Advice Please

[Mike00]

I've been looking for a mid 80's C10 & came across this one. It's a 1985 with a rebuilt 350 & 700 Trans. Pretty much stock. Paint is a little dull but from the pics the body looks pretty straight. Tires will need replacing soon too. Haven't seen it in person yet but plan on it this weekend. Seller is asking 6K for it. Don't know a whole bunch about these trucks although I have always wanted one for my next project. What do you guys think? I'm not sure if it is worth the 6K the seller is asking. Any help would be much appreciated!!!

[old Rusty C10]

its prolly a couple of years old on his resto.. IF it was done right and there is no rot on it and a simple polish will clean it up $%k is not too far out of reach particulaly in the north east.. I would try to get him down a thousand or so

[frog210]

Did you find this one in Craigslist In San Antonio?
Because i saw it too lol
its been up for a while so you might be able to drop the price a little bit

[hartbraker]

It's all in what you want to do with the truck... if it's worth that to you then ya, if you're planning on keeping it for an extended period of time then sure, but if you wanna dramatically change it from it's current state it would be much more cost effective to start with something a litter closer to your desired outcome... especially if you're willing to spend 5 or 6 thousand on a square body. You can get a HELL of a nice original square body with low mileage for 6 if you watch closely... But again, it's all in what you want

[Mike00]

Originally Posted by frog210

Did you find this one in Craigslist In San Antonio?
Because i saw it too lol
its been up for a while so you might be able to drop the price a little bit

Yea, that's where I saw it. I've seen it on there too for some time. I'll be up there this weekend so might take some cash with me & swing by to take a look at it.

What are the most important things to look for when looking over one of these trucks?

[hartbraker]

spring hangers in the rear, front wheel wells, rear wheel well and the lip right over the tire, cab corners, rockers, personally I'd look up by the fuse block and steering column to see how much wiring may or may not be cobbled up, and leave it run while you sit there at look at it to see what kind of oil leaks you're dealing with... if any. Last but not least, you might as well grab ahold of the door and check and see if it needs new pins. AND this is being very thorough, but if he has a jack readily available, jack up the front end and check the front end out... ball joints and what not.

[Mike00]

Talked to the seller. He said he bought the truck the way it is but he has 3 other projects & needs to get rid of one. The valve covers are leaking a little oil, but I think. He said it runs good with no problems. He does not drive it every day. Resto was done on it before he bought it but the interior, door panels, door jams, engine bay, etc was all painted the same green. He said the exterior needs to be buffed out. Said the body is really straight with no rust that he has seen. He said the lowest he would go is 5500.00. I wouldn't pay more than 5K though.

[Mike00]

Where is the fuse box located on these trucks?

[Dsquared]

fuse box should be on the firewall under the park brake pedal.

[Mike00]

Thanks! I'm really hoping that I like this truck when I see it in person. Taking some cash with me to try & make a deal.

[Mike00]

Are these engines known to have oil leaks? I don't want to over react to oil leaking if it is common. I will be looking at an other truck too when I am there. The seller needs to move it really soon so I know I can get it for less than his asking price of 2900. Your thoughts would be much appreciated on this truck as well. Thanks!

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/cto/2910992264.html

My furture plans for either truck is to drop it of course, nice set of wheels & tires, paint & drop in a LS1 engine.

[frog210]

hey Mike00
the first truck i got was a 74 chevy shortbed
i got it for 1700 with minor problems
so if you like it thats all that matters
my valve covers were leaking some oil when i bought it
went to autozone bought some valve cover bolts and valve bolt pressure spreaders
went home to install, only to find out the old valve bolts that were on their when i got it were finger loose, so
you might just need to get some new valve cover bolts and pressure spreaders worked
for me and im no engine master

[ghettoluxury]

Oil leaking from the valve covers is very common, due to most guys using cork gaskets and never checking to make sure the bolts are tight after initial installation.

If I were planning to mod the truck anyway I would be looking at the second truck. It gives more room to build the truck you want. Since the ls motor is easy to find now a small block isn't worth squat, heck I sold my last big block for $400 just to get rid of it. A couple years ago I would have taken no less then $1000 for it but when you throw that price out guys say "I can get a 6 liter for that price".

[Mike00]

Thanks fellas! I'm hoping that the body on the 2nd one is in good condition with no rust. I'm sure I can get it for 2K or less. The stickers are out on it but he said he was willing to drive it over to where I am at to check it out.

[N2TRUX]

Green truck looks good, but not 6k good. If the paint is dull its probably more than cut-n-buff. My guess is the paint is dying a slow death.

[Mike00]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Green truck looks good, but not 6k good. If the paint is dull its probably more than cut-n-buff. My guess is the paint is dying a slow death.

What would you offer on it?

[Mike00]

Well went to look at the truck this past weekend & the paint job on it was not that great. There was some cracking in the paint & all the tires were pretty shot. Body looked pretty straight but had a feeling that there was some bondo under there. He was pretty set on $5500 because he felt that it would cost like 8K to get it that way. Told him for 8K I can find one completely restored. Offered him 4K Cash but he said no so I walked away.

[C&C Chevy]

When I was looking for a truck, I avoided texas like the plague. THere are some very nice ones down there, but the cost WAY too much. $5000 gets you a beater down there... ;p