To buy or not?

[tobascofred]

Greeting all. New to forum and possibly new to owning a nice 1970 C10 Stepside. I just got home from inspecting it - drives well, minimal rust, all looks good underneath, minimal bondo found, drum brakes work incredibly well.

They showed an appraisal from 2000 for $9,800, are asking $9,500, I saw on Hagerty a valuation of $7,800 which I offered and said they would accept.

From folks who know alot more about this model and generation Chevy's, would someone clue me in as to whether this is a good deal or not?

Thanks in advance.

tobascofred
(friend of Bill W.'s)


From their posting -
"This truck is in amazing original condition, with minor rust, located in the cab corners and on the door sills of the cab.

This vehicle was appraised at $9800 back in 2000, and has pretty much been garaged since then. The odometer shows 75,258 miles (assuming actual is 175,258), with less than 4000 miles added since the year 2000. These miles were mainly to local shows and cruise-ins.

The VIN code shows that this truck originally left the factory with a six cylinder engine, however, at some point it was replaced with a 350 cubic inch engine with what appears to be a factory 4 BBL and headers. This truck also has factory air installed, but the A/C compressor is missing.

The build sheet is missing from under the seat, but the Service Parts sticker is still on the glove box door, which shows the fender mounted spare tire carrier as being one of the original options.

The interior and added exterior pieces reflect modifications that were most likely popular in the 80s, with no cosmetic updates since.

This truck runs and shifts good, and the fuel pump and power steering pump were both recently replaced due to fuel and fluid leakage.

The owner is asking $9,500 for this truck."

[71swb4x4]

Is it in Australia? Just kidding. It looks like a nice truck. I don't think you are stealing it, but if there is no rust, and a very very small amount of filler, you are probably doing ok. Do you have any interior pictures?

[71swb4x4]

Looking at the pictures closer I think with a good wash and wax, some stock wheels (or whatever wheels float your boat), and removing the chrome wheels arches and bed rails, and you will take it from a pretty nice truck to a really nice truck.

[SS Tim]

Without seeing the SPID there isn't a lot I can offer except that a 70 6 cylinder with A/C was pretty uncommon and more so for a base stepside. I'd be willing to bet there is a lot less original about this truck than just an engine swap.

If you are happy with the truck as a driver fine... But I'd strongly recommend having another set of knowing eyes look the truck over for you.

[tobascofred]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. Yeah, the bottom of the world shots are odd??? As well, my thoughts exactly - dump all of the the goofy chrome and side rails, get a different set of wheels, probably stock or possibly Chevy rally wheels (best stock wheel ever in my opinion). Are original hub caps crazy expensive? Attached are interior and SPID shots.

[SS Tim]

Well that seals it there is nothing stock beyond the fact it was a red 70 C/10 swb stepside.

The engine and trans have been replaced and may not be even close to a factory stock installation. This is not just limited to the basics, but actual engine location, mounts and cooling are all considerations.

The A/C might be an add on kit or added factory parts or even a cab swap. A missing compressor/being incomplete means the whole system is going to need a rework. It might simply be cheaper to replace it with a new kit.

[tobascofred]

SS Tim - you are right re: engine position / mounts - the distributor is almost pressed against the firewall, actually may be touching it.

I guess where I am at now - the amount of money to get it back close to factory (engine, tranny, wheels/tire, interior) is way too much cash to make sense.

So, buying it for $7,800 (plus tax, title and license), doing some minor cosmetic surgery (removing all of the goofy chrome trim and side rails and hoping everything is solid behind) would yield me a fairly nice looking, pretty well running and handling run-about that I can enjoy and be available for the occasional hauling gig (like moving my youngest son back after he graduates college next month).

Hmmmmmm.................

[Orange Crate]

Ah, so like, welcome and stuff....

[SS Tim]

Sounds like they dropped the 350 on the 250 stands/location. V-8 mounts are almost 3" forward. But a lot of trucks are running like that.


In the end I am not trying to be a wet blanket but a realist. Far too often we have a first post of "look at what I bought". Then these turn out to be franken trucks or even VIN plate swaps and altered frames abound too.

An informed purchase decision is the best.

[LockDoc]

-
If the door S/N plate, Glove box S/N, and frame numbers match there is no way you could buy a fixerupper and get it to this point for $7800. Doesn't sound like you are looking to do a complete restoration on it so I wouldn't worry about the mods. A little TLC and drive the wheels off of it. You and the boy will look good driving off into the sunset with his college stuff in the back....

Oh, and I like the wheels too.

LockDoc

[tobascofred]

Hey SS Tim (as well the rest of you who've posted),

I appreciate your frankness and realistic view point. I have been one of those "look what I got" guys more often than I care to admit.

