First time buyer? some questions

[jbarnett21]

Ive always wanted a 67-72 SWB pickup. I have been looking for a straight minimal rust unrestored or mildly restored Driver. I plan to park my Gas hog computer truck and intend to drive this vehicle daily.

I think I found one in cali, its a 69 chevy bone stock, original 307 and TH400, its had a paint job and had the motor and tranny gone through, the guy bought it from the original owner, says he has all the paper work, protectoplate, etc...

My issues are I cant see it in person Im east coast and hes west coast. I really want AC, this truck is non ac cab? How big of an issue is that. oh and the price is $7500.

I am really struggling to buy something i cant check out. any opinions or suggestions

[Stu Pidd]

I simply waited until I found a truck relatively close to me.

I'm not gonna buy a 40-year-old truck without looking at it very closely, and its not worth a trip across the country to me to look at a "maybe".

While I watched eBay closely, I found my truck on Craigslist. Though I'm closer to Seattle, I found my truck on the Portland OR craigslist site.

Worth a two-plus hour drive? Only because I was already going to be in the Portland area. After physically looking at the truck, it was definately worth another trip to bring the trailer, and drag it home.

Unless you are looking for something extremely rare, and have a big budget, I'd just keep the antennas up for a nice truck closer to home.

I hope you find the right truck.

[Chrome8]

I just made a long distance purchase but it wasn't as long a distance as you are dealing with. 15 Hour drive 1 way so I had to be really really sure I was getting rust free before I jumped to go that far. I asked the owner to send me a lot of pics of the underside of the truck and the typical rust areas under the battery and the right front fender. The underside of my truck looked like it was tan in the pics so I expressed my concern that the metal may be mushy to the touch when I get there to look at it. He volunteered to wire wheel a few spots so I could see what I was getting. I think if you cover your bases, most people will be very honest about what they have. Just get really detailed with the seller, after all you are a long ways away and they will expect some of that. The pic shows the area that he wire wheeled for me.

[geezer#99]

Why look so far west when you can let this guy find one for you. He's one of several who specialize in rust free western trucks.
http://www.rustfreeclassics.com/

Another one.
http://www.countryclassiccars.com/

[69Rumbler]

7500 is way to much for a truck man people in Cali are crazy lol I know always want way to much for anything I got my truck from an original owner for 2500 and he was asking 3500 lol send me a link and if not to far I can take a look
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[jbarnett21]

thanks guys, Ive been looking at craigslist so much the last few weeks, ive almost covered every state within a reasonable distance, which means there are new listings i haven't seen so i get to do it all over again.

[wreckedchevy]

another handy thing to do when searching craigslist is using google's advanced search
http://www.google.com/advanced_search
for site or domain enter in *.craigslist.org
then it will search all of craigslist for whatever you search for

[laplander]

For a first time buyer, I would take someone who was really knowledgeable in these trucks with me. What seems like a little problem to you can be a disaster waiting to happen. Just like trim work, you think it will be no big deal to get new trim, and then find you have a grand wrapped up in a set. An extra set of eyes is always great, an experienced set of eyes is invaluable.

[Ol Blue K20]

Where Cali someone close to it might be willing to look for you
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[jbarnett21]

auburn, California

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevr...#ht_500wt_1182

[JOJABOY]

That's out near Folsom prison. I think $7500 is way to much for that truck. People put alot of stock in the whole "one owner" and "original". You don't know what is original, if there's rods knocking, if trans slips etc etc. Plus if you are looking for a rust free truck there's alot of arid climates from Texas to California. Most with out the "Calif" mark up attached. Chevrolet and GMC made a whole bunch of these trucks in those six years. Being quality made....there's still a ton of them on the roads. I would keep looking.

Just my $0.02 I wouldn't give a dollar over 4k for that truck you referenced.

[jbarnett21]

thanks, I thought it was a little on the high side, but i wasnt sure. still trying to figure pricing on these things.

Ill post some others that i come across just to get some opinions.

[JOJABOY]

i'm from Georgia and have lived in several states. this is my second time in CA and plan on retiring here. you can definitely find better quality trucks (rust wise) in the south west. but california is over priced for various reasons. (smog, pre 1969 registrations, all the truck parts houses and custom shops are here).

if you are serious about trying to find a good truck with minimal rust, start checking major cities on craigslist that in the dry areas. start with places like tucson arizona. maybe you can find a board member close to the location to do a pre-look at anything you find. then road trip it.

[jbarnett21]

thanks guys, WreckedChevy that search is awesome, cant believe i didnt know about that. that def helps alot

[geezer#99]

TRy this for searches.
http://www.searchtempest.com/

Or this.
http://www.oldride.com/

[Ol Blue K20]

I agree that's a 4500.00 dollar truck, it definately been painted but we do have members up there in Auburn. I could run up there on a weekend without to much trouble

[DGulliver]

jbarnett, I'm in south central TN just below Nashville.

We are the proverbial "honey hole" for these trucks- there was one on every farm around here. Be patient, I've bought at least 10 decent 67-72's within a couple hours' drive from me over the years. They are still sitting and hiding everywhere around you..

[PanelDeland]

WELCOME!!! ^I agree with them^.

Read thru some of the build and rust related threads here on the BB.They will help you learn more so that you can make a better informed choice.There are also quite a few members that are from Tn who may be able to give you leads and/or show you some things.There's also a classifieds section on the BB that has trucks for sale.Learning about these trucs doesn't take much work since we have some of the most informed posting here daily,and the more you lern the better truck you can get for your money.

[jbarnett21]

Thanks, that's why I signed up, I knew you guys would steer me in the right direction

[leftybass209]

As stated, probably best to steer clear of it. I am in the Army, and when stationed in Texas, I picked up a shortbed with a 350 and a 700r4, for 3k. The bed was in ridiculously good shape, must have been used to haul bails of hay or something. The cab and doors were rusted out, but I picked up a mint, rust free cab in CA for 500 bucks, that is able to be cleanly registered, so now I have a truck worth the same 7500 that you noted, for 3500, minus all the restoration parts I've put into it since. Pays to shop outside of CA!

[PanelDeland]

one other thing,if you're looking to park a gas hog to DD a 67-72 then you might want to think that thru.These trucks aren't known for mpg and require a great deal of work/mods to do much better than about 12-14 mpg.