Newbie here... which to buy?

[cmhouser]

Hey all - I've been browsing these boards and most everyone seems to know a lot about these old trucks. I've been wanting a classic for a while but don't have 12k minimum for a restored one. My father and I are good at mechanical work but we know nothing about bodywork or restoration.

I'm looking at the two below and would appreciate any feedback.

'69 C10 LB for about $1,100.00 - craigslist link - http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hn...481058806.html - it does have rust (floorpans cab doors a little and rockers) and a brake line that needs to be fixed but overall isn't in bad shape for the $$$.

or

a '71 K10 for $2,600.00 - craigslist link - http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/an...498331562.html - it has rust on the doors (one side all the way through) and some around the wheel wells. It needs a master cylinder and leaks a little through the front seal on the tranny.

I know it's a matter of personal taste but I like both of them for different reasons. Again thanks for any feedback!

[RIA69]

first off welcome to the forum! on another note the top link is to a f#rd. bad word here. but honestly In my opinion I would go with the 71 k10 thing looks great and already seems to have alot of the work done on it. just my thought. besides its sexy.

[cmhouser]

Originally Posted by RIA69

first off welcome to the forum! on another note the top link is to a f#rd. bad word here. but honestly In my opinion I would go with the 71 k10 thing looks great and already seems to have alot of the work done on it. just my thought. besides its sexy.

Sorry RIA - I wasn't even paying attention. I deserve a virtual kick to the backside. I do like the old Ford F1's but like my options and parts avaiability for the Chevs better and kinda always have been a Chev guy over Ford anyday. Thanks for the feedback!

[botmfedr1]

welcome to "Heaven"! but leave the Ford at the door...lol...kidding.

Fords are cool, besides, if they didn't exist, we wouldn't have much to pull out of the ditch with our Chevys...

IMO, the "restored Chevy could be hiding some bad body work. My old man, and 3 brothers restored cars most their life, and one thing they always told me was to look for original paint if possible. New paint can hide a ton of bondo, and you don't need to buy a "restored" truck, only to find your spending more replacing panels later on.

if you have to, the Ford would probably be the better option...

[Ironhorse]

Also a big Welcome to the board here. Guess I'm a bit one sided on this but I'd go for the K10 Chevy. But then, since I have a '71 K10 my opinion is a bit predjudiced. I don't mind the old F***ds that much, never had one but from the two listings I think the '71 K10 would do you better. From the pics it's in much better shape than my truck was when I bought it. '71 was first year disc brakes were standard on all Chevy pick ups. Interior seems pretty decent, not a big fan of the floor shift shown in the 4x4 but that's personal preference. Have you made an actual visit to one or the other? Sometimes pics look better than the real deal in person.

[cmhouser]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

Also a big Welcome to the board here. Guess I'm a bit one sided on this but I'd go for the K10 Chevy. But then, since I have a '71 K10 my opinion is a bit predjudiced. I don't mind the old F***ds that much, never had one but from the two listings I think the '71 K10 would do you better. From the pics it's in much better shape than my truck was when I bought it. '71 was first year disc brakes were standard on all Chevy pick ups. Interior seems pretty decent, not a big fan of the floor shift shown in the 4x4 but that's personal preference. Have you made an actual visit to one or the other? Sometimes pics look better than the real deal in person.

bot - you may be right. The seller was real up front and told me it had been repainted years ago and it wasn't the best in the world. The F!rd is all original but appears to have more rust in the typical places where as the Chev is all in places that from what I read are easier to fix. He's not the original owner but the 2nd and has seemed real honest about what he knows of its history.

Thanks Ironman...err... I mean Ironhorse. Glad to get some feedback from someone with another year model K10. No sir I have not looked at either one only spoke over the phone. Neither truck is close to my house so today I am making an hour long venture to see the Chev. I do like the way it looks much better but I'm really afraid of even the small amount of rust (for the year) that it has as I have zero knowledge of any body work and don't want to fork over $3,500 + just for body work. Mechanical stuff doesn't scare me THAT much. I think in the end I could probably make either truck look good but a 4x4 in MN is nice to have. It's really hard to find almost any truck that's clean or even has minimal rust here in MN. I'll take pics of the K10 today when I see it and post.

