Guy from UK needs a bit of advice

[Paul V]

Hi there, i am from the UK and a bit of a car nut

I visit the US (Florida) each Christmas for vacation and over the years have been looking at getting a C10 to bring back to the UK.

I have been a member on here for a while but this is my 1st post ! great forum by the way

I know what year of truck i want and also what i plan to do to it.
1970-72 short bed fleet side.

This will be a complete restoration job, slammed on the floor with a LS motor, 5 speed manual box big brakes etc.

Anyways i have seen a truck that i like and i have had a fellow forum friend go look at the truck (not this forum but another car forum) he is not that clued up on the make model but he has sent me 80 photos of the truck for me to look at.

It looks like a solid truck but with lots of surface rust and patina, one would say heavy patina but the guy says who is selling it that it is a solid rust free truck, when he says rust free i think he means corrosion free IE not structural rust.

So i need help from experienced members.

In this photo you can see the roof gutter has what looks like caulking ? is that normal ? or does it look like bondo (body filler we call it)


Now i know it is hard to tell from this photo but does this look surface rust or something much worse? are they know to rust though here ?


Again hard tell from the photos, lower rockers, does this look like surface rust





I know it is hard to tell from photos and believe me i know only too well how something can look good until you start poking around with a sharp took and make a big hole, but whats your thoughts ?

Here is a link to the rest of the photos 76 of them !
http://s1328.photobucket.com/user/pa...y/C10%20photos

The next question is related to bartering or knocking the price down. Now i have watched Gas Monkey Garage where RR seems to knock $$$ of the asking price, i know it is all for TV but do you guys put a price on a truck knowing you are going to get knocked down on the price ?? IE this truck is up for $5K what would be the selling price ? again a hard question to answer i know but what would the realist offer be ?

Thanks for you help in advance.

Regards Paul

[Big Block]

Most of the time prices are relative to what part of the country you live in. Supply and demand. I live in the Southeast. Seems to be a good supply of trucks at reasonable prices. But prices are on the rise for nice originals. Looking at your pictures the price seems high to me. The truck looks like it will need frame off resto. All the sheet metal will need to be stripped to bare metal. Lots of surface rust. You really won't know till you get all that paint and old primer off. It might look worse in the pictures than it really is. $3500 seem to be a more realistic price. As for the roof. Seam sealer will dry up and crack like that.

[Paul V]

Originally Posted by Big Block

Most of the time prices are relative to what part of the country you live in. Supply and demand. I live in the Southeast. Seems to be a good supply of trucks at reasonable prices. But prices are on the rise for nice originals. Looking at your pictures the price seems high to me. The truck looks like it will need frame off resto. All the sheet metal will need to be stripped to bare metal. Lots of surface rust. You really won't know till you get all that paint and old primer off. It might look worse in the pictures than it really is. $3500 seem to be a more realistic price. As for the roof. Seam sealer will dry up and crack like that.

Thanks BB for the reply, $3500 is the price i had in mind to be honest and i think that would be a fair price in my position. If i could go and take a look myself and it was solid but just surface rust then maybe it would be a bit more.

Just wondering if they had seam sealer there from the factory that's all

Again thanks for your input

[Big Block]

Yep, seems to be a common problem on the roofs of these trucks. Especially if they have spent their entire lives in the weather.

[JointTech]

the rockers definitively will need replacing. Id put money on that not being a rustfree cab.
Looks like the cab corners need doing as well.

The caulking is normal. its seam sealer and the drip rail is filled with it. Yours looks worse than mine and Im pretty sure Im going to need to repair mine.

as far as $3500 goes like said it depends where you are.

[oldschool18]

I don't think I would pay 3500 for it, there was a guy in my area selling one with about no rust the paint was faded but very solid for 5k. don't rush it......a good one for a great price will pop up

[Big Block]

Originally Posted by oldschool18

I don't think I would pay 3500 for it, there was a guy in my area selling one with about no rust the paint was faded but very solid for 5k. don't rush it......a good one for a great price will pop up

I agree!