I did take my creeper with me when I checked it out and nothing scary jumped out at me underneath. I put a clean white t-shirt over both exhaust pipes and didn't catch any oil. I drove it on the highway and outside of a hunting speedo and an inop temp gauge all else felt / sounded good (though the sound of sloshing as right behind me felt pretty weird...).

I have always liked the looks of step sides in general and I really do like the looks of this truck. I have not seen many 67-72 step sides running around / for sale in this area. I just finished paying college tuition for my youngest child and I do have the cash available for the truck.

I am going to do some realistic soul searching this evening and who knows, perhaps I will be a regular on this forum in the future...

tobascofred

[jocko]

From post #1, it sounded as is you'd already sealed the deal. From the one above, sounds like you are still thinking about it. If you've offered and he's accepted, that's committed in my book. But if you're having a total buyer's remorse moment and don't want it, well, if it were me, I'd discuss with the seller. Some folks would totally walk away and you could do that too if money hasn't yet changed hands. Personally, I don't feel it's a $7800 truck UNLESS you want a red swb 2wd more than anything else. In that case, I'd jump on it and keep on rolling. If we were all in this to get rich, we'd be unhappy campers. Well, or, unhappy Custom Campers, that is.

And welcome to the site! Whether you buy it or not, stick around and hang out. You'll get addicted and you'll make this your truck or find another one - either way, it's all good.

[Tumbleweed1C4]

Fixed. Really couldn't stand to look at it that way.

[flashed]

I think that truck looks very good for Ohio with the exception of the wheelwell chrome .I know from my friends up there that good rust free cars and trucks are hard to come by .I helped one of my Ohio friends get a nice rust free 68 Malibu wagon recently from here locally .

[tobascofred]

Thanks to all for your input - I pulled the trigger and bought my orange-juice hued step side 1/2 hour ago! Really happy that I did it.

I am going through it now, planning the fixes for the obvious mechanical gottchysa's I found when I looked at it, as well finding some more that I didn't catch.

First off is getting the alternator mounted solidly (really bad floptuation while it is running) and starting to remove all of the "'80's bling" that someone attached to it. LOTS of plans, primary work (and $$$) to get it looking closer to original but no dream or desire for a concourse restoration - "OJ" will be a daily driver except when there is salt on the roads.

I have spent hours trolling through this forum in the past few weeks and am really glad I found you guys - from what I've read so far probably one of the most helpful, friendly forums I've come across for any of my vehicles I've owned over the years since the commercialization of the Internet.

Looking forward to to learning more about my truck and hopefully offering help to others where I can ('been a motorhead for over 40 years (scared of automatic transmissions and differentials), trained in electronics in the service and now am the information security officer for the healthcare organization I work for).

Cheers to all!

tobascofred
(friend of Bill W's)

[LockDoc]

-
Glad to see you bought the truck. It will make a nice driver.

Yup, lots of helpful folks here.

LockDoc

[dubds10]

Looks like a clean truck and good start. Factory A/C cab, but the SPID doesn't list it. I'd just check all the numbers to see if a frame/cab swap was done or if original build and just an A/C dash or vents were added at some point.

[flashed]

Glad you got it ,I like the orange .

[Ed F]

Congratulations! You are absolutely right about this forum. The knowledge and willingness to help is amazing. Please post more pictures when you can.

[hdff]

Congratulations nice lookin stepper! This it a great place for info. While you're swapping that 80's bling add that steering wheel to the list also.

[gvw5400]

Welcome and congratulations,

Have a blast making this into YOUR truck and drive it!
All the best, Dirk

[71swb4x4]

Congratulations! It's hard to keep them in one piece. Plan your modifications one step at a time. It's easy to get carried away, but also not that hard to make most modifications afternoon or weekend projects.

[Ken B]

I don't think you did too bad. Once all the do-dads are removed your truck will look great! Maybe some steel rims all the way around with some deep dish out back with some factory hub caps... I know when I was looking for a truck in CT. all I was finding were trucks that were way beyond my price range, or when I went to look at trucks I THOUGHT were in my price range I discovered the trucks to be in terrible condition. Most trucks I looked at were at least an hour away and there were plenty of wasted trips! When this 70 Longhorn popped up on Craigslist I didn't hesitate on going to look at it. Although a Longhorn wasn't exactly what I was looking for the fact that it was one owner, 88,000 original miles and ZERO rust (parked in garage all winter) I just had to pull the trigger. I have been enjoying it immensely the past yr. and I think I'm going to own it for a very long time.

[frenchy51]

Congratulations on the new truck. It looks like a keeper to me. Enjoy!

[35boulder]

Congrats on the new truck. Outside of the wheel well trim whats not to like. Drive it!