72 Cheyenne Value and Odd Tranny Option?

[cgrossl]

I just got back from looking at a 72 Chevy Cheyenne, LWB, 2WD. I know it is hard to price a truck without seeing it, but I just wanted to bounce this off of some other people before buying it. The asking price is $4500 and he will take $4000 for it. There is no rust on it except for a few bubbles in the paint. Rockers and cab corners are very solid, I checked them with a magnet. Paint is pretty good, but it is a few years old and isn't perfect. I would call this truck a 10 footer. Body is real straight, doors open and shut real good, chrome trimi is all there and is in good shape, interior is black with decent carpet, good seat upholstrey, good headliner and decent door panels. Dash pad is cracked in a couple of places. Everything works. It drives perfect. It has power steering, power disc brakes, 350 engine with 4bbl, automatic tranny, posi rear end, and a cargo light (appears to be original?). I have been around old vehicles for a long time and this is a good one. I don't know a whole lot of specific info pertaining to this era of trucks, that is why I am asking you guys. But, based on a little bit of research that I have done and my own personal experience, I think that this is a pretty good deal. What do you guys think?

One other thing. This truck has two headlight dimmer switches in the floor board. I asked the owner about this and he said that the top one was an overdrive, or lockup converter, or something that reduces highway cruise RPM. He said that while you are going down the road, you just hit it and you will hear the RPM drop. The weird thing was, that this appeared to be original. The carpet was made for the extra switch and the extra switch appeared to be just as old as the dimmer switch. Does anyone know anything about this? I didn't get time to look under the truck again after finding this out, but I do know the seller and he wouldn't intentionally lie to me, but I don't think that he knows exactly what this is either. I can't find any documentation or anyone that knows anything about this. Any ideas?

I'll probably pick this thing up in the next few days, I'll post some pics when I do.

[olblue60@aol.com]

Sounds like a fair price from your description. I'm curious about the overdrive as well. I know that they have been available aftermarket.Perhaps it was added? Please keep us posted when you find out more.

John

[84RATCREW]

I'm sure I remember that the Gear Vendors or some brand had a floor mounted switch. Odd about the carpet though. Was the carpet original looking?

[special-K]

OD not available from factory.What kind of grommet is in the carpet?Identicle to dimmer grommet?Is the carpet loop-type?Does the carpet look as old as rest of interior?That`s a cool thing to find on an older truck.Sounds like a good deal.Why is this in the Suburban board?

[cgrossl]

I accidentally posted this in the Surburban board, but I did put an identical post in the correct board. Anyway, I did finally figure out that this wasn't a factory installed option. My truck has a TH350C which is a TH350 with a lockup torque converter. Whoever installed it in the truck wired the torque converter lockup to an extra dimmer switch. They did a very professional job, going so far as to install an extra grommet in the carpet. It also automatically disengages when you get to low speeds, but I don't how yet. All I know is it works good and it is kind of neat.

[special-K]

Sounds neat!I was just ribbin`ya.I was asking alot of questions so I threw that one in.