To rebuild or not to rebuild that is the question

[truck69]

I have a 69 Chevy Custom Camper C20. As you can see from the picture below I have so far just taken the chrome trim off. I finally have saved a little money and need your opinion. I was going to try to get a deep sound to the muffler system so when I stepped on the gas it would sound great. But my brother said the only way to get that would be to rebuild the engine and throw another cam in it. This truck will be taken to car shows and driving around town..not the drags. Or he said we can take the engine out..put new seals and belts and fix the transmission leak and paint the block. Then throw a better carb on top and some chrome for the air cleaner and value covers and let it go at that. This engine has seen better days but it does run great. Next year I hope to get it painted...new wheels...new interior..sound system...and lowered a bit. Nothing to radical. Would you throw the $$$$ into rebuilding it or just make it look good for now? Any ideas or opinions would be welcomed.
Thanks. Truck69

[jku72]

Slow down, your talking about a lot of money in all those things. The most important thing is to remember that the truck runs good now. Taking it apart only makes sense if you have a big amount of money and another car you wouldn't mind driving for a long time. A good paint job is going to be several thousand, an interior is going to be almost a thousand, and engine jobs take a long time, and even doing it yourself is going to be at least a thousand, for a stock rebuild, when you talley it all up.
Given my having been in your situation before, I suggest that you take small steps, save enough to do a COMPLETE job in any one area, then do just that one job, until that job is done, then you can reassess what the next step would be. In other words, dont remove the old interior until you have the new one ready to go in, dont tear apart the engine until you are ready and rich enough to do a complete job, and get it back running. I made those type mistakes on several cars, and ended up never finishing. It is a very difficult thing to avoid, the whole take it apart in advance out of eagerness, but if you do, you usually end up with a non-functional truck for a long time, and that stinks. Faded olive green paint looks way better than primer, so until you have the coin, resist the urge to sand it down in preparation for eventual paint job.
My 402 needs a rebuild, and it leaks oil out of the main seal, but I am not going to fix it right now, because I would rather pour oil through it than have a real nice lawn ornament for the summer.
I suggest keeping simple, if you want a nice sound, buy a set of headers and a complete dual exhaust kit, then thrash it in with friends on a weekend. Keep the upgrades small, like going to an HEI, and small stuff.
This is my opinion only, but boy oh boy, I hate to see projects where the goals were too ambitious and ended up not running or tore up.

[truck69]

Thankyou...That is alot to do in a short period of time. When I just drive it around town I get waves or some people ask about it so it does get looks. I will take your advice and keep everything together until I have saved the money to replace it. The seat is still in good cond. For a radio I have a little battery one I sit on the seat which works fine. Thanks again for the info. Truck69

[Gee_Emm]

For some strage reason I like it just the way it is :p

[Eagle-Eye92]

Whatever you do save the paint for last. It's a shame to have a new paint job and then scratch it up with a stray seat coming in or out, or the untimely slip of a wrench while working under the hood. Just do the engine, tranny and exhaust mods first and you'll have a "sleeper". It's always good to catch someone at the light who thinks they have you beat just from the looks of your ride.