To restore an 80's square body Chevy 4x4 without the proper tools or any experience whatsoever?

I am joking, kind of.... I am actually considering buying a mid 80's truck, taking it down to the frame, sending everything out to be repaired, primed, painted and primped then reassembling everything myself. Deadline to complete would be 2 years. I would aquire tools and knowledge along the way. The goal would be to end up with a mechanically and cosmetically sound 30 year old truck as close to new old stock as feasible.

My thought is to find a body/frame as close to mint as possible, no rust or majors dents, and replace or have rebuilt all of the mechanicals. Let's say the donor chassis cost me under $5k, could I get this done under $20k total?

After looking into this several years ago with the thought of saving some money vs. just buying one already restored, I came to the conclusion that it would be much more time consuming, aggravating, and expensive to do it myself.

Restoring cars is a labor of love. It won't save you any money and will end up costing you more.

Pretty much what he said.

Absolutely look for the truck you want to end up with and buy it. Minimum use it as a price point on your project. $2000 pickup, $9000 paint shop, $3000 trans, $3000 engine, brakes, bushings, springs, electrical, A/C, upholstery, man the list is unending.

This is not to say you can't do what you want, but there is a lot more work and money involved than you think. The easy stuff is, well easy. The rest is expensive to part out to pros, assuming you can find someone.

This is what I would like to end up with....


https://www.streetsideclassics...7-chevrolet-k-10-4x4

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
This is what I would like to end up with....


https://www.streetsideclassics...7-chevrolet-k-10-4x4

You’d be better off buying the one listed if that’s what you want since it’s only $4k more than what you’ve theoretically budgeted. Offer them the 20k

"I might jump from a tall building, i might roll a brand new car, for i'm the unknown stuntman..."

quote:

Originally posted by pbramlett:
"I might jump from a tall building, i might roll a brand new car, for i'm the unknown stuntman..."

I don't get it....

I'm curious as to the attraction of that model. We had an 83 Chevy 4x4 growing up. It was a genuinely terrible vehicle. I'd say you are putting yourself squarely in the middle of the low point of US car manufacturing.

Just to be clear, I am not looking to buy one today. I do appreciate the links though. When it time, I want to end up with a short bed 1/2 ton 4x4.

Having done something similar with both a car and an airplane (with the tools and some of the skills and friends to help learn the rest), I am convinced that it is far wiser to buy someone else’s restoration unless you want to learn how or have some other reason to do it. My experience is that you will end up with pretty much the same amount of money in it either way, and the months that you spent working on it you could have spent driving (or flying) the already restored one that you should have bought. Felt like a dummy learning the lesson again on an airplane after having learned it on the car. It was nice to know a lot more about how everything worked, but...

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:

quote:

Originally posted by pbramlett:
"I might jump from a tall building, i might roll a brand new car, for i'm the unknown stuntman..."

I don't get it....

The truck in Fall Guy tv series

Sounds like a good reason to buy a bunch of tools. The Mrs. only fell for that a couple of times.

Agree with what has been posted on the time, and expense. If you really want to do it, go ahead, but only if this is something you would really enjoy doing. We did a few projects for a former friend, similar, basically getting his vehicles back up and running and in good shape again, nd it’s very time consuming for one. Don’t forget, all the little bits that also go into the reassembly, any plastic pieces that might have become brittle over the time, and need replaced, seals, hoses, etc. sending parts out to be refinished will be expensive too. And you might have to wait on their time frame for completion, which could drive you over the 2 years you were thinking about. If you want this as a hobby, it could be a fun project, as long as you have a good, heated place to work and time to do this.
Good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:
I'm curious as to the attraction of that model. We had an 83 Chevy 4x4 growing up. It was a genuinely terrible vehicle. I'd say you are putting yourself squarely in the middle of the low point of US car manufacturing.

Nostalgia I guess, when and where I grew up, this was the vehicle to have when I was just turning driving age. The classic line, simple mechanical and functional design. But you bring up a good point about reliability. This is part of the "build it myself" thought process. I don't think I want a "survivor" or something someone else slapped together. I would either want to supervise the process or have an extensive documentation of the process. Just starting to explore really.

What I am finding is that everything I find that fits the bill is around $30k and there is always something that isn't "right" about it that would cost more to get it the way I would want.....

quote:

Originally posted by cheni:
https://www.streetsideclassics...t-silverado-k-10-4x4

Thanks, I have seen that one. Not interested in long wheel base or red interior.

Those trucks are as simple as it gets to work on, once you strip all the emissions junk. The problem usually is they are almost always eat up with rust. I think the steel or treatment on those was quite poor. The good news is most everything has an aftermarket replacement if you don't mind paying for it and can utilize some form of light metal welding.

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:

quote:

Originally posted by pbramlett:
"I might jump from a tall building, i might roll a brand new car, for i'm the unknown stuntman..."

I don't get it....

The truck in Fall Guy tv series

Ahh, I remember the show but never watched it so I missed the reference.