Please help me decide between these two trucks...

[danheit]

Well crap. I uploaded more, but my IPhone isn't cooperating. Curse you Verizon!!! I'm all excited now, but am on a date with my wife (had to park the truck at the mall and ride with her). I don't get to play till tomorrow. But tomorrow, it's on! Oh, engine isn't firing on all cyls. Good thing I have another! The 75 mile ride home on the highway should be interesting (and expensive). Have a nice tap tap tap coming from up there too. Collapsed lifter maybe? Worn cam lobe?
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[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by danheit

Southern fried please! ( see my location)
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Cool truck. Kinda hard to tell from the pic, but I think it's the same color scheme as mine, except for the paint is newer looking. Good choice on this. Having a truck that runs, but needs some things here and there is a blast, and it'll keep your interest


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[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by danheit

Well crap. I uploaded more, but my IPhone isn't cooperating. Curse you Verizon!!! I'm all excited now, but am on a date with my wife (had to park the truck at the mall and ride with her). I don't get to play till tomorrow. But tomorrow, it's on! Oh, engine isn't firing on all cyls. Good thing I have another! The 75 mile ride home on the highway should be interesting (and expensive). Have a nice tap tap tap coming from up there too. Collapsed lifter maybe? Worn cam lobe?
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It's probably nothing to do with Verizon, unless you're not getting a signal. Download Dropbox and Photobucket for your phone and/or iPad, and it'll make sharing photos on the forum much easier
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[GASoline71]

Patience always wins in love, war... and old trucks...

Nice find mang!

Gary

[67ChevyRedneck]

Even though your pic really sucks... that looks like a hell of a nice truck! And you were going to buy a pile o crap...

[danheit]

OK, here's the rest of the pics I took with my phone today in the mall parking lot, and one tonight after finally making that "wonderful" ride home. Yeah.....that kinda sucked.









So far I have found out that the motor is REALLY weak, the brakes are marginal and sticking (front calipers started dragging about 10 miles outside the city), the door weatherstripping is gone, door locks are non-operational (don't go up or down), blower motor only works on low and med, not high (and the heat sucks), my instrument cluster needs a LOT of work - gas gauge bounces by about a quarter tank, lower gauges have no illumination, temp gauge is not registering (gonna check for loose wire tomorrow), and the WORST thing of all is that evidently the person that owned the truck sometime prior was incredibly short, as there are wooden blocks added to the seat base to raise it. Not fun to drive for a tall person! There is LOTS more, but this will at least get me started. Gonna look into dropping in my motor tomorrow.

[Zoomin]

You are so far ahead of the other two it's not even funny.

Congrats!
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[BMERDOC]

I bought mine "running and driving" for $700. Most would say its a P.O.S. but I sorted the brakes, straightened the electricals, rebuilt the carb, bought some used tires to replace the mudders that were on it, put plates on it and rocked the snot out of it! I think it may have cost me a grand to get it driveable but almost two years later its outside ready, willing and able. At your price point you're gonna buy a piece of crap wether its $500 or $2000. You are still gonna have to de-PO it and sort numerous other things. Either way its gonna cost you money. If you buy the $2000 truck you may uncover stuff later and still ask yourself "tell me again why I bought this thing?".

I vote for the black one because its the most complete although the pics for it only amounted to one outside shot. If you buy a LWB and really want a SWB you are messing up right off the bat. You'll regret it. Find the best thing you can, get it running and driving and rock the snot out of it. Click on my thread to see how you can get a cheap truck on the road.

[cubber]

I think you did good, man. People will say all kinds of stuff, but you can ignore it, and go work on your truck!!!! Way to pull it out! Plus, look at it this way, its a lot easier (I think) to make a SWB out of an LWB than vice versa!

[hilljob26]

i would buy both,,but uim a hoarder,,so anytime i find one of these for 500 bucks, i buy it up,,i would love to have the black one though

[hilljob26]

if you dont mind me askin,,how much was the blue one,,that looks like a nice truck

