Need a little advice

[Baby John]

I know I'm not gonna be able to make this a short story so y'all bear with me on this.

Last year I bought my son a '72 GMC Stepside and managed to get him all syked up about this father son restoration we were gonna do and convinced him that he'd be driving the coolest truck at his school. He's only 12 yrs old so he's got a few years to go before he's actually driving it. He was really excited to begin with but now he's sort of having 2nd thoughts. His buddies are talking about their first vehicles and most of them are leaning towards 4X4's of some sort. He's thinking now that he'll be driving an old 2WD truck that he won't be able to play in the mud with his buddies.

So, here's the dilema. I'm convinced the old '72 will be a cooler ride once it's fixed up and may also keep him outta trouble some by keeping him outta the mud. I've told him to just ride in the mud with his buddies in their trucks and let them spend all day Saturday washing it off.

I'm wanting to do something to the old truck to rekindle his interest in it. I was thinking about dropping it off at a local body shop for a new paint job. But, I'm sorta hung up on the fact that just dropping it off at a P&B shop is just gonna get an outside paint job with not much attention to detail.

I was thinking that I could get a fresh coat of paint on it and then later on, do the detailing. I've restored an old jeep this way once and regretted it because I was constantly worrying about the paint. From a kids viewpoint though, I can't see him getting involved in remedial repairs like replacing weather seals and trim and what have you on an old truck that doesn't shine.

So what do you think? Should we get the new paint on and then work on the little things?

[Ilike 72"s]

I bought a beat up repo 91 toyota extended cab 4x4 for a project for my son.It was like pulling teeth to get his help working on it. It took over a year to finish. We started with tune up and drive train work. Then we did body work and painted it in the driveway. Then he got involved because he liked what he saw. Then came fender flares, window tint, wheels tires and last interior. He keeps it clean and drives it every day to school. He thinks it's the best looking rig in school. I think he respects it and enjoys it because of the work and time put into it.

[Ole Blue 68]

I understand you wanting to spark his interest but I'd be worried about that paint too much the rest of the time I was working on it; especially with an inexperience helper...

How about some engine work or some suspension mods w/ new wheels?

[Ilike 72"s]

We forgot to replace the windshield until last thing. We had a windshield Co. do the work. They put a big scratch in the door.

[bigvinnie]

It's hard to give advice in this situation cuz we don't know your son... but I'd say in general that 12 is a time when kids are constantly jumping from one interest to the next... I'd probably start working on the mechanicals in my spare time and see if he develops an interest, then go from there....

sad to say, but who knows what gas prices will be like by the time he's old enough to drive, or if we'll all be driving toyotas by then...

[TonyJohnson]

As you said, it's a while until he'll be driving, and if he's anything like my 13 year old, his mind will change 3 or 4 times until then. Just keep working on the truck at a comfortable pace and get him involved when possible. As it starts to take shape, he'll be invested in it. If not, he'll have developed some skills to work on his 4x4 when the time comes. I'd paint it last... JMO. Good luck.

[jgrh64]

[QUOTE=Ilike 72"s;2610642]I bought a beat up repo 91 toyota extended cab 4x4 for a project for my son.It was like pulling teeth to get his help working on it."It was just the opposite with me & my dad, he used to be a mechanic years before but I could not get him to help me at all. So I'm glad to see so many guys trying to have a project with their kids

[Baby John]

Come to think of it. A better idea might be to buy some new wheels and beefy tires for it. Probably about the same cash investment since I was planning on spending about $1,200 to $1,500 on the paint job.

Heck that might be enough to get him interested in it and it wouldn't sacrifice my original plan to do a good frame on restoration on it.

Thanks fellas. That's a good idea.

Now....should I try to convince him to go with Chrome Rallies, or should I give in and let him get some newer more stylish wheels?

[Ole Blue 68]

Baby steps...give him some input on the wheels

And hope when he gets older that he appreciates how good a nice fresh set of rally's can make car/truck look.