1964 K10 Is it worth restoring?

[67-72C10]

I bought this 1964 K10 all stock 283 3 speed on the column.It runs and drives but is very rusty.My question is,are these hard to find and worth fixing?I was thinking when i bought it to put my 1970 chevy cab and bed on it.But if it is something low production or hard to find,I have a nice 65 C10 I could use to fix it with.Below is a picture.

Let me know what you think....

Steve

[FetchMeAPepsi]

More pics. Looks like some work, but not enough info to make a judgment call.

[chevy_man5]

It sounds like you already have better sheet metal to fix it up with.

I don't know the production numbers, but the 4x4's sure don't seem to be as common. They may not be necessarily "rare", but I have only noticed 2-3 other 4x4's around here, and MANY 2wd ones.

I vote, go for it! I may be prejudiced though. LOL

[chevy_man5]

Here is a post showing the potential if you haven't already found it.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=459816

[67-72C10]

Here are some more pictures...

[67-72C10]

Thanks Chevy Man5,
They are some nice looking trucks...


Steve

[ChevyFreak60]

Keep it man!! I had a decent 65 4wd I sold a could a couple months ago and I freaking regret it. Theres not many 60s trucks out there that are 4wd and on the road. If not you can give it to me lol ha ha. I'd love tyo score me another one someday.

[rideblue00]

Boy, close call on that one. Looks pretty well used up. Depends on if you like this body style. That grill is real sweet and straight. It has the kinda rare headlight bezel on the pass side. Its a GM replacement. The little adjustment slots were not on there from the factory. They may have been a later update. Jury is still out on this detail. There is a thread on here discussing it. Good luck

[shrunken66stroker]

It's a cool truck to fix up and drive if you like the body style and are willing to put an intense amount of patch panel work into. You are never going to do all the work necessary for that truck and sell to make a buck. I don't think anybody in the collecting world cares if this is a rare, numbers matching truck and it will probably never be worth more than the sum of the parts you put in minus the labor. In short, it's a labor of love, if you love this truck, make it what you want it to be and drive it, if not, move on.

[chevy_man5]

What kind of shape is the '65 C-10 in?

Could you swap all of the good body parts over to the '64, then put the rusted parts on the '65's frame and sell it off to fund the '64?

[FetchMeAPepsi]

Originally Posted by chevy_man5

What kind of shape is the '65 C-10 in?

Could you swap all of the good body parts over to the '64, then put the rusted parts on the '65's frame and sell it off to fund the '64?

^ This!

That's going to be a beast and you'll curse sheetmetal forever because of it, but if you have the patience and really dedicate yourself to the truck - and I mean fall in love with it - it's worth fixing up simply because you have a spare you can swap body parts from and there aren't many 4x4's out there.

The satisfaction will be unbelievable if you finish her.

If it were me I'd do it. I'd hate the hard labor for the next 18 months. Then I'd be done with the ugly stuff and I'd be sneaking out at night just to sit in her and play the radio with a stupid grin, proud that I had rescued a true treasure. If you find yourself hating the body work too much try a run through Alan's C10 (I think it's called Orange Juice or somesuch) thread. That's as good an inspiration for body work as I have ever seen. The guy's an artist but he explains it in words a 14 yr old can understand, probably why I can understand it lol. He'll talk to you too if you find yourself in a dead end.

If on the other hand you don't love her more than life itself then set her free. Someone else will, whereas you'll just get halfway through and quit, hating yourself and this poor girl too.

That's my 2 cents. You've got a conundrum ahead of ya, but ya know, we should all have that problem right? Which beautiful old piece of iron should I restore?
I freaking love it.


Edit: Alan's thread is Vitamin C-10 and it's located here:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=248460

[LT1 Burb]

I would scrap that thing in a New York second, I know guys think you have to save everything but I don't, especially when it is that far gone.

[62 short step]

I would keep the 4x4 frame for sure, you can put a good body on it and drive!

[nater]

i have a truck the same exact year and model as your truck is and when i got it the truck was in way worse condish then your's looks to be in. and though my searching on line the 64 4x4 is a rare truck. keep it man, you can always but a different body on the frame.

[ABX131]

In looking at your profile I noticed this truck is in the NE which means it has taken in years of salt on the roads. I would look at trying to save the cab and look for good donor body parts for the rest. You don't see to many original 4x4's...

[awbrown]

First off , how big is your bank account , next how much ambition do you have ,third have you done a project like this before?? I too was from the northeast ,and yes I have rebuilt some really bad trucks .. A willys wagon that had no floor at all and the same with a 71 blazer and frankly I dont have that much ambition anymore ,though I do have 2 big projects now I am working on ... If the truck is that used up , I wonder how much work the chasis will be ??? I would take a floor jack and pry bar and check out the front suspension , if it needs pparts I would chase all that stuff down before I buy it just to make sure it is available ..... I found that sometimes it was easier to find a c50 or c60 that was in good shape and use the cab from one of those .. I am doing that right now on one of my projects...

[MikeS.]

Yes it is.

[jj1965]

If you have another truck with straight panels and want a 4x4 swap them over. If 4x4 is not your thing send it on its way. Whatever you decide it needs to be a labor of love or it isn't worth it.

[Shooters_7]

buy a parts truck from the southwest, I'm partial to Texas due to the large amounts of trucks sitting in framers pastures. I don't run across 4x4 models though and would restore that one just because of that fact.

[Shooters_7]

Whats the frame look like?

[ABX131]

Good point Shooter_7...if the frame is rusted beyond use....either look for a donor truck or dump it....or part it out.

[yelmer]

production for k1534 in 1964 is 1324 which 30 were exported. domestic number is 1294

[67-72C10]

Thanks yelmer,
I was wondering how many were made in 1964. Any idea how many were 283's?

Shooters_7
The frame is good,only the body is bad.It is a running and driving truck,just very badly rusted. I have a 65 C10 with good bed and cab.It seems like it is worth fixing.

nater,
Thanks,I am going to keep it...

Thanks to all of you that posted,

Steve

[yelmer]

all i can tell you is out of all trucks 1/2 thur 2-1-2 400722 made 89426 were 283 it does not break down to certain models it is appx 22 %

[rcrahn]

Hope you didn't pay more than $200 for it. I would have run away from it as fast as possible. But I'm from Cali.....You could buy a cheap ticket to LA sometime, attend the Pomona swap meet, buy a clean truck and have it shipped back home for way less