62 for project??

[Parttime]

Hey guys, finally joined! Been lurkin around for a month or so. Lots of great info on here and everyone seems to be real knowledgeable and eager to help.

Anyway, I've alwasy loved the early 60s bodystyle and wanted one in the future for my next project. I'm a retired minitrucker and just sold my ride a few months ago. Finally starting to grow up and try to get my finances in order when I stumble upon this truck! Damn! 62 shortbed fleetside. Perfect. The guy already has power steering and brakes in it and a 454. Body is pretty straight but of course has some rust. Looks to be surface mostly but I'm sure I'll find more upon closer inspection. The truck does actually run quite well so thats a plus.

So what do you guys think? Should I bite the bullet and just buy the thing. The shortbed fleetsides are pretty rare around here(San Diego) from what I've seen. The guy wants 5G for it. He says he just wants back what he put into it. Seems fair. Are there any weird little problems with this year truck that anyone knows of? Any quirky "GM only did this on the 62" type things I should know? Or is this just a plain good deal? Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Demmit_Hemmit's 65]

sounds like a good deal to me...................post us some pictures.......hemmit

[ed455]

Nah! I wouldn't buy it if I were you. Umm . . . where is it located, by the way?

[badpeanut]

'60-'62 has the torsion bar front suspension instead of the more modern A-arm coil spring suspension of '63-up. What is the general opinion of the torsion bar setup?

[littlee_domn8r]

5 grand sounds a little high to me, but then again, I don't have 5 grand layin around! If it's what you want, and you think the price is fair, go for it!

[coilspring66]

I think that the earlier suspension was a bit more of a handful to deal with as far as availability & price of parts is concerned. This was a friend's comment to me after he got done restoring his. Also, be very careful of the usual rust spots on the truck. This could really do you in down the line. If you need to know the problem spots, let us know.

[rodnok1]

Torsion bar susp are a pain to work on and get parts for, I imagine you could swap in an A-arm crossmember and setup and cut off the torsion mounts. That price seems high, you never get back what you put in.

[rmoorhead]

Hi
great project ride,you wont see many of them no matter where you go. on the other hand the front end sucks major butt,if you already have power steering you a locked in to changing the cross member up front to a later year. If your hard headed enough you can do it,but it may hurt a little,take plenty of pictures . good luck

[xextr3m3]

I like the tosion bar suspension, sure parts are a little more expensive, but it rides nice

[apachetrucks]

The price sounds about right to me if the flloor boards and cab mounts are solid. I think the 454 might be a little heavy for the stock front suspension but I woudnt change the torsion bar suspension for all the 454s in Texas,I would opt for either a HOT little 235 or a smaller V8 like 283.GO FOR IT!!!!!

[cochran63]

Ive always heard that the frames were completely different between 62 ans 63. Can you still easily change cross members?

[badpeanut]

The '60-'62 frames are braced by an additional center X-crossmember. I don't know if the rest of the frame is the same as '63-up or not.

[gn4u2c]

my 62 rides excellent on stock suspension but it only has 60 k original smooth ride