My son bought his first truck tonight
 

My boy got his license this past winter and decided he wanted to buy his own car. He has a job, but still hasn't built up much savings. I told him to look for a small cheap truck, and he remembered that a friends dad had a truck they weren't using. Turns out they were looking to sell it.

I started with my 71 C-10 reg cab long bed with a weezy engine, rusted rockers, cab corners and floor back in 1983. He is starting with a 1995 Chevy S-10 2wd longbed with a 4 banger, rusted rockers and cab corners. He is thrilled. The seller is going to fix a couple things tomorrow and we'll bring it home in a day or 2. I'll post a pic of his smiling face next to his very own $500 first truck.

I'm thinking turbo. Anyone know if these little 4 bangers from chevy can take the abuse?:devil:

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

sweet deal! good for him! i would just throw an ls1 in it.... keep it simple

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

I would say just throw a small block in it way cheaper then a turbo but four cylinder probably safer for new driver
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

my boys first ride was a 92 2wd lwb s10 4.3 auto a great first ride for a beginner and cheep n easy for kids to learn on.he paid 400 4 it with 190k and sold it 2 yrs later 4 1000 to a buddie it now has almost 100k more on it and wont die! If your kid is anything like mine he will whoop on that poor little :lol:4cly sounds like a cool project though

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

My first car was a 92 s10 short bed, 2wd, v6. I did a lot of work to it, made it look good and run and sound even better and I whooped on it a lot. My buddies first was a 95 sonoma and he beat on it from the day he got it. Both of them are still going like champs and he still owns the sonoma, looks a lot different then factory but drivetrain. Perfect first car for any kid.

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

Congrats to your son and Enjoy the memories!!!

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

Great memories being made... I wish him many, many safe miles!

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

Here he is with his first truck. The seller even threw in the bed tool box, fixed the AC and gave back $40 to renew the plates.
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/IMG_1559.jpg

As you can see it is a bit rough, rusty and dinged up. But it seems to run good, has good tires, no broken glass and as far as we know, everything works.
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/IMG_1560.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/IMG_1561.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/IMG_1562.jpg

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

We all know that teenagers can get in enough trouble without the help of a turbo. I say let him get used to the rules of the road and get comfortable with the little engine that could.
I started out with a $100 '71 Pinto in '83 with no engine, hunted down an engine in a junk yard for $200. I learned to tweak as much power out of that stock engine that I could. I learned because I had to if I wanted some sort of perfomance out of that little 2000cc engine.

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

We have a s10 forum here :) (btw moved this there) Have him sign up and research that stuff himself (with your guidance).

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

My turbo comment was meant more in humor. He wants to run it like it is for now. Doesn't even want wheels and a drop. He wants to use the bed tool box if thats any indication of how much of a street racer he is. Although, come to think of it, the tool box would make great ballast and gives it a total sleeper look.:lol:

If we end up doing anything to it, like rust repair, suspension, etc. I'll probably just put it in this thread. Doesn't seem to be much activity on this section of the board.

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

Maybe you could change that by having him post ;) It is not the busiest part for sure, but it does have its moments. If folks start using it, it will just get busier.

Congrats to him again!

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

We just did the first father/son repair job tonight, new front brakes and rotors. The pads were basically gone and the rotors were grooved. So he picked up the parts himself and we did it in the driveway. I pretty much did the first side explaining to him what I was doing, then had him do the other side with my guidance. He did alright and pretty sure he learned something.

The punch list for now:
Oil change/tune up
Replace rear tires (it has blizzaks now, will save for winter)
Replace tranny dipstick, change filter (broke and leaking)
Check rear brakes (they work, just inspecting)
Rust repair, cab corners, rockers, rear wheel arches, etc. (kid needs to learn to weld some time)

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

Oh the joys of owning an old truck. Found a leak under it, looked like oil, but wasn't. Gas tank is rusting out and sprung a leak. The oil look is from the gas disolving the tar and making it look like wet oil. Draining it now, not a fun job.

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

New gas tank was delivered today. Not sure how soon it will get installed, it's starting to rain out.
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/IMG_1609.jpg

Yesterday I stopped at one of my favorite junkyards. I hadn't ever looked at the s-10's there (no need before), but did this time and found a straight rust free tailgate for $35. Eventually I'll practice some more with my spray guns and get it painted red to install.
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/IMG_1608.jpg

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

Nice little gas saver there. It isn't that bad at all for the money. Especially with working a/c. :lol:

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

Yeah, it was cheap enough that with the maintenance items that are popping up so far, I'm not getting bent out of shape. I also picked up new spark plugs and an air filter for it yesterday. More teaching opportunities.

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

Ran into some problems with the tank replacement. Typical old rusty truck stuff. Bolts breaking on the tank strap, cut those off, rusty sending unit. So another order of parts needs to be delivered before he gets it back on the road.

