Buying first truck - guidance on price?

[Meagent]

Hi folks. New member here but have been reading on the forums for the past few weeks as I plan on buying a 67-72 stepside to do a resto-mod on. My dad was a mechanic and did engine work for 40+ years and passed away a few years ago. Finally settling up the estate and wanting to use some of the money to buy something to work on in memory of him.

I have a couple of trucks I am looking at here in NC, but having a hard type knowing if the "price is right". One I am interested in is a 68 C10 with a 350 bored to 355 with 882 heads and a Powerglide tranny. Truck also comes with a rebuilt TH350, a 350 from a 71 Monte Carlo that he was planning to rebuild, a 3.08 rear and a couple of other random bits. The 350 in the truck also makes a noise at operating temp, which he thinks could be a wrist pin or bearing...

He is asking $4950 with some wiggle room...pics are in the ad at the link:

http://greensboro.craigslist.org/cto/4565634564.html

No rust, but obviously in dire need of paint/some body work. Interior is okay (separate pics).

Price seems high to me but I honestly have no experience other than cruising Craigslist in the neighboring states. I was thinking of offering around 3-3500 but with the noise in the engine might be driving on borrowed time, making the rebuild a priority...I want to do the rebuild, but prefer not to have so much time pressure with a job and two kiddos.

Anyway, I appreciate everyone's thoughts and if this truck is not the one, hopefully I will find one soon so I can get more involved on the forums and drive my wife crazy with parts all over the garage to go with the golf clubs and fishing rods. Not a ton to choose from around here right now, many more fleetsides than stepsides.

[Meagent]

Should also point out as noted in ad that it does have power steering installed and front disc brakes that the current owner installed.

[67ChevyRedneck]

$3500 would be a fair price for it if it runs well, it does appear to have a straight/clean body, but it's also clearly had a repaint at one point, so I would thoroughly check for bondo and covered up rust. Check under the drip rails and under the windshield rubber at the top. Any weakness or holes and you'll need to do a lot of repair work.

If the motor is about to go... I'd offer less. At that point, you're buying a shell.

[71swb4x4]

What are you good at? Most truck guys are good at mechanical stuff, not so good at paint and bodywork. Here is my priority list:
1) Body - lack of rust and dents is a HUGE plus to me
2) Paint - a good paint job is great, but not a deal killer.
3) Mechanical - not a big deal at all, most of us can fix that part.

My point is find something with a solid body. Check it over by crawling underneath, take a magnet to check for bondo, and make certain the body doesn't have issues. You can fix the rest pretty easily.

$5,000 for that truck is too much. Count on that engine being toast, if it wasn't toast he would have fixed it already. Sure there is a SLIGHT chance it's something easy, but don't bet any money on that.

[Fitz]

Buy the most rust free truck you can find that fits in your budget. If you spend more for a truck with a sound body you can always get the mechanicals to come around, but good mechanicals on a rusted hulk is just a bear to fix! There are times when buying a shell is a very good idea!

[franken]

Sorry, but my dad was a marine at Iwo Jima, but I'm not storming any beaches. Unless you have many years of experience fixing broken cars, working on stuff, etc. welding, bodywork and so on, you don't even have the tools to ask people to work on your project. Spend some time educating yourself, but if you need to turn a wrench, what's too loose, or too tight?

Offer 2k.
A Powerglide is worthless in a street vehicle.
Why is a new 350 in the works? Old one fubar?
Rockers and cab corners are always shot or redone badly. If you can't personally fix rust, resto places are too much, and regular bodyshops will rape you.
5k in paint needed.
All new brakes and front end components needed. Even worse that the current owner has upgraded.

This is the entrance exam to old cars/trucks.

Have you driven the truck?
Like Fitz said, more in the body than mechanical stuff, but then the paint is fubar. Then again, that may be a sign of honesty.

[Blue GMC]

Originally Posted by franken

Offer 2k..

I agree way to much work ahead for that price. I would keep on looking these trucks are all over the place. Check the trucks for sale section there should be a great one there that is close and what you are lookin for, plus you can track the members posts and see what has really been done or issues are present.

