Costs and Expenses

[bojak]

Go south young man, or west, or south west. Mine was local in Atlanta with under 100 k for 3 k . Had an crate 350 in it with less than 50 k on it. Was a fulton county fire dept. truck. Fleet maintained, body straight no rust. We'll 2 small spots at weatherstripping flange at bottom of doors (100 bucks). I probably could of got it for 2700 or 2800 but I don't like to BS so 3k and it was done. Interior was shot, needed kingpins,needed tires. So I'm at 6k with a redone by myself interior, buddy done kingpins, and new rubber. OK my wife will probably never see this so 7k. Engine doodads are not things we need to discuss because she's never under there.

[Sodell]

Originally Posted by tucsonjwt

I just sold my old tailgate to a young fella who showed up with a mid 80s 3 +3 in great shape he said he just bought for $1000 - rust free. So, I always say if you start with a rust free truck you will save a lot of money over patching up a rust bucket.

My truck was $2500 11 years ago (83 C20) and I put about $10K into it - all mechanical/electrical and including about $2K for the dump conversion. I expect to pay about another $1K for a driver quality paint job. Then I hope to be done with it.

Realistically, all of that dough would have been better spent on a new (or at least newer) truck. But, one thing leads to another. I expected to keep this truck for about 2 years and junk it, but it needed a lot of repairs to make it reliable.

Considering that new trucks get 18/25 mpg, it makes more sense to me to put $10K in a $25K truck and have no worries for many years. I only have an old truck because I did not want to trash a new truck.

What's the fun in that?

[Theoriginalsilverado]

Originally Posted by mexlokote

not the best one on here but for total of $1,800 investment including the truck,
also engine and transmission swap, and brand new carburator, fuel tank, fuel sending unit, fuel lines, filters,gaskets,motor mounts, door poppers, new windshield,new tires,new brakes, new rotors,new paint,and other smalls i cant think about, it looks good

Nice truck man! Seems more than decent for the amount of money you spent on it. You must have painted it yourself right? If not please share how you got it painted so cheap.

[tucsonjwt]

Originally Posted by Sodell

What's the fun in that?

I am getting tired of chasing all of the problems of an old truck. I know that many here say they bought an old truck and never had any problems, never put a penny into it, etc., etc, etc.... but I am never that lucky.

The fun for me is in driving a worry free reliable truck instead of fixing an old one. I only keep it for its beater value and my unwillingness to trash a new truck. With diesel now priced 25% higher than gasoline, my previous plan to buy an old diesel is now "non-operative", as they used to say in the Clinton administration.

[mexlokote]

Originally Posted by Theoriginalsilverado

Nice truck man! Seems more than decent for the amount of money you spent on it. You must have painted it yourself right? If not please share how you got it painted so cheap.

i did painted my self, it was pretty easy $70 gallon of paint from ebay

[nekkidhillbilly]

Originally Posted by tucsonjwt

I just sold my old tailgate to a young fella who showed up with a mid 80s 3 +3 in great shape he said he just bought for $1000 - rust free. So, I always say if you start with a rust free truck you will save a lot of money over patching up a rust bucket.

My truck was $2500 11 years ago (83 C20) and I put about $10K into it - all mechanical/electrical and including about $2K for the dump conversion. I expect to pay about another $1K for a driver quality paint job. Then I hope to be done with it.

Realistically, all of that dough would have been better spent on a new (or at least newer) truck. But, one thing leads to another. I expected to keep this truck for about 2 years and junk it, but it needed a lot of repairs to make it reliable.

Considering that new trucks get 18/25 mpg, it makes more sense to me to put $10K in a $25K truck and have no worries for many years. I only have an old truck because I did not want to trash a new truck.

you want me to give you horror stories on newer trucks you pay alot more for the trucks and parts for the truck but get the same amount of repairs. ive spent about 1000 bucks in wheel bearings in the 130k miles i put on my 04 and thats just one of the things ive fixed many times. couple that with a 550 dollar a month payment. i could make a long list of stuff i had to replace on it and most of it was before it was payed for. i had a 01 that wasnt much better. oh and i forgot to mention the rockers started rusting about 6 months after its last payment.

[Rubble]

Originally Posted by nekkidhillbilly

you want me to give you horror stories on newer trucks you pay alot more for the trucks and parts for the truck but get the same amount of repairs. ive spent about 1000 bucks in wheel bearings in the 130k miles i put on my 04 and thats just one of the things ive fixed many times. couple that with a 550 dollar a month payment. i could make a long list of stuff i had to replace on it and most of it was before it was payed for. i had a 01 that wasnt much better. oh and i forgot to mention the rockers started rusting about 6 months after its last payment.

Thats the BIG reason I keep running these older trucks.The 4 FWD trucks in my list below,there is less than $5000 tied up in all of them.2 need some body work,but all are pretty decent mechanical.I have lots of friends doing same type of work as me with new trucks & they are in the shop way more often.I do all my own work,enjoy it too.I drive these old trucks because I want too,not because I have too.Parts are reasonable,local Napa usually has in stock.I'm a contractor so I get paid X amount of dollars per month for my truck & for me just makes sense to run these trucks.

[nekkidhillbilly]

why im getting another as soon as my house is done.