New and need advice on a 71 SWB

[Nachos82]

Hi all, finally got around to looking for one of my favorite Chevy trucks ever made. I have always loved the 67-72's, but was unable to get a good one till now. I have the opportunity to buy a 71 SWB with a 3 on the tree. I believe the motor is original and maybe a 350, but what ever it is does not bother me to much. I am wondering, how much should I pay for this truck? It has always been a Texas truck and the body is real good and straight. The problem I saw after a quick look is the driver side (didn’t look at passenger side yet) rocker panel is rotted right along the door weather strip. Overall the truck is in good condition, it has a new paint job, but who ever did it should not be painting (it is that bad). What should I look for that will lower the price other then rusted out panels. I see these go for all different prices and don’t want to pay to much now and later find one exactly the same condition for a lot less. Any help would be appreciated and I am glad I found this good site. He wants $3500, but I think it is worth more like $2800-$3000. It runs, but he said shifting is tuchy, bad clutch, loose linkage. Either way thanks for any help.

[boraxman]

Welcome to the board, I would say to grab it if you can get it for 2800-3000. Post up some pics if you can.

[Bishops Trucks]

Lets see some pics. $2800 to $3000 is a good place to start at.

[68Mike]

I'd start with $2500 and go from there. & yep, if you had pics it would help.

[Rokcrln]

Welcome to the family! Keep in mind that a bad new paint job mean even worse body work hiding what ever thay could under the paint. Get under the truck and check out the back of the rockers, rear cab corners, both front and rear cab mounts and right at the front of the door but the rear of the rockers for rust, damage or even bondo/ fiberglass. Inside the cab you will want to look under the carpet at the condition of the floor boards and right at the bottom of the kick panels where they meat the floor. I know you said except rust but this is were the mony is at in repairs down the road. Now the biggy is rust around the windshield! Look up in the rain gutter for repairs or rust, look all around the window for any signs of rust because it will start on the inside and just get worse as it comes out. Also look up at the top of the window inside the cab for signs of rust.

Now with that being said a SWB truck in decent condition is well worth 2500-3000. If the areas I listed above are rusted than I would start taking $ away depending on how bad it gets. If all mentioned places have rust and you do not have alot of time and welding skill I would pass and keep looking. Remember the better the condition you start out with the better the end result will be with out spending tons of money fixing ever little thing.
Good luck!

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[cdowns]

pay special attention to checking the roof around the windshield area// from your description i think its way overpriced for a basic truck with a botched paint and bodywork i'd think more like in the $1000-$1500 area would be good// for the price range you're talking if you remain patient you can find a pretty much original unmolested truck

[Nachos82]

Thanks for the info fellas, I am going to try and get some pictures of the truck on here by Friday, or maybe Saturday since it is dark till I get out of work and class. I will also let everyone know what the specific areas look like for rust. Thanks for the pointers.

[Already Gone]

Sounds like a 1000. truck to me.. I think you are in a tough price range at 3500.00... Even without seeing the pics I'm sure you are looking at spending many 1000's of dollars to get the truck the way you want it. If you can do bodywork yourself then a cheap truck that you can redo yourself is a good investment for you. If you have to pay for bodywork it cost megabucks to get it done right, with right being the operative word. Even in the classifieds on this site you can pick up a decent truck for 4 or 5000.00 dollars that will most likely be in better shape than the one you are looking at now. If you bought one from this site from a board member enthusiast you'd probably get more for your money than buying one one from a private guy who is most likely trying to cash in on the popularity of our trucks. Patience usually pays off very well !!!

[krue]

Waay to high imo. Without pictures of course it's a guess, but I agree that it's twice what I would consider. There are more trucks in Texas than up north or back east, so they should be cheaper.

[72lb4x4]

Crap. I just pasted several links to 67-72 trucks in the DFW Craigslist, and then hit previous thread and lost 'em

Anyway, here's one that was on the clipboard. Try searching your local CL for chevy, and/or chevrolet. There are plenty of trucks out there for way less than $3500.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/car/272948419.html

[n2billet]

Big difference between a LWB and SWB as far as price goes. I can find LWB trucks on CL all day long but the SWB are far and few between and carry a much higher asking price. That's why I have a spare in storage

Originally Posted by 72lb4x4

Crap. I just pasted several links to 67-72 trucks in the DFW Craigslist, and then hit previous thread and lost 'em

Anyway, here's one that was on the clipboard. Try searching your local CL for chevy, and/or chevrolet. There are plenty of trucks out there for way less than $3500.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/car/272948419.html

[Nachos82]

Outer pictures

[Nachos82]

under bed, suspension rear
bed floor
Pass Door Rocker
Pass Rocker rot
bottom of pass door rust and rot

[Nachos82]

Interior
Engine
Engine
shift linkage (just because I took the picture)
Driver side rocker rust

