Thinking about hangin out with you guys!.....Help??

[lil_sahara450r]

Hey guys!
Crossing over from the 60-66 group to ask you guys some questions. I am looking for a 67-72 truck and I would like some advice on what to look for when I go to see a truck. I know every body style has its own rust spots and little things to keep an eye out for, so could you let me in on the secrets??

Also, I am going to look at the truck below. The specs are: 1970 with a '71 grill swap, 350/350, A/C cab (doesn't currently have a/c though), P/S, P/B, new sway bar, new radio and speakers, good tires, bed is super nice on the inside, runs and drives. The bad: turn signals don't work, fuel gauge doesn't work, and a bouncy speedo.
Could you guys give me an honest opinion on a price point? I think he is being fair but just thought I would see what y'all say

Thanks!!!!!!!!

[Mister-B]

Rust in the rockers and cab corners is common. They can be fixed without too much fuss, but if the truck has rust inside the cab above the windshield, that's pretty hard to fix. This truck you are looking at looks really clean, but might have lots of Bondo and what have you under the paint. There are others on here that might be able to give you more info as to how to tell if that's been done.

Boy, value is really subjective. Depends on your area, and lots of other factors. If I had to guess and throw out a number, I'd say that truck could go for about 8k. Don't shoot the messenger though. It's really hard to say

Has the motor been rebuilt? How many miles? What does the engine bay look like? Tint is missing from one of the quarter windows. Did somebody break in? Was it stolen and messed up?

These are very cool trucks, and I think you would like to own one. They are trucks built during the muscle car era. Beat that
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[70cst]

If it's an AC cab... Figure $1000 to get it back to stock.

I would check out undercarriage ...

You say it has an aftermarket radio... Is the dash cut up?

Mister-B makes valid points ...

[67c10rustbuket]

Looks like a great truck. I think it is priced pretty close in the ad but I would offer 8 if it looks good on the underside. It has been advertised for quite a while so maybe able to go lower. You would really have to see it in person to inspect it real close. You never know what is under the paint and also many times people put on new rockers and ignore all the rust underneath. The driprail seam and the cowl is the killer, once the drip rail seam sealer cracks it lets water in the roof, down the pillars into the cab corners and rockers. Of course around here you also have to look out for okie red mud caked on the underside, it does wonders for rotting out steel from the bottom up.

[lil_sahara450r]

Well I went and looked at the truck today that I mentioned in the post above. The truck is actually really straight and really rust free from the looks of it. I took a guy that really knows his stuff when it comes to paint and body work and he gave it a thumbs up too. The paint job is ok, its a nice driver quality job. The doors shut well as well as the hood. The inside of the bed is PERFECT!! just a few small errors in the paint but it takes a good sun angle for them to show up. the interior is pretty good, the inside of the cab is all original with the exception of a seat cover and a radio head unit and it doesn't bother me at all. It drove well, shifted well, and started with no hesitation. There is an oil leak from a valve cover but thats an easy fix. The speedo bounces pretty bad and the gas gauge doesn't work but I consider those easy fixes as well.

Here is the thing... I am NOT looking for a show truck, by any means! I'm fine with a ten or twenty footer that needs little things done. I just don't want another project... I am looking for a weekend driver (I have a company supplied work truck) and I just want something to get me to walmart and back lol... I think this one may fit the bill but I am gonna have to sleep on it tonight... It would take a couple of weekends and a few parts to make this one a pretty nice driver in my opinion.

Thank you for the advice guys, this is the best forum on the net by far!!!

[Tinkermc]

Look underneath for frame damage the box is about to eat the cab on the passenger side and my wife could walk through the gap on the driver side.

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by lil_sahara450r

Well I went and looked at the truck today that I mentioned in the post above. The truck is actually really straight and really rust free from the looks of it. I took a guy that really knows his stuff when it comes to paint and body work and he gave it a thumbs up too. The paint job is ok, its a nice driver quality job. The doors shut well as well as the hood. The inside of the bed is PERFECT!! just a few small errors in the paint but it takes a good sun angle for them to show up. the interior is pretty good, the inside of the cab is all original with the exception of a seat cover and a radio head unit and it doesn't bother me at all. It drove well, shifted well, and started with no hesitation. There is an oil leak from a valve cover but thats an easy fix. The speedo bounces pretty bad and the gas gauge doesn't work but I consider those easy fixes as well.

Here is the thing... I am NOT looking for a show truck, by any means! I'm fine with a ten or twenty footer that needs little things done. I just don't want another project... I am looking for a weekend driver (I have a company supplied work truck) and I just want something to get me to walmart and back lol... I think this one may fit the bill but I am gonna have to sleep on it tonight... It would take a couple of weekends and a few parts to make this one a pretty nice driver in my opinion.

Thank you for the advice guys, this is the best forum on the net by far!!!

Sounds like a nice truck. I hope you get it, if you decide to take the plunge. I totally feel you on not needing a show quality truck. Whether you want to or not, everybody ends up driving a car/truck less the nicer it is. I think that is why the rat rod/patina thing has gotten so big. I want the exact same kind paintjob for my '68. I want it to straight and shiny, but I don't need it to perfect.

