Chevy C10's!

[whywontyoustart]

Alright, so I want to buy an older truck, probably 1966-1977 Chevy. I want a C10 but I am not sure if they come in just long bed, or if there is a short bed model. The only ones I see are beat up long beds with a lumber rack on top. I want to use mine for the daily grind, but at the same time have a nice vehical to drive around daily. Anyone have suggestions on what model to look for that's faily cheap. I live in California and from what I could find of these older trucks everyone wants a mint for them. Usually for 2-3000 bucks and they're not in the best shape. Is this the going price for these or should I wait and look for something cheaper. I don't want something that's already fixed up, I want something I can work on slowly and enjoy. Anyways, thanks for any awnsers I can get, and any tips offered on where to look for these trucks.

[robertjr]

Well '66-'77 are all good years the first thing you have to decide is which body style do you prefer I personally like the '70-'72 body but I have a '76 and I like it too. Then think about what exactly your looking for. if this is going to be your daily driver right off the bat then you got to find something that is reliable, good engine tranny and etc. you said that you want something that is not beat so it will take some time to find one that is in good shape and that will run well. A good truck will run you anywhere from $1000 to $2500 easy, if your not to picky and are patience you can find rigs that are cheap and just what your looking of especially if you are willin to do work to it. just take or time and check everything out and you'll find one. oh just to give you an idea i just bought a '73 chevy k10 5.7L 350 rebuild in '04, new tranny th350 4x4 with dana44 up front 12 bolt GM in the back running 4.10's NP205 trans case 4" lift 35" tires no rust and fairly straight body for $1100 it has some steering issues nothing major and it has a small tranny leak and the front drive shaft was shot but other then that it was a solid truck!

[jveik]

yeah i have a 73 c-10 that i recently stripped down to do a full restoration on. i bought mine as a piece of crap with some mexican made gm crate 350 from 1991 in it. ran pretty good when i bought the truck for 1250. but, being the idiot that i am, i always would rev it to get the choke to turn off when the oil was still cold, and hence messed up a lot of stuff including flattening the cam out. so my advice to you, if you want to get a truck that requires almost no work at all, not even a little body welding, look into a texas truck. they are a dime a dozen down there and i bet theyre a lot cheaper than here in omaha nebraska where i live. a fully restored or great original truck here costs upwards of 5 grand. i bet you could get a good one from texas and as long as you get it professionally undercoated you should not have to worry about it rusting on ya even in the salt licks that are omaha nebraska streets. make sure tho that when you get it you dont drive it hard until the oil is warmed up completely lol.

as for the specifics, 73 and up is the new style, which i personally like more, but the older style is also very bad ass and most people like it better anyways. definately go for the cheyenne trim level too, its great

[Dave In Texas]

Come on down to Texas. I see a lot of those old trucks on the road. Mine is a 79' and I love it.

[skipr]

Originally Posted by Dave In Texas

Come on down to Texas. I see a lot of those old trucks on the road. Mine is a 79' and I love it.

I have a 79 too, C20 with a massive 454, 400 hydromatic, wieghts about 6200 pounds,1 ton front suspension (would be considered a 3/4 heavy) siverado package, 14 bolt posi corporate rear end. it,s all stock 500,000 miles runs great, sucks gas big time 6-7 to gallon. But I guarentee it would plow right through my 2005 silverado no problem. back then there where more models...silverado, cheyenne, scottsdale, custom deluxe,and GMC had sierra grande & ???? I forgot.