Finding a truck

[69 C10 LWB]

Where have you had the best luck finding a truck? I’ve searched online auctions, Craigslist and local papers. I’m not having much luck finding anything worth my time. Everything I find is either overpriced or just too far gone for me. I’m trying to find a C20 or 30 and they don’t seem to be around. The ones I’ve found were either converted into a 5 lug show car or have more rust than metal. I’ve seen some of the trucks other members on here find and I can’t help but wonder how some people get so lucky.

[Hack_Attack]

I feel your pain! I just found a '64 back in March after a 9 month search. I looked EVERYDAY on eBay, craigslist, Instagram. I'd hate to know all of the hours I spent looking. (most of them were while sitting on the toilet though. HAH) You just have to be persistent and be willing to drive a distance to find one possibly. I had to travel 360 miles from home to get mine. Good luck, I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.

[ChadW]

Im in Illinois and i ended up buying my 66 project out of California...trucks in the midwest were pure rusted junk that i looked at...drove from south of St. Louis to to the Illinois Wisonsin boarder looking at multiple trucks that the owners said were in decent shape...id hate to see what they call rough...If your willing to take a chance, look in Cali or other places that dont have the rust/road salt issues we do here in the midwest...

[VetteC10]

I'm in the St Louis area as well, and ended up buying a truck out of AZ. it didn't run, but it was completely rust free (accept a little surface rust, but that adds to the look). all the trucks in this area are full of rust. I can do the mechanical work, but not good with body work, so that's the route I went.

Good luck, I am sure you will find one.

[69 C10 LWB]

I called one guy that was fairly local and asked about a truck. I asked about the floors first and his only response was "bad". Called another guy and was told that the truck, a 65 C30 was solid and was part of an estate. I drove 2 hrs to look at it and the only solid part was the load of shingles in the bed. He told me it wouldnt start because the battery was dead and I had taken a battery with me. It may have been dead but thats hard to tell when you dont have a key for the ignition or the padlock hooked to the chain around the hood. Im starting to get a little frustrated with the search but I wont give up. Ive been "looking" for a year or so but only recently got serious.

[LostMy65]

What's the going rate for a running semi decent condition 60-66?

[Clyde65]

https://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/ct...576968969.html

https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/ct...578986934.html

https://dallas.craigslist.org/sdf/ct...576451435.html

Just some of what I found

[69 C10 LWB]

From what Ive seen 1500-2000 for a semi solid truck that doesnt run or a rough truck that does run. Min 4-5000 for a truck with a good body that does run. Found one really nice truck for 1750 and it sold within 24hrs and was relisted for 7500 2 days later.

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by 69 C10 LWB

Found one really nice truck for 1750 and it sold within 24hrs and was relisted for 7500 2 days later.

Yeah, I saw that one you posted :
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...63#post8249663

[highwinger]

I found mine on https://www.oldride.com/


...oh boy, pulling up the link will cost me a few hours today lol

[VetteC10]

in the midwest you will be in the 7-10k range for a solid truck. Unfortunately there just aren't many around here. At least not that I was able to find.

[CousinTone]

If my memory serves me right, there is a craigslist app that covers the entire Craigslist world. You can set up daily notifications for exactly what you want. I would consider buying one out here in Southern California, Santa. Cruz south to Mexico border, you can even go into Tijuana right over the border but don’t think youlll need to. Take a look at the Orange County & inland Empire CL listings up now, there are some out there and not too far out of reality. Good luck and make your luck, get the Craigslist app, it’ll save you some headaches. Cousintone.

[CousinTone]

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sg...567151002.html. No picture, need to request

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/...572214385.html - IMHO this appears to be good value, just my opinion.

Good luck and look out here, we’re actually very nice folks. Tony “V” in the OC

[VetteC10]

Use searchtempest to search craigslist by region.

[69 C10 LWB]

I think I may have found a truck yesterday. The truck has been on Facebook for a while but I looked at it a few days ago. I talked to the owner and made an offer but he declined. He called me yesterday while I was on the road and said he was ready to sell. I will be busy all week and next weekend so unfortunately I will have to wait to go pick it up but it looks like the search is finally over. I was pretty sure after he declined my initial offer that I was setting my expectations too high. Every other truck was around the same price for more rust.

[bpope]

Originally Posted by VetteC10

in the midwest you will be in the 7-10k range for a solid truck. Unfortunately there just aren't many around here. At least not that I was able to find.

Yep, this is what I noticed. My wife actually found mine when I was looking for an 88-98 SWB. I live in Missouri and made the 7 hour drive down to Texas. I paid right around 10K for mine, but completely rust free except for some small pin holes in the bottom of the front fenders. It was also all new suspension, interior had been redone, everything works on it, rebuilt 283 V8 and a 700R4 transmission. All new wiring harness. As far as I can tell, a completely gone through truck - but with a faux patina paint job. I drove it the 7 hours home and it drove like a dream...if it still had the 3 speed, it would of been painful. LOL. It is a short step side...I like short fleets better, but I couldn't pass this one up. Plus, I figured I could always find a fleet somewhere and cut it down if I insisted on a fleet.

[andyh1956]

You should have been at the Pate Swap Meet last weekend. Heck, EVERBODY should have been there!
There were a dozen or more for sale there. Steppers, wides, 4wd, rollers, all kinds!
I bought a '64 F100 short wide roller with ALMOST PERFECT sheet metal for $2500!!! Aluminum grill, chrome factory bumpers, straight as an arrow fresh from the barn.
If it had been a twin I Beam truck I would have passed, but it was just to clean to leave behind. Got to go get it!
Anyway Pate is a great place to find stuff from drivers to parts.