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

The parts came in yesterday to finish the gas tank replacement. A new sending unit, but used the old pump to save some coin, new straps and bolts. Last night we almost had it done but the sun went down and the misquitos were hungry, so I finished it up this morning. Started up good, no leaks and everything is ok.

Too bad it'll be a few days before he can get his driving privelages (sp?) back. He was up half night playing video games and took off with a friend and went to the next town down the highway for McDonalds. Well past his established bed time, which is a pretty liberal 1 am. Need to find some chores for him to do.

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

I let me son drive us to the Back to the 50's show/swap meet up in St Paul. He's never driven in a major city before and he was pretty excited to try. He did fine, but without me there for directions I think he would have been lost. You know when you are going down a freeway in a major city and it will split, but there are also exits coming up. He was getting confused because he would pass one sign that said it was the same freeway in that lane, but also the lane for another freeway coming up, then again with that lane designated as another highway that would be exiting soon. Anyway, I thought it was good experience for a kid that has hardly driven outside our pop. 3500 town on the prairie.

At the swap meet we found a set of wheels and tires he liked. The wheels just need to be cleaned up a bit and new lug nuts because I don't think his current ones will work. The tires are like new and the complete set we got for $170. Plus now we don't have the cost of remounting, which around here runs about $15-20 per tire.
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/IMG_1633.jpg

One area of the swap meet was for the car corral, and we walked through that. A little back story. We were not exactly thrilled with his impulsive buy into this truck. The main reason I agreed to let him go through with it was that it was super cheap, would give him some responsibility and the experience of having something that was going to need some attention to keep on the road. (the gas tank was unexpected, but oh well) He really didn't need his own ride yet.

So here we are walking through the used car section at the swap meet. One of the first to catch his eye was a 67 mustang coupe for $6000. Pretty nice shape with an inline 6. Not a bad car at all but way past his budget. A little further down was a very nice 72 Skylark. Brand new 350 engine, excellent original interior, paint was in pretty good shape, just a bit faded, very straight sheetmetal, new tires, wheels exactly like the ones on my C-10, a little rust behind the doors, but solid elsewhere, and the guy was asking $3850. I'm guessing it would sell somewhere between 3000-3500. My son really loved the car and I'm thinking this would be one he could afford (with my help) and he would want to keep forever.
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/DSC02658.jpg

Instead, I told him his realistic options. First he needs to keep working and save as much as he can. He needs to drive the wheels off his truck and get as much out of it as possible. Keep fixing the little things, clean it up, maintain it, but not to throw money at it because it's just not worth it. Maybe in a year or 2 he'll have enough saved up where he'll be able to come to a swap meet like this and buy his future money pit.

It really was a sweet ride though. To be perfectly honest, if I did not have my Jimmy project right now and if I had already sold off my 2wd blazer project parts pile, I might have driven this home myself. It's one of those cars that aint perfect but nice enough that you would want to drive it all the time and not have to worry about the paint. With some preservation in the rust areas you could slow it down and hold off one the body work and repaint for years and just enjoy the car until you can afford the rebuild.

Anyway, we talked about his sisters beater tempo and the fact that it was cheap to start with, cost us several hundred in repairs and maintenance, but the kids have all been driving it around for almost 3 years now with no car payments, liability insurance and its been pretty reliable. We're hoping for the same from his little S-10.

And as for S-10 repairs, one of the next things to do is find out where the freon is leaking because it lost its charge again and the radio has one working speaker out of 4. I practically begged him to buy a decent used radio at the swap meet. One guy had a couple dozen good used ones for $10 each and there were speakers all over the place cheap. Oh well, we'll do it the hard way.

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

A much younger cousin of mine, that is what he got, a a used 4 banger s10... after a month of driving a 4x4 with a v8, the gas bill killed him!

He did a lot of work to it and really fixed it up into a nice riding truck.

Looks like he has some readin' and wrenchin' in his future!

He'll learn a lot fixin' that up for sure.

Have fun with that fuel tank swap... I did that job on a '85 s10 my dad had when I was in high school. It was quite the contortionist trick.

-W

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

My son is learning, don't know how much will stick, but anything will help. The gas tank was done last week and it is a total pain. It was harder to swap the tank in that S-10 than it was to move mine from the cab to under the bed on my C-10. We replaced everything except the fuel pump. Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite us in the ass.

Here it is with his new wheels and tires. The OEM lugnuts worked just fine. Not as pretty as chrome but they will do.
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/IMG_1653.jpg

So we have new front brakes and rotors, new fuel tank, new wheels and tires, new air filter. Need to do spark plugs yet and whatever else pops up.

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

hgs_notes : I was told by someone else... long after I had swapped out the tank on the '85 s10 that it was a lot easier to just pull the bed and then take out the tank.

