Hi there,
Interested to buy a cube van, for moving my stuff during a long trip (3000 miles),
I found a fair deal with an 2000 express 3500 16ft cube with lift tailgate, the owner told me the tranny have been rebuilt last year, it have the vortec 454 with 170 000 miles.
What gas mileage can I expect on the hwy if I cruise at 60?
Is it something needing more attention, or any recurent problems?

 

Rebuilt tranny? Get receipts not his word.
12 to 13 mpg hwy at the most. Maybe less in town. My dad had a 97 one ton dually pickup with the 454 and got 9 to 12 hwy....

 

454 is a good engine. Hard to find them in the G series. Should re-sell well. That truck will haul ***.

 

He told me the tranny is still under warranty, he paid 2500$ for the rebuilt, he should have the receipt for this, but with no receipt or proof of rebuilt i will not buy.
All i know it's an ex refrigerated truck, he have owned the truck during 6 years, since he bought a new truck in october 2013, he didn't use it anymore.
He should send me pictures in a few days, and I will post them.
Any reason to scared with 170 000miles in this big block? Is the vortec injection is dependable on the 454?
Any other MPG number? If it doing a solid 12 on hwy, i will maybe keep it a few years.

 

The 454 was a good engine, and will be fine for many more miles if it was taken care of.
In my experience your fuel mileage will be in the neighborhood of 10-12 mpg, but it depends on the box height/shape, and rear gearing. Good luck on your trip.

 

A reefer might have extra suspension and thus more weight. Look for shoddy efforts made in removing the reefer system. Holes that can rust etc....
The 454 is a great engine. Its the axle, brakes, and the rest of the driveline you need to look at.
273000 kms is a lot. I personally would not buy one that has that much on it unless it was super clean and cheap.

 

Why are these motors still referred to as 454?
My '97 Chevrolet 1500 conversion van has a 5700 or 5.7 VorTec , and my '00 motor home - on a '99 Chevrolet 3500 van has a 7.4 VorTec.

 

454 cubic inches.. that is the size of the motor.


5.7 Liter V8 = 350 cubic inches.. motor is commonly called a Chevy 350
7.4 Liter V8 = 454 cubic inches.. commonly called a 454.

 

...strange, Chevrolet's been using VorTec identifiers for 10 years..

 

not just an identifier. The vortec engines have different heads and the more recent ones have different fuel and ignition systems compared to the older tried and true 350's that go way back.
Besides, I'm Canadian and we use the metric system up here...and I hate calling my engine a 5.7 (litre).....its a 350!....lol