Thanks again for any feedback - good or bad!

[Ironhorse]

Good luck with what ever you decide. Just my personal preference for the
K10. I looked for quite some time for a K10 67-72 body style. Not really rare but not common either. Kansas isn't all that friendly to car and truck bodys either as KDOT loves to spread rock salt everywhere during winter. Last couple years they have been using some type of salt brine but it is still rust producing SALT !

Just as an aside, I was born and raised about 100 miles straight east of Minn/St.Paul. Little farm town of Rice Lake, Wis. Moved from there when I was about 6, have been back several times but not during the winter.

[1970 Bowtie]

Dawg gon it,I clicked on the first link and now I have Furd in my eyes!(just kidding) Welcome to the best Chevy truck site on the internet.I say the K/10 and I am sure you will continue to get the same responce here.Since you said the mechanical was not a problem that is half the battle and being that it is a 4x4 it should be easy to crawl under it.I would check the frame and everything else you can see for rust.(Surface rust underneath ok,Flaking peeling rust bad,walk away) Just my .02.

[VA72C10]

Welcome to the forum. Consider looking for a good deal on a truck in WA, CA, NV, AZ, or CO....I've seen rust free long beds sell for around 1000-1500 with a nice drivetrain too...

Even paying 5-800 to ship it...you'd be way money ahead in the long run!

Just make sure to get lots of pictures then have someone local check it out for you before purchasing....

[cmhouser]

Well - I just got back and have to say I was pretty disappointed. I didn't build myself up for it because everytime you do that you get let down. I had pretty low expectations for the body and higher ones for the mechanical stuff. Well the opposite should have been true.

Body - Really there was minimal rust on it for the year and being in MN. Just the lower part of the doors and back fenders were rusty. Door handles were missing the push button to open. Most everything else was clean. Several cheap bondo repairs. Frame was clean. Cab was pretty clean. The genious sprayed the lower portion though with bedliner stuff so it was hard to tell. It was missing the tailgate but he had the original (not in great shape and another off a '71 C10 in good shape. Interior wasn't too bad. Needed cleaning and a good dose of removing 80's looking replacement interior. No radio (who cares). Seats a little worn. All in all I'd give it a 7/10. Exterior the same. Tires had tons of tread but were cracking and looking dangerous after sitting for so long.

Mechanical - Wow was I surprised. He went to start it and it took him about 3-5 min to get her to finally sputter. She did come to life at a really low idle run state. Carb was missing lower portion and air cleaner. Plugs were severely worn and rusty. Tranny had a pretty signifigant leak from the front seal. The "lift" as he called it were simply blocks. Master Cylinder definitely toast. I wasn't paying attention at the time (looking at the interior) but he removed a shaft from it so it was either lock the hobs in 4wd or go 2wd. His explanation was that he didn't want more moving parts than needed and the shaft would rotate when not in 4wd without his "modification" (don't know much about 4wd period let alone older vehicles. Suspension was very sway like and I felt some vibration in in steering. Power steering worked ok when moving 20 mph plus but anything beneath was like trying to push the truck sideways by hand.

All in all I don't mind doing work on any car/truck that is especially 40 years old and asking $2,800.00 but having to do quite a bit of body work AND tons of mechanical - not happening in my lifetime. If I could drive and restore as I go - no problem. But I might as well go for a 50's something with a decent body and rolling chassis and do it the exact way I want.

Some pics:









Lights for the roll bar and front push bar that don't work.
http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/...2a019-orig.jpg

[tubbedII]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

Welcome to the forum. Consider looking for a good deal on a truck in WA, CA, NV, AZ, or CO....I've seen rust free long beds sell for around 1000-1500 with a nice drivetrain too...

