was geared for work. The standard axle ratio in this truck is 3.07. which makes it a great highway truck. I have one but a bit newer. 96, 5 speed they did not put granny years in these because it was all about fuel efficiency.
Moparman:
“GLWTS”???
Leave that code to the Millennials. We’re grown up in here, you can type it out in full! :D
GLWTS is pretty common around here. You must be new, welcome and don’t sweat the small stuff.
Am I remembering this correctly? The CD player was located in front of the passenger?
I thought it went in the same spot as the cassette deck. Only one could fit though.
No one I had the cassette went in endways. Tight below the digital radio display
tape player, no CD player in that model year
These were a good adaptation of the old to the newer. That TBI system worked very well and IMHO was a good transition from the carburetor to the new world. If I got this, the first thing that would be taken off and rebuilt would be the alternator. Seen a few of these burn up because of the bearings in the alternator. Delco chintzed out when it sourced out the bearings. They would fail and throw off shards flaming metal which would catch onto other flammable pieces turning the engine bay into a Roman candle. Other than that they were pretty good. It seems to me that there was a campaign change on the alternator bearings. Oh, I might add that I was never a big fan of the HVAC system on those either; the touch system could get a little out of touch after a spell…
I’m not sure about the “Roman candle” part but I know exactly what you mean when you say they chintzed out on the alternator bearings. I had both a 1988 GMC 1/2 ton 4×4 and a 1993 GMC conversion van, both bought brand new. The 4×4 went through 3 alternators before I decided to rebuild it myself (with quality bearings!). I’d learned my lesson by the time that the vans original seized up. When you have a 30 mile drive home from work, on rural roads, in January (also in Northwest Ohio), the LAST thing you want to hear is that growl that says your alternator is about to stop turning, then,the screeching and smoking of your serpentine belt! I never had a fire but I can see how it would be possible.
I had bought a 93 Chevy conversion van New. Never had alternator problems. Over 227,000 miles ! But you could start it in the winter and leave it idle all day and it would never produce heat until you drive it down the road. It finally took out one to many deer. My 96 Chevy 1500 I changed the alternator for the first time at over 400,000 miles !
Nice survivor. It’s getting hard to find one that hasn’t been molested or modified in some way. I bought a short wide brand new in Back in 89. This one is not a short bed by they way.
Nice truck, but not $18,500 nice. For that price, you could find four or five such trucks that you wouldn’t be afraid to put to work.
I’ve own a few of the trucks, an ’88 350/Auto 2wd long bed, ’92 350/5spd 2wd short bed, and ’96 2500 350/Auto 2wd long bed.
I liked my ’92 the best since it was lowered 3/5, 17″ Centerline Daggers, front and rear sway bars, black w/red int.
Getting $18.5 for this truck is a stretch, like others have said, the market is not there yet.
I like this truck for $18,500 more than I like the 76 Bicentennial C-10 for $28,000
What I see missing in all of this that you pretty much have an almost brand new 89 and and nobody is comparing it to what a Brand New similar truck would cost probably double not much better.
I recently stopped by my local Chevy dealer because I was thinking about buying a new 1/2 ton. The BASE model Silverado, 2 wheel drive, regular cab, short bed listed for just over $28k at that time. Start adding options and you’re at $40k before you know what happened. I kept my old truck lol!
Factory Ziebart?
I don’t see $18’000 grand worth of truck,if that is show room quality someone did a terrible detail job.not taking away from the truck,it is very nice i would like to own it but at 12,500 maybe.nice truck!
Geomechs, there alternator on my truck lasted long enough I head to take a big hammer to it to get the aluminum free ! Let’s just say a bit over 400,000 miles ! Last year I had to change the water pump for the first time also ! 446,000+ miles ! What you neglected to mention is that they used plastic intake manifold gaskets ! Those are the problem ! And this age of one is surely to fail ! YouTube has a great video on how to change it. People, this is a long box. But if your looking for a gas truck that will go 400,000+ miles, this is for you !