[JointTech]

i wouldnt pay 5k for it. but I dont doubt that guy has 5k in it unfortunately. Thats why you cant quit on a project

[keh27]

A complete restore will cost you 20k easy if your paying for paint and body work that's worth a dang and buying new parts. Buy a really good truck and but your own little touches to it and spent 10 to 15 and save a lot of money and headaches. That's my two cents

[franken]

Originally Posted by Meagent

No rust, but obviously in dire need of paint/some body work. Interior is okay (separate pics).

That line should make any/everyone run with this level of experience and desire to waste dad's money.
All these trucks have rust.
All have wasted away cab corners, inner and outer rockers. They had no paint on the inside so they rusted away. Even the ones who look not rotted.

Point being, unless you _really_ know, you'll get cooked

[franken]

Originally Posted by keh27

A complete restore will cost you 20k easy if your paying for paint and body work that's worth a dang and buying new parts. Buy a really good truck and but your own little touches to it and spent 10 to 15 and save a lot of money and headaches. That's my two cents

Yep. 20k on a 15k after restore.
If the OP wants to follow in the footsteps, spend a few on tools and get his hands dirty with the best truck he can for reasonable money.
Understand, after all the work, it's worth less than you spent, or as some say, invested. Look up invest. I'm not being mean.
I have much inwasted on my junk...

[jocko]

way too high. keep looking, don't rush. Welcome to the board!

[Meagent]

Thanks for all of the feedback guys. Given some of the responses, maybe I misstated my purpose in the original post.

I am not trying to make some $35-50k show truck here, far from it. I am not expecting to get back money I spend on the truck. Not doing this to turn it around and sell, doing it to have it and use it. I'm also not going to spend $5k on paint - I won't $199 Maaco it either but this is a truck to have fun with. I need a truck as we have a garden and orchard and are constantly working on things at my house and getting tired of stuffing stuff in our cars or waiting for a buddy with a truck; and with that need preferred to have something older that I can, again, have fun with. I don't expect to magically have super powers just because my dad spent 40+ years doing machine work. But he showed me that with time, patience and good manuals/videos, I can do work myself. I do most of the work on our cars if needed and just take them in when I don't have time and while this is the voice of inexperience, I do not think one has to know everything and have all of the tools to start a project. The fun is acquiring the things you need and learning what to do, and thus why I do not want to buy one of these already mostly done up trucks.

Ok off my soapbox...That all being said, many of the points made are well taken. I have zero skill at body work/painting and that will all have to be done by others so it behooves me to find the best body I can and then worry about the mechanical stuff. As I said at the beginning, I struggle with a proper price to pay but felt this was a good bit overpriced and you all have confirmed that, some more zealously than others.

The guy who has the truck is not the one who f'd up the paint and has been in the process of removing a bad prime/paint job by the previous owner, so I do think he is being honest about the truck as far as he knows...he had a very similar plan for the truck that I do, which is drive it around while you work on it/plan to upgrade it. The point about why hasn't he fixed it is a good one, but I don't think that is why he has the second 350. My plan for whatever I purchase is to do the same, have one 350 to rebuild and one that drives in the truck while I am rebuilding.

One thing I could use clarification on from franken, or anyone else, is the comment about needing new brakes?? Why would it need new brakes when the current owner has installed all new power brakes with discs on the front? As noted in the beginning, this is a resto-mod project, not trying to take this thing back to stock everything - is there something inherently bad about the front disc upgrades?

Thanks again to everyone - this is likely not the truck unless I can get it for half of what he is asking...

[67ChevyRedneck]

If the brakes work, they work. There's a crap load of members here that have done disc brake upgrades (including myself 12 years and 40K miles ago), so assuming the PO did the job poorly is only an assumption.

The disc brake upgrade is one of the best upgrades for these trucks. Do check it over just to be sure it was done right. Look at the hoses, lines, calipers, etc. Again, if they work, it was likely done correctly.

...and franken... you can't be an ass in several posts then just say "I'm not being mean"... You made several insulting assumptions about the OP. There's a difference in helping someone out and insulting them assuming they don't know crap.

