17 y/o needing advice from the truck legends

[jmon1123]

Hey guys, I've used this forum lightly, but I want to start really sinking my teeth into it.

I've made a post or two regarding my orange and white '76 C10 Bonanza, but I'm having some problems sorting things out.

The way I see it, I'm a young kid in an older man's game, I'm very passionate about these old trucks, especially the chevys, but being I'm only in high school, with no assistance from anyone in terms of a budget, with a father who is no mechanic by any means, with only a driveway, and a few socket sets and wrenches at my disposal, I'm having a hard time fixing the truck how I want it. especially with my low budget of about $3,500.

I'll get off my tangent and get to the point.

There's an older guy in my neighborhood with a 1968 c20. It's a longbed stepside that was used by the washington forest service. factory inline 292, 4 speed manual, lower gearing, all that. Everything works just great, the body has very little rust and is straight as an arrow. He's offering a good price for it, and though I'd need to work up a bit more to meet his asking price, I was tempted to buy it, but I walked away because I was too attached to my '76.

That being said, My '76 has a fair amount of issues. Runs good, with the factory motor still in, body is straight with a few dings and a with its fair share of patina, a lot of issues are ones I cannot do on my own. I'd love to, but I have no space or equipment, and very little support to do it all. I also don't have the kind of money to send it to a professional.

Do I stick with mine, or should I sell her off to someone who can make it pretty, and instead buy a soft body that is in much better condition. I would post more info but I wont be in an attempted to not break the record of longest forum post of all time. If you have any more questions, I'll be looking to reply but for now, I will leave it at this.

If you read through all that, I applaud you first of all, second, thank you. Please post any opinions below. Have a great day