All numbers match but have question

[Moms74C10]

I have a '74 Chevy C10 short bed step side. It is all original, all the numbers match. We plan on restoring it and plan to have the engine professionally rebuilt, convert it from three on the tree to floor shift, and to paint it from the original green to something a little more stand out. I was told that painting it something thats not the original off the factory color pretty much makes the whole benefit of the matching numbers null. Does anyone here have any opinions or thoughts on this? Thanks in advance for your help.

[old Rusty C10]

a die hard purist will tell you that if you restore the truck to anything but OEM quality you are destroying them. I agree with this to a strong degree, however trucks like ours ( I have a similar truck) are not overly valiable so as long as you are not going full custom and IMHO destroying the truck you will do OK. I have a truck that was a 74 . The chassis came from a 6 cylinder three speed on tree . It was a short fleetside truck. The guy I bought it from scrapped everything from the trucks body almost except the hood , glovebox door and grille. He included a new short fleet box which I sold. I also bought a nice 74 cab with all the accessories and I had a stepside bed so I built a new truck using all those parts based on the 74 cab. I kept the six cylinder and three on the tree, but because I like stepsides I made my new truck a stepper... Im not too interested in having the VIN numbers matching as I am having a good example of an Old Mans truck and a stock 74 stepside Similarly I have a 1982 2wd LWB this truck is bone stock with exception of the upgrade to a 350 from a 305 motor and I added a cowl hood.. It does not affect value or anything and its within the realm of stock

[chrismoore701]

Agree. Numbers matching is important on valuable cars like camaros and Chevelles. But not our trucks. I have a 79 sport and I dropped it and changed the color.

[Jeramy]

once you modify a vehicle in any way from the way received by original owner from the dealership it is no longer a stock vehicle and then things like numbers matching or even low mileage no longer matter. That being said i would never let it stop me from making my vehicle my own. if you are scared to personalize it sell it and get one you're not afraid to change.

this of course is my own personal opinion which makes it all a moot point.

[Moms74C10]

Thank you for all the great feedback. I feel a whole lot better about what we want to do. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/i...lies/metal.gif

[65standard]

I would be more worried about the floor shift conversion than a color change when buying a used truck. But that's just me.

[andrewmp6]

Its a short bed truck unless you do something stupid like paint it pink it won't hurt the value of it.

[77 ChevySport]

Originally Posted by Moms74C10

I have a '74 Chevy C10 short bed step side. It is all original, all the numbers match. We plan on restoring it and plan to have the engine professionally rebuilt, convert it from three on the tree to floor shift, and to paint it from the original green to something a little more stand out. I was told that painting it something thats not the original off the factory color pretty much makes the whole benefit of the matching numbers null. Does anyone here have any opinions or thoughts on this? Thanks in advance for your help.

FWIW: Depends on a few things. If you start out with desirable options like a shortbed/V8 and stick and have all the GM/Chevrolet ducuments it is worth keeping it original. Changing the color from the original paint tag and changing options like your conversion will devalueate your truck. If you look at values from the guides NADA/Hagerty & etc. you will find that starting in earlier 70 like yours the original Chevrolet (Not GMC) shortbed trucks are actually worth more then you run of the mill Corvettes/Camaro's.(Year for Year)JMHO>Larry P.S. When you get your engine rebuilt make sure you tell them "NOT TO DAMAGE THE NUMBERS ON
THE PAD". Bottom Line is that it is your truck and you can do what you want but remember> It is only original once; when gone it's gone!

[Shugalou]

I thought the resto mod route was gaining favour, I think an improvement over stock would add value - you look at those gas monkey type shows and they "add value" by doing upgrades to the suspension, brakes and drivetrain.

[allengator]

agreed... its not like we are talking about YENKO Camaro or something...

[Tom]

Originally Posted by Moms74C10

I have a '74 Chevy C10 short bed step side. It is all original, all the numbers match. We plan on restoring it and plan to have the engine professionally rebuilt, convert it from three on the tree to floor shift, and to paint it from the original green to something a little more stand out. I was told that painting it something thats not the original off the factory color pretty much makes the whole benefit of the matching numbers null. Does anyone here have any opinions or thoughts on this? Thanks in advance for your help.

Your already converting to floor shift. Its no longer original. That said, I still have never met anyone in person who actually cares about original with this generation truck. I've never once checked for "numbers matching" as it means nothing in real life. Maybe its just my area but thats how I see it.