Opinions on this '71

[ken4444]

This truck is pretty rough and has the usual problems in the usual places, but I'm eager to get your opinions on any obvious challenges with rebuilding it. My intent would be to do a thorough frame-off rebuild. The biggest challenge looks like it would be replacing the rotted sheet metal. It's going to need a new roof, cab corners, rocker panels, bed floor, lower doors, and probably more. The engine may be the strongest element but it hasn't run in a few years.

I will post a second batch of pics in a second post.

[1968aj]

my honest opinion---that is about a 3 or 4 hundred dollar parts truck in Houston.

[jocko]

Originally Posted by ken4444

I'm eager to get your opinions on any obvious challenges with rebuilding it ... going to need a new roof, cab corners, rocker panels, bed floor, lower doors, and probably more. The engine may be the strongest element but it hasn't run in a few years.

I think you just answered your own question. The rust looks pretty invasive, I'm afraid to say. The "and probably more" is the big question - and, unfortunately, "hasn't run in a few years" is not a strong point. Completely understand why you are considering the project - swb, needs a little work, etc. But, have to ask if you're comfortable with that level of sheet metal repair and your experience level? This is a pretty varsity job in my honest opinion. I believe a resto would be a challenge, but a hot rod / resto-mod is in the realm of the possible. Don't get me wrong - anything can be done and it absolutely can be fully restored, the issues the cost and time to do so.

Just so I'm clear - do you already own this truck or are you considering it?

[ken4444]

Originally Posted by jocko

... But, have to ask if you're comfortable with that level of sheet metal repair and your experience level?

Just so I'm clear - do you already own this truck or are you considering it?

Great questions. I do not own this truck. I have been looking for such a truck for a project and this is the only SWB truck I've seen in my area recently.

I do have some experience doing sheet metal body repair although I am not an expert by any means.

My intent with this truck would be to build a reliable daily driver that also looked good. My latest total is about $13K in parts and work not counting the price of the truck itself, and that's IF the engine and tranny are good, however it's the unknowns that'll get ya, right?

[GASoline71]

I'd pass on that rig. That is a basket case.

Gary

[jocko]

Originally Posted by ken4444

I do not own this truck.

Whew. Run away. There are better deals out there by far.

[robs71]

if you are considering doing a frame up rebuild as your first post states and are prepared for the challenge and are not in a hurry to get on the road and want to do a short bed here is another view of the truck..if it is a real short bed,frame is good other than surface rust,suspension is intact and useable,vin plate is intact matching title..it is worth a few hundred$ just for parts.Maybe truck could be bought without motor..next keep your eye out for a long bed with a decent cab and possibly a complete good running truck for a reasonable price and start swapping over...seems like the body of the truck in pictures is pretty far gone but the rolling frame would be a start if you had intentions of going all out.

[ken4444]

Originally Posted by GASoline71

I'd pass on that rig. That is a basket case.

Gary

Originally Posted by jocko

Whew. Run away. There are better deals out there by far.

Originally Posted by robs71

....seems like the body of the truck in pictures is pretty far gone but the rolling frame would be a start if you had intentions of going all out.

Thanks for all of the input. Here are a few more pics although everyone is probably thinking that we already know how bad this thing is.

My worry is that even if I could buy this truck very low cost, the money isn't really the issue: the time to repair of the sheet metal is the big part of this project.

[tap500]

I'd pass on this one. Only advice I can give is to look for the the the most complete and rest free truck you can find. It will be cheaper and take less time in the long run.

[saxart]

What scares me the most about that truck is that every part on it has been "touched' by someone in the past. Many times that equates to more work than it's worth.

[jerry moss]

Originally Posted by saxart

What scares me the most about that truck is that every part on it has been "touched' by someone in the past. Many times that equates to more work than it's worth.

i agree 100%

[davepl]

Does it have a cross-ram Chevrolet HemiWedge from the factory? Otherwise I'd run away.

In all seriousness, if this were a big-block short-box AC truck with speed warning and Margot Robbie was the current owner, I'd go look at it. But it's not.

There are WAY better trucks to start with. Find yourself one! Especially if you're going to do a frame-off rebuild, that's a 3-4 year fulltime project, you might as well spend it with something complete and unmolested.

Now if you're doing a complete custom and don't need the stock parts and you're going to tub it and do a bunch of custom metal work anyway, then maybe.

That's a lot of rust and nonsense for one man to deal with.

This, however, is my favorite part. I think the truck is effectively keeping this valuable lock from being stolen!

[randy500]

That's not even a god parts truck, buy something better, at least something mostly original without all the primer, bondo, holes and wrong parts everywhere you look. Honestly each and every picture has multiple problems shown.

[jocko]

Originally Posted by jocko

Whew. Run away. There are better deals out there by far.

Ok, after seeing the second round of pics, I'm going to change my recommendation to "run faster".

Glad you asked. I'm no expert, but I've looked at enough of these trucks to know when to fold em, as they say. This truck is not a good buy at any price. Parts rig maybe - but NOT if you don't have the truck you're going to buy yet - the truck you eventually buy may not need any of these parts, and you'd be paying someone $50 to tow it away eventually. Regardless, whatever you spend on it is that much less you can spend on the next one that may have all its parts anyway. My 2c. I'd punt.

[bigrigpardo]

well I will throw the only positive thing in the post. if its a real short bed and not a cut down the rolling frame which looks damn decent has to be worth what 500-750? and that motor even if good or not isn't original.

