1983 GMC Other

Pickup Truck

5.7 Diesel

Automatic

1GTCW80N3DR501536

Clear

Diesel

Up for sale is my 1983 GMC Caballero. As you know, it's just like the Chevy El Camino, This has the factory 5.7 diesel engine, which is super rare. It's rare in an El Camino, and they outsold Caballeros by, what, 10 to 1? Now that's rare. I bought this car from an older gentleman from Oklahoma. Flew down, he and his son met me at the airport, and I drove it home to South Dakota. He was the original owner. It's been here ever since. I put in a manual glow plug controller and Bosch Duraterm glow plugs, other than that it's just been regular oil changes. Oh, and I had a brake master cylinder put in as it was leaking. The car runs very well. But, it's a 30 year old truck and is in no way perfect. I use it as a truck, so it's no show car. The Really Bad: Doesn't have a reverse gear. My mechanic says it needs a rebuild or a new tranny. The transmission that is in there is a TH200 (also known as a "Metric" for some reason). It's the worst of the 3 transmissions offered with this engine, but it's a numbers matching original, so it should probably be rebuilt. If you don't care about keeping it original, I think a TH350 or a 700R4 can be easily swapped in. The Bad: A/C doesn't work. Needs a headliner. Dash is cracked. Some dents in the tailgate from my cows. One headlight is dim. Needs a blinker stalk, but I have the (very expensive) GM/Delco part. Normal wear and tear stuff. The Good: Starts, runs, and drives great. The previous owner said he had the engine rebuilt, and given that it runs, I'm sure that's true. It's super cool, super rare. Every time I fill up at the diesel island, people start a conversation about it. The first time it happened to me was on the drive back from Oklahoma, and the last time it happened to me was last time I filled up. It's just that cool. And, except for the radio, it's all original. Like everything. Even the clock works! (The clock says "Chevrolet" but I understand that back in GM's glorious heyday of the 80s, everything was a parts bin exercise, and it wasn't at all unusual to find Chevy parts in a GMC, or an Olds, or any of the similar models.) I use it as a truck, and it's really practical since the gate is so low. And there is only 1 little spot of rust on the whole car, surface rust, on the roof. It needs paint soon, but for now, it looks great. Especially if you live somewhere hot and dry, or where they don't use salt on the roads. Will it drive across country? The transmission is the only concern I would have, and I don't know enough about transmissions to know whether complete failure is imminent, or if it can run forever in just the forward gears. Other than the questionable transmission, I would not hesitate to drive it anywhere. Please ask me any questions BEFORE bidding. I want to make sure you are comfortable with the car as I have represented it. I can get pictures of a specific part or from a specific angle. I want you to be happy with this car, because it's kind of special. And, if you bid on it, I expect you to pay. Terms: $500 down via Paypal within 24 hours. Balance within 7 days. I can store it here for a while. If you are flying in to drive it home, the airport is ABR. I can get it on a shipper's truck if you are having it shipped. Thanks for looking. Please be sure to ask if you have any questions.