This Will Likely Be The Cleanest, Mintiest 1990 Chevrolet C/K 454 SS You Ever Read About

I remember when these limited-edition pickups started to hit the street. When Chevrolet introduced this special C/K Silverado pickup with a big-block, the American public was a performance-hungry group that was dying for something new besides the usual Corvette, Camaro, and Grand National (RIP). Wow, a 454 − much bigger than any performance car in its time. But something didn’t add up: the 7.4L big-block only put out 230 horsepower. Huh?

Still, folks were clamoring for performance, so they naturally were interested in this black/red Chevy pickup to the point that some people felt they would be a future collectible. Certainly their resale value at the time was quite high, but what about today? If you think about it, no amount of torque is going to make a 230-horse pickup a fast truck − high-15s at best − but that’s how it was in 1990.

Today, thanks to figuring out how computers actually work, we have family sedans that will do the quarter much faster than this 454 SS yet get better mileage in spades (this classic manages an atrocious 10 miles per gallon city and 11 miles per gallon highway). Another 25 horsepower in 1991 and adding another gear in the transmission did little to help − 13,748 were initially built due to the buzz its maiden year, with an additional 3,205 built from 1991-93.

This 1990 454 SS on eBay is one of those that was mothballed when the original owner saw dollar signs. With only seven miles, it’s a brand-new vehicle, but trucks are so much better today every which way. Originally priced just under $20,000, the 454 SS was not cheap as far as trucks went (add dealer mark-up on top of that due to “instant collectible” status), but the seller wishes to reap a hefty 150 percent profit if he has his way.