Hello from Texas

[ken4444]

I have made a few posts here so it's probably a good idea to do an introduction.

I've spent the last 6 or 7 years working on my 1985 Jeep CJ to "restore" it by making it a reliable daily driver and bringing it back to a more stock appearance. Rather than a frame-off restore, I worked on various projects one by one and kept the thing on the road for the most part, except for large things like painting. I've pretty much gone over every part of the Jeep, sometimes more than once.

Now I want to do a frame-off "restore" of a C10. I put "restore" in quotes because that means different things to different people. Right now my goal would be to fix all of the cosmetic and mechanical problems and build a to build a reliable daily driver. I don't intend to bring the truck back to its exact original perfect look, but I don't intend to chop it up or highly customize either. Ideally the truck will get a rebuilt 383 and 700r4, air conditioning (I live in tropical Houston, Texas), a thorough going-over of every part, an original looking interior, new body sheet metal where needed, and new paint. I would consider a 2/4 drop since the whole truck would be apart anyhow. I don't want a show-quality truck full of chrome, but I would put some money and effort into the cosmetic aspect.

I haven't yet bought a C10 so I am still looking. I got the word out to my in-laws who live out in the country, so they're looking as well.

I am comfortable doing basic mechanic work and body work, and I think a C10 would be a great next project.

I have considered buying an already-restored truck, but I want the pride of doing the work myself, and knowing that I have gone over every inch of the thing.

I owned a bone-stock black extended cab 1992 Chevy C1500 Silverado 5.7 for 17 years and regret selling it when the transmission crapped out at 183,000 miles. I wish I still had that truck. The engine still ran as strong as the day I bought it. Knowing what I know now, I could have put in a rebuilt transmission for a reasonable cost and could still be driving that truck today. Being in Texas the truck had zero rust, was garage kept most of its life, and was still clean and shiny. Even the original R12 air conditioning was working fine, needing only a bit of Freon and compressor oil after 14 years.