Is it a good idea?

[darush01]

I have a 72 c20 I plan on restoring eventually but its my dd I work alot and currently have no where to tear it apart and have limited funds, so I'm wanting to start buying things and start smaller projects on it til I get the resources to do the whole truck, kind of like restore it one piece at a time til I can do it all. Is this a good idea or not? I'm wanting to build a nice driver not a show truck

[Lee H]

This is a great idea. Do what you can a little at a time. I'd start with the safety stuff first, brakes, steering, suspension and branch out from there.

[darush01]

That's what I had in mind, I've already done the brakes need to look into steering and suspension next it doesn't have alot of play it just wanders around alot

[LSUMurse]

That's what I'm doing. I put in power brakes and steering, found a basically new set of Tahoe seats in the junkyard, happened to save up enough and put in a crate engine, next will be disc brakes up front. This has taken me two years.

It's a long slow process, which is lost on most people these days, but it's worth it.

[AirSpeed]

As others have said do the safety stuff first but as you can afford start buying parts you know you're going to need. Keep an eye out for parts even if you're not going to use them for awhile, if you see a good deal grab it. I collected everything I needed before I even started tearing my truck down, it was nice having it all there and paid for.

[jeffahart]

X2
Took the words right out of my mouth.
It's what I do. I generally don't like stuff hanging around I cannot drive.

[leddzepp]

That is a brilliant idea. Many a truck has ended up on Craigslist in pieces because the time to do a tear down and rebuild is greatly underestimated.

[69chevytrucker]

if i had my time back that is what i would do i drove my truck home by the next day had it completely stripped and that was almost 2 years ago and it is still not done here it is as it sit now

so i would work as you go way better then strip and wait to re-build

[darush01]

I was thinking it was a good idea for my situation I just tend to second guess myself alot, btw nice truck, it looks like it was the same color as mine ( med olive) but its killing me seeing it get worn out, and rust away, so I can't wait, I've got power steering and power brakes and disks up front but I'm pretty sure all 72's did. Mainly it seems like I can replace a few worn parts such as bushings tie rod ends shocks etc and then get to fixing the damage 42 years did to it.

[darush01]

Also my 3/4 ton coil springs seem kinda worn out they still sit in a normal stance it just won't hold as much as I think it should and it seems like my suspension is kinda soft even with newish rear shocks, what can I do about it or do I just have to love with it?
I love the ride of my coils compared to leafs but I ha a small scoop of gravel bring my truck almost to the bump stops

[gsxrdoug]

I wouldn't worry about the brakes, you get in a truck to go no stop!

Best Idea I heard today!!! Start small and important, then work out like someone else said.

[darush01]

I think the only thing I'd have to stop driving it to do is paint and I want to rebuild the engine but those will be the last things on my list so I guess with a new plan it's time to start getting things going