1986 Chevy K20 454 Hauling Kubota KX121-3 Mini-Excavator
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- Опубликовано: 9 янв 2016
- To answer the very popular "How well does it pull?" question for this truck, decided to subject it to the heaviest test at my disposal. The truck is no modern turbo diesel, but I was somewhat pleasantly surprised with the performance. A 24' gooseneck trailer weighing in at 4200lb, and the Kubota KX121-3 mini excavator at about 9500lb. All together this is maxing out the 14k gross rating for the trailer. Yes, it is possible the manufacturer's tow ratings for this truck were slightly exceeded.
Note, the two videos may not be not perfectly in sync with each other, or the audio for that matter, but should be close enough to get the point across.
The big block trucks do just fine pulling and doing what they were meant to do. They’re meant to pull reasonable loads (nothing like 30,000 lbs that everyone seems to want to claim these days with diesel pickups) locally less than 60 mph and they do just fine at that. They were made in a time when people still drove into town, got what they needed, and went back to home or work. Everyone likes to rag on these older Chevy’s, but there are still a ton of them out there kicking and working everyday without “showing off” on social media trying to be cool. To me a square body or gmt400 with a big block is a man’s truck! Plenty of power for a pickup, anything else, move on up to a medium duty chassis or a semi tractor. Everyone likes to talk about how bad the fuel mileage is, what do they think a 3/4 ton 6.4 Hemi, 6.2 Ford, or 6.0 Vortec gets pulling the same load? And I guarantee the 454 isn’t straining as hard as those engines are. I wish we could go back to a time when everything was simpler!
Good point, the 6.0 2500 we have at my shop strains pulling a completely torn down car and a car trailer. Hate to see what it would be doing or sounding like pulling this.
@@Ramblin_Cyclops my 6.0 pulls a lot of different loads just fine. I’ve been in transportation for 30 years pulling things from a 2500 to peterbilts and Mack’s.
@@SoCalK5 it could be just ours is heavily beaten on and ain’t treated right so it’s probably a 1 time thing.
6.0 is an absolute unit, but a 454 feels better, on paper specs don't say nothing those big blocks got some grunt
@@loganmckinney1285 Yea the big block in my grandfathers truck is still original from the factory in 77 and doesn’t struggle to pull much of anything on his farm (granted it is a detuned big block but 🤷🏻♂️ details) and he wouldn’t sell it for a new truck
Great video, I myself use a old square body Chevy flatbed to tow my Kubota and it only has a 350. The best part is seeing all the guys in big fancy diesels stare as I drive by!
Love it. Love hearing a gasser pull like a champ.
Awesome truck, I love the old square bodies!!!! I have an 87 k1500 4x4 heavy half with 350tbi!!! Only complaint is when you are having fun you can watch the gas gauge drop!!!! Only thing old brown can't pass is a gas station!!!!! Fine ass truck friend!!!!!
Good to see an old truck doing some work!
Great video! Love seeing this old GM trucks still doing work!! And just hearing that quadrajet carburetor brings back memories of when I had it on my ‘72 GMC!
Good job. Cant beat an old chevy. Love my 87 c10, short bed 2wd daily driver, and my 87 K30 dually.
love the sound of your truck man
badass man. i love my 82 k20. has a 460bbc butted to a sm465 and its just a pulling monster. love your vid man
ugotsmacked1 what kind of mpg do you get towing with that sm465? I have a 469 with a sm465 and am curious
just showed you that a gas can tow just like a diesel
Hell yes, there wasn't anything a 454 chev/460 ford couldn't pull back in '76 or so that a Cummins or Duramax can today!
the only thing a new diesel will do an old 454 wont is pass a gas station.
blackandgold51 can they get 18+mpg?
blackandgold51 can you explain the mild cam? What does that do? And also, my dad has a junked motorhome with a 454 which i believe is a 96 vortec, that only has 40k miles and I thought that would be a great swap into something like a 1970 c30. What kind of mileage could I expect with optimal modifications? I got pretty discouraged about doing the swap when everyone I found online was saying 8-9 mpg was what they usually got, with 13 mpg being their mpg on a highway in the perfect conditions.
blackandgold51 I think it could be that transmission. I’m not entirely sure though. I haven’t looked into how the engine is operated through it’s computer, and how that may affect the swap, but I was wondering if just swapping it to a carburetor would make it more simple. I’m pretty sure though that carburetors can be less efficient. Thanks for the tips though. Maybe someday I’ll go through with this.
Not modern by any standard, but I paid $1,400 for a Reg. cab 1 ton SRW with the 6.5 Turbo Detroit Diesel. Since I own a small used car lot I use it to tow cars quite frequently. At first my trailer would weigh up to 7000 lbs but with a larger trailer and now towing some trucks I know I've exceeded 10,000. My trips are anywhere from 140 miles round trip, to 800 miles round trip, depending on which auction I go to.