[jdw]

Think about how much shipping is for the truck plus all the restoration materials and addtthattto your purchase price. We don't know what the ready availability of 40+ year old

[jdw]

(oops) Chevy resto parts is in the UK, but the the shipping of it all is going to be enormous.

[wreckedchevy]

in comparison this one has working ac and he only wants 3000 for it.

[kcsa75]

Paul,

You're going to need rockers and cab corners for sure, and that means there's a good chance the floor will need some work too. If you decide to buy it, you might be dollars (pounds) ahead to consider finding someone in Florida to do that work before you have it shipped overseas.

As for the price, when I was a teenager, my dad told me two things about buying and selling.
1. Don't fall in love with anything that can't love you back, which in my case eliminates everything but people and dogs.
2. Never deny a man the opportunity to take less money.

I'm in sales so I negotiate deals regularly for far more than what we're talking about here.

First, do your homework. I would check with some of the guys in Florida (http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/f...play.php?f=152) and see what they think about the going price. Then give the guy a call and see what he says. I see a lot of stuff advertised on Craigslist where people are living in dreamland as far as prices they are asking.

Then I would call the guy on the phone and feel him out. Find out how long he's had the truck, where did he get it and so forth. I usually then say something like, "so are you pretty firm on your price." Then shut up and see what he says. Then no matter what he says, come back with something like, "well, I've been looking around and your asking price seems high. I was thinking around ..." Make sure you're first offer is less than he's asking and less than you're willing to pay so both of you have some room to move.

I bought my truck 3.5 years ago. They guy had it in the AutoTrader for $3,500. After a month or so, he lowered the price to $2,500. A couple weeks after that, I offered him $1,600 and brought it home.

If he really wants to sell, he'll work with you. If he doesn't, thank him and move one. Good deals are like buses. If you miss one, don't worry. There'll be another one along in a few minutes.

Good luck.

[Paul V]

Originally Posted by kcsa75

Paul,

You're going to need rockers and cab corners for sure, and that means there's a good chance the floor will need some work too. If you decide to buy it, you might be dollars (pounds) ahead to consider finding someone in Florida to do that work before you have it shipped overseas.

As for the price, when I was a teenager, my dad told me two things about buying and selling.
1. Don't fall in love with anything that can't love you back, which in my case eliminates everything but people and dogs.
2. Never deny a man the opportunity to take less money.

I'm in sales so I negotiate deals regularly for far more than what we're talking about here.

First, do your homework. I would check with some of the guys in Florida (http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/f...play.php?f=152) and see what they think about the going price. Then give the guy a call and see what he says. I see a lot of stuff advertised on Craigslist where people are living in dreamland as far as prices they are asking.

Then I would call the guy on the phone and feel him out. Find out how long he's had the truck, where did he get it and so forth. I usually then say something like, "so are you pretty firm on your price." Then shut up and see what he says. Then no matter what he says, come back with something like, "well, I've been looking around and your asking price seems high. I was thinking around ..." Make sure you're first offer is less than he's asking and less than you're willing to pay so both of you have some room to move.

I bought my truck 3.5 years ago. They guy had it in the AutoTrader for $3,500. After a month or so, he lowered the price to $2,500. A couple weeks after that, I offered him $1,600 and brought it home.

If he really wants to sell, he'll work with you. If he doesn't, thank him and move one. Good deals are like buses. If you miss one, don't worry. There'll be another one along in a few minutes.

Good luck.

Thanks for the reply, and sorry for the late reply from me.

Ok well i did what you said IE "ask him if he was firm on the price" but not over the phone but in a text, the reply back was YES. So said "i have been looking around and his asking price seems high" etc but not to worry and I said thanks for letting my friend take a look at it.

I think i pissed him off his reply was

Knock your self out, you wont' find one short bed fleet side one owner CST big back window. Enjoy my friend.

O-well on to the next one.

[Paul V]

Originally Posted by wreckedchevy

in comparison this one has working ac and he only wants 3000 for it.

Hi there have you got any more info on that truck ?

[ChevLoRay]

Buying the absolute best body possible is money in the bank, trust me. The roof of these trucks is constructed with 3 plies of steel, where the drip rails are located. Corners and rockers are the least of concerns. Firewalls can be replaced. In fact, just about all of the sheet metal for these is available, except for the roof.

