Truck found for my next project-worth it?

[MARKDTN]

I want to build a 69-70 on a 2000 up frame. I realize that it is not an easy bolt-on swap and I am fine with that. I want LS power and more modern parts. So, I have found a '70 C20 LWB with a rotten cab (think serious roof issues) but everything else sheetmetal wise is repairable. Grille is nice, hood OK, both front fenders have holes, but smaller than a fist so they can be patched, bedsides similar-small patches will fix rust through, doors both rusted out on bottom. It comes with another cab and 2 decent doors. 2nd Cab will probably need a full floor, but looks decent other than that (rockers are gone underneath but not all the way, one worse than the other). Coming from a non-title state but seller (an old acquaintance/friend-of-a-friend) will help me get it registered. The C20 has a worn out 350 and what he says is a heavy 3-speed from a big truck. It has an Eaton rear with 4.56 gears. Unfortunately even though I have photos he does not want them posted. He wants $1100 for all of it.

One more thing. I like a LWB truck but I may build it with a flatbed so I may or may not use the long bed depending on the donor vehicle I come up with. A Tahoe is close to a SWB and a Suburban is close to a LWB. A Regular cab Silverado is really a bit too long (4 or 6") but with a flatbed could be made to work. My plan would be to buy the old truck first and fix the cab and sheetmetal, then buy the late model and do the swap, then come back with the bed that matches what I can find.

For my purposes I don't care about the frame or driveline. I would like to have it to make measurements then I will sell it. So is a decent set of repairable sheetmetal with a nice '70 Grille and a registerable VIN worth $1100? That is my question. Or should I keep looking?

[MARKDTN]

No opinions?

I've been saving pictures of this type swap and am aware of what pitfalls there may be on mounts and bumpers. I am coming off of selling a resto-mod '66 Mustang and want to start with later stuff for driveline. It is expensive to get an old frame more current. Just in general if I use late model frame I save a fuel tank, exhaust, suspension stuff, better brakes and steering. I could have ABS maybe, better a/c and more.

My biggest worry is what to do with the dash. 67-72 has an iconic dash that to me has to stay. Do I try to find someone who can take the late gauges and put them in an early dash faces? Or just have the speedo converted to electronic and use the other stock gauges? Do I try to keep the message center, particularly for tire pressure monitor if the donor had it. I am not putting the whole late dash in.

So is a nice '70 Chevrolet grille, decent repairable front end metal, OK long bed, decent doors and registerable cab needing a floor worth $1100 or can I do better?

[custom10nut]

You described A LOT of work, and work costs money.
Any project can be done, but you have to do a real honest estimate of what it’s going to cost. Have a trusted person do an estimate also.
Once you start a project, and are $10k or more into it, is not the time to figure out its going to cost too much.
In the end you have to justify the cost, and see what the final value will be.
Spoiler alert!
Just because someone with deep pockets puts $100k plus, into a truck, doesn’t mean the value of the truck will be that.

[sick472]

I'd say $1100 is worth the parts you describe that your gettting...at least in the ballpark. If the bed is decent and you don't end up using it...you could get a chunk of that money back...not to mention the frame and suspension...you might come out ahead...depending.

Personally, I think you are going through a lot of work for the gains, but I support you and the hobby of doing what we want with our rides. A 67-72 truck with power steering and disc brake upgrades, maybe a bit of suspension mods, gets down the road comfortably. Do an LS conversion with computer, OD transmission and drivetrain longevity increases well beyond the old carbureted engines.

[May70]

If a title/registration is even a question (and you live in a state that you need one), don't bother. I deleted 6 sentences rambling about how stupid people are for being lazy about titles/registrations. In VA its a minimum of a misdemeanor to sell OR BUY a vehicle without a current title being signed over. There are stringent exceptions for out of state stuff but still not worth it to me. They should 'help' you by getting the title or registration straight before you hand them cash.

The most important part of the 67-72 is the cab, as far as costs go. You can get a whole new bed assembly for a few grand. Hoods are plentiful, okay fenders are still able to be found etc. Even the second cab needing a full floor is a big deal and $$$$. Right now with costs and shipping, just the patch panels are probably going to run you close to $800-1000 bucks for the cab (not including anything for the doors). I remember paying something around $500 for just the pan plus freight shipping. BTW most of those are out of stock, everywhere so I hear. Are you going to do all the work? You need to value your time and plan on spending a lot on just the rust repair. Check out my YouTube channel to get an idea what's involved.

A body swap is going to be a lot of work. Its a lot of work restoring these, as is, without changing anything. I have a good friend who did a 57 on a Duramax platform. Its just added a lot of time, questions and some money in addition to the already high amount of time, questions and money. If you're going to commit to a body swap you should spend the money to get a truck body that needs minimal work. The truck(s) you are considering purchasing are a ton of work. What is your budget here? I didn't see that mentioned.

I'm confused about the dash question. Dakota Digital is all you need to know and they are over $1k btw.

My advice it to wait for an original paint truck with minimal rust and pay the premium. Best advice I could give anyone, in any situation. Spending 10k more is 1000000% worth it. Unless you like spending countless hours fixing rust and you really don't value your time like you should.

Compared to body swapping, a 5.3 ls/tranny/rear end (or gear swap) and disc break conversions sounds pretty good to me. Just saying. I think id spend the money on a full disc break kit, I pieced one together and it was not too far off. Much easier to pay for it all to be figured out and come together.

Another alternative is to wait for someone to abandon a project, which I see a few times a year on FB marketplace. If I didn't have WAY too much going on right now I would have jumped on a k10 ls swap 80% done for like $18k I think it was.

Do you have space and all the tools/equipment?

Anyway, that sounds like an overwhelming pass from me. Not trying to be a negative Nancy. Lately anything under 5k has been a rust bucket around me. I looked at a $20k hack job too, so their are always exceptions. I also never get lucky so eh.

[MARKDTN]

I appreciate the responses. I have known the seller for over 35 years. He won't do anything even remotely shady. Period. So I am not worried about a clean registration. I realize this is a huge project. I have built a number of cars over the years from complete basket cases for myself and others including a '69 Camaro, '69 Corvette (frame off), '50 F1, '66 Mustang(extensive), '74 CJ5 (frame off) and maybe another I can't remember. Performed a number of EFI conversions. So I am not a complete novice on heavy mechanical work. The most recent one was the Mustang. I live in Tennessee and I built it and shipped it to San Francisco in April and took it down the coast and the RT66 to Joplin MO and then home. It had an OBD2 5.0 conversion from an '00 Explorer, Explorer rear, and on and on. My point for all of this is the cost of converting an old car. Upgrading steering for the box, rag joint, hoses, and a cheap column approached $1000. Fuel tank was $550. Disc brakes on front was more and on a truck you have to find 5 lug rear or carry 2 spares. I had over $1000 in exhaust by the time I bought an exhaust system and special manifolds. And on and on. I can buy a decent donor 2001-14 Yukon, Escalade, Tahoe, or Suburban for $1500 or so. If I tried hard I could keep the ABS brakes. I could have better steering already there. Same wheels with no hassle. Fuel, exhaust, engine mounts-already done. 4wd if I wanted it-done. Parts available anywhere. All I have to do is put the body on. It's been done here by at least 2 guys. I know it is not really that simple, but it can be done. I have been thinking about this for a long time. I'm just trying to decide if this is the donor that I want to make my move with. Not going to lie, I am not a body guy really. The cab floor scares me. That is my biggest hurdle to overcome. The "good" cab photos show that it will need rockers. Neither are gone but both have issues. It is hard to tell about the rest of the floor. That cab definitely could be saved. Anyway, sounds like you guys are saying that the money is not completely out of line for what I would be getting. I'm going to sleep on it a few more days before I decide.

As far as the dash. To clarify. For me the '67-72 dash is iconic. It HAS to be left bone stock looking on the inside. I do not want aftermarket or digital gauges. I will NOT be grafting a late firewall and dash to an old cab. So I either find someone to take a stock cluster and make the speedo electronic, or I have them take a late cluster and work all the instruments into old cluster faces. I would like to be able to keep the message center from the new truck-especially if the donor had tire pressure monitoring-but I don't know where that could go.

[dagnabbitt]

I have a 59 Apache on a 97 Tahoe chassis, and you have identified the most annoying part of a body swap, the dash and gauge issue. Good for you to get on it early, lots of people think they will just figure it out when they get to it. Fortunately there are lots of options in the aftermarket to help you: particularly since what you are proposing is really just a very extreme LS swap, when you think about it.

Depending upon the type of donor you are getting you could put the message center in the glove box or in the dash with labelled LED lights. Or, since you will have an ODB port, you could just hide it anywhere and check for codes periodically.

I don't know if $1100 is a good price for anything in your neck of the woods, but with what you are going to have into this project in labour alone I would suggest not "settling" for just any old truck. If the cab floor scares you, pass on it, or line up a body man who does good work and be prepared to pay.

[burnin oil]

MarkD, I have done the process for titleing here in TN. I PMed you the details. I forgot to mention no title or bill of sale needed.