[66Submarine]

IMO wanting a 20 or 30 series truck makes your life a lot easier, if you're willing to be patient. Everyone wants a SWB 10 series, and most of them have already been hacked to death. There are less 20 and 30 series trucks around but IME there are a lot more unmolested examples and even a good one is pretty cheap (I also personally much prefer the 20 and 30 series LWB trucks to the SWB 10 series).

You need to look through craigslist every day, or twice a day. The stuff that sits on there is overpriced and/or in bad shape generally. Good deals on good trucks, even 20 and 30 series versions, rarely last a few days. Set it to "newest first" and just scroll through the new ads as they get posted, it doesn't take long. Most guys will set up a search and have new ads emailed to their phone as they get posted. Facebook marketplace is also good.

However, I don't know what you call "too far gone". Almost all of these trucks, save for a few exceptional examples, will have some degree of rust. The lower rear corners of the front fenders almost always have some rust. They hold road grime and the moisture rusts them out. Floor pans probably next, then rockers, cab corners, and the lower rear corners of the hood.

A "very good" truck in my book has minimal rust-through in the fenders, maybe a couple small holes in the floor pans, maybe a tiny spot in the cab corners, solid rockers, and a solid hood (which is rare...I'll call a couple holes pretty good). Everything is still pretty solid, but you'll need some small patches for good paint. Fine to just dust some cheap paint on it and run the wheels off of it as a driver, though.

There are trucks which are nearly perfect, but very few. They still don't go for that much, but IIRC "nearly perfect" trucks like that in the 20 and 30 series seemed to go for about $6,000-7,500 when I was watching the market more. Generally the only ones this nice were never driven in salt or left outside, which is obviously rare at this point for a work truck made 52 years ago at the latest. A lot of trucks this nice also seem to make it to ebay.

Hope this helps. Basically, just be patient, try to get pictures of problem areas before driving out to look at them, and keep up to date on new ads so you don't miss any. They aren't everywhere but they're still there if you keep looking.

[flashed]

Consider other years too , I have a 72 1 ton flatbed dually Im considering selling and its as solid as they come , just dont have time for it .

[69 C10 LWB]

I checked craigslist every morning before work and every night after work. I was getting discouraged by the junk I was finding. I contacted a guy about a truck that was listed as “65 truck” nothing more. I asked for more pictures and he sent one of where the floors used to be, there was probably a 3x3 ft section of driver side floor rotted away and his answer to does it run is a picture of the engine laying in the bed where the bed wood would normally be. I looked at a 61 that had been a farm truck and decided that even though it looked good the 1/4” plate and angle iron that was used to repair the rockers and other sheet metal would probably make it a challenge to fix correctly. I happened to stumble across the 65 C30 I hope to buy on Facebook. It had been listed for a month so I assumed there was more damage than meets the eye. I looked at it and the tires are shot, the lower rear fenders are rusted and there is a small hole in the cab corners and the drivers side floor but the cab supports aren’t too bad. It’s complete and he has a good title. I have a spare small block if needed and the rust on the bed, a steel stakebed, is an easy fix for me. I don’t know why it passed but I think several people missed out. The owner said several people called but no one ever actually showed. It checks most of my list, it’s a 4-5-6, 4spd, C30. If it ran or had good tires it would probably have been listed for twice as much. I hope the trans is ok and the rear end is good enough for now.

[69 C10 LWB]

And I did look at other years. I currently have a 73 that will soon get parted out(more rust than floor). It’s been in the family since new but it’s too far gone. I had a 69 half ton(there’s a chance I had it when I signed up for this site) and I had a 64 C20 in school(daily driver almost 30,000 miles I put on in 4 years). I always had a place for the 64 in my heart. I looked at an original 58 3/4 ton V8 truck but it just didn’t speak to me like the “newer” trucks. I would have settled for a 63 and if a deal came along a 60-62 but I really had my heart set on a 64-66.

[CousinTone]

RIGHT NOW C20 long bed fleet side, two tone green/white on letgo app, Orange County CA. Asking $6,500

Get on the app and look up Chevrolet in Orange County or I’ll get it if you pass

[CousinTone]

And another asking $4,250. Looks like c20 in fairly. Good shape, wonder if golf cart comes with it?

[rudyyloverboiii]

use c10 swapper on instagram. I dont have one but i seee lots of really good deals. Plus I do have a spare long bed frame with 8 lug powdercoated rims and white walls if ur interested. Its taking up space in my garage

[stsalvage]

Calif is over rated when it cromes to any of the trucks here most of them are rejects that need a lot of work or from guys that have moved on from having a old trucks or Grampa Died trucks.

I worked for Jimbo's auto wreaking for a short time.Man that man came up with so many old car's and trucks from 1985--2009

I bought 3 car's off him at Colton and iron metal scrap yard 2 trucks and a 1971 LT Camaro.It was white with gold interior.It was a full option car no cancer one small dent payed 500.00 plus 50.00 tow ride. that was back in 2005.

Back when i started buying these trucks i had over 20 of them.Payed less them 9000.00for most of them But that's not counting the 1967-68-69 70 camaro's the 1962-1965 nova's and the 1968--72 nova's.Hated Chevells now i kick my self Had a code reinforcement office out in Banning Yucipa and redlands and had a few guys working for the city's Norco Corona Realto upland That would call me and say they have a 1969 SS 396 chevelle for 800.00.

Thje one i kick my self about is Up in Lancaster guy had a 1966 Impala SS with the 427 4 speed with a blown up rear end for 400.00.Should of bough that one But there GUN BOATS.

In Mead valley just past wood road on Ramona express way Can't remember coqucho road Guy in a big red Bran had over 70 396-402 and 427 big block motors complete with brackets in this barn i Stepped on an over 20 of them to get to this 1966 short bed fleet side pick up

so today's finds are what they are left overs