[Nachos82]

interior
bottom of drivers door
cab corner
front rocker
bottom of bed

[Nachos82]

cab to frame mounts

[Nachos82]

well fellas, I got off work early so I got some good shots. You can see all the rust. The rust I shot was about it for the truck. I could not see any filler used and all the fenders and stuff looks real clean. You can see the cab mounts look real good. The final verdict is, how much should I pay? He said I could get it for $3500. I have not talked lower amounts at all with him yet just played it cool. I am going after something not worth the cash? I saw someone posted the SWB trucks bring more then longbeds. I am not after it for the higher worth, just the fact it is here and I love these bodies. Tell me if she is worth it or keep looking, I was thinking about offering $3000 or as low as he will sell. Thanks for the help.

[retodd7711]

here's a quick tip take those pix to a body shop and ask for a quick $amount for repairs. I think it may be a lot more than expected thereby bringing the price down. There are a lot of problems there. just my opinion maybe you"re in the mood for a project. If you do the work keep us posted

[Longhorn Man]

I would walk away. IMO, that's a $1200 truck. You can't throw a dead cat without hitting a 67 - 72 truck in Tx.
looking at that, I'm willing to bet there's a gallon of filler hidden under that paint.

[anderson304]

this might help in your deciding on this truck I paid $4000.00 for mine. It is not a short box but it is an original AZ. truck I have all the original paper work from the fellow that bought it brand new in 71 It has no rust, 350 auto, factory air, tilt , tach, am/fm, top and bottom chrome like new. The interior has a new seat, new floor rubber, new dash pad, nice clean interior. good bumpers, chrome sport bumpers front and rear. The only thing the truck needs is the vinyl interior door panels and the paint is kinda flat and has some chips. this is not a show truck it is a daily driver. hope this helps

[jeremiw123]

If The Bed Is Half As Good As It Looks Its Worth 1000 By Its Self It Looks Like 100% Complete Thats Worth Alot These Days And Ive Seens Bare Fames Get $1000

[FarmTruk]

It's a shame the owner's asking so much. It's a really pretty truck. But the sloppy paint job is likely masking a lot of sloppy bodywork. Did you notice the masking-off job that was done. I guess they just ran out of masking paper when they got to the front driver's side bumper. Oh well...If the owner'd take a lot less, it might be do-able, however, IMHO, $3,500 is just too too much.

[JCA1972]

I wouldn't pay more than $1,000 for that truck, I know you've heard this from all the guys here but it's going to cost a lot of money to get that thing in fighting shape. I'm from Texas also and I bought a running 68 gmc swb with a 350 auto and I paid $1,200 for it. That truck had about as much rust as the one you are looking at, I fixed a couple of things and sold it for $2,200, I'm on my second truck it's a 71 swb C-10 with a 3 year old GM goodwrench 350 and I paid $2500 for it. this truck looked rust free but when I started digging I found a lot of rust. If I were you I'd keep on looking somethimes you can find good deals on e-bay or craigslist.

[72lb4x4]

Sorry, I didn't notice it was an SWB. They seem to be worth/priced more. I prefer longbeds (with hoor lites).

I'm not sure how patient you are, or how interested you are in numbers, but you could assemble one over a period of time. Of course, the money adds up.

There's a shortbed 2wd nearby that hasn't moved in some time in the DFW area right by me. Not sure where you are. If you're in the area, you could beat on their door and offer to buy it... Or I could beat on their door--always an adventure!

Its pointed nose in, so I'm not certain if its a 67-68/69-72 hood/fenders.

(I would) plan to spend about a year waiting for the right truck in this part of the country.

Mine, although its not great, cost less, and is a 4x4. On the other hand, it was kind of cobbed up when I got it mechanically. I'd rather replace 'simple' mechanical things than do scary body work. The next person will have the opposite opinion. Doh!

Let me know if you are nearby or want to chase that close SWB...

[Already Gone]

I too didnt realize the truck was a short wheelbase.. In my opinion that is all it has going for it. You are facing major and very costly rust/bodywork repairs to get that truck the way you want it.. Looking at the drivers side rear marker lite and taillite it shows overspray on the edges so they werent removed when the truck was painted.. My advice is if you really want the truck wait a month or two and see if the seller still has it.. In that time frame a few things may happen.. Firstly he may sell it to someone else and that wouldnt be the worst thing in the world for you.. Next thing that might happen is that you may find a better truck in your price range.. If those two things dont happen I'd go offer him 1500.. and see where he goes from there.. If you offer 3000.00 now he'll either try to bump you to 32 or 3300 or hold fast to the 3500. figuring you really want the truck and will pay the 3500... I spent 25 years in the car business and there is a lot of psychology selling and buying vehicles.. Also and I'm not the only one on here to say this.. be patient..