[LongBox]

Congrats on a great find, and a great price. Extremely nice truck. Agree with the decision to preserve it, rather than mod it or rod it.

Make sure you do not run any old gasoline through the pump, carb and engine. It could very well varnish up things like the little valves in the pump, the jets in the carb, and the valve stems. As for the tires, if they are dry rotted, you can usually tell by looking carefully on the sidewalls and in the tread grooves. You will see fine cracks and checking. But, if they are 15 years old, and you plan to drive it, buying new just makes good safety sense.