Tell your story

[chevyman02]

I'm looking for some ideas about where to look for that perfect restoration project. Please post your story's about how you came upon your restoration vehicle. I'm looking for a c10 67-72 truck that need restoration, and I haven't had any luck finding it.

[72futuresweet2wd]

Hey chevyman02

I found mine in the Auto & RV mags that are free at the Grocery store. It(my 72 Blazer) came from Eastern Indiana and right now is in pieces at my dads house. And my 69 came from the super chevy show last year. I out here on the East Side just outside of Indy and there is another member down in New Pal that I have emailed. Welcome to the Board.

[chevyman02]

Thanks. I'll grab one of those on my way home tonight. BTW. Are you going to this weekends Show at IRP. I will be there sunday.

All. Come on now, there's got to be more than one person out there willing to tell how they found there vehicle!

[johnnyp]

Here's a link to the very long and detailed story of how I came to own Maych --

http://pattson.web1000.com/maych/mh_background.htm


Keep your money handy - you'll come across one when you least expect it.

[1970 CST Short Wide]

I told a guy at work I was lookin for a truck and he said "Joe's sellin his but I'm not sure what it is" I went and talked to joe and he said " Its a 70 chevy, parked out in the front lot, heres the keys if you want to take a look see". I walk out to look and there she was a 1970 CST Short Wide with factory air and in nice shape but tired, I almost fell over. I went back to joe and said "how much", he said $1,850 I said "will cash due" he said "done deal" I got a ride to work the next day and drover her home.

I forgot to add, Joe was the 2nd owner and the truck had never been molested in any way

[COBALT]

I've wanted a 67-72 Chevy truck since I was 12. My dad had a 67 C10 LWB that he promised to me when I was a kid. One day he sold it out of the blue. I threw a fit, and he tried to buy it back but the guy told him to get lost.

Now 17 years later I have a '69 C20 that I found after about 1 1/2 years of looking for a straight one. I wanted to spend no more than $1500, and the body had to be sound (rust ok), the dash had to be original, and it had to have an original 3spd automatic. Every month I'd pick up the Truck Trader at the grocery store for trucks $8999 and under. There were tons in there, but most of them had already had work done and were being sold for $3000+. Others were pieces of crap being sold for $500. I must have looked at about a dozen trucks. There was a longhorn in North Seattle that was being sold for $1500, so I drove up to look at it. It was trashed, and I decided it wasn't worth it.

A guy in Graham, WA. was going to restore a C20 69 he'd bought off an associate, but got consumed by his chevelle so he decided to unload it. I had to drive all the way out there from Seattle. I talked him down from 1800, and he followed me to my dad's and we swapped $$$ for truck.

The body was straight, and it had a good 4bolt main 350 in it + a solid transmission. The differential was not in good shape, the brakes were shot, and the front end was hurting, but it was mine.

4 months later I was looking for a parts truck. That one I didn't have to look for. It literally was staring me in the face. A guy was selling it at the end of my parent's road. It has the same setup as my C20, so now I have two!

[RodC]

Went to an IHC show in Springfield OH last year to help a friend of mine with his show truck. I told my wife before I left I would like to have a 67-72 truck "like dad had". I was setting in the show building discussing the same thing with my wife when a parts vendor pulled up in a '71 stepside. I said "Just like that one". He unloaded his parts and put a cardboard sign on it "For Sale" Well you can see the pics on my webshots site, I have done a lot of work to it since then though. I drive it daily so this may not fit what you are looking for, I may restore it in 20 years or so.

After I made the deal 2 other guys offered to buy it off of me. I also stopped at a gas station 3 hours away and a guy saw it at the show a few days later, he offered to buy it also.

The worst thing is, gulp, I paid too much for it. The truck came from NC so there is very little rust. But We aint even going to talk price, learned the hard way.

[68 with 350 TPI]

My truck came to me

I was outside my shop working on a car when I hear this car sputtering down the road.
Well this pos came rolling down my drive and there it died.

The car was out of gas.
Out came this older fellow and he asked to use my phone to call a friend to bring him some gas.

I said ok as he seemed pretty nice and it was apparent he really was out of gas

So while we are waiting on his friend to show up with the gas we were talking about my camaro and other cars we liked.

I then told him I was looking to get a 67-68 chevy c10 short bed fleetside.

He told me he had one with no motor or trans and it was fs!

I was very happy to hear this as I had a 1988 IROC-Z with a 350 TPI/700r4 sitting around back that had a messed up body.
The reason I wanted one of these truck was to put that motor/trans in it.

So I got his # and went to see the truck the next day.

I was happy to find out that the truck was a 68 short fleet CST!!!

It had a 12 bolt 4.11 posi,front sway bar,helper leafs,factory tach dash,and the cool bench seats in it and all the parts were there I needed work with.

So I talked him down from his asking price and took it off his hands for 500.

Im still working on this truck but I love it.

[ckhd]

Which one? How 'bout chronological order of when I got them?

1969 K10 - My dad bought it when I was probably 10 or so. It was a ranch vehicle for the cowboys (back when ranching could turn a profit). They bounced around in it for a few years. Then, my brother turned 16 and needed a pickup. Ranching had become unprofitable, and there weren't any cowboys anymore, so my dad let him have it. About a year later, my brother decided he wanted a '68 Camaro and wanted my dad to buy it for him. My dad said he would, but he had to give up the pickup. Lucky for me, I wasn't too far from 16, and my brother was dumb enough at the time to agree, so my dad gave it to me. I've had it since I was 15. It's currently undergoing (a slow) frame-off.

