New Daily Driver Project: 1983 C-10

[rolm]

Hello all,

I'm back again. My history with this board started several years ago as I was valiantly trying to rescue a 1970 C-10 stepside from the grave. I eventually gave up, and distributed the parts around this board. Later came a 1983 C-20, a 1991 Sierra SL 2500, and a 1995 S-10, all of which came and went. I bought the different trucks for different reasons, (usually because they were cheap and tempting) but the reason for getting rid of them was always the same: rust. The '70 C-10 was a basket case from the moment I bought it (literally: it was disassembled and the parts were in boxes and one basket). The '83 C-20 looked brutal and probably would have kept going for years more, but it was seriously ventilated. The '91 2500 was just huge, and starting to show early signs of rot. The '95 S-10 was so rusted that you couldn't remove anything.

So this time around I was determined to find something solid if not entirely rust-free. Quite a task here in New England. I had my list of "requirements" (solid, no metal patching performed or necessary) and my list of "nice-to-haves" (V8, manual trans, 3/4 ton). I spent several months cruising craigslist, driving hours in all directions to discover that other people's interpretation of "solid" and "almost rust-free" is very, very different than mine.

After missing out on some winners (including a 1972 C-20 "Camper special" with a 409/TH400 8-year-old restoration) and seeing _alot_ of rust buckets, I finally called on a truck that had been low down on my list. It was a 1983 C-10 just north of Keene NH. It had been low on my list because it was nothing special (250 L6, 3-spd manual converted to floor shift, 1/2-ton shortbed), it was at the top of my price range ($2000), and at the limit of my search area (2.5 hours away). But the owner said again and again that the truck was solid; aside from some chipped paint and some surface rust resulting, the truck had no rust.

He wasn't exaggerating. I have a rundown of spots I check for "hidden" rust, starting from most obvious to least obvious. Wheelwells, cab corners, inner pillar floorpan under rug, driver's side cab mounts, bottom radiator support. Usually you can spot the rust from yards away. Sometimes the damage isn't evident until you peel back the carpet and the owner says from over your shoulder "I had no idea". Sometimes the truck makes it all the way until you crawl underneath and the cab mounts are just plain gone. I had been to see almost a dozen trucks, and none had made it past the cab mount check. In this truck, they were as solid as from the factory.

According to him, he was the second owner, and the truck was originally from NJ. From the paint, it looked like it had been stored outside (but dry) most of its life. When he brought the truck up to NH, he "oiled" it, spraying hydraulic fluid on the entire undercarriage. Looks like it worked pretty well. He used it for several years and did a lot of work to it, but it was time for it to go before it started deteriorating too badly. The body was far from perfect; it had spots of surface rust, and a few patches of questionable body filler, but it was definitely solid.

Other than that, the truck had a transplanted 250 L6 / Saginaw 3-speed out of a 1978 Nova. He had replaced some of the interior, and had done all the basic maintenance on it; recent brakes, tuneup, etc. He claimed that he had invested $4000 in it over the last few years, and that was the reason for the $2000 price tag. Usually, my response to something like that is "It's not my problem what you've spent on it, here's what it's worth to me..." But I had seen a lot of rusty trucks priced in the same range, so I decided that the search was over.

I was leaving on a work trip a few days from then, so actually retrieving my prize was going to have to wait a few weeks...

It's late, and apparently I have to call the cops on a neighbor who won't stop shouting outside, so pics and the rest of the story later...

[JohnC]

Cool man, glad to see you have your sights on another truck. Can't wait to see some pics!

[Sillyoldman]

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