Offered for sale is an entirely original, 16k original mile, one owner 1990 Chevrolet C1500 454 SS Pickup Truck finished in the 454 SS’s ever-menacing black paint over Garnet Red cloth bucket seats. Sold new by Pete Johnston Chevrolet of Paso Robles, CA to a local doctor, the truck was always used sparingly as part of his impressive 20+car collection kept at his homes in Santa Barbara and San Simeon.
We’ve been commissioned to slowly sell off parts of that collection, and while we specialize in European sports and special interest cars, I can say that the good doctor’s great taste in cars is demonstrated by this timelessly styled and collectible 454ci 7.4 liter-powered beast.
The truck has never been in any accidents and, as the pictures show, the completely original Black paint is extremely presentable despite having a handful of small imperfections. The body is entirely straight, all of the glass and trim is in excellent condition and the original decals are in great shape. The original special 454 SS wheels are also in good condition and wrapped in brand-new Cooper tires.
The car’s Garnet Red interior is virtually showroom, the seats, carpets and interior panels showing only the limited wear typical of an extremely low mileage example. The dash and headliner are both in excellent original shape and the truck comes with its original owners manual and purchase invoice, as well as a completely clean Carfax report. The truck was sold new with a dealer installed lockable Stockland shell for the bed and that can be included if the new owner would like to keep it.
Always kept serviced, the 454 SS is in excellent mechanical shape. Upon receiving it, we had our mechanic go through everything to ensure that it was in good running condition, performing necessary fluid and filter changes, adjusting the brakes, replacing the serpentine belt, etc. The truck is a thrill from behind the wheel, the big V8 starting effortlessly, emitting a satisfying rumble out of the dual side exhaust pipes at idle and pulling with incredible force through each of the gears. After all, with more that 230hp and 385 foot pounds of torque, the 454 SS is good for a mid to high 15 second range in the quarter mile.
This era of Chevy’s was extremely well engineered and well loved, and the limited production 454 SS is no exception. Despite their collectability, it’s difficult to find clean, entirely original, low mileage, one-owner examples, making this an incredible opportunity for anyone in the market.