This 1990 Chevrolet SS 454 pickup looks like it just rolled out of a 1990s high-performance Chevy catalog, sitting on period-correct aftermarket wheels and made to look even meaner with blacked-out turn signals and lens covers over the rear lights. The seller notes this is a Florida truck, so despite its location in Maine, the SS hasn’t been driven in winter and has seen any road time in any season since it went into storage six years ago. The mileage is on the high side with 152,261 on the clock, which the seller attributes to its years spent towing a drag car. Find it here on craigslist for $18,000.
The asking price seems steep to me, but it does present very well for an SS that has been used. The modifications all appear to be only skin deep, so you return this truck back to bone-stock condition in a hurry provided there’s been no monkeying around under the hood. The paintwork still looks quite nice despite clearly not being treated like a time capsule, and the tonneau cover and LINE-X® Bedliner have both helped to protect the cargo area. The seller notes the truck “…is set up for towing,” but doesn’t elaborate.
The only other modification noted is a Flowmaster exhaust, and the seller notes that acceleration is still quite healthy despite apparently being used for years as a workhorse. This must have been a pretty slick setup back in the day in terms of seeing this 454 SS roll up with something along the lines of a matching black Camaro SS on the trailer, and if the seller included a photo along those lines, I’ll bet it would inspire another drag car owner to use this sport truck for the same purpose. The interior is in seemingly great shape despite the seat time the owner has recorded, with the Bordeaux red cloth buckets still presenting quite well with no signs of sagging.
The 454 SS went head-t0-head with the Ford F150 Lightning of the same era, making for a glorious show-down between the two dominant truck models on the market. I don’t know if there was ever a clear winner, but I feel like the F150 always got a bit more love from collectors. Lately, we’ve seen a rash of these SS pickups popping up for sale, and this one looks like it might be priced ahead of the market at the moment. Collectors certainly appreciate them, but high milers like this will likely need a bit of a discount to find a new home in the short term. I’d keep the wheels – would you?
I agree with your comment about a photograph with a slick, period race car in tow Jeff.
Good idea. Cool truck.
You rarely, if ever see this generation Chevy pickup towing anything to the track, let alone an SS like this one. The 99 and new GM trucks out class even this SS by a mile. They make more power, have better brakes, stiffer frames and get better gas mileage, that doesn’t even address other manufacturers trucks. These were cool product of their time, but have been surpassed in nearly every way by later model trucks. These SS’s will follow the footsteps of earlier short bed fleetside trucks primarily used to go to shows and occasional light hauling typical of suburban homeowners.
Steve R
I almost bought one of these new when I got out of the Corps in 1990, after the test drive, I had to open the hood to see if it was really a 454 under there because it was so slow. Ended up getting a Nissan truck with V6.
huh???
Located in Mount Vernon, ME