[Gene]

Very nice truck. Hope it works out for ya!
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[lil_sahara450r]

Ya, my Camaro is like that.. It's too nice to really take out anytime. I took it this morning to get my hair cut but I never go anywhere that I can't keep an eye on it through a window.

No obvious frame damage, but I did notice that the bed sticks out a little far on both sides. Thought it may be the nature of the beast, idk!
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[67_C-30]

I think you're just seeing the shape of the bedside. These trucks have the narrowest cab to bed gap of any truck I know of. The cab has a large radius on each rear corner, and the bed has kinda the same radius that matches it. The bedsides protrude on the front ends and it makes for a close gap and a very streamlined look.

[franken]

I'm in Texas and I've been shocked by how little rust some old vehicles are from OK.

That said, rockers and cab corners are the weakest point on these trucks, and they go from the inside due to no paint. You see a pinhole and it blows out if you try to weld it.

The truck is resale red--a bad sign.

Your body guy likes it. A good sign, but like drywallers, and painters, body guys have a bad reputation for reliability.

I'd get the truck in the air and roll around under it, but if you don't know what you're looking at, you won't understand what you see.

70 means drum brakes in front. $500-$1000 to make disk. A good idea.

Wiring problems aren't hard to fix, but figuring out what the problem is can be rough. If you can't do this yourself, paying people to do it may kill you.

[lil_sahara450r]

The more I think about it the more I think I may have to pass on this one....

A LOT of things that I bluffed off as "I can fix that" or "I can change it later" are starting to get to me.

This truck was an obvious flip... The paint quality is good, but the paint job itself was rushed and prep work wasn't done that should have been. They didn't pull the trim off, they just taped around it, and the drip rail sealer was in pretty bad shape. Also, they didn't tape hardly anything off (besides the glass and the trim), and there is overspray everywhere. The truck has a great stance, thanks to TORCHED COILS (a big no-no for me), they didn't replace the track bar, use shock re locaters, or drop spindles. NONE of the gauges work, either correctly or at all. The turn sigs don't work or the brake lights. I did happen across a few loose bolts which makes me wander how many are loose that I didn't see right off hand. Multiple wiring no-no's..The list continues but I'll stop there......

I think the fun of truck shopping got to me when I went and looked at it, but now that my mind is coming back around and telling my emotions to settle down and think about it, I may pass.... I just think there are better trucks out there for the money and there are reasons this one has been for sale for so long..

I know that compromises have to be made when there is a budget involved, I just need to figure out what I am willing to compromise on. A member here PM'ed me with a truck for sale that I instantly fell in love with but it's a little out of my reach as far as price.

The good part about all this is, I am in no hurry to buy a truck. These come around for sale all the time so I have a lot of faith that I will find one. Maybe I'll start a new thread.... FIND MY 67-72!! Thanks a lot for the advice and encouragement guys, I know I'll have more questions. For the record though, I like all 67-72's, but a slant nose would be first on my list, with a 71-72 coming in a close 2nd.

[67_C-30]

Don't rush it and buy something you'll regret. In fact, try to buy as close as you can to what you want the first time. I also prefer the 67 - 68 Chevy SWB fleetsides and I've had a two 71's, two 70's (one of them was a GMC) and three 69 SWB fleets and and one '69 SWB stepper. I always thought I'd be happy with them, but I still couldn't keep my mind off of a slantnose. After more than 15 years of buying these trucks, I finally found the nice '68 SWB I have now. I'd still love to have a real nice '71 - '72 one day, but I want to have a finished slantnose before I do.

Color is another thing. Try to buy a color you really like, unless you have paint in your budget. I sold many a car and truck because I was not happy with the color and didn't want to spend the time and effort of repainting it and/or changing the color of the interior (which is big $$$ in a car!).

The good thing is that there was 100's of thousands of these trucks made, Be patient, and find the right one. You'll be money ahead in the longrun.

[BLACKLINE61]

A good call on the pass IMHO... my dad always told me that if a PO didn't do the easy fixes they definately didn't do the hard ones, or maintenance for that matter! no gauges is a bad sign, walk on brother.... find a stocker that need some tlc you'll be much happier without someone elses mess, ask me how i know

[lil_sahara450r]

Yeah, I am confident now that I made the right decision. I went back and looked at it again to make sure and I noticed a lot more this time around.. Its crazy what you miss when you're excited!! I walked up to the truck today with a more judgmental attitude and noticed that the truck just isn't what I want. I would rather have ****ty old paint than new bad paint that is hiding a lot of hidden gremlins. I just had to reassure myself that I was making the right decision.

The good news.... THE SEARCH IS ON!!!!!! The wife has given me the thumbs up to getting a 67-72, I have a spot in my shop waiting on one (sold the cts-v), and I am confident that I will find "the one"!

I'm sure you guys will see me over here again with questions and such, y'all are awesome!