Even paying 5-800 to ship it...you'd be way money ahead in the long run!

Just make sure to get lots of pictures then have someone local check it out for you before purchasing....

I agree. Keep looking around, new rides pop up all the time and then buy the one you just can't let slip by.

I try to do everything myself, even though I'm not that good at it...but it's a hobby and a learning process. One thing I've learned is I need to stay away from body work and just pull out the wallet when it comes that time. Because of that, I wouldn't buy anything with extensive rust since it's expensive to pay someone to fix. My main goal when buying any type of hobby ride is a straight, mainly rust free body, straight frame and the rest I can deal with as long as it's for the right price...

[cmhouser]

One more thing... when he did get it started I noticed it didn't seem like it was running on all 8 cylinders. It just didn't sound right. When i went to the sputtering exhaust with glass packs one side felt like it had strong flow and the other was less than half of that. When I mentioned it to him he said "yeah I noticed that - not sure what the deal is". Ummmm ok. As an added note he had the truck since highschool and did a lot of work on it then. Not to discredit any younger mechanics or young guys as not being good. But a teenager rebuilding an engine on his spare time doesn't sit well with me considering how it ran.

[cmhouser]

VA - I agree with both you and tubbed. I took my old man (a pessimist by nature) and he wasn't impressed. I've only been on the prowl for a month give or take so I can wait. I just got excited when I HEARD it was in good shape and running good. Thanks again guys for all your advise. I'm sure I'll be reaching out again. Wish I had more to offer.

[stich626]

I'd look south, find a nice one and ask nicely if anyone here can take a look at it, then if good, either shipp it or drive down and haul it back, you'll be money ahead with a truck with no rot and a junked interior, interiors in this are minimal and not much to get in order, body work, and rust.. is a ton more work..
good luck..
if it's never gonna be used as a truck to haul heavy loads, and you plan on dropping it a little you might be better served with a c-10 over a k as the rear coils are a piece of cake, and the long arms handle tons better..over rear leaf. ask nascar

[jeremy zander]

Welcome..If you are thinking about keeping the truck for a while ,I would look for something not from the rust belt...Look at my trucks in my signature page,they all start with the frame and added rust free bodies...just my 2 cents... good luck...

[cmhouser]

stich - you read my mind on the C10. Trust me if financially and time wise it would be worth searching down south I would. I'm a Texas native. Luckiy I found a C10 today locally. The body isn't in bad shape and he has newer (paint non-matching) fenders, doors and chrome front and rear bumpers (which look really nice for $100.00) even though there's little rust on it. According to the seller it's a Montana truck that only got used during the summer there and otherwise he only started and ran it to keep it lubed and tame. New tires and rims last year. Perfect runner. Of course this is the owner who is selling it giving me this pitch.

The body does look paint mismatched a tad but fairly clean. Best of all a rebuilt 350 with receipts and finally a manual 4 speed. For some reason I just don't like the auto's. Too complicated for me to work on. So I see and will likely buy it tomorrow if he isn't full of it. He just got married and has one kid and another on the way. He wants/needs a new Yukon (I'm sure his wife is the main recipient) so it's sell the truck and have a down payment time for him.

Best yet - I'll get it all for 1K. Pics to come...

[ChevLoRay]

Whatever you, or anyone else does...who's looking for a truck needs to remember is to buy the best body you can. For you guys up 'der, you may want to consider looking down south....the interior of Texas for instance....even if it is just a clean cab on a chassis of your choosing.

I have a son-in-law who moved her from Rhode Island. His truck was only 9 years old, but he had (still has) problems with the hard lines for his brakes rusting and breaking/leaking at the Tee's. My 42 years old Chevy didn't have any of those issues. Everything just unbolted without any serious torque-fests. On his stuff, torque just means replace...because it will break....not break loose.

Minnesota is a beautiful state, but not for vehicle longevity in the real world.

Oh, from the Heart of Arkansas!!!!