Older Class C with 350 Chevy Engine?
Hi folks, I have found an older (1979) C class Midas 23 ft motorhome that I can get for a reasonable price that has a 350 Chevy engine in it. If there are any of you that have experience with this r...
Forum Discussion
I currently have a mid-80's Chevy C with a 350, and my previous rig was an early 70's with a Chevy 350. I have had excellent service from both of them. I had well over 100k mi on my last rig and about 10k on my current rig (current rig has 66k total.)
The early 70's engines had slightly more power, but there was the issue of valve seats with unleaded gas. By 1975 all Chevy truck engines could take unleaded gas and had HEI distributors so no more points. Any Chevy 350 1975 or later would be a fine C engine. They are not the most powerful engine on the road by any means but are easy to service, reliable, and have very inexpensive parts. Likewise the TH400 is an excellent transmission. Not the most efficient but very reliable and inexpensive to repair/replace. 4.10 gearing is perfect for a small C with that engine combo.
By the early 1980's the SBC was pretty down on power. My current rig with CA emissions is probably the lowest power SBC truck engine they ever made. They are very sensitive to timing. A couple degrees retarded timing or a sloppy timing chain makes a huge difference in power so make sure the engine is tuned up well. Easy to do since good quality parts are cheap. My C still goes down the highway fine, I usually do 60-65 on the flat 50-55 in the hills unless hills are very steep. I could probably go a little faster if I felt the need. I tow a small horse trailer and a couple horses or a flatbed with some quads and a RZR often, either totaling 4-5k lbs. Even with that it does fine.
I could probably see 10 MPG if I were on an easy flat 55 MPH backroad. >60 or 65 MPH Interstate really hits the MPG's hard. There are more efficient combos out there to be sure, but for the price of my rig vs a newer more efficient rig, I can buy A LOT of gas.
IMO the Chevy van chassis has better engine service access than Dodge of similar years, no experience with Ford. I know the Chevy has the Dana 70 rear axle which is common and reliable with inexpensive brake parts. I am not sure about the other brands. Chevy's also use hydroboost brakes which work VERY well, not sure about the other brands.
Your tire sizes leave you two good choices. 1) Upgrade all seven to 8.75R16.5 Firestone Transforce for ~$1200 and repeat every 5 years, or replace all 7 wheels with used (~$500) or new (~$700) and then buy your choice of seven 16" LRE radial (~$1200) and repeat every 5 years. The 16" advantage is ease of finding a replacement while out on the road. 16.5 is getting to be extremely rare.
My rig currently has 2009 Goodyear Workhorse on it that will get replaced in the spring with 16.5 Transforce - the GY aren't available anymore. The Firestone Transorce is the only reputable American 16.5 tire I have been able to find still in production, but it is a highly rated tire. I can't justify replacing wheels at this point since the Transforce are the same price as 16", but I do watch Craigslist for a deal on used wheels for use someday. 8.00x16.5 is even more rare than 8.75x16.5 and the 8.75 have higher weight capacity so no reason not to upgrade if you stay 16.5 (they are almost exactly the same actual size.) Make sure your wheels are suitable for radials if there are bias ply on there now, every Chevy wheel I have seen from the early 70's up are (usually Accuride brand.) You want radials.
Like everyone else said inspect the box portion closely that is definitely a make or break deal. I think the Chevy C chassis from that era is a very good platform. If the box is in good shape I say go for it. Joe B above definitely had some bad experiences, but I hope my many miles of good Chevy experiences balances it out :) I have not had overheating issues, and don't use any more oil than any of my other Chevys including my wife's new Tahoe (about 1 qt per oil change.)
The early 70's engines had slightly more power, but there was the issue of valve seats with unleaded gas. By 1975 all Chevy truck engines could take unleaded gas and had HEI distributors so no more points. Any Chevy 350 1975 or later would be a fine C engine. They are not the most powerful engine on the road by any means but are easy to service, reliable, and have very inexpensive parts. Likewise the TH400 is an excellent transmission. Not the most efficient but very reliable and inexpensive to repair/replace. 4.10 gearing is perfect for a small C with that engine combo.
By the early 1980's the SBC was pretty down on power. My current rig with CA emissions is probably the lowest power SBC truck engine they ever made. They are very sensitive to timing. A couple degrees retarded timing or a sloppy timing chain makes a huge difference in power so make sure the engine is tuned up well. Easy to do since good quality parts are cheap. My C still goes down the highway fine, I usually do 60-65 on the flat 50-55 in the hills unless hills are very steep. I could probably go a little faster if I felt the need. I tow a small horse trailer and a couple horses or a flatbed with some quads and a RZR often, either totaling 4-5k lbs. Even with that it does fine.
I could probably see 10 MPG if I were on an easy flat 55 MPH backroad. >60 or 65 MPH Interstate really hits the MPG's hard. There are more efficient combos out there to be sure, but for the price of my rig vs a newer more efficient rig, I can buy A LOT of gas.
IMO the Chevy van chassis has better engine service access than Dodge of similar years, no experience with Ford. I know the Chevy has the Dana 70 rear axle which is common and reliable with inexpensive brake parts. I am not sure about the other brands. Chevy's also use hydroboost brakes which work VERY well, not sure about the other brands.
Your tire sizes leave you two good choices. 1) Upgrade all seven to 8.75R16.5 Firestone Transforce for ~$1200 and repeat every 5 years, or replace all 7 wheels with used (~$500) or new (~$700) and then buy your choice of seven 16" LRE radial (~$1200) and repeat every 5 years. The 16" advantage is ease of finding a replacement while out on the road. 16.5 is getting to be extremely rare.
My rig currently has 2009 Goodyear Workhorse on it that will get replaced in the spring with 16.5 Transforce - the GY aren't available anymore. The Firestone Transorce is the only reputable American 16.5 tire I have been able to find still in production, but it is a highly rated tire. I can't justify replacing wheels at this point since the Transforce are the same price as 16", but I do watch Craigslist for a deal on used wheels for use someday. 8.00x16.5 is even more rare than 8.75x16.5 and the 8.75 have higher weight capacity so no reason not to upgrade if you stay 16.5 (they are almost exactly the same actual size.) Make sure your wheels are suitable for radials if there are bias ply on there now, every Chevy wheel I have seen from the early 70's up are (usually Accuride brand.) You want radials.
Like everyone else said inspect the box portion closely that is definitely a make or break deal. I think the Chevy C chassis from that era is a very good platform. If the box is in good shape I say go for it. Joe B above definitely had some bad experiences, but I hope my many miles of good Chevy experiences balances it out :) I have not had overheating issues, and don't use any more oil than any of my other Chevys including my wife's new Tahoe (about 1 qt per oil change.)
