My 86 SWB - bit of background + pics + will update with progress

[thepenguin99]

How I got it:

I actually acquired this 86 swb about 6 months ago. It has a 350 (originally 305) & TH350 combo with a 2.73 rear gear. I never did anything to it so the pics represent the condition I got the truck in. The truck was a trade-in on a 90 model swb my grandfather and I owned. Gave $700 trade value for it and I bought my grandfather's half for $500. If you figure the trade + what I gave my grandfather I ended up with the truck for $850.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly:

Good: The body is very solid for its age rust wise. Some small areas of surface rust starting but nothing major. Battery tray definitely has more than my definition of surface rust but no holes. Truck also came with the owners manual, warranty information, build sheet, and a couple other pieces of paperwork which was kinda neat.

Bad: The motor knocks. It was supposed to have been rebuilt 5-10k ago. The block is clean with recent pan/head gaskets so I think that is probably correct. That said, whoever did it half assed it like they half assed everything else they touched on the truck.

Ugly: While the body is still overall pretty solid & straight it has had the bed rails from hell installed on it at some point. No less than 8 fairly large holes per side! The bed also has a smallish crease in the back on the pass side. Windshield is cracked. As far as the interior it is also pretty ugly. Cracked dash, incorrect seat, door panels flaky at the top. Last but certainly not least on the ugly side is the radio. It was apparently installed by a man who had had a few to many beers and a sawzall handy. Hole is cut a lot larger than it needed to be for a standard cd player.

Pics! (thumbnailed because they are large)