Need your help please!!!! Truck crisis!!! lol
 

Hey guys, I'll apologize in advance for the really long post, but I REALLY need your help with a decision.....
I have a chance to buy back a 1972 C20 custom camper that was the very first vehicle I ever bought, so of course I had a strong emotional attachment to it. I wasn't looking for a 67-72, I just wanted an old cheap pickup, and it was that truck that introduced me to this obsession http://67-72chevytrucks.com/board/ubbhtml/smile.gif When the previous owner was telling me about the truck ("California truck its whole life, not ONE bit of rust ANYWHERE," "COMPLETELY stock and original under the hood, down to the air filter and alternator," "103,000 original miles," etc.), I didn't understand just how valuable a find that was with these trucks.
So, I sold it a few months later. Well, it was AFTER I sold it that I really started getting into the hobby, but decided I'd have to put off owning another truck until I was finished with college. But now I have a chance to buy it back for $100, complete and running, and I have my dad's okay to park it in the driveway and use the garage for storage if I want to restore it.
So...I need some realistic advice on undertaking this project. It would be a dream come true, but I can't afford to get in way over my head. It would become a real sore spot between my dad and I really quick. I would do all the sanding by hand, a friend of mine will do the engine rebuild and the painting, so cost would be all parts. All body pieces (except cab, hood, doors, and bedsides) would have to be replaced. I'm not planning on anywhere near show-quality restoration, and will be working by myself. It seems straightforward enough, but I've never done ANY kind of restoration work before. So I'd like some advice from you guys, what can I expect? Should I take the plunge? http://67-72chevytrucks.com/board/ubbhtml/smile.gif

Again, sorry about the length of the post, and thanks,

RainDog

PS: Any good books on the subject a beginner could use???

there's a book called how to paint your car, or something like that,(its out in the shop), very useful with techniques and sanding. Bodywork isn't really all that hard to do, at least for me, you just have to be very picky and not be satisfied with your own work, ever. Always try to get it better and it will look nice under paint, I patched a hole in a fender off a 55 Buick i once owned and it took me about 6 hours to get it where it needed to be(only a 5" hole). Bodywork is very time consuming, but relatively inexpensive to do and worth the time you put into it. As far as engine kits go, you can buy a master kit from Northern Auto Parts of Souix City,NE(they have a website). The kits are made up of high quality parts with pistons, cam and all, price of a 350 kit is $159. I also appologize for the long post and would definitely buy that truck back for $100. That's pretty cheap if there's anything left of it at all.

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'72 Chevy 1/2T 4x4 shortbox stepside 350/350auto on '84
ralleys and 31/10.5s

67 Cutlass convertible
330, 3spd stick

90 GMC Jimmy
350/auto
Chad Stephens
Orleans,NE

I say go for it! Take your time even if it takes you a few years, it'll be worth it! Just be sure and get a prenuptual so any future wife can't get it! LOL!!!! http://67-72chevytrucks.com/board/ubbhtml/smile.gif

RainDog...For a $100 I say go for it. It's worth more than that the way it sits plus it's worth more than that in parts. I sold my first truck my Dad gave me way back when...It was a 54 Chevy 1/2 ton and I sold it for $125. To this day I regret that decision but I was to young to realize what I had done. I was looking for a 48-54 Chevy about a year ago when I found the 70cst in Tn. and knew this was the one. It was the year I graduated from High School and this truck had a 402BB, buckets, A/C/, 400 auto., etc. If this was your first truck, you liked it, and you can get it back for a $100 go for it. Plus you have your Dad's blessings. The the most important thing that you had stated. What more can you ask for. The67-72 have been classified in popularity with the Tri five's. (See note on Hottest Truck on GMCPauls Board). Just my .0001 cents worth.
Good luck on your decision.
Regards,
Dewayne 70cst

For a hundred bucks, if you don't buy it, tell us where it is. I gaurantee someone will snatch it up.

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'71 Custom10 Given to me for Christmas 2001.
'94 GMC Shortbed Ext. Cab. Sweet truck. (For Sale)
'92 Buick Regal. The wife has to drive somethin'.
Lexington, KY Home of fast women and Beautiful horses.

Buy it. It's worth a hundred bucks as scrap metal alone. Start by scrounging most of the big parts you need first because once it comes apart it's gonna be that way for a while. Then ask lots of questions here on the board. We'll all talk you through it.

You only have one alternative. BUY IT!!!

------------------[*]'71 Cheyenne, 402BB[*]Winfield, KS[*] http://barn9.freeservers.com[*] steer50@hotmail.com