cant decide what to do

[flatblackc10]

hi all. i am trying to figure out if i should try to sell my truck or keep it. heres the facts im 20 years old, living with parents, got my gf pregnant, now moving out into my own place to take care of her and kid when the time comes. now the story about my truck. its a 1970 c10 shortbed fleet side. i picked the truck up in February for 3500. since i have got it i have put a comp cams thumpr cam kit into the engine, with edelbrock performer airgap intake, edelbrock 600 carb, msd superconductors, new hei dizzy, and dress up kit. i also totally rebuilt all suspension and steering and brakes.
suspension: cpp 3in coils, brothers 2.5 drop spindles, brothers 5.5in mono leafs, and brothers 2in drop shackles. energy suspension sway bar bushings. upper control arms have new cross shafts and bushings.
steering: brothers steering rebuild kit inner outer tie rod ends, ball joints upper and lower. new idler arm, and new pitman arm.
brakes: brothers power brake conversion kit all polished master cylinder, booster, proportioning valve. brothers front disc conversion. all new stainless steel brake lines. brothers rear drums and axles to convert to 5 lug. all new brake shoes. new wheel cylinders. the works. put a billet aluminum rearend cover on.
interior. bought a all original under dash harness that hasnt been cut up. aswell as new gauge bezel and gauges.
i also had to rewire the headlights bc of some dumb people that had the truck before me dont know how to do anything right.
so ive put alot of work and money into the truck but i know i wont get half that if i try to sell it. ill post some pics of the work i have done let me know what u all think thanks alot chad

[flatblackc10]

pics of it when i first got it:

[dan42]

Sounds like you put a lot of money in it. If I were you, I would stash it somewhere until you are in a better place to play with it. You must make good money to spend like that on it - get a little beater that gets good gas mileage and take care of your family first. You have other priorities now.

[flatblackc10]

pics of it torn apart.

[flatblackc10]

pics of new and improved stuff.

[chevy72blu]

Hey man, I admire your determination and work ethic. It seems that you have sunk a lot of money into the truck that you will more than likely NOT get back out of it.

If you are able to keep it, then by all means. But, the real question is (which you didnt mention) will you be able to afford your new lifestyle? If you NEED to sell it, you have no choice. Its unfortunate, but simple.

[flatblackc10]

Originally Posted by chevy72blu

Hey man, I admire your determination and work ethic. It seems that you have sunk a lot of money into the truck that you will more than likely NOT get back out of it.

If you are able to keep it, then by all means. But, the real question is (which you didnt mention) will you be able to afford your new lifestyle? If you NEED to sell it, you have no choice. Its unfortunate, but simple.

thanks alot i appreciate that, im pretty sure i can afford it. i dont owe anything on my truck. but i do owe 3 college loans, couple credit cards, now rent, loan for the place in moving to. my gf is supposed to cover everything else i hope so. lol

[flatblackc10]

Originally Posted by dan42

Sounds like you put a lot of money in it. If I were you, I would stash it somewhere until you are in a better place to play with it. You must make good money to spend like that on it - get a little beater that gets good gas mileage and take care of your family first. You have other priorities now.

i do have a good gas beater. i dont make that much just seems that way when i lived with my parents.

[flatblackc10]

from the way my truck looks now i would be lucky to get 4500 out of it. lol

[special-K]

I say hang on to it and see how it goes.Make your priority moving up in wages until you and your family are adjusted and comfortable.You may have afforded your truck by the easy life of living at home.Now,it`s like dropping back in wages.Let the money for the truck ride a while and get situated in you new digs and way of living.You`ll know later on if the time comes to sell.Like you said,it doesn`t cost anything to keep it.You just can`t spend on it like you have...for now.

[big_al_71]

The way I see it you got an early start on your project and what a start you did great man. The important thing is to begin your file on the right foot. Enjoy the truck whenever possible and get your bills paid off as quickly as possible as you take care of your priorities first. Like someone else said keep it safe somewhere andenjoy your new life to the max..
Good luck!!!!

[70jnktrk]

Hey ..your truck looks great!!! What is the drop you are running on her?..I love the how she sits

[LUV2XCLR8]

Hang in there and try to keep it, you never get back what ya got in em anyways

[Knot at Work]

Keep it. I always wanted a 1972 Chevy C-10 and it took me 22 years to find the time, energy and money to do it. You have a head start. If you sell you will always wonder what could have been....

[ChevLoRay]

Here's my take on your situation: You sound like you're a responsible person. My wife and I have five kids. Of the five, there were four pre-marital offspring. Not what we wanted for them, but they were all old enough to make their own decisons and have abided by them. The fifth child just turned 25, and says his "clock is ticking". Guess he's looking forward to parenthood, too.

The deal with your truck is causing me to think back on my younger days. I have bought and sold quite a few vehicles. There are many regrets. Granted, there is no way I could have kept them all, or even half of them. The times dictated what I had to do...clothes, food, rent....when my wife left me with two little girls to take care of...on unemployment. But, we do what we have to do.

If you have another vehicle and there are no emergencies that would mean selling your truck, my vote is to keep it. You do have a place to keep it, right? Out of the weather and secure. When you are older and your child is able to participate, y'all can do car/truck shows as a family and you'll still have your truck. Chances are very good that you would not be able to duplicate it in the future. You would try if you could, but it wouldn't be the same.

