Truck buying?
 

Hey everyone. I was wondering if anyone here has some extensive knowledge to share when it comes to buying a truck. A buddy of mine is getting ready to move out of state, so he needs to sell his 1985 Chevrolet C10 (Silverado). He said he'd sell it for $2,000, and that it really only needs $120 worth of lines, fluids, and hoses to make it run. It has a Ford 14 bolt 1 ton rear axle and a 1/2 front axle. It also has 42" tires and a Crate 350 engine.

Overall condition of the body and interior is mediocre; it's been sitting in his back yard for about a year, so a good deal of the bare metal parts are surface-rusted. It also has a few old wasp nests scattered about, one in the wheel well, two inside the exhaust tip :lol:. The interior is a bit dirty and some panels are missing, but the bench seat isn't torn/ripped/soiled at all. It's also missing it's title, so I'd have to go through the BMV/DMV and apply for a Lost Title. Anyone have any experience with that, too? Specifically in North Carolina, since I assume it would vary from state to state.

My main question is whether I should scoop up this truck, or forget about it. I really want a project vehicle, since all I do it sit around on a computer all day, work and home. I've never owned a truck before, but I really want one. I know some people might think I'm trying to do my buddy a favor by taking it off his hands, and that I could probably get one very similar for a bit more money, but I take into consideration that it already has the 1-ton rear axle (easily $2,000), the 42" tires (another $2,000), and the new(ish) engine (which I'm not sure how much that is/would be).

Taking my precious SVX off road sounds fun, but I'm sure it's a great big no-no. I have a few pictures on my home computer (yes, I'm at work right now, and my boss is 10 feet away on another computer doing pretty much the same thing :D) so I'll post them if someone wants to see them.

Any advice y'all can give me is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

It's worth more than 2k, just the crate 350 is worth 2-4k. Is it a C10 or a K10(4wd)? And what "lines" exactly are you talking about? Vac lines?

What I meant by lines was fuel lines. I still haven't gotten around to going over the truck with a fine-toothed comb, but from what my friend's told me is it needs (some?) fuel lines, (a?) radiator hose(s), and all new fluids.

As far as it being a C or a K 10/20/30, I'm still not sure. I'm headed to his house either tomorrow or sometime over the weekend to take a look at it some more, maybe clean it up to see if I stumble upon some gutting rust beneath all the mud still on it.

I noticed in your Sig you have an '85 C-20. Can you think of anything I should be looking for when I go survey this truck? I'll be sure to write the VIN down while I'm at it too, since the VIN should be able to identify pretty much anything i need to know about the make/model/trim, right?

I appreciate your help, sir!

Who will be replacing the lines, you or a mechanic? Replacing fuel/brake hard lines can get fairly labour intensive and rack up a bill far larger than the parts alone. You may be able to buy pre-bent lines at higher cost, which will reduce labour time.

I'm pretty sure myself and my friend will be doing the maintenance. He's quite certain we can purchase everything needed to get it running at Auto Zone. I'm not really 100% sure about that myself, but hey. It's worth a shot. We're both generic mechanics, too (USMC Support Equipment Mech/Tech), so it's not like we've never seen the inside of a motor vehicle engine bay.

Pictures
 

Almost completely forgot. Here are some pictures I took about a week and a half ago. I'm probably gonna go to my friends house and clean it up real nice, since I don't wanna get nabbed by an angry nest of hornets or a half-dozen black widows or brown recluses.

It looks like a mess in these pictures, but I'm sure somewhere beneath the mud and grime there's a badass minimonster waiting to strut it's stuff again.

Then again, I could be wrong... I might accidently wash away whatever's holding the darn thing together :D

If it was a factory 4wd, it's a K, 2wd it's a C. The 10 was 1/2 ton, 20 3/4 ton, & 30 1 ton. Looks rough. How does it run? Would be a nice project if you have the time/money/ambition.

It looks pretty tough! And it is a K10 as you can see a 4wd shifter on the floor and a transfer case/front drive shaft in the pics. Things to look for is how good it runs, transmission condition(slipping), 4x4 works(high and low). I'd be stoked to have that truck it's got power windows and locks, and A/C! Talk about fully loaded! Put up some engine bay pics if you have em.

I'd buy that in a heartbeat for 2k. Let me know if those tires are too big for you.. :D

Engine Bay
 

Here are some Engine Bay pics. There's some pretty gnarly rust, but I'm sure it's to be expected for an '85, and for sitting in his backyard for a year.

It's got a goodwrench 350, a holley carb and some decent headers, also some oil leaks. It would definetly be a good project, no question about it. How old is the motor again? It looks, weathered.

Look at all the empty space in that bay :eek:!

It needs a big-block...:lol: Pontiac 442 anyone?;)

Engine
 

He doesn't know how old it is, but I googled Crate 350, and it said they were marketed from 1980s (?) to 2002. Not sure how accurate that is either, but... Yes, it does look "weathered" to say the least. Like I said earlier, it's been sitting in his back yard for a year, maybe a bit more.

I'm 99% sure I won't buy it if we can't get it running any time soon. Me and the seller are going to work on it this weekend, and he's positive we can get it running in a day. If he's correct, I'm all for getting it. If not, then I'll just have to hold out till I find another one.

Wikipedia says 1967-2002 for the Chevy Small-Block 350, and we all know Wikipedia is ALWAYS right :lol:

Chevy has been making small block 350s since 1957 and they still put them in their trucks today. If it was running when it was parked, it should fire up just fine. You might want to buy a can of carb cleaner and a can of starting fluid just in case. I'm assuming the gas in the tank is a year old, so maybe dump in a few gallons of 91 to spice up the old gas a bit.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume i should just completely flush EVERYTHING out and put new fluids. Would that be the best idea? Cost and disposal of the fluids shouldn't be a huge problem, I'm mainly concerned about doing this right the first time, so that I don't have big problems down the line.

I know problems are to be expected as time goes by, especially with such an old vehicle, but I want to space them out as few and far between as possible, since I don't have anywhere readily acessable to work on it. We aren't allowed to perform maintenance on our POV's (Personally Owned Vehicle) in the barracks parking lot, and the local Auto Hobby Shop charges $5 a day to use their facilities (which isn't a bad deal at all, just a pain in the neck).

As to the carb cleaner and starting fluid, Auto Zone / NAPA should be my shopping-stop correct?