Question for any car guys

BigRedBuster

BigRedBuster

International Man of Mystery
I have a 16 year old son who wants to buy an older pickup and fix it up. He wants to get a Ford with a 1975s era body style. If he can't find that, he would like a Chevy from around 1980. I have looked on line at a lot of places and these are fairly hard to find...on line anyway.

It seems like everything I find on line is already fixed up and someone's trying to get a bunch of money for it. He's wanting for find the old truck and put the work in to make it nice.

So.....for the car guys.

How do I find something like this?

I would really like for him to have this project and learn a lot from it.

Thanks in advance.

 
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I would like to stay under $5000. Obviously depends on how big of a "project" it is. $2000-$3000 is what I have in mind.

I'm planning on buying the truck on a "loan" to him. Then, when he ultimately sells the truck, I get my money back.

Lesson in money along with car stuff.

 
Start with watching Craigslist and maybe facebook swap sights.there are deals out there but look it over good.especially the frame,I've seen a few with good bodies and a rusted or bent frame.Chevy parts are everywhere but those 80s trucks were rust prone.the 70s fords in my experience were usually the opposite good body bad frame.just be diligent when looking whatever he gets over really good if it is coming from a unknown seller.

 
This is something like what he would like to end up with.

restored-1975-ford-f250-ranger-xlt-lariat-highboy-4x4-460-motor-super-sharp-1.jpg


 
Nice looking truck! Do you live in a farm area? Watch the farm sale ads. Or you could ask around at the coffee shop where all the farmers hang out in the morning. (Well, maybe not this time of the year--unless it rains.) A lot of old farmers hang onto those pickups for years after they buy a new one. You might just find a farmer who would let his old pickup go on the cheap to a high school kid who wanted to restore it.

Also, there are several websites for car searches: LINK

 
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I sold my '66 F100 on bigiron.com and last time I checked there were usually a few older trucks each auction. Most pickups from the 50's have all been restored so people are moving onto the '60s trucks. A restored truck with a modern engine may not be a bad way to go. You will probably pay less for it then what the person put into it.

 
A 5K budget won't get you very far in my opinion. To have something nice, it will take more like 10K, unless you are just looking to make it driveable. Restoration is a lot more than that to me.

A 10K budget will give you a chance to find something worth fixing up to be pretty nice. I am a Chevy guy so won't have much to say about Fords but something from the mid to late 90s would be the better way to go. I guess everybody has their favorites too.

 
Maybe drive around some small towns and look around. You might see one parked in the grass somewhere. Inquire if it might be for sale and if so the first thing to ask is whether the guy has a clean title. Too many nightmares about buying a vehicle without a title.

 
BRB, you live in Central Nebraska don't you? Will he actually use the pickup for work/hauling or is it purely for transportation?

I only ask because I grew up in Omaha and had two cousins who were dead set on owning trucks when they turned 16. They bought mid-80s pickups and were constantly broke because of the gas prices and maintenance, and they also almost never actually needed the hauling capabilities of a truck. Diesel was pricier at the time, of course, but I figured it doesn't hurt to ask if it'll help him avoid the costs/headaches.
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Enhance,

He has a pickup now that he uses. It's a 1996 dodge and fairly decent. We use it hunting and fishing and sometimes hauling stuff. This would be a project for him to learn mechanical skills and body work. I'm making him actually do the negotiating and buying so he gets experience there too.

 
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