Truck buying?

B-Rad · #1 02-25-2008, 01:23 PM

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

. 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

) so I'll post them if someone wants to see them.

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

Sir. Nate · #2 02-25-2008, 02:25 PM

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?

B-Rad · #3 02-25-2008, 04:44 PM

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!

Crazy_pilot · #4 02-25-2008, 04:58 PM

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.

B-Rad · #5 02-25-2008, 05:35 PM

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.

B-Rad · #6 02-25-2008, 06:49 PM

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