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Posted by David Sherman [72.47.9.228] on Monday, December 20, 2010 at 17:03:52 :
In Reply to: Re: what to do? posted by Dave in Ohio [98.28.98.41] on Monday, December 20, 2010 at 16:41:40 :
The truck will tell you something. If it's mostly stock, with the original drive train, maybe still 6 volts, honeycomb radiator, decent bed, runs and drives like it is, no stupid electrical hacks, original gauges even if not working, then maybe it wants to be either a maintained but unrestored original that you can still enjoy going 4-wheeling in, or a real showpiece restored to factory-fresh condition.
On the other hand, if you told me somebody already put the ubiquitous small block Chevy in it, or pimped it out with a bunch of chrome and lights, or if any part of the drive train or chassis was going to need a lot of work, then maybe it just wants to be a body donor. I think the worst is when the body is all hacked up or rusted out and it's hard to envision anything there that's very inspiring to do anything with.
I think of unrestored old trucks like old men. They show the scars of having worked hard, and even if they're no longer fit for hard work, they have stories to tell of how it was back in their day, hauling oil rigs through the swamps, building power lines across the mountains, and transporting prospectors into the wilderness. A trailer queen just can't tell a convincing story like a well-maintained but original old-timer can.
Plus, you know the first thing people say, after "cool old truck" is "What's it got in it?" I might be perverse but I actually like to say "a flat-head six". Then half the time they say, "Why don't you put a 350 in it?", and I can say, "It goes fast enough like it is."
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