Here’s a very basic two-part question to get you started: Do you like short beds or long beds, and of those, do you prefer a Stepside or Fleetside?
Over 14 years, General Motors produced more than 4.2 million of these trucks (4,206,467 to be exact). Out of those, more than 1 million were 1/2-ton trucks. Thousands of these trucks are out there for you to find. And in contrast to previous generations when short-bed trucks were rare, this body style has so many options that it’s relatively easy to find the more desirable models.
If you need to narrow it down further, the next question relates to trim level. The luxury models are difficult to find, although many sellers claim that they’re selling a Silverado, because they assume (incorrectly) that it’s a general term used with the truck.
If you’re looking for power options, nicer materials, and a generally higher-end vehicle, yes, search for those lines. But if not, or if you’re okay with essentially creating a clone by upgrading a lesser trim with the higher end stuff, go for it. If the current owner has all the documentation, it’s a strong indication that the truck has been well taken care of.
The engine and transmission are major components to consider when purchasing a truck. If your plan is to buy a new crate engine and move forward, feel free to skip this portion. However, some restoration enthusiasts want numbers-matching trucks. They prefer the original engine and transmission package in the original truck, and they restore or rebuild whatever drivetrain is present. If that’s the case, you’re going to have a harder time finding your preferred vehicle, particularly if you want a big-block 454 or similar in a standard cab.
Why? Trucks are driven a lot. And some of these trucks became work vehicles that saw more than 100,000 miles in their first year. This means that a sizable number no longer have their original engines, which were long ago replaced. Take a good look at how important that is to your build; you might be causing yourself more headache and heartache in the process.
If you’re a novice, and you’re not sure how to do a lot of the work yourself, you should look for a truck in better condition. You may spend less trying to elevate the truck to a restorable condition, but you will spend more money on the initial purchase. Conversely, if you can buy a truck for less money that’s in poor condition, you may spend more time and money on it in the long run.
You’re going to find that a lot of trucks come cheap with the caveat that they’re missing the most important part: ownership documents. With older vehicles, there’s always the chance that one owner lost the paperwork and sold the truck to someone else with just a bill of sale. Although that’s legal in some areas, if another person finds the original title or pink slip, he or she has every right to put the paperwork into his or her name and claim the truck as stolen. And that’s another reason that the paperwork is missing: The truck was stolen.
This 1981 Chevrolet Cheyenne was my first step into the world of Squarebodies. It wasn’t a good purchase because, even though it didn’t appear to be modified, it had quite a bit of work done to it. The engine wasn’t stock, I never learned what the keyhole in the fender activated, and the tailgate, well . . .
Another scenario you may run into is salvage titles. A salvage title follows the vehicle for the rest of its existence. Because it’s a salvage title, the resale value is dramatically lower than a truck without one. That saves you money, sure, but it also costs you on the back end once the truck is repaired. Buyers always wonder exactly how far gone the damage was, and what you had to do to fix it. That’s enough for many to just walk away, and you should probably do the same before starting such a project (although you could use it as a parts truck, which I discuss in chapter 2).
Every state has different rules on how the ownership paperwork is handled. Whatever your situation is, make sure you have all of it and that there is no lien or other issue hanging over your head. That paperwork needs to be free and clear, 100 percent, or you risk losing the truck entirely. And if you’ve already finished the build when one of these issues surfaces, you’re in for a world of hurt.
Customized Versus Stock Trucks
Many trucks have been customized to some degree, and they’re often for sale. It can be difficult and expensive to bring the truck back to stock condition. You could buy that truck and be happy with it, and that’s fine. But will it be perfect for your next restoration project? Probably not. This book focuses squarely on performing a stock or near-stock restoration.
You’re better off in the long run avoiding customized trucks. If the truck has been customized, stock body parts and panels often don’t fit correctly. You never truly know what’s causing the problem. In addition, you never know how far the customization extends into the project until you buy it.
Let’s say you find a truck that’s lowered, and all the work looks good, so you get it for a steal. Once you strip it down, you notice that the rear frame has a C-shaped hole in the frame above the rear axle to allow the axle to travel farther, thus improving the ride on a lowered truck because the axle isn’t hitting the frame. Fixing that C-notch is not easy and, depending on the quality of work, may require you to buy either a new back half or an entire new frame.
The tailgate wasn’t even a real tailgate. Instead, it was a custom piece. In the end, even though I saved money on the purchase price of the vehicle, I spent a ton more on buying replacement parts.
Buying someone else’s abandoned project often isn’t worth it because there are too many missing parts that are expensive to replace. This is my old two-wheel-drive Blazer, which is missing a frame and multiple parts, and it didn’t even roll. Because there was so much to find and assemble, plus I didn’t do any of the disassembly, I ended up abandoning the project and giving it to a friend who needed a donor truck for parts. Usually, if someone abandoned his or her project, there’s a good reason.
Or, let’s say the truck has a custom paint job. Once you have the truck down to bare metal to refinish it, you find that most of the bodywork is backed by duct tape and fiberglass. Always assume that there’s more customization done to the truck than is readily apparent.
One other thing to note is that unless you’ve built one before, don’t buy someone else’s abandoned project that’s now in parts. This is a guaranteed way that you never discover where something is supposed to go, how it’s supposed to fit, and so on.
Rust is one of the single most important factors when assessing a restoration. Extensive rust substantially increases the cost of any restoration. For 40-some states and all of Canada, rust is a real issue for older vehicles, and something to watch out for, particularly in the 1973 and 1974 models. Some of those years had major rust issues in the bed.
Common places to find rust include the cab corners, rockers, fenders, and wheel arches. These are the spots that are prone to leaks when window rubber fails or that take the brunt of the impact when driving on a salty road in the winter.
In general, rust starts where water settles inside the body. This means that the common areas previously mentioned are good places to start, so walk around the truck and get up close with the metal. If there are obvious signs of rot, holes in the body, and so forth, you know there’s a potential repair in your future and