Back in the game, bay bay! (Kinda long)

[leftybass209]

Long story as short as I can make it; back in 2015 my 69 short fleet had a cab swap and CHP titled it a 2015 special construction vehicle. It was a massive blow and made me rethink owning classics in California.

Fast forward to early this January, wife and I got Covid. Out for 3 weeks. Went to the store in our 2012 Buick, and the engine blew. No warning, no low oil light, timing chain just gave up the ghost. We owed over 3k on it still, quoted no less than 6k to fix.

This is also the worst time to buy a car. All of them more mileage and older than what we had. So, I started thinking... what if I could get another c10 and parts swap? Even classics are going through the roof... but then a diamond in the rough popped up....

72 c10 long bed. Running, registered, licensed, tagged. Extremely happy with it considering the circumstances. Newish bench, tach and truck tilt, AC, 350/350... but the best part is... I have everything new on my SWB to swap. It was brand new parts front to back just collecting dust until now!

[tutone]

Good deal. You are lucky to have the parts. I feel your pain on title issues. Ky is just about as bad. I took 2 trucks and made one years ago. I thought I would do the right thing and salvage one and get a rebuilt title on the other. A full 6 month ordeal. Soooo... I have since decided, I don't care how much rust or damage they have, I'm gonna fix it and leave the DMV out of it. Good luck with your project.

[leftybass209]

Originally Posted by tutone

Good deal. You are lucky to have the parts. I feel your pain on title issues. Ky is just about as bad. I took 2 trucks and made one years ago. I thought I would do the right thing and salvage one and get a rebuilt title on the other. A full 6 month ordeal. Soooo... I have since decided, I don't care how much rust or damage they have, I'm gonna fix it and leave the DMV out of it. Good luck with your project.

Yeah, i bought the SWB in El Paso when i was in the Army. When i got back to California, i followed the DMV rules and regulations to the letter. When i called the CHP officer and explained in great detail how the rule said, paraphrasing, "A VW beetle with a rolls front end, or baja style, is still registered a VW." The officer said, " Look, i don't care what the regulation says, I'm titling this a special construction vehicle". I had even called other VIN officers and they all said, "we would have just made it a 69, but i don't want to re-write his paperwork".

Lesson learned. I wouldn't have thought KY would be as bad as CA though. I basically took the same approach, rust or not i need one to finish the other, and pull double duty as a daily driver through the summer. I got lucky with not much rust... but made up for it with cut coils that make it miserable to drive! Balancing a DD isn't nearly as fun as working on one in the garage though, but this is a literal case where beggars can't be choosers!