So far, my expenses on the truck has been:
$100 on a brake line
$400 on drums, rotors, pads and shoes
$500 on hubs
$200 on front CV axles
$20 in-line fuel pump
$80 on a fuel tank
$45 on glow plugs and a glow plug controller
$120 on batteries (diesel uses 2 batteries and it was $60 each)
$400 on tires
$90 on an alignment
I'll probably have to replace the injectors soon, I think they're the originals with over 200k on them. So I'll have to budget $240 for a set of injectors ($30 X 8 injectors)
I don't know how much cheaper a gas guzzler would be compared to a coal roller, but if something major breaks I could just replace the truck for cheap. If the transmission ever goes I could rebuild it myself, that's what I used to do for a living before becoming a salesman. One thing that a diesel cannot compete with a gasoline engine is cold temperatures. Mine doesn't like the cold.
@blackandgold51 A camshaft with more duration actually raises the torque curve in the RPM band. You lose low speed torque.
Truck is a beast
Old truck sounds good. I’m getting an 87 1 ton flatbed in about two weeks I can’t wait unfortunately it’s only got the 350 but it has under 100,000 miles on it and it’s in damn near mint condition and comes with everything to make it a dump bed.
thank you
That is one tough truck
thanks for the video. and nice camera setup. maybe on the front fender lookin back too?
Is that the 4 speed with the granny gear man I miss running through the hears in mine
How does it ride with the gooseneck loaded down? Does it squat pretty good?
Gotta 78 454 wrecker,love iy
Everyone acts like you have to have a new diesel truck to pull anything. What the hell do you think people used back in the day? Old gassers like this put in plenty of work. Just don't expect to get there fast
It’s like playing mud runner lol great video!
o ya that s good truck there s no doubt about it I love those old box body Chevy's 😀
Whats your gvwr for im trying to figure mine out for my 76k20
I'm not seeing it addressed in the other comments but more than pulling, the issue with this sort of load is stopping. How'd the brakes do? Are your trailer brakes turned up? Thanks
You run 52inch leaf springs or 56 inch leafs?
Half the time these older trucks pull like a tank compared to the brand new vehicles. Before all the emissions bullshit from the government, these big ass engines in pickup trucks & big SUVs were the cats ass for towing trailers with. I must say that I do like my gas job Ford 1 ton though. It's a 2001 with a Triton V8 in it. Is no speed machine towing but it gets the job done safely and that's all that matters. If I had $90,000 cash kicking around doing nothing I'd go ahead and buy a newer 6.7 PowerStroke or a Dodge Cummins Aisin 1 ton combo.
If that’s got the lights on the tailgate then isn’t it a K30?
nice.. I had a '76 Scottsdale 20
I finally figured out how the 454 got 17mpg. 8 in town and 9 on the hwy is 17 right?
My k20 8,600 gvw has a M code 350 and 400 trans. Looking into a sm465 granny low swap. Looks li,e once I freshen up the 350 and do swap the chassis of the truck should do just fine.
You make all the fords jelly
Yeah, the only thing that would really bother me (speaking of the overweight) would be if I were in hilly/mountain country. I don't know how the brakes would hold up with that much extra weight **BUT** it wouldn't bother me a bit if I was driving in flat like this (especially since it sounds like you've got a manual), hell I doubt the truck was even that squat, etc.
idle sounds high on it
what trans and gears?
asssface2000 it seems like he has a sm465 due to him shifting 4 times. 1st is a 6.55:1 2nd 3.58:1 3rd 1.7:11 and 4th 1:1
People don't realize the 6.0 LS motor gets the same mpg as a 454 big block...
Chevy needs to bring back the 7.4l big block. My 468 gets almost 9 with no overdrive
Blackandgold51 that figures to 11-12 mpg. That's not so bad, but what's it get loaded?
@@calebwilson4442 on a c2500 7.4l at full load a get 9mpg .
@@timothymarquez3275 I agree. With newer diesel truck engines being choked to death by horrible emission systems, gas engines seem like the better option nowadays. GM needs to bring back the 7.4L and 8.1L Vortec engines, update them with modern fuel injection and better flowing cylinder heads to make more power and get better fuel economy, couple them with a good heavy duty transmission (Allison perhaps?) and you’ll have a winner! Ford is already starting to produce new big block V8 gas engines for their trucks because the EPA made diesel engines such a headache that the gas engine becomes more viable and less of a headache than a diesel engine for towing, despite their worse fuel economy. It’s so ass backwards.
@@Omegadoomshipno way! you will all be driving Elon musks electric trucks soon!
Ford’s new 7.3 liter Godzilla can tow THIS fine
Nice video. What kind of motor does it have and what was your top speed?
