How long did it take you to build you truck?

[Rollie396]

bought mine in oct.03 drove it 4hrs home(4 of the funnest hrs I remember).It was parked for awhile before I pulled it into the garage to get it ready for safety(required when purchase an out of province vehicle here)I started to replace the wrecked dash pad and things got out of hand.I now have a rolling chassis on bags with a brand spanky engine/trans. waiting along with plans for power pretty much everything,custom gauges,shifter,column,fuel tank(with signal light filler of course)etc. etc.as well as a hefty stock pile of new parts and a list of "needed"parts as long as my arm.
I gave myself 3yrs once I realized I was doing a full rodstoration and I'm at 2 1/2 yrs now.I think a year long extension is gonna be needed cuz work is really getting in my way timewise (though it helps lots financially).

[Bob B.]

Don't know, not finished yet!

[sick69]

don't get discouraged,,,
I started mine in 93 destroyed two good cabs trying to build an extended cab(which had I continued would have come out pretty sweet after seeing how people here have done it. the floor and roof were not coming out right but the sides were straight ) and had two garage monkeys in the process of this truck. now I am able to work on it again. and have 4 extra hands "helping" me to boot!

so 13 years and counting!

[skokie]

Started mine around Oct Nov 03 and still going. Motor was shot when I bought it plus the 400 turbo was slipping and leaking like a siv so it was put motor it in and let it sit until I get the $$$ for the tranny rebuild. Plus the exhaust was literally falling off of it, rear end needed to be swapped out. Did that and a lot of other stuff like installing a sway bar, all new wiring under the hood stuff like that. I am finally at the body work part which I will be starting in the next few weeks. It has been a long road to get it to this point but I am here and still going. I have a wife and 2 kids (4 yr old boy and 2 yr old girl) that take up a lot of time. I average in 1-2 hrs a night and the occasional half to full day on the weekend. Just keep chugging away at it.

[ChevyDude]

I'm into mine....over 3 years!

[71chevytruckguy]

my '69 took 8 months to get it into dialy driver shape. my '71 is 2 years and atleast 6 more months to go if i work my tail off on it. chris.

[RPOZ11]

well, Ill admit, and embarrassed at the same time to say, that my one 72 3/4-ton has taken me an extra 13 months due to a deadbeat body & paint guy.
I need to learn, and fast!
My LongHorn is sitting awaiting my attention.
I got a repalcement cab and a bunch of extra parts to do that one, maybe next year...unfortunately

[jimmydean]

I'm guessing my truck will never be "done". But the brake/bag job that was supposed to be a long weekend has been 3 months now. Rumor has it I will be driving it this weekend.

[notmrgoodwrench]

well i have been working on mine for like 3 years and seems like im getting nowhere fast but as my name says im notmrgoodwrench lol so im just taking it slow and easy and hope that when it is said and done that i will have a fun ride

[BigSky71]

I disassembled mine in Nov 04 and hope to start re-assembly of painted truck this Spring, but I have moved my re-assemble date back many times. At first I told people it would take a year or so, now I just tell them that I am working on it almost daily and that it take as long as it will take.

I basically have 2 1/2 winters of time into mine because I get very little done during the summer because of other hobbies. But working in the garage 5 or so nights a week sure helps the crappy winter months go by fast!

[Billla]

Well, I started in 1996 Honestly, I don't worry about it; the truck gets better all the time and I've never had it down for more than a month or so at a time. I figure it'll be done when I head out to the garage, look at my white board for the next task...and take it out for a drive instead because there's nothing there.

Then I'll come back and and some more stuff to the list

[Billla]

Originally Posted by abadsvt

I have a question for everyone who has taken more than 1 year to build. How often did you or have you worked on your truck? Has there been a big delay trying to scrape up the money to buy the parts you need to advance? Or have you been working on it a couple times a week and at least 1 day on the weekend? Just curious.

Josh

I work on my truck at least once a week, and the barriers are:

• Space; I need a working garage for other short-term projects and I have a long-term Corvette rebuild going on at the same time. This means I have about 1 stall for work...and even that needs to be available sometimes for maintenence on other vehicles.
• Time; I have a day job
• Money; My '72 does take a back seat to other projects, so it doesn't recieve a lot of my "garage money"
• Help; I always hoped as my kids got older they'd be more interested in cars, but hasn't been the case. There are a lot of things that take 2 people, and I don't have a "car buddy" to help with most of the time.

I'm comfortable with the pace

[guy51usa]

I can't remember what year I tore my 55 3200 apart, i think 85, it's still in pieces. Divorce, recall to active duty, spouse battled cancer and lost, numerous moves ,lots of s--t but I still dream of finishing this truck. Am I nuts or dedicated.

[68GMC454]

wel lets see,,i hve had my truck for about 5 moths or so..the only time i have touched it was to put it on the trailer to bring home...im trying to just get a engine for it and hope the tranny is good,,if not i got one to replace it..i just want a driver,,not interested in really pretty paint job,,or disks...but i will work on it as i drive it..the plans do include disks all the way around,,a new otor and tranny with overdrive..but the way i figure is to just do what i can,,when i can..i will get what ever parts i need before i start something on it...i dont want to get to the im discouraged part and give up on it...but i figure if i can drive it inbetween projects i should be al right..my main problem is not haveing a garage to work in,,and now with my back messed up again,,i cant even work on the darn thing....
oh well hopefully i can get it up and running in the next few months..thats the first plan,,that includes making sure the 4 wheel drum brakes are i good shape,,lights all work....i will do the body work in the driveway for now,,just do what ever it needs,,then put it in primmer for awhile..

[muddpile]

I bought my truck Dec. 2004. I drove it for almost a year, parking it late Nov. 2006. It was a heap, missing cab corners, rockers, floor pans, cab supports, etc. It came with a PERFECT spare bed (the one on it was shot.....) along with a drivers side floor pan and a box full of misc. parts.

Now, it has been a little over a year in the shop, and the truck is nearing completion. I have a driver side rocker to weld in, then the cab is ready for body and paint. I think I bought every Goodmark cab patch panel available, along with both doors, both front fenders and a tailgate. The TH350 was rebuilt before I bought it, and the truck had ramhorns and fresh dual exhaust. The engine has now received a full gasket rebuild, timing chain, and all accessories, and has been dressed up in vette accessories as well. The chassis/suspension is painted, new shocks all around, rebuilt rad, etc. I plan on having it on the road in April, as I work about 5 hours a day on it 5 days a week, longer on weekends. It's a long process, but in the end I have a feeling it will be totally worth it......

[al's71gmc]

I thought I was "done" with my son's truck when he left for college last fall. But on the way home for Christmas he lost oil pressure....turned out the oil pump pickup fell off in the pan. While checking the bearings for damage we found a broken piston!!( had been broken for awhile by the looks of it). Now we're in the middle of an engine swap. That there is discouraging!!!!! If I only had a pile of $$$$ and heat in the shop..............

[72gord]

My son and I started on ours in the spring of 04, we are now waiting on our bodyman (he is doing it in his spare time....think cheaper but slow) the truck has been at his shop since June 25 of this year, he has done one front fender done so far. We are hoping to have it completed sometime next summer, keeping my fingers crossed!!

[69TowRig]

Bought mine in Dec 2004 in TX, too many things wrong to be a driver. Took almost a year to get to driver status just fixing things that were messed up. Got stickered and tagged then I moved to NC and things screeched to a halt for a long time (no garage). Recently started putting some time into it again, but it is stickerless and tagless once again. Hopefully in about 3-4 years it will be closer to completed.