Hello Everybody need some buying advice.

[Jrparadis]

So i guess I'll introduce myself first. My name is Justin, I am 31 and live in western Canada and work in the oil and gas industry.

So I have been looking for a cool muscle truck to work on with my daughter. I have found a listing an hour away from my house for 1978 C10 Stepside with the following upgrades: Cowl hood, 3" magnaflow exhaust, new wood bed, a 454 with unknown origins which runs pretty good. The 454 has new headers and an Edelbrock dual Carb intake with twin 700CFM carbs. Now on first inspection the body looks really good, the interior is clean, but it has a transmission leak that is hard to pinpoint on a quick inspections, and the diff appears to be seeping a bit as well. It also comes with a few spare trim pieces like a front grill.

So the big decision is the guy wants $12,000 (Canadian) and I want to ask people who have more experience with square bodies what they think and if its a good deal or if I should keep looking. Any help you guys can give would be appreciated.

Thanks

Justin

 

[1973c10]

Welcome

 

[Babs]

 

[HotRodPC]

Maybe some of the Canadians will jump in. Prices even very here in USA depending on the region. I sure don't know what they'd be in Canada, and don't even know the Canadian dollar vs US dollar so I don't have a clue.

 

[QBuff02]

that's like $8,000 USD, it better be in really nice shape for that kind of money. I do know that things up north of the border are harder to come by and hence the price goes up but in the Midwest that truck would be a few grand tops. any pics of said truck?

 

[FireTruck1984]

Welcome, $12,000 is around $8,900 US.. sounds reasonable but you need to do a very thorough inspection, heavily modified trucks can be problematic, “upgrades” aren’t always upgrades... When was it modified? Was it done correctly? Who did the work? etc. IMO you should look at many trucks, maybe a clean rust free original one is a better starting point for your project.

 

[Derick C.]

Buy it

 

[Jrparadis]

Hey Guys thanks for the advice. The owners son wasn’t very helpful the first time I went to see it and it was buried in behind some trailers so I couldn’t drive it. I’m going back tonight to actually drive it and speak to the owner. I suppose one thing to bring up is that in all of Canada there is maybe 20 C10’s for sale and most of them are slowly returning to the earth via rust so the prices are higher for any classic vehicle here. I’m thinking of offering 9500 and maybe meet at 10500 or 11000. This truck is rust free and after the test drive I’ll be able to judge it better but the body is rust free and isn’t loaded full of bondo. I have included some incredibly poorly taken photos but it is copper and does have glass that has since been installed. It looks better in person. Let me know if you guys seen anything odd.

Justin

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[nabeshin]

Seems like they did body work for it to look that nice. No pictures from the owner of the work being done? Who did he buy it from, do they have work receipts or the body shop's name you can call?

Go around the rockers and behind the wheels on the fenders and knock it lightly, bondo should sound different than metal.

Or look on the backside of those panels, the patch panels aren't double skinned like OEM.

 

[82sbshortbed]

Body work has definitely been done. Shaved door handles and no mirrors. Why would you remove all the mirrors? No windshield or side Windows? No windshield wipers? Did he remove all that to have it painted?

Also I don't think they had red reflectors on front of bed fenders like that.

A lot of questions for him and d knt be afraid to ask him a **** load of them. Good luck.

 

[Vbb199]

Welcome to GMSB from NC!!!



The usual question.... And the usual answer of course.. Is it worth that to you?

If it's not a bondo buggy, just a decently done up truck with a 454... That's fair.


BRING A MAGNET!

If that baby don't stick on the rockers, cab corners, floor, and fender corners.... Its a bondo buggy.


(bondo isn't magnetic)

If he's offended by you bringing a magnet, tell em to f off!

If it's just a really nice car... Tap on it, it does sound different ...

In the correct Ray of light on a "crisp" paint job, you can see bondo spots...


If rockers, cab corners, fender corners, and floors all look and SOUND nice.... I say it's well worth that money... Someone said 8k here?

A few leaks isn't something to scoff at.... Unless you take it for a spin and it pukes oil everywhere...


If it's just a small leak here and there , no rust hidden under bondo.... I say BUY IT!

 

[gotyourgoat]

That exterior shot seems to be a mid reassembly pic. Is it back together? Door handles, wipers, mirrors, side trim, interior? You did say it has glass now.

@82sbshortbed you got a fever? That's the hole for the gas cap.

Really like the look of a stepside on a round eye.
Don't really like cowl hoods and that rake is a little much but that's just me. The rake may be accentuated by the small tires up front though. Never had dual carbs but I have heard they can be a real frustration if they aren't synced up.

Don't see anything that wouldn't make me want to look at it some more.

 

[82sbshortbed]

got a fever? That's the hole for the gas cap.

Haha...i zoomed in and couldn't tell what it was. Thought it was a reflector or something odd. Didn't even think of gas cap. Lol

I've been home with China virus so may not be seeing too good or thinking 100%. Lol

 

[SquareRoot]

Don't worry about the oil leaks. All squarebodies leak, new, old or otherwise. The ones that leak the most are usually the best ones cause they have the least amount of rust.

 

[Jrparadis]

Hey Guys figured I’d give you an update. It has no Bondo that we can find the body panels were all replaced and the truck is put back together, used a magnet and everything is metal. The frame has been sandblasted and painted. As for the funny marker lights he had those red ones on just in case they got paint on them and he gave me the originals Along with other trim pieces as he owns a salvage yard. I ended up getting it for 9000. It needs some mechanical and interior work but the body only has few rock chips and that’s it. I think my daughter and I can take at least the top end of the motor apart as it sounds like maybe a valve is occasionally sticking, but I don’t mind doing it.

Also someone mentioned the rake and it doesn’t really have one its just a ****** picture. I also was given a spare 454 to rob parts off of or swap. My daughter and I are excited to work on it together.

I will say on the road coming home I got a lot of looks rumbling down the highway.