Good luck and congrats on accepting your role in life. That doesn't always happen and there are lots of kids who don't know what having a father, and more importantly a dad, is like. There is a difference.

[Old Chevy Mech]

Someone said somewhere the secret to life is to find one thing you do well and keep doing it. That translates to me that if you have success with this truck (like others have said) stash it and keep it, even if you only nibble on it for the next 20 years, keep it, its paid for.

I was 18 when I bought my 70 Blazer as my daily driver. I didnt have alot of money so bondo & pop rivits were what kept it together. It changed colors (if I count the factory color as #1) 5 times since 1986, but I never sacrificed on the mechanical end and always kept her right. I am 41 now, and lately I have the knowledge & $$ to make quality body repairs (myself of course) and I am very happy I kept it through the tough times of raising children.
Your project looks mechanically sound to me, so its a keepr to me.

I wish you well with whatever you decide, no matter what it'll work out somehow.

Frank

[flatblackc10]

Originally Posted by 70jnktrk

Hey ..your truck looks great!!! What is the drop you are running on her?..I love the how she sits

its a 5.5 in front and 7.5 in rear. its not sitting all the way down i need to put a c-notch in the rear. thanks alot.

[flatblackc10]

thanks alot everyone i really appreciate all of your advice. im gonna try to keep it. i can store at at my parents house. again thanks for the support. i hope one day itll be as nice as most of ur trucks on this forum.

[eseaton]

Man I know its hard but if you sell her you'll regret it. I got my 67 when i was 17. I got married at 19 I know have 3 kids that I wouldnt trade for anything, its hard to watch a truck sit and not get the attention, but you will get back to her. I started making a little more money this year so I got mine back out, I keep 30-40 bucks a check for myself. It doesnt affect the bills being paid, and I get to work on my truck. Keep your chin up and take care of the most important things in life first FAMILY! The rest of it the Lord will provide for in due time. Congrats and good luck.

[steelhorse]

A few year back in the Marines I had my hot rod and made it and I wasnt making s##t.If the truck is paid for it isnt a liability and insurence is dirt cheap compared to a new minivan/suv.Things will be tight for a while but just keep putting 1 foot infront of the other and you will make it.

[fine69]

Chad, keep the truck. Its paid for. Wont cost you anything to leave it sit.

You sell it you will lose money and be mad. Keep it.

[PanelDeland]

I am not going to try to influence your truck decision.I am going to offer some truck and life advice though.Start buy reading financial stuff.The MSN home page usually has some good articles.Dave Ramsey has helped some.If you start at your age and make sound financial decisions then you will be able to afford the truck of your dreams in the future.(If it means keeping this one until then good for you).Building a secure future for the family side of things takes time and sacrafices.If needed jumpstart the process by getting a second(maybe part time job).Get some money saved(babies cost lots)start saving a few dollars a month for emergencies.When you have all the life stuff in place start by setting yourself a realistic budget for the truck.Even if it's only a few dollars a week you can make progress on little stuff.Like mentioned above,put one foot in front of the other and repeat.

[72highlander]

the good thing is the truck is paid for and eating nothing. if you can keep it and still be able to afford to live, the only thing that will sacrifice is the amount which you can spend on the truck. you will find it is an excellent trade for a kiddo. on the other hand if you can sell it to pay off some other things to get you in better shape, that may be smart as well. there will always be another truck. and i've also found that you generally can get better money when you are TRYING to sell something, not HAVING to, so don't hold out so long that you get in a bind. might put it up for sale for a higher price and if it sells fine, if it doesn't fine. hope all works well for you and you have a happy, healthy baby. my son is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

[chevy72blu]

Im glad someone brought up Dave Ramsey.

(you didnt mention if you have a career) There are LOTS of ways you can make quite a bit of money when you are young - even when you dont have a ton of skills. You just need to get creative;

For instance, a buddy of mine was selling TV's at a major electronics chain. He made no comission on them, but was a great salesman. The store charged an ungodly ammount and had a long wait to come out and install them. So, he made up some business cards and handed them to everyone he sold a TV to. He would come install it that evening for half the price and made WAYY more a week from that than his hourly wage.

There are tons of little business things that can be easy money on the side. Think of a part that people really want for our trucks, that no one makes- Come up with a prototype and start selling them.

Another buddy of mine was working at a plant store. He made commission, but still not much. So, he would talk to people about their landscaping. After a while, he started designing landscapes during his free time, and sold them to people along with the commission he was getting from selling the palm trees and what not. He is actually starting a full time business doing landscape design (which is big $$$).

I have about a thousand ideas like this... Some have worked out, some havent. But, I've (usually) had the cash flow I wanted and had a lot of fun making money.

DONT fall in to the trap that because we are 20, we need to work at a Blockbuster or some other dead end job. Always aim high my friend.

[Brock]

Take it from someone who DIDN'T do this...And wishes he had. The truck is paid for, it ain't costing you anything except tax and liscence. I traded off a nice, paid for 1999 S-10 that got 27 MPG for a F-150 (I know another mistake but it came with a boat that I thought I needed...another mistake). Now I'm stuck with a truck I don't care for that gets 16MPG on a good day and a $380/mo payment. BTW I have since sold the boat, it cost too much to haul it anywhere. It sounds like you have another vehicle that could be an everyday ride with decent gas milage. AND you can ALWAYS use a truck!!! Even one of those lowered ones like yours Just kidding, it looks great, and I'm sure it can still haul off trash