1987 Chevrolet K30

Description

The very best place to go for heavy-duty hardware is your local fire department. They buy trucks like this 1987 Chevrolet K-30 1-ton dually, spend years polishing them, they receive perfect maintenance, and they rarely get driven. As a result, former fire equipment tends to be incredibly nice, as this big Chevy so aptly demonstrates.

This awesome dually certainly looks right for a fire department, although it was not used specifically as any kind of fire equipment, but with just 21,495 original miles, you know it was not doing cross-country hauling. Following a repaint in the original red and white paint scheme about six years ago, this big 4x4 looks spectacular, and the regular cab/long bed combination is rather unusual to find these days. You can still see a few remnants from its fire days, particularly the extra marker lights on the front fenders, and since its retirement, it's led an easy life of car shows and light work around the homestead, where that 8-foot bed can be particularly useful. Finish quality is quite good, particularly for a heavy-duty 1-ton, and few trucks look better with those big flared fenders than Chevys of this vintage, giving it a commanding look that suggests it's willing to go anywhere and haul anything. The bed is protected by a drop-in bedliner and it's worth noting that it's never been cut for a fifth-wheel hitch. All the chrome remains excellent and all the many marker lights give it a very official look at night.

The all-original interior is also all-business, but with a splash of bright red to go with the gray seat upholstery, it looks quite appealing. The driver's seat shows some wear, of course, but no damage or notable issues. Original carpets are in nice shape thanks to some heavy-duty rubber floor mats, and it's pretty cool to see a big 4-speed manual shifter on the transmission tunnel. As a civil servant, it didn't need entertainment, but today it boasts a Kenwood AM/FM/CD stereo system with upgraded speakers in the doors. Other than the stereo, however, it's quite stock, with only a billet aluminum fascia over the original gauges to differentiate it from its siblings. The gauges are in good condition with legible markings and clear lenses and anyone who has been behind the wheel of a pickup in the last 30 years should feel right at home.

The engine is a Tuned Port Injected 350 cubic inch Chevy, which is quite an anomaly in a heavy-duty 1-ton pickup. Obviously for around-town duties with the fire department, it didn't need stump-pulling power, but you'll be rather pleasantly surprised by how well the torquey small block works. Smart gearing in the 4-speed manual gearbox and heavy-duty axles mean it's quick off the line and it'll haul anything you can fit in the bed without complaint. There's a 4-inch lift kit to give it towering street presence and awesome off-road crawling power, and you can find signs of decades of careful maintenance throughout the engine bay and chassis. It's quite clean underneath and offers dual gas tanks for bladder-bursting range on the highway. It's finished off with a set of flashy Alcoa aluminum wheels and 295/75/16 light truck radials (six of 'em!) that complete the burly image.

An unusual and highly functional truck that's probably more economical than most of the brutes you can buy today. Combined with a neat history, this is a cool truck that's still ready to work. Call today!