restore or buy

[tamiekerr]

My husband owns a 1987 1500 4x4 with a 350 small block. The truck had an electrical issue and he stopped driving her a decade ago. Now we have the money to restore her or just buy another like her. His truck has sentimental value and I think restoring is the way to go. His friends however are telling him she will be a money pit and it would be better to just buy a restored truck.
So my question to all you pro's out there, if we decide to restore where is the best site to get new parts, she needs a new seat, the foam is gone on the drivers side so recovering is not an option. She needs a tail gate, new wiring to fix the reason she was parked, and obviously a whole lot cleaning up for sitting. We will have her repainted and pull her engine, rebuild her from ground up.

I would love to hear from those of you who have travel down this road before. My husband put the 350 in her so he knows the engine. Pulling engines is not where we need advice. Where to get parts!!! thats where we need help. Would love any advice!

 

[Georgeb]

Hello and welcome. you can source a lot of parts at http://www.lmctruck.com
Other options exist such as craigslist, ebay and your local salvage yards.
If there is sentimental value go the restore route. You may want to look for a complete parts truck too.

 

[foamypirate]

You can also check out the following places:

classicparts.com
classicindustries.com
topbanana.com

 

[donmateo]

I agree, restore if there's sentimental value. Have any pics to get a better idea? Rust/bodywork will be the most expensive part if it's bad.

 

[MadOgre]

Buying an already restored truck can and usually results in buying a bondo truck Lots of fast buck guys out there

Do it your self and do it right. cut out any rust and weld in clean metal. These trucks are so simple!!! They are not money pits if you do it your self.

You can out source the frame blasting and painting and the body blasting, repair and painting. The rest is just reassembly pretty much.

The axles are simple the trannys are simple and cheap and so is the engine.

Many a good parts will be found at wrecking yards. Do not underestimate this !!! Often old OEM parts are better than new after market replacement parts.

The max you should spend on a full resto would be 25K usually 15K will suffice. If you do it all your self it can be done much much cheaper.

As an example I am buying 4 new 4" lifted leaf springs bushings U bolts and pins for $700. That is cheap cheap compared to any modern vehicle.

 

[Irishman999]

Be carefull with LMC, they have burned me a few times. They just sent my Dad a fender for his 76 and it was severely damaged when it showed up. Both the fenders are kinda screwy as far as lining them up. I put their wing window rubbers in my 85 and they immediately started dry rotting and falling apart. I would have been better off leaving the original 30 year old rubbers in there.

Here is something else.... The reproduction grills LMC sells cost around 400 bucks after shipping. I found a grill on Rockauto.com that looks perfect and fit perfect for under 50 bucks. I had to use LMC light bezels but thats just how it goes, just shop everywhere you can including Ebay.

GO to painlesswiring.com for the electrical issue, I got a kit off ebay because it was cheap but its going to end up in a Jeep instead. Its more of a universal complete re design of what came in the truck. You could make it work in a square though.

 

[1981suburban]

I agree. Restore if there is sentimental value, unless the truck is a rust bucket. Many of the reproduction parts are of poor quality, so go with used parts if you can.

 

[Mr Clean]

from N.E.

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