[keh27]

Originally Posted by Meagent

Thanks for all of the feedback guys. Given some of the responses, maybe I misstated my purpose in the original post.

I am not trying to make some $35-50k show truck here, far from it. I am not expecting to get back money I spend on the truck. Not doing this to turn it around and sell, doing it to have it and use it. I'm also not going to spend $5k on paint - I won't $199 Maaco it either but this is a truck to have fun with. I need a truck as we have a garden and orchard and are constantly working on things at my house and getting tired of stuffing stuff in our cars or waiting for a buddy with a truck; and with that need preferred to have something older that I can, again, have fun with. I don't expect to magically have super powers just because my dad spent 40+ years doing machine work. But he showed me that with time, patience and good manuals/videos, I can do work myself. I do most of the work on our cars if needed and just take them in when I don't have time and while this is the voice of inexperience, I do not think one has to know everything and have all of the tools to start a project. The fun is acquiring the things you need and learning what to do, and thus why I do not want to buy one of these already mostly done up trucks.

Ok off my soapbox...That all being said, many of the points made are well taken. I have zero skill at body work/painting and that will all have to be done by others so it behooves me to find the best body I can and then worry about the mechanical stuff. As I said at the beginning, I struggle with a proper price to pay but felt this was a good bit overpriced and you all have confirmed that, some more zealously than others.

The guy who has the truck is not the one who f'd up the paint and has been in the process of removing a bad prime/paint job by the previous owner, so I do think he is being honest about the truck as far as he knows...he had a very similar plan for the truck that I do, which is drive it around while you work on it/plan to upgrade it. The point about why hasn't he fixed it is a good one, but I don't think that is why he has the second 350. My plan for whatever I purchase is to do the same, have one 350 to rebuild and one that drives in the truck while I am rebuilding.

One thing I could use clarification on from franken, or anyone else, is the comment about needing new brakes?? Why would it need new brakes when the current owner has installed all new power brakes with discs on the front? As noted in the beginning, this is a resto-mod project, not trying to take this thing back to stock everything - is there something inherently bad about the front disc upgrades?

Thanks again to everyone - this is likely not the truck unless I can get it for half of what he is asking...

Not trying to be a smart butt, just trying to help.
Price out body work and paint on a truck before you buy it.
Your better off to pay more up front for a truck with good paint and body.
I'm betting no one will touch it for less than 5k.
With that being said if you can get all the paint and body done for less than 5k and the truck is "rust free" for 5k , hey you only have 10k in a nice truck. And that a great deal.

[Grumpy old man]

Do yourself a favor and WAIT and LEARN before you spend Dad's inheritance money on someones else"s unfinished project Put the $ away and down the road buy something you think he would be proud of you spending the money on . The truck is over priced look around they don't cost that much in that condition in your area ... You Asked .

[MattPSU]

Patience is the key with these old trucks. I looked at 12+ trucks over almost a year before I jumped on one. I probably didn't have a good idea what I was looking at until truck 7 or 8, but I learned what was a good deal and what was a waste of time. (Turns out, truck #2 was a steal, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted so I passed.)

Make a list of what's important to you. I really wanted disc brakes, power steering and a 350. I also wanted a 67-68 so I knew I would have to compromise somewhere if I wanted a mostly original, unmolested truck.

What are your long term plans? That might help too. Had I known then what I know now about LS swaps, I wouldn't have been so concerned about it having a solid 350. If you're going to lower it, you might swap to drop spindles, so switching to disc brakes may have to happen.

I'd keep looking. Look at trucks that are close by that may or may not be in your price range. You'd be surprised what you'll learn, and what you might be able to work out with people. I looked at a truck that was $2-3k over my budget, but he had dropped the price well into my range before I left. There were some shady things about the truck (new rivets on the VIN plate for example) and the guy himself so I walked.

Think about ways to find a truck other than craigslist/ebay/newspaper/etc. Ask other truck owners at car shows if they know of any for sale. Drive back roads and look in back yards. Don't be afraid to knock on doors. I asked the UPS driver at work to keep his eyes open for me, and the truck I bought he told me about.

Also take into consideration what comes with the truck. I got a bunch of stuff that I wasn't going to use, that I sold for more than $1000. That dropped the price of my truck in my mind.

