Hey there, I have convinced my buddy to actually start his own project. He really likes classic trucks and cadillacs,and hot rod style stuff. I told him the truck will be easiest, considering you can easy do interior since it is very small, can find any engine (he doesnt know its gonna be a buick 350 yet :grin: ) and overall they are pretty simple I believe. Just wondering what are some good years to be looking at, models, any specific things to look for on trucks that are trouble etc. I will be helping him with this project and am actually getting pretty excited His budget for the body is about 1000 to 2000 by the way
I personaly like 58-59's but the 61-66's you should be able to find in that price range the 67-72's in my opininon are to popular and out of price range.just my 2 cents.O ya me and my father have been building a 65 GMC for about 10 years now should be done this year.
The cool thing about many of the old trucks is you can buy reproduction parts for them at reasonable prices. I have a 72 Ford F-250 that I have refurbished at relatively low cost and I gets compliments if I have recently waxed it. I have also heard of Bufords where a person put a nailhead in an old Ford, sounds good to me. Trucks need torque....:laugh:
This looks like a potential good deal. cool year. really different http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/1632647952.html
I bought a project 68 or 69 GMC C15 3/4T truck back before I went Buick shopping, for $700. Running, fair interior, good body, need mech work & paint. Before I could dig into it, I decided it would have to go so I could look for a 68 GS. Really bummed out that I didn't keep it somewhere instead. Anyway, as I recall, LMC Truck carried tons of repro stuff for these old trucks. I'm sure you can find info online, as well as other vendors.
I'd like to do a 61 ish Ford econoline but with a mitsu Fuso diesel drive line and maybe even frame as a roll up. I also like the 50's GMC cabovers
Hey Nate, a guy in my neighborhood has had a similar vintage chevy cab over for sale going on 2 years.
My first "Buick" was actually a 1966 GMC 1/2-ton-stepside-short bed pick up. My Dad transplanted a 430-TH400 into it and used the old Dana 44 rearend I think it was. He put a Spicer drive shaft and that was it...even used the old three on the tree column shifter even though it was an automatic. It was simple and a real sleeper...this was back in 1982...I beat up on a LOT of Z-28's (2nd generation of course) and trash-ams. I had one of those To all you VIRGINS Thanks for NOTHING stickers in the rear window that I got at the rodeo....the good old days. Over all a simple project...the chevy truck same year would work too...but I have a preference for the 65 short-wide bed from CHevy though. Regards, 455nGLIDE
At your young age... Define classic! To me it's hard to beat a 47 - 54 Chevy truck. Very cool truck. Lots of them around still, and I think there are parts available.
bought it already done...has th400..funny thing is they added bracing to the crossmember i guess thinking the 455 was heavy'er than the FE v8 they took out..i don't think it iso No: oh and what cant be seen in the picture is the 4 90lbs bags of cement sitting in far back of the bed i gotta buy the lowering kit.
You guys are gonna get me into trouble. This is what I've been thinking about for the last month, but SWMBO does not want a "rusty old truck" parked in the drive. I saw a '61 Apache locally on Craigslist that I almost bit on. Ugly enough to be cool...
Although I'm partial to the 67-72 GM trucks, it's pretty cool just how many generations of trucks the General built that were/are really great looking.:bglasses: The 55-59's are fantastic. I really like the 60-66 trucks. The 73-87 version had a long run.....and while not my favorite, I sure have seen enough well done ones to know they can be just as cool. There's a ton of stuff you can do to the 88-98's. There's so many variations you can build too. Restoration, street rod, cruiser, bruiser, drag truck, slammed 2wd, lifted 4wd, etc. Don't get me started on the engine & tranny combos.:grin:
A week or two ago there was a 49 Packard pickup cab and front fenders, no frame, no bed, no back fenders. . . Would have made a real cool flat bed with a 455-th400 up front. Was asking $800. Haven't seen the ad this week. Also, there's a guy running around Tonawanda NY in a 1953 Buick - 2 door hard top - Canary Yellow - PICKUP TRUCK. He made it hisself. There's a 53 Roadmaster 4 door locally - would make a great pickup truck - has A/C, PS/ PB/ PW/ needs quite a bit of TLC - would make a great stake truck - weld the rear doors shut, oh never mind. . .:3gears: The Yellow Canary is a real talker item at the car shows when he shows up - draws a crowd. He's my contact for chrome and drilling my own pits - he did it. He used a Canadian chrome outfit - Cambridge - to do the fantastic chrome. :bglasses: Rip Rohring :Comp:
Trucks are a great way to get into the hobby. Easy to work on , tons of parts available. easy to find. Only drawback is acres of body to work on! My son & I did a 72 GMC for our first project.
I just bought a 77 Custom Deluxe with a Buick 350 circa 1971 engine. Only problem so far is that the engine mounts don't match up. Does anyone know the part number for the correct mounts?
