All About The Chevrolet 454 SS Truck

The Chevrolet 454 SS is one of the most impressive Chevy trucks of all time. However, Chevrolet only produced its short bed, single cab Silverado C1500-based sport truck for four model years: 1990-1993. As the 454 SS name implies, the truck featured a prominent member of the Chevrolet big block engine family under the hood.

The 1990 454 SS pickup truck used a fourth generation Mark IV big block engine design in its final year of production. In the 454 SS, the Mark IV 454 cubic inch big block V8 delivered a modest 230 horsepower and 385 pound-feet of torque. The included three-speed automatic transmission and 3.73 rear differential gear combined to propel the 4,000+ pounds, two-wheel drive pickup from 0-60 mph in under eight seconds. Or envelop it in a cloud of tire smoke depending on how well the driver could modulate the throttle.

For 1991 and the remainder of its production run, the 454 SS got a new Gen V big block with one-piece rear main seal and other enhancements designed to reduce the big block's engine oil consumption. It also received a free-flowing dual exhaust system which helped to increase power to 255 horsepower, and 400 pound-feet of torque, as well as white or red exterior paint options in addition to the standard black.

The new engine came with an all-new heavy-duty aluminum four-speed automatic transmission and a lower 4.10 gear ratio rear differential. Despite the lower rear gear ratio, the highway cruising rpm fell to more comfortable levels compared to the 1990 model.

[Featured image by Vauxford via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.0]

While there's no question that it had one of the best engines ever put in a Chevy truck, the Chevrolet 454 SS was more than a tire smoking brute. Chevrolet could have stuffed a 454 cubic inch big block into a 1990 Silverado C1500, given it a black-out paint scheme, slapped some contrasting decals on it and called it a day. Thankfully, they went the extra mile, working on the suspension to improve handling and laying the groundwork for a new class of sport truck.

The Chevrolet 454 SS came with the ZQ8 sport suspension package that included higher-rate coil springs, Bilstein shock absorbers, and beefy 275/60R15 BF Goodrich tires. While Car and Driver found the 1993 Chevy 454 SS prone to understeer, once the backend breaks loose, it's easily controlled with the throttle. The reviewer's final verdict found the truck "surprisingly sporting," even though it still rides like a truck on rough roads.

However, what really makes the Chevrolet 454 SS special is the road it helped pave to give us sport-trucks like the Ford Raptor and Ram TRX.

[Featured image by Pokemonprime via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 4.0]

Falling sales figures after its first year are likely the leading reason Chevrolet discontinued production of the 454 SS sport truck. MotorTrend estimates that Chevrolet produced around 17,000 454 SS pickups over its four-year production run, with "75 percent of that figure" being 1990 models. That pencils out to almost 13,000 454 SS sales in 1990, and fewer than 1,500 for each of the final three production years. For comparison, Hemmings reports the 1993 to 1995 Ford F-150 Lightning sport truck sold 11,563 units during its three-year production run.

The Chevy 454 SS' poor fuel economy reduced its appeal to consumers. Edmunds reports an EPA estimated 10 mpg combined city and highway for all model years of the 454 SS. The 1991 to 1993 models with the new engine and exhaust system slightly improved upon the original's 10 mpg highway rating, raising it to 12 mpg, but were still saddled with a 9 mpg rating in the city.

[Featured image by Pokemonprime via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.0]