[James the III]

That is ruff for a texas truck..BUT..
If you can get it for a song.. I'd get it running and that is it,,, drive it..
buy a better truck with less rust.. and rebuild that.. when it is done..
you can either park this one or sell it.. As a frame off build will take a few years , and one can slowly get better parts for this one as you drive it and go hunting for parts for your full build..
if this is more than few c-notes I'd walk..
bonus it can be a parts hauler while you building the good one.. it's always good to have a truck you don't care about when you are junkyard crawling or swap meat buying..

[randy500]

Ok, I modify my answer, I see from the pictures that it appears to be a real short bed and looks like original 6cyl truck from the engine mounts. Could be worth saving if you bought a clean donor truck for the body change then you would have the problem of the cab VIN not matching the frame, you could fix that I guess.

[1968aj]

if you really want a short bed there are options. you can still buy a decent longbed in Texas pretty cheap. there is a guy here in Houston that can make it a shortbed. he can even cut the bed and they come out real good. shortbeds are getting pricey around here and harder to find. honestly I have given away better trucks than this one.

[RenoKeene]

It looks like a decent frame, that all it is. $500.

[DT1]

I'm going to go out and kiss my truck right now!

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by RenoKeene

It looks like a decent frame, that all it is. $500.

I'd buy it and even go to $1,000.00 as a parts truck . or a long term builder the frame and vin tag cab/ title are worth $750.00 so you go from there . I buy trucks like this all the time in the $5- $1,000.00 range given they are true short beds with a clean title . But I have all the equipment/tools/TIME/and dry space it takes to bring one back . If you have plans of paying someone else to do ANY of the restoration ...FORGET IT ! it would be a money pit You could spend 2-3 years just finding parts unless you enjoy paying high retail for reproduction stuff . Good original drivers doors are regularly selling in the $500 to $800. range to bring this one back to nice daily driver condition .......$15,000.00 plus and thats with you doing 90% of the work .and the prices will continue to climb just like the "elusive " early model Camaro's did 20 years ago and their still dragging those out of the weeds

As many have already said "it's cheaper to buy one already done or an unfinished project that's close to done "

The big question is what do they want for it ?

[B. W.]

Originally Posted by davepl

This, however, is my favorite part. I think the truck is effectively keeping this valuable lock from being stolen!

You beat me to it! The owner is actually worried about some one stealing this truck?

[weq92f]

I'll pile on. Definitely look for a better starter/build truck ( less rust ). This one is probably too far gone. Looks to me like there will be rust under the dash and in the cowl area too. You don't want that.

If you could get it for less than a grand, the motor runs, the tranny is good and it will roll under it's own power, then picking it up as a driver only might not be a bad plan. You'd probably spend another grant on it just making it safe for the road.

-klb

[ken4444]

Everyone has posted a wealth of knowledge. The comments are all very much appreciated. I don't have the space to do any kind of project that would require buying 2 or more parts trucks in order to build a project. Even disassembling and rebuilding one truck is going to be difficult. I can kick my wife's F150 out of the garage on occasion, but that's not ideal. Of course that's a different thread.

The seller is ready to get rid of the truck and he has literally asked me what I would be willing to pay. The seller's had some potential buyers come and go and I think I may be his best prospect at this point.

I would have to rent a trailer for about $100 to get the thing home, but a neighbor has a great tow rig and I'd probably buy him a tank of diesel for his time and trouble.

I can envision buying the thing, putting in $1000 to make it safe to drive, but then what? I can't see trying to flip it just to make a few bucks.

One scenario is I buy the thing, find out how truly rotten it is, and end up with a garage full of parts that I don't have room for. That's not ideal.

Reading the comment that someone has given away trucks better than that makes me think that I should not buy this truck just because it's cheap. It will only end up being a pain in the ***.

I do really enjoy repairing old things, but more than once I've gotten into a situation where I felt I was in over my head. As someone pointed out, if the cowl is rusted, then it could mean a whole lot more work.

I'm still on the fence here, but the logical side of me says too listen to everyone and hold out for a better candidate.

[davepl]

I passed on a "make two cars from one" project this year because of space, and I have a fair bit of it. But I found taking my truck apart for my own frame-off there were times I needed 3 stalls, and it'd be worse if there were 2 vehicles!

Here's one piece of serious advice: buy the best truck you can afford to start with. These trucks are usually worth a lot less than the labor it takes to get them that way, so any money you save by starting with a better unit is usually a savings compared to getting a rougher truck up to that standard.

Here's what I started with. It was $6500 which isn't cheap, but it was complete, no rust, buckets, console, AC, and tons of optoions. It was a California one-owner truck, and was totally complete and unmolested except someone had added a CB radio antenna and an e-brake warning light. Otherwise it was totally originally and just gently worn from new.

Now if you can't swing that, get the 6-banger regular bed version of it, which should run 1500 or so maybe. And that extra $1000 will buy you a TON of progress, even if you were to do a frame-off, because it's complete. You'll spend way more than the $1000 difference just rounding up the missing parts from the truck in this thread.

Here's a pic of what I started with and where I ended up, and I bet from 20 feet away in a pic it's hard to see much difference... And that's partly my point - buy a truck that doesn't look wasted in the pictures :-) Solid driver but worn is a good place to start.

PS: Per everyone's suggestion, I have since put the original wheels back on so it looks even more similar!