Long Lasting Pick-up (Even in Minnesota)

I don't know what causes people to join the GM, Ford or Chrysler camp, nor why loyalties tend to be so long lasting. But in the case of the 1992 Chevrolet K-1500, Chevy loyalty must stem from a good experience with a well built machine.

I got my 1992 Chevy used in the spring of 1997. I think it had about 75,000 miles on it. The biggest problem with the pickup was that its paint was peeling. The dealer repainted the panels with the peeling paint. I will note here that the pickup is a two tone with the main color being a metallic blue and the middle accent color being a non-metallic white. It is the white that was peeling, never the blue. After this was fixed it looked great. Of course, the panels that weren't repainted eventually started to peel.

The only problems that I have had with this pickup are as follows:

1. The windshield wipers are temperamental, I am not sure if this is the motor or the control. Sometimes if you use the washer, it won't spray but the wipers will start going, if you go to any speed the wipers will only go one speed and will stay on after you turn them off. This doesn't happen all of the time.

2. The control or wiring for the auto-locking front hubs for the 4 Wheel Drive had gone bad and needed to be fixed. I found out something was wrong when I was in the middle of a mud hole.

3. The tailgate doesn't seem to like to latch. This may be from living on a gravel road or perhaps the little accident when I backed into a tractor.

There are the other component problems that go out, battery, alternator, water pump, etc. This is a given for a 12 year old vehicle with now over 175,000 miles.

Convenience and ergonomics:

This is an area where Chevy fell short. The radio and the HVAC controls are only buttons, no knobs or sliders and all digital. Fortunately Delco did a good job putting this together and none of my components have given me a problem. There are also no cup-holders (I think they added them in '93). In '92 the finally went back to needles on the gauges rather than the weird sliders of the '88-'91's.

Drive Train:

I have had no major problems with either the engine or transmission. The Chevy 350 is a thing of beauty.

Body:

I am very pleased with the rust resistance of this pickup. I live in Minnesota (Land of 10,000 salt and sand snow plows) and the only rust I have on my pickup is a little bit at the corner of the cab. I blame myself for not getting under the cab and rinsing out the drain hole periodically.

This pickup has been very reliable and if I could go back in time, I would still get this pickup.