I wonder if GQ1 isn't possibly even taller, like maybe 2.73? never heard of a GM 4x4 with anything that high, but?...you don't really have to remove cover, as pointed out before. jack up the rear, rotate a tire and count driveshaft revolutions. that'll give ya a pretty good idea.  

GQ1 translates to "Standard Ratio" (I have a list of all GM RPO codes) but never seen one without a gear ratio code too. As far as 2.73, I did see that once on a 85 4x4 K5 with a 250 six and a 3 speed automatic a friend had long long ago.  

I have the GM RPO codes too and it says the same thing "standard ratio" and seein how Sno's buddy had a plain jain K5 w/6 and 3spd then its like I said before a no frills pup sorta like the X44 camaro (no frills) maybe... I asked the service dept at chevy and it was a no go on any help...guess someone has to track down an old goat that worked for GM for centuries to find out for sure...  

I did just that very thing. I called my dad, who retired from the Flint truck plant, and he said he is 99% that a GQ1 or "standard ratio" of that era was usually a 2.73--he said they built tons of very very base model trucks for fleet use, sale price leaders, etc. that were aimed at boosting the CAFE average.  

sorta like the rental fleets? to get the #s up so it looks like theyre sellin the crap out of them, which they were...  

Were the plain jane trucks named like the regular ones?  My rig is a custom deluxe.  Would it still have those gears?  

I just called my future father in-law who is a mechanic and he said to take my VIN# to the local chevy garage and they could look it up and tell me what I had.  I'll get back here with our answer.  

most likely. custom deluxe was the base trim level, then cheyenne,bonanza and silverado was the fancy schmancy ones.  

actually the pups too old for vin lookup at a dealer,they go back to 90 model year. but you can look it up on the LMC.com web site and itll break it down for ya...  

The VIN coding just uses RPO codes linked to it so if it says GQ1 on sheet, it will say it there too  

well scratch that idea...LMC breaks down vin but not RPO codes, sorry, looks like the old fashion way to find out exactly what you have of pulling cvr or rotating wheel.  

Rotating one wheel with other on ground on turn while counting drive shaft rev's and then multiplying that times 2 will give you gear ratio. (or you could just rotate that one wheel two complete turns and count driveshaft and that is answer/ratio too)  

same exact year model truck i drive...  
custom deluxe an all...

if your carb takes a round style air filter, K&N makes a "X-stream" filter,  buy one,  they are a bit high for a filter,  but they let the engine breathe ALOT better,  also,  make shure the carb is adjusted right,  this may seem basic,  but when i first got my truck,  the mix was messed up somethin awful,  way too rich...

anyway,   a th350 has a 1.00 3rd gear ratio,  bolt in a manual trans with a final gear lower than 1.0 and you will geet a little better gas mileage,  my truck has 27 spline engine shaft, and 2.73 axle ratio's,  but i dont know 'bout yours...

if you cant drive stick (no shame in it, amn) you can still find some newer 700r4 or something like that.  
personaly i dotn like automatics,  i prefer to be in absolute controll of the vehicle,  heck, i even removed the electric choke and replaced it with a piece of coat-hanger wire.

take off the intake manifold and polish the inside nice and smooth,  also  put on a carb spacer.   quick and easy mods, and not as drastic as puttin in higher lift cams, pistons,  stuff like that.  

my truck has straight exaust,  it has a low rumble at idle,  and an ear splitting roar at WOT.  not that throaty muffled rumble like other newer trucks.

it might just be me,  but the sound of a V-8 and a 4bbl carb opening up is just plain wicked.

  if your concearned about noise,  weld on some down-turns on the end of the exaust,  they dont dampen the noise,  just re-dicrect it.  or heck,  get a flowmaster or something if you want.  its your truck,  do what you want to with it...  

good luck  

A 2.73 in a truck with a stick is going to be hard on clutches and weak starting out unless it has a granny gear and a 700R4 would be kinda worthless with a 2.73 and not last long. You get to a point were RPM is too low for engine and load and OD with a 2.73 would do this.  

install a set of thermo wrapped summit headers for around 150 bucks... and replace your old pipes with 2.5 inch straight pipe for breath ability... if your poor you can use flex pipe from the header to the straight pipe.. *** can the cats and all that smog stuff... remove your smog pumps and AC pump... replace qjet with a edelbrock 600cfm carb and a 5inch K&N filter. install a new fuel pump for fun... stop any leaks in the engine and transmission and you should be good to go...