1972 C10 - 'Vacationing' consisted of visiting the wife's brother in Grand Junction, CO, going to her friend's graduation in (can't remember), Colorado - near Wyoming, visiting another one of her brothers in Rock springs WY, then a mad dash home. While visiting her other brother in WY, I saw he had a '72 in his 'parts' collection that didn't have an engine. I asked him how much he wanted, and he said, "I bought it for the engine, but I'll take $800". Well, I didn't have $800, so I didn't get it. A few months later, he showed up in AZ with it and told me he sold the engine for more than he bought the pickup for, and he'd take $50 for it. I of course gave him the $50 plus another $50 in gas. It still doesn't have an engine (in it). I'll get ambitious and put one in this summer. I wasn't planning on restoring this one, but my oldest son adopted it and now it's his. I'll probably wait until he his 12 or so before I start the resto.

1968 K20 - I had to go to Florida for work (two-weeks worth of training). I was bored and was surfing the 'net and found it on eBay. There was only about 2 hours left on the auction, with a $2000 starting bid and no bids. I e-mailed the seller and asked a bunch of questions. I didn't get a reply before the auction ended. I got an e-mail later answering all my questions, and it also said, "We lowered the price to $1800". I promply replied that I would take it. Drove out to Cali and pulled it home on a u-haul car dolly. Don't know if it will get a resto before the '72 pickup or after.

1972 K10 Suburban - When I moved back to my hometown about 4 years ago, I saw this 'burb that needed paint, but was in decent shape otherwise. I asked my best friend if he knew who owned it, and he said he did, but the guy would never part with it. Well, anyway, about 3 1/2 years after that, i was looking for a manifold (for the '72 pickup that still needs an engine), and my best friend told me he new a guy that probably had one to sell. We drove up to his house, and low-and-behold, it was the guy who owned the 'burb! (He also has a '70 K20). I ended up buying two manifolds from him, and said, "If you ever decide to sell that 'burb, be sure to let me know." He said, "Well, the wife and I actually were just talking about that."

Turns out that he has back issues, and wanted to buy a newer vehicle that he didn't have to tend all the time. He said that he would probably sell it in May (it was January at the time). I spent the next few months getting some cash together, and I went back in May. He vaguely remembered the conversation, and he hmmmd and hawwwed about it and said, "Come back in a week". So I did. He still wasn't sure, so I whipped out some cash, and he said, "OK". It's a WIP, that tends to take money away from the '69, so it may be finished before the '69.

[Paul Clark]

My truck belonged to my dad. Had various toppers and campers on it over the years. Dad passed away 10 years ago. I'm rebuilding the truck for the 2nd time. The plates say "Dads72". Everybody thinks that's me, but it's him.
It is not, and never will be for sale.

[72Lester]

#1 - '72 C10 long fleet. Spent most of '96 & '97 looking around North Dakota for a good sound 67-72 and found nothin' but crap. Called on an ad in the paper for a '72 Chevy w/ 350, 4spd. The guy said it was all original w/ 82,000 miles and very little rust. He'd had tons of calls but nobody had actually looked at it. I asked him how much? and he simply said "five". I was expecting 5,000 because everything with that description around there ran for about 5K. I figured it wouldn't hurt to look so I asked for directions. About 39 miles of dirt roads and directions like "turn at the 13th telephone pole from the main road" and I finally found the guy's farm. Turns out nobody could find his house to look at it. His neighbor (6 miles away) had died and the family had given this farm truck to him because they sold the farm. This guy was a F@#d freak and had about a dozen 70's F@#ds on his farm and just wanted to get rid of the oddball truck - no good for parts I guess. He drove (good sign) the pickup out of the barn and my jaw dropped. A very straight and original '72 Chevy. I told him I'd take it and we wrote a check for $500 - not $5K

#2 - "67 C10 long step. Found it on a street in a trailer court with "FOR SALE" painted on the windows :p $400 later and it was mine. Almost done primering it now for a total cost of $600

[jku72]

my advice is simply look everywhere, whole sale lots, impound yards, in back of houses, ok, dont break any laws, but while driving, keep a look out for anything.
I have seen rare and unusual vehicles in the most mundane places. Of course, nothing beats some low mileage truck in a dusty dry barn, but there are plenty to be had almost everywhere in the country.

[72futuresweet2wd]

Quote:

Are you going to this weekends Show at IRP. I will be there sunday.


I am going out there Saturday morning if I can, it is the Super Chevy Show I believe and that means I have had my 69 a year. I might have to get my truck something for the 1 year of loyal service.

[treefrog]

I was as drunk as a peach orchard boar and saw mine on ebay and bought it. Let the money flow (outward). TF

[70cstguy]

Iwas working for a friend on one of his rental properties roofs. In the next back lot was a green 70 cst short fleetside. I told my buddy it was just what I was looking for, except the color. A few days later he told me he had found the owner( an old guy who had parked it in the lot 10 years prior) well the guy had a stroke and only rembered it ran when he parked it.
My buddy had made the deal and already payed the guy. I went and towed it home the next day. I think it was several months before I ended up Paying my friend for it.
Friends like this come along only once in a while. I am sorry to say my friend is no longer with us, but I will always rember him every time I get into this truck. Gods speed old friend, rest in peace.