Experienced masters, please provide restoