Rare Chevrolet 454 SS Half-Ton Pick-Up From The Early '90s

   

Summary

Production: Only around 17,000 Chevy 454 SS trucks were produced between 1990 and 1993.

Big-Block Power: The 454 SS was the only way to get a factory 454-cu.-in. big-block in a half-ton Chevy pickup.

Performance: While it isn't a match for today's performance vehicles, the 454 SS delivered plenty of old-school muscle.

Hot-Rod Potential: Its truck platform makes it easy to customize with upgrades like a Cowl Induction hood, lowering springs, and aftermarket wheels.

Competition: The 454 SS went up against performance trucks like the GMC Syclone, GMC Typhoon, and Ford Lightning.

Collector Appeal: With relatively low production numbers and classic Chevy styling, these trucks have plenty of potential for collectors and old-school gearheads.

With only 17,000 produced between 1990 and 1993, these Chevy 454 SS trucks are some of the rarest Chevrolet C1500s of the '90s. In fact, purchasing one of these badasses was the only way you could get a 454-cu.-in. big-block stock in a half-ton truck.

There is nothing really too special about these trucks. Let's face it: in this day and age, a higher-trim crossover could probably take it off the line and beat it down the quarter-mile. But the 454 SS was outfitted for a big-block, meaning a healthier 454 could be built and dropped in with no problem.

Also, it's a truck, and you can always do some cool stuff to a truck. A Cowl Induction hood, lowering springs, rims, etc.—with the right imagination, you can turn a 454 SS truck into a showstopper without hurting its original value.

Power and Specifications

• 230–255 horsepower

• 385–405 lb.-ft. of torque

• HD 4-speed automatic transmission

• 3.73:1–4.10 rear-end ratio

• 10 mpg city

• 500 lbs. max payload

• Dual exhaust

• Bilstein shocks

• 7.7-second 0–60 mph

• 15.9 seconds at 87 mph — 1/4 mile

• Colors: Black / Summit White / Victory Red

The Chevy 454 SS trucks had some serious competition in the early '90s—the GMC Cyclone, Typhoon, and the Ford Lightning. But for Chevy, this was their way of showing everyone that people still craved a big-block, even if it wasn't the fastest truck on the market.

You might come across one of these sweet Chevys for sale with a nice price tag on it. They are not very sought-after by vehicle collectors right now, so if you find one in good shape, it might not be a bad investment. They have the potential to be nice little street cruisers with a lot of old-school power. And for you old-school gearheads, that might be a class you'd fit right into.

The New Chevy Silverado HD Hood Scoop - Cool And Functional

For many years now, ram air hood scoops were put in place to shovel in more air into the intake system causing an increase of performance by horsepower. This new Chevy Silverado HD hood scoop is also designed to create better performance, but not by forcing more air into the intake system, instead, the hood scoop will help create a cooler engine compartment for the engine which can also help create better performance.

These trucks are designed for towing/hauling, four-wheel driving activities, long drives, withstanding major mileage while still performing well. Whenever an engine can run cooler it will always perform better. So when an engine is under constant stress, like these Chevy Silverado HD trucks spend a lot of their time under, it makes sense to want to keep that engine as cool as possible for all of the time that it is performing any type of activities.

So just how much does this ram air hood scoop actually help? 

The ram air scoop will take in 60 percent of all of the cool air that will enter the engine compartment. The other 40 percent of air will come through the space behind the front bumper which is designed to take on the engine compartment air funneling responsibilities even if the ram air scoop gets blocked up.

The ram air design features a 90-degree angle which is capable of catching large droplets of water (rain) and small debris keeping out as much moisture and crap as it can to ensure that as much clean and cool air gets into the engine compartment as possible.

All and all, the scoop not only looks pretty cool, but it is more functional than a lot of ram air hoods we have seen in the past. Let's face it, some ram air hoods we have seen though the years hardly created noticeable extra horsepower and some of which we've seen weren't even functional.

I have yet to hear any official statement if GMC will have the same ram air scoop on their HD trucks, but one would imagine they will follow suit.