Kenkaman it's a 454 BBC and I older Chevy's the speedometer only goes to 85 you can get after market gauges if you need them.
Love that clutch... Mine does the same.
Errrrrrrr
my 1987 factory 4 speed suburban has the same squeek. must be a chevy thing
What kind of mileage do you average in ole girl
if you shift from 1st gear to low instead of going straight to low gear it wont grind low gear
It wouldn't matter low isn't synchronized on a sm465
+SmokenDeuce he is right going to 1st gear will stop input shaft from spining and will go into granny grind free
+i love guns don't you? i know im right thats why there was no need for me to answer him if i didnt know from experience i wouldn't of said it but people always have to try and correct people thanks for agreeing though
I do this with my sm465
the bucket should be chained also
My 98 k3500 454 is soooo slow towing. Manual trans myst be the key.
Tzorb A manual completely changes the feel driving.
I have 3 duallys
1995 Ford 7.3 power stroke and auto trans it tows a 43 toy hauler it gets 3.2 mpg and barely holds 65mph
1998 Chevy k3500 7.4 auto trans
Towing the same toyhauler it gets 5.4 mpg and accelerates over 65 mph with no problem
2011 chevy HD3500 with a 6.0 gas amd aito trans it gets towing woth the same toy hauler 6.9mpg and has no issue accelerating over 65 mph.
Diesels in my eyes need to stay out of small trucks, if you want a vehicle for fuel mileage go buy a dam car.
vhp454 why was the 7.3 so bad? I’ve never heard of anyone getting such bad mpg on a 7.3, or that a gasser can do any better. I’m not saying you’re lying but is it possible there is something wrong with the truck making it weaker? The power of the 7.3 and 454 isn’t too far off I believe.
@@josephsamsor1698 im not knocking the 7.3 , just plain facts that i tried out one day listening to others about there fuel mileage. My 7.3 is a 1995 in a F350 crewcab , bought it new, ran fine It now has 519,741 miles. I added swamper injectors, bigger exhaust, went threw 4 IDM modules and 3 high pressure oil pumps. 5 mechanical fuel pumps, truck serviced every 3000 miles and i did put 3 transmissions in it also. Empty it would get 15.7 mpg. But in real figures and towing my toyhauler it is what it is, i would rather keep running my gas trucks and leave the diesels to the big trucks.
vhp454 wow this is the first time I’m hearing that a gasser engine is better than a diesel. Especially one like the 7.3. It makes sense though considering a 2 mpg difference (at least empty) isn’t a big deal at all, and gassers are way cheaper. From what you guys are telling me, the 454s aren’t affected as much by towing either, which is what I found online as well. I still think the diesels may have a better longevity, but the cost is to the point where a replacement engine in a gasser makes more sense.
1.6 mpg
gm 454 is a beast my 87 rv has one
hahaha at 2:51 that prius got scared and got the hell outta the chevy's way
O my god that was so exiting I just can’t get over it, I can’t remember the last time I waisted 12 minutes of my life, no that’s a lie, I only watched about 30 seconds of it, before I fell asleep.
Well nobody is holding you back from living your exciting life.
haha I'm buying a k20 in the AM I watched the whole 12:34
Fucking badass!!!!!! Is it 4x4👀
Key word kkkkk20
Me personally would rather hear a moaning gm big or small block. And is that a bOgaltor (quadrajet) I hear. Moaning. I always think the loudest sounding bog sound will I've ever personally herd is a small block gm TBI with the air cleaner lid flipped upside down. Even the little 4.3 bogs like hell as a matter of fact. and t's the best sounding of them all to me except mabey a heavy loaded struggling 305 moaning and making you deaf
Dodge 440 ONLY big block that will pull a serious load.
Jeez dude, put the trans into 2nd before putting it into 1st
Ahhh yes, another brave commenter with nothing better to do than display his own ignorance. I'm fully aware that low gear has no synchronization. The red light caught me off guard and as I don't sit idling with the clutch depressed like you probably do, I didn't allow sufficient time for the trans to spin down for a smooth engagement.
@@e30engineering49 I'm not ignorant. I just noticed that you didn't really try to prevent wear on your transmission in this case. For the record I drive an 85 f150 4 speed so I know my sh*t when it comes to driving a manual, I don't sit at stoplights with the clutch depressed as I know that causes wear. And even when I'm under duress like when the light turns green, I will quickly put the trans into 2nd before sliding into 1st.
@@legostar55 sure you do, quit bitching at other people how they shift their vehicle...could you be more petty sir?
@@racekrasser7869 Alright I admit I was being petty here. If a red light surprises you it's understandable. Please forgive my nit-picking
well shit there went a tank of gas right there
My Chevy 6.0 pulls faster then this
Your 6.0 has also probably rusted away by now. Unless you live in the desert.
Your 6.0 will scream it's self to deaf pulling this