[CastIron]

I have been in the auto industry a long time and may see things a little differently than most people. But I have a good understanding on how much it really cost to fix things and do it right. It is possible to spend a huge amount of money to restore a vehicle, but it isn't necessary.

First off, I would never pay retail price for any parts unless I had to. Almost everything can be found cheaper if a person is willing to spend some time looking. Wait for a sale or consider buying used parts. I once bought a truck for $200 that had a power steering pump, steering gear, and an Edelbrock intake and carb that I wanted. The steering parts were repainted with good quality rattle can paint and the manifold and carb cleaned and look as good as new.

And speaking of used parts, it helps to learn how to refurbish things. Not everything has to be new. A lot of smaller parts can be made to look like new with a little work.

These trucks are pretty basic. Almost anybody with a little knowledge can fix most things. And with forums like this there's no reason to not educate yourself and do some of these repairs.

I would try to avoid paying a big shop to do work. If you can't do something yourself, find a small shop (with little overhead expenses) or somebody who works at a shop that is interested in doing side work. Finding the right person to work on a vehicle is probably the hardest part.

A restoration can be done at a reasonable price, it just takes more thinking and more time.