How To Shop For a Project Truck - Buying A Project Truck

According to the previous owner, the 383ci crate motor and 700-R4 transmission have approximately 6,000 miles on them. It does run good, sounds healthy, and has power steering and power brakes.

While the engine does run good, some general cleanup of the underhood area and detailing of the engine would be time well spent. How much time and expense you put into that effort would depend greatly on your overall purpose for buying the truck in the first place. Having the headers coated when new would have probably been money well spent toward increasing their usable life. A fan shroud would be a good item to have, both in cooling efficiency and preventing inadvertent appendage amputation.

I was somewhat surprised when the Demon 750-cfm carburetor did not have an air filter on it when I picked it up. I felt that without a filter in place, sucking in dirt or other debris would happen before long, so I quickly installed a spare that I had on hand. It is probably undersized for the carb however.

Difficult to see in the photo, which proves one of the points in the related text, is a spot about an inch in diameter that causes some concern. It appears to be a hole that was filled prior to paint. If a sheetmetal patch has been welded in place, the telltale ring would most likely not appear. Although I have not yet verified the condition, it looks like the hole was simply filled with plastic filler that has now shrunk, thus pulling away from the paint. A replacement panel (aftermarket or salvage) or welding a sheetmetal patch will be the correct remedy for this. By the way, the silly DUB emblem has already been removed.

Not a deal breaker, but this is the wrong gas filler cap for this truck. The correct filler cap has a much lower profile and hides the rubber gasket and neck slightly better.

The original steering wheel is not cracked, but is showing a fair amount of paint wear. Since the inside as well as the outside of the truck has been repainted, it seems strange that the previous owner didn't paint the steering column and wheel to match. What this photo doesn't show and I didn't ask is if the emergency brake, headlight dimmer switch, and horn operate correctly. Now I know that the answer is "no."

According to the previous owner, the door panels have been recovered, and that does appear to be correct. He didn't say anything about how well the windows go up and down or if the door latches work properly. Glad to say that there are no door rattles and the glass moves freely.

The stock seat cover has been replaced and new carpeting installed. Be sure to look under the carpet to see how solid the floor is. I have seen trucks where carpeting is about all there is between the occupant's feet and the highway.

The stock, behind-the-seat gas tank has been replaced, albeit with another inside-the-cab, behind-the-seat unit. The new unit doesn't leak, but the whir of the electric fuel pump is quite noticeable when it is in the cab with you. The roar of the exhaust drowns it out at highway speeds however.

The stock door latches are in good condition, a fact that helps to eliminate door rattles. Also, the stock VIN tag is still in place, which is a good thing. Correct VIN info and clear titles make transferring your new project into your name much easier.

With all of the rectangular and straight body lines of this model truck, the teardrop-shaped taillights simply don't make sense. They certainly are not as large or bright as what the stock units for this truck would be. While they were no doubt an easy, flush-mount installation, their aesthetic value is pretty much zilch for this particular application.

While the tailgate chains have been removed, the only latching mechanism on the tailgate was a bolt and nut on one side. Various methods of latching could be used, but it should be done on both sides of the tailgate. Signs of surface rust in some of these areas that would require a bit of extra effort are merely signs that the paint prep work was less than meticulous. Other areas of runs in the paint and less than perfect masking throughout the vehicle are things that would not show up in photos, but quickly appear when viewing the truck in person.