Rust Bucket Resto Conundrum

[ToplessBigBlock]

Hello there, I've been lurking for a for weeks now. I thought I'd present my problem for you opinions.

My father is pack rat. He won't throw anything away, unless someone pays him for it. But, i digress I am skipping ahead some.

My family has had alot of old GM stuffs. And still has a few.
My dad has his 72 k/5 blazer rotting because he never got around to puttin the transfer case back in.
He had a 84 Grand National, until some guy offered him way too little money for it and he let it go.
He had a 65 Impala that my grandmother sold for scrap.
We have a 65 Olds 442 thats been in my family since it was brand new. Still have the owner's manual.
And we have a 69 CST10 396 Long bed with a Dana rear end.

Which is where me and my father's will diverge.

First off, let me tell you that this truck hasn't moved in living memory. Its been in the same spot since before I was born (I'm 25). It is very nearly to that point where restoration is no longer feasible.

I want it. But I also want to ... how shall we say, Resto-mod it...
He wants a full on restoration. My argument is this:

Its never gonna be a 100 point Barret Jackson resto, so why try?
It has drum brakes. I wanna update the brakes for safety sake.
The bed has rust, and the wood floor is gone, I can't find full long bed side replacements so even if we do find a good bed somewhere, its either gonna be non matching numbers, or have patch panels.

He swears he will sell it before he lets me take it. Just because I want to shave the side moldings and lower it a bit. Admittedly I did mention making the top removable like the blazers of that era would make for a cool roadster look, probably a mistake on my part...

So what do you think? Should I cave in to his boring restoration demands? Or just go haul the truck off? Its at my grandmother's, and while my father may have the keys, I know where the title is, and its not in his name.

Plus, push button start is awesome anyway...

[big_al_71]

I would ask him for all the buckets and make something out of each of them one at a time. Dont just take it, because I have a 19 year old son and if he takes anyting without asking the last thing he has to worry about is me calling the cops on him for theft, they would be calling the cops from me whooping his ass real good..

[cdowns]

buy your own truck and do what you want

[67 cst swb]

my opinion is...
His idea of restoring it my be rebuild it back to original looks... not a Barrett-Jackson 100 point show stopper. So, I say work with him and restore it. As you 2 work together on it, he may budge abit on some things.
My second opinion is...
There is nothing cooler to me than a perfectly stock looking truck (yes including trim) but lowered abit with cool rims & tires... So the roadster top & shaved trim... aren't things I'd do anyway...
My third opinion is...
If you want none of his help/opinions/input/etc... then you should ask him how much he'll SELL it to you for, and not expect it to be given to you...

[mr48chev]

sounds like it is already too far gone by my standards to redo.

I'm going to step on some toes but another "restored" 67/72 truck is rather boring to me. If it was a primo garage queen with low mileage that didn't have a bunch or rust or damage and had all of the desirable factory goodies on it that would be great but just because your dad has had it deteriorating in the back yard for 25+ years doesn't make it a candidate for a full restoration.

Myself, I think I'd just go out and buy a plain Jane 71/72 with disk brakes and do it my way and be done with it if I really wanted to build a truck.

[leddzepp]

If you can whoop your dad, haul the truck off and see what happens.

[tdave00]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

If you can whoop your dad, haul the truck off and see what happens.

That's funny. BUT I already know the ending to that story and you won't like it !

Let me give you a little advice. You can take it or leave it. It may not be the route you wanna go, but come to some kind of compromise. You could look back on this situation some day and think, "I wished I had built that truck with my Dad." I still have my Dad, but they don't live forever buddy. You can always buy your own truck and maybe this build will give you some experience and ideas for your own.

[Mike J]

I just like that you used the word "Conundrum"

[67 cst swb]

Originally Posted by tdave00

let me give you a little advice. You can take it or leave it. It may not be the route you wanna go, but come to some kind of compromise. You could look back on this situation some day and think, "i wished i had built that truck with my dad." i still have my dad, but they don't live forever buddy. You can always buy your own truck and maybe this build will give you some experience and ideas for your own.

i agree...