Good Luck! - Matt

[71swb4x4]

This truck is local to me and looks pretty solid. A board member in that area has a truck almost exactly like this one, it might be his??? If it is his then it is a very solid truck.
http://siouxfalls.craigslist.org/cto/4583895758.html

[Turbo1dr]

Try this one too. I talked to the guy...he sounded like a young guy.....early 20's. Anyway, it appears to be a nice truck. No A/C though...

http://eastnc.craigslist.org/bar/4537439001.html

[Meagent]

Hey guys, thanks again for all of the advice and things to think about. I passed on the truck posted at the top of the forums. The brakes and steering were very nice but while I want a project, I don't want one with the engine living on borrowed time with the wrist pin knock that one displayed. That was indeed the owner's plan to refresh and swap in the second 350 he had and then rebuild the one in the truck.

71swb and Turbo thanks for the links. The Sioux Falls one is gone and the East NC is not stepside, which is one of the deal breakers for me. For whatever reason, love that look as does my wife (which helps a lot considering it will be sitting outside the garage all the time).

I've found a few others and if anyone would care to comment I would appreciate it greatly. These do not have the brakes done but I look forward to that as a good first mod as I have worked on brakes before in two previous cars. Two are in SC so will have to make a trip down. One is more local to me but is the GMC version and is not as good of shape.

Haven't heard back on this one, maybe gone.

http://columbia.craigslist.org/cto/4572175326.html

This guy was nice to speak with and he is really longing to do a Camaro. Did one in the past and had to sell. He is opposite of me and is more body oriented so he has welded and replaced all of the rust areas. Doesn't want to do the mechanicals, particularly not since he wants to do a Camaro again.

http://columbia.craigslist.org/cto/4576054146.html

And the less-loved GMC. Needs paint but not like the original post with the multiple fubar paint jobs.

http://winstonsalem.craigslist.org/cto/4581335540.html


I appreciate the feedback and to the few who told me to wait and learn before I buy, I respect your advice but I need a truck soon for various projects around my house. Not blowing my dad's money as most of it is already tucked away in investments. This is a bit to have fun with. My dad saved for retirement and then died of cancer at 63 and never got to do any of the fun stuff he wanted to do. Not going that route.

[jocko]

Originally Posted by Turbo1dr

Try this one too. I talked to the guy...he sounded like a young guy.....early 20's. Anyway, it appears to be a nice truck. No A/C though...

http://eastnc.craigslist.org/bar/4537439001.html

Wow. $4500 for what appears to be a Black/White C10 Cheyenne Super with BLUE interior. That would be gorgeous restored, or as is. Would love to see the SPID to see if 1) it's a real Cheyenne Super (it's missing the correct door panels and I don't think the tailgate handle has the shiny sleeve, but it APPEARs original, hmmmm......) and 2) if it originally came with a blue custom cloth interior...

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by Meagent

This guy was nice to speak with and he is really longing to do a Camaro. Did one in the past and had to sell. He is opposite of me and is more body oriented so he has welded and replaced all of the rust areas. Doesn't want to do the mechanicals, particularly not since he wants to do a Camaro again.

http://columbia.craigslist.org/cto/4576054146.html

Be very very very careful buying ANYTHING in primer. It hides A LOT.

[MattPSU]

Originally Posted by Meagent

Haven't heard back on this one, maybe gone.

http://columbia.craigslist.org/cto/4572175326.html

I have a buddy who looked at this truck. I didn't get much feedback other than "There's a reason the pictures were taken so far away."

He was looking for a truck that was less of a project than you, so take that for what it's worth.

[Grumpy old man]

use searchtempest.com to search all the Craigslist ads at 1 time it really saves a lot of time .

[rdgt67]

I paid 5k for my 70 gmc stepside. 6 cyl 3 on the tree. Drove it home and have spent about 4500 more on it. Ac, radiator, carb, headers, dual glass packs, wiper motor , buckets and the list goes on. bought it from the original owners son and had 116 original miles. Did I pay too much? Probably but I really like it and i am happy. My point is sometimes a good deal is in the eyes of the buyer.