[adricar1]

I am also interested in the truck ,at 3k very interested. i am looking for a swb 71/72 manual but do not mind changing things over.
Paul i have most panels in stock and import regularly, i am only in walsall,

[wreckedchevy]

here's the pic's i took that day i really don't have a ton of details on them i know he wants 3000 for the nice blue and white one. 5000 for the dark blue? (not sure what color it is) because it's a factory big block. http://s1054.photobucket.com/user/wr...?sort=3&page=1

[skorpioskorpio]

The caulking in the gutter is normal and there is more of it in the floors, the rust in the gutter, if you blasted it, will likely turn into holes. The rockers, if blasted, will likely turn into dust, I've seen lots of "rust free" cabs and none of them actually were, even here in rust free SouthernCalifornia. Rust in the rockers, floor ends, cab corners and kick panels, to one degree or another, is almost universal and I haven't seen one of these trucks yet with original sheet metal and paint that wouldn't blow through after a sand blast at least somewhere in those areas. Most of the rust in these trucks is from the inside out, so if you see it from the outside as a bubble in the paint it's almost always all the way through.

[truckster]

Originally Posted by Paul V

Knock your self out, you wont' find one short bed fleet side one owner CST big back window. Enjoy my friend.

It's over 40 years old. Who cares if it's a one-owner? What matters is what kind of shape it's in NOW. And I agree that the best possible body you can find is going to be money in the bank.

[wreckedchevy]

Sorry guys the blue and white one is sold and the big block truck is in town getting converted to a short box and getting all the body work done
Says he's going to ask 10k when is done

[adricar1]

ok thank you . if you can have a look out for me i would appreciate it.

[Paul V]

Now on E bay buy it now $4k so much for being firm on his $5k

And he has now painted it in red oxide primer to make it look better, got to say my friend missed the rust on the bed just below the rear screen !!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-Ot...US_Cars_Trucks

I dodged a bullet with that one !

[wreckedchevy]

now he's just trying to cover up the problems, i'll be out at that truck hoard tomorrow i'll see what else he's got. I'm assuming since you want to do a drop and ls swap all you really need is a nice clean body/chassis and no engine tranny?

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by skorpioskorpio

The caulking in the gutter is normal and there is more of it in the floors, the rust in the gutter, if you blasted it, will likely turn into holes. The rockers, if blasted, will likely turn into dust, I've seen lots of "rust free" cabs and none of them actually were, even here in rust free SouthernCalifornia. Rust in the rockers, floor ends, cab corners and kick panels, to one degree or another, is almost universal and I haven't seen one of these trucks yet with original sheet metal and paint that wouldn't blow through after a sand blast at least somewhere in those areas. Most of the rust in these trucks is from the inside out, so if you see it from the outside as a bubble in the paint it's almost always all the way through.

Whenever I see a truck like that (roof seam sealer all gone/tore up), you need to check under the window seal on the inside of the truck (you literally have to pull it down). If there aren't any holes it *may* still be OK. There's an overlapping sheet of metal above the drip rail (that the sealer seals) and if the sealer is gone the rain water goes directly into the cab, around the windshield, and down through the kick panels. Judging by how rusty the upper front corner looks by the door, it probably needs some work.

I think I would wait until your next FL trip and have a few different trucks to go look at. I wouldn't buy a truck based on pictures, (or anyone else's opinion), especially where you're at. I read over on a Mustang forum that a UK member had to pay almost $1,000 shipping for $1,500 in sheet metal parts.

[wreckedchevy]

he's ready to cut loose of a few more from the hoard the first two I posted he decided to chop up and make one truck out of the two(made me cry a little) he's planning on selling the frankentruck for 10k when it's done. the gmc is fully operational I believe the stepside is minus motor and trans it was abandoned at a body shop and sold at auction.




more pic's are here
http://s1054.photobucket.com/user/wr...library/dallas

[Andy4639]

I would suggest getting your friend in Fla to get a car trader and send it to you and let you see what is out there. Check here in the fla section as well.