Yep, the pics are going to be low-quality on this page.
Here's my new-to-me 1996 GMC K2500. Due to the lovely 0% financing that GM was running in late '01, lots of clean late-model vehicles turned up on the used-car market. I found this five-year-old gem with only 38,500 miles.
Equipment is pretty basic. It has power locks, windows, and mirrors, which are really nice when the passenger's-side door is that far away. The vinyl seats and lack of carpet identify it as a work truck - this is not a vehicle that one would use to pick up dates. The 8600 lb GVWR pushes the limits of the stock tires (even at 80 PSI!), and makes for a rather rough ride when the bed is empty. The 4L80E tranny makes a lot of noise, and saps a lot of power from the Vortec 350 under the hood - but, it's hopefully not going to puke when faced with harsh conditions like its smaller brother (the 4L60E). The 4.10 gears make for some pretty poor fuel economy. I don't think anyone will confuse it with one of those new-fangled "luxury" pickups, and that's fine - leather interiors are for sports cars.
Mods are pretty unlikely at this time. Of course, I've done the mandatory K&N filter, but I hesitate to consider an air filter as a modification. A TransGo shift kit is probably in its future, and Tunercat will hopefully be releasing a PCM calibration editor in the near future (I'm very happy with their software that I've been using on my wagon). If so, that will certainly open the door to some more tinkering - after all, the Vortec is a pretty close cousin to the LT1...