If I ever have to do one again, I may try it that way.

:D

-W

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

I was thinking about that while I struggled to get the tank out. The problem is that the bolts holding the bed were probably rusted as much as the cross braces they go through and I would have been struggling with that too. All I know is that I don't want to do it again.

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

old trucks are fun!
(repeat until you believe).

-W

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

Look at the actual fill/check ports, they have that tire looking valve stem thing in them. The bigger one was leaking on my truck. It could also just be a worn out seal. Look for an oil residue coming out around a joint or something.

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

your changing the tank so it has to come out from under the truck. removing the bed wont work because the canister is in the way of the back tank strap so either way you still have to get under the truck. i've pulled the tank on allot of newer gm tanks and that clip that the hanger bolts into always breaks. i dont know if gm uses lock tight or what but they are the biggest pita.

Looking at the truck they put down salt on the roads. i dont know if you knew this, but you could have gotten a plastic tank out of a newer model and it would bolt right in. you'ld think after 50 some odd years GM would quit putting hollow rockers and deep cab corners on trucks that rust out and fall off.

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

I agree !

You'd think... but, I guess they want them to rust out so you have to buy another one?

-W

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

One of the joints did have signs of a leak and it was fixed. Apparently there is another leak. I'll look it over and see if I can spot it. I bought a can of freon with dye added to help spot the leak.

I didn't know the newer models had plastic tanks, that would have been a good option. All the replacement new tanks I found were steel. It will outlast the rest of the truck anyway. Or at least well past the time he sells it. Salt is always a problem around here. I have relatives out west and if we decide to replace the bed I'll probaly look out there for a new one. I found one here that was pretty nice for $450 ($10 less than what he paid for the truck) but it still had rust hidden behind the tail lights and probably under the bed supports too.

I really think his best option on this truck is to just drive the hell out of it as is, maintain it, fix the little things like the radio and AC. Then when he has his savings built up look for a truck or car with less miles and rust and get what he can out of this.

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

nice looking truck. I had to replace the pump in the tank of my 89 a while back, and found that taking it out was easy enough, but hooking everything back up was a PITA so I just popped the bed off, real easy. wished I had thought of it sooner. probably lots that can go wrong with that to, but my bed was a cakewalk to take off. worst thing was how hard it was to figure out what was wrong with the truck, the pump didn't just quit, it just wasn't putting out the pressure it needed so it still ran, just not well

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

I could be a great voucher for ya as I have a 1993 Chevrolet cavalier with the 2.2 4 banger and I beat the crap out of it and it still has the get up and go it had when my uncle gave me the car at 150,??? Kms it now has 181,023 kms on her and with the stuff I've put it through this past winter she still runs like a top , I'm unfortunately trading it off on a 1996 Chevrolet extcab s10 2wd , Gunna miss the cheap beater that is my first car that's legally been on the road ,,, lol but I need a truck for work and winter get to pick my truck up in Edmonton Alberta august 6th hopefully all works out and my girlfriend will like the truck better haha
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

Lets just hope it doesn't need to be done again. On our way to SE Idaho right now btw. My wife is from Idaho Falls.

My C-10 would have been considered a cheap beater when I started driving it in 1983. Good luck with the newer beater.

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

Thanks I'll have to post pics of her when I get it , kinda happy I'm getting a truck
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

What's the latest on this one, hgs?

-W

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

Haven't worked on it lately. Between work and vacations and the fact I have 2 other truck projects, there has not been much time to do anything with this one. It's running fine and he's driving it all the time, but the starter is sticking on after the key is let up occasionally and it kinda looks like it needs a radiator flush before winter.

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

Its almost a year after he bought this truck and he's upgrading. One of his buddies is buying this truck for $700. So a year of use cost him about $3-400 plus gas and insurance. Not bad.

We found him a 95 blazer to replace it. The blazer is 4wd, v-6, and in much better shape than this S-10. It has a few more miles (216k), but has been owned by a local mechanic the last 4 or 5 years who did most of the expected high mileage maintenance. New head gaskets and shaved the heads, new water pump, starter, alternator, wiper motors front and back, among other things. Good tires, good glass, almost everything works and its pretty well optioned. So it'll cost him $300 out of pocket after selling his truck.
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...psc8435de4.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps81169e3b.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps66930f76.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps5490a2d8.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps23511076.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...psf62a56a0.jpg

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

looks like you got a good deal..

Re: My son bought his first truck tonight
 

Yeah, I think so. He loves it. There are a few things to work on, nothing major. Slow leak on a tire, they need balanced, driver door handle, fix some rust around the rear wiper hole and seal it. I need to find a deal like this for my oldest kid now. She's been driving the same beater for about 4 years now. More than got her money out of it.