I had the 89 with 4WD , 350 with the 5 spd. Fun truck but was a lemon. It was $16000 brand new so $18 k for this? It is nice.
Who buys a truck in 1989 then sits on it for 31 years to then sell it for the same or less money. Doesn’t seem like a good investment to me. The only thing that makes this more than. $5 k truck is the miles, and I don’t see anywhere near $20k for it, maybe $12k.
A useful late ’80s time capsule! Love the attempt at Star Trek in the
interior.
By the way, I’m more familiar than most with mid-late ’80s GM stereos,
and I do not see a cassette slot in the radio in that interior photo – unless it is
hidden partially from view by the steering wheel hub.
My uncle bought one of these new in 1990, I believe it was a leftover 89 Cheyanne. As a kid I thought the speedometer was something cool out of the future the way it worked without a needle.
The cassette deck is in the cubby hole in the center of the dash below the air ducts. The one in my uncles truck was a dealer add on after the sale.
Bakyrdhero:
I decry the removal of any and all physical media(cassette, CD) players from motor vehicles. Only a fraction of all the music I want to play on the road is on my phone or iPod!
At least those pickup trucks still have a cassette deck to which an adaptor can be fed, with the phone at the other end of the jack.
They’ve already removed any kind of spare tire, what’s next to be removed in the name of ‘cost cutting’… SEATS? smh
Does it also have 31 year old “original” gas in it too?
it has efi. extra fancy interior!
This is NOT the UN-desireable (to me at least) short bed. Give me an 8′ bed all day every day for a truck that I’m actually going to use! Even though I’m a square body guy, I’ve also owned a 1988 GMC 1/2 ton and these are great trucks! Mine was an SLE trim, extended cab, long bed 4×4 with a high rise cap. It was also all white which made it look even longer than it really was. Unfortunately, my exwife got that truck in the divorce. Apparently the truck didn’t like her because it spun a rod bearing a few months later. The 350/5 speed combo here really works for me. I also prefer my vehicles in dark colors. Even though it’s 2 wheel drive, I think that the asking price is fair, as long as it’s as nice up close as it is here. You literally CANNOT walk into a dealership and order a 1/2 ton truck with a manual transmission today. I’m not sure that ANY full size light truck can be ordered with a stick these days.
That’s a long bed dude. 3 tire downs across the rail
The only problem I see with it. I need 4×4 ! Can’t live in WY mountains without it.
On the other hand, while it’s still in running condition the plastic intake gasket needs to be replaced with an upgraded steel one.
This is a 1/2 million mile truck even when neglected. My 96 w/350 has 449,000 miles and after the first 200,000 I started running Rotella T 15-40w. The engine is still clean inside ! And if you say a quart even 1000 miles is using only then that’s your claim. After hibernation under 4+ft of snow it still fires right up. Faster then most new cars.
This is a beautiful truck and you can’t get a new one for that much 🦌🦌 ! I’m a Ford guy but I’d buy this in a “heart beat”. Besides it was probably 100% made in the USA 🇺🇸
thanks for sharing this. Here in PA right now, the truck would easily fetch the 18,000.00 asking. I have a 1989 C in much, much, “less-favorable”, but still solid and “sea worthy” condition and recently was offered $4500 for it by a colleague at work. He had just priced out a used truck at a dealership near Harrisburg and decided to look at private sellers. (I’m not selling mine though) Only has 174,000 miles and minimal rust, but he said the engine is pt is what he is looking for for his work needs.
Anyway, I replaced the radio, cassette and equalizer about 2 years ago. What a nightmare–3 different parts to it in 3 different locations including one section inside the dash, while the tuner, equalizer and cassette were elsewhere with all kinds of work arounds to resolve with putting in a newer stereo. Whoever noted the need for ‘gorilla arms’ was spot on. I’m only 5’7″ and needed help with the EQ from my son or wife at times. ha ha.
anyway, thanks for posting this last year and I hope it does sell or has already sold to a worthy owner.
myron mac