[Zeroman]

Like Ten Ring said, if it drives that's a huge plus.

There are countless newbies who want to tackle everything at once, and most of those restorations end in disaster. Not saying yours would, but most do.

Make a list of the things you want to accomplish. Then prioritize the list based on safety, cost, and time required to accomplish.

The major items on the list might be engine, transmission, differential, fuel system, braking system, cooling system, suspension, power steering, electrical system including gauges.

Do a search on the Forum for the Service Manual for your truck, and download it. It's in pdf format. It will be a wealth of knowledge for you.

Everyone wants their truck to look good, but a solid drive train, and braking system, is a solid must.

In the "looking good" categories would be condition of the paint, rust issues, missing trim items, lens replacement, panel alignment. The rust and paint issues can be very expensive, so try to hold off on these until the truck is mechanically sound.

The interior seems to be the place where people try to make things look good first, but resist the urge. You need a solid foundation for your truck first. Just like building a house...if the foundation is bad, the house will eventually fall apart.

I would make sure the motor and transmission are in working order.

As you stated give it a tune up....plugs, wires, distributor cap, points, etc.

Do a complete fluid/filter replacement...motor oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, differential fluid, coolant, fuel filter, power steering fluid, etc. If you can, do not just drain and replace fluids such as coolant and power steering, do a flush of the system.

Once you get the drive train working properly I would address the braking system...replace brake pads, shoes, drums or rotors as needed. Make sure it stops because a truck with all GO, and no SLOW, is not a good thing.

You can source parts for these trucks from all major auto parts stores, online vendors like Rockauto.com, and the vendors who cater to these trucks exclusively. Figure out the parts you need before you need them, do your research on price and availability, and you can save a great deal of money. I utilized a bunch of coupons from places like Advanced Auto, O'reilly's, etc. You know, like "Save $50 when you buy $200", coupons. Vendors always seem to have sales around holidays. I saved tons using these sales.

I created a spreadsheet with a "Need To Do List" including a list of the parts I needed, a "Want To Do List", again with the parts required, along with best price and vendor listed. Then, if a coupon, or sale, came up I was able to determine if I could save additional $ using that sale, or coupon.

This spreadsheet also kept my budget for my build, and showed me when I was letting the budget get out of hand...which it definitely did. Like I always say, "I'm a professional adult, I know what I'm doing."

Hope this helps.

Just remember, your truck is YOUR TRUCK. Do what you want to do to it. Take it a far as you want to go. There a Forum Members who have spent thousands on their trucks, and those who have spent just hundreds.

Go out and make it your own.