Newbie from AZ Questions

[nationsfinestra]

Ok its my first time posting here, so I've got a few questions.

First I'm debating between an '89 Stepside and a 67-72 SWB, or LWB, but preferrably a Suburban. The main reason why I'm going to purchase a new truck is for towing. Of course I'm going to make it cool too, however the main purpose here is to pull my van. After looking on these boards, I noticed there are a lot of people here from AZ. I'm from Scottsdale myself, and I'd love to meet up with some of these guys and ask them a ton of questions.

The other thing here is I'm curious about swb vs lwb. I know that the "preferred" route is a swb, but I find lwb trucks all over the place. Before I get a bunch of people saying which way I should go, I'll just say that I'm not sure yet. I do know that you can cut up a long bed and make it a short bed -- so who has done it and where do you have to cut the bed? The frame I'm not so worried about, but I am curious about the bed.

I'm also wondering what I should expect to pay for a truck or suburban. The one 'burban I've found was going for $6g's, and I've found 72 lwb's going for as little as $1500. My concern isn't the shape of the body, its the running condition of the motor. Hell I'll even build one from the frame up if thats what it takes. Any suggestions?