bought my first manual a year ago after owning 4 automatics since 17 (Car now is 02 Subaru Legacy L Wagon)

Even though mpg should not be concerned when talking about trucks, I need to squeeze as many mpg as I can

And I like the look of 90s c/k1500

That's fair, was just wondering. My 71' C10 gets about 10mpg with a 350.

The 5.7 manual is good in all, but they ruin transmission if under 1993. They also have extremely bad first gear no more than 8 mph. Vortec 4.3 is better in HP but lacks the torque you need for a truck.

>squeeze as many mpg as I can
>getting the V8
I dislike ultimatums, but there's no use pussyfooting when you're looking at these generations of trucks.

You either go all the way, or look at other options, man.

There's no point to manual trucks. The autos have greater towing capacity.

>want to find a chevy k1500 pickup with 5.7 v8 and 5 speed manual transmission

Kek, good luck with that. They usually came with the 4.3L and NV3500, a light-duty setup. The only ones that did come with the 5.7/3500 didn't last long anyway. Wasn't a combo that could handle abuse, especially pushing the 1/2 ton duty rating. If you do find one, they fetch a decent price, and pay out the ass for one with a v8. I'd be surprised to find a manual k1500 for less than 5 grand.

The 4.3L is a decent motor, but will net a 5.7 gas mileage with a large-4-banger performance. Also not a great setup.

If you're really set on doing this, you're going to dump 3k into a motor rebuild, and 1.5k into a transmission rebuild. I'd wait and find one with lower miles and try to avoid that fate.

A better bet is the 70/80's C/K series that came standard with a 350 and SM465. That will hold up forever and will be a cheaper setup. Lacks overdrive, though.

Tl;dr Wait (possibly indefinitely) for a lower mileage one.

>Some other notes
The C/K 2500 and 3500 came with the NV4500 5-speed transmission. Better than the 1/2 ton 1500, but still not bullet proof. A better option for about the same price at a sacrifice of a MPG or two in a 5.7 setup.

The SM465 (4 speed as opposed to 5, no overdrive) transmission was offered until 91, apparently. This 4 speed in any C/K truck is also an option you should consider.

>A better bet is the 70/80's C/K series that came standard with a 350 and SM465. That will hold up forever and will be a cheaper setup. Lacks overdrive, though.

I daily a 76' C10 with that combination, and I believe a 3.45 differential, 31" tires, and I love it. Some people will hate how the granny gear works, and the lack of overdrive stock etc but I have no problems with it.

It can cruise at 70 all day without breaking a sweat and I'm happy with that. Cruising gas mileage is pretty darn good around 15 or more, in the city the mileage sucks of course, around 7 mpg.

OP here, thanks for the response guys

I never realized that the manual didn't hold up like it should. I figured that since the automatic was trash, manual was better. Turns out both are bad for different reasons.

My coworker's k1500 with the v6 and 5 speed has 250k miles on it, but he's just a second owner, after his grandpa. I wanted to get the truck but miles like that? I need something that will hold up.

The most I would tow is an atv/dirt bike when I get the money to buy one, or a bundle of wood. I don't think I'll tow anything extremely heavy.

god damn OP that pic brought me back to my first truck, same interior color and everything. was a '91 with a 5.7 just like you said, auto tho. Got it for $3500. was a total POS, but man that thing was cool.
>until it died

pic related, the kinda thing you're looking for?

mine got like 10 mpg

get a crate engine, or a junk one to rebuild.

they should be a dime a dozen.

10? thats 454 level. why? is the 02 broken?

Don't be put off by the c/k2500 thinking it's too big for your needs unless your a city dweller and need a compact instead. I have a 90s c2500hd with the 5.7/nv4500 and it's around the same physical size or smaller than a 2017 1500. The 2500 came in a light duty version with the nv3500 and a heavy version with the nv4500. You can tell the difference by the number of lugs on the wheels, 6 vs 8. 2500ld was basically just a 1500 with better options. I bought my truck for like $2000 and 160k miles. Its been good so far and I know I can fix anything that breaks on it when it does.

It took me a long ass time to find a full size manual, extended cab 4x4 in my price range and then the mileage was much lower than I had figured I'd be getting so I don't even mind that it's a rustbucket.

Not in older trucks, and not in most duallies

My five speed 95 F150 pulls a 6k loaded trailer fine in most situations, the auto version would almost certainly burn up doing the same.