[danheit]

thx guys. Blue one was 2100 (he was asking 3900, however he was no match for the art of my negotiations!) but after I showed him all the things wrong with it (thanks to the board I knew many good places to look), he came around a little. I was fighting like crazy to get to 2000, but that was the best I could do. Also, I know where theres a good short bed frame I can get for probably free, and I found a short box on CL for 350. Might mess with it, might not. Gonna probably leave well enough alone for right now. I know I am going to uncover hidden issues, as I did last night 20 minutes into my drive, but that's half the fun. I feel very good about the rust on the truck as there is nearly none. Still rockin the original cab corners, the majority of the rust is in the bed floor, as the PO has had a plastic bedliner in for quite some time. The pass. side rocker needs replaced eventually, and I need to reseal the drip rails before I start having problems. It's starting to look kinda rough up there, but only some surface flaking and old dried out seam sealer. cab supports look good, windshield frame looks good, which was my biggest concern, radiator support (I think) is good, didn't look too hard, all across the board, I am happy. Interior is great, floors are great, and the truck is fairly all original. The A/C even still works! Probably my favorite part of the drive home last night though was trying to tune the early 80's radio to a station. I haven't had to turn a knob to dial in a station in a LOOOOONG time. Funny the things we take for granted. I rode listening to the exhaust, ticking motor, and static filled single center dash speaker, all at around 45-50mph home. The truck wanted to do more, but it felt kind of high for the T350, and the brakes were dragging on the front, so I didn't want to chance it on it's maiden voyage that late at night, that far from home. My build will start today, stay tuned!

[ARC190]

I bought mine a few months ago and would have been screwed if I hadn't been expecting to spend $$$ on repairs. So far the cost of ownership is on par with making payments on a $30k car. Heater core started leaking the day I got it home; replaced that and the thermostat. Intake manifold and valve covers were leaking oil like it was going out of style so I replaced those and the radiator that popped a leak after 200 miles. As I pulled in to replace the radiator the water pump started leaking. After 60 more miles the fuel filter got clogged. I have since realized the truck only drove 600 miles from January 2002 until I bought it in November. These trucks are extremely reasonable to work on but they WILL nickle and dime you to death if you let them. Fix the worst issues you have effecting drivability for now and worry about the cheap cosmetic stuff later. If you haven't already, download the overhaul, maintenance, wiring manuals off the site here and you should be able to fix quite a bit with that $400 you have left over.
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[CC69Rat]

Think about all that depreciation you save over and above the 30k car payment. Everything you do to the truck adds value. Drive the Prius off the lot and lose 20% of the value. How much gas can you buy with $6k ? And you still have the $500 mo payment.

I still think total cost of ownership is better with an old truck
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[danheit]

HA! That $400 is alotted towards a new set of wheels! I am most likely going to pull the 350 that's in there today and drop mine in to get it driving better. the brakes will get a quick bleed to see what's going on, and take the blocks out of the seat. That's the plan today. Now, whether or not that happens, we shall see!

[srea76]

Awesome find. I am glad to hear you found something better to add to. I have been down that road before and one sitting in the back yard not getting drove can be frustrating. Now one you can drive and work on will be a lot of fun and keep your interest.

[LakeAnna]

Originally Posted by GASoline71

I'd pass on both, unless I needed a parts truck.

There are many trucks available in running condition for $1,000 bucks. Patience grasshopper... one will come your way.

Gary

I wish I could find one here in Virginia for a grand (that would drive away..)

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Congrats on holding out and getting something you can drive and tinker with.

[turp23]

Good job, I think you did better than me!

[teeitup]

You did good, looks like a nice project

[danheit]

Ahhh, and the adventures just keep on coming! Talked the wife into taking the truck to breakfast this morning. Did fine getting there, no problem. Even had some guy stop me after breakfast to talk about the truck (wife wasn't too happy about that, she isn't enthused at yet another project vehicle). Driving home, about 5 miles away, still have 30 minutes before we have to pick up the kids, and the truck starts spitting and sputtering while going up the big bridge. Felt like it was running out of gas. Made it over the bridge, down the off ramp, and truck cuts off. Starts right back up, makes it about a half mile, cuts off. Does this two more times on the way home (meanwhile, my wife calls her dad to come get her and take her home so she can go pick up the kids), and while putting on down the road at 15 mph with a line of cars behind me, it cuts off one final time. I go to start it and all I get is a click. Stinking alternator gave out on me! Come to find out, by ammeter gauge isn't working correctly, as it never moved from right dead in the middle! What the heck! Thankfully I died right dead in front of a buddy's house. He gave me a quick tow home with his truck (don't worry, it was another Chevy), and I went looking around. Come to find out the alternator belt was just incredibly loose. Tightened it up with the use of my pry-bar for leverage and jumped it off, charging to 13.5 Volts now. Fixed my temp gauge too! (broken wire connector). Long story short, the truck my wife doesn't like broke down the first (and now probably only) time she rides in it, the second day I have it. All she kept asking over and over was "did that guy screw you on the truck??"

[CC69Rat]

Part of the deal.. . Its an old truck! New ones break down too. My sister bought a brand new BMW a year or so ago and the whole fuel system went out about a week after she got it.

Keep tinkering with it man. Youll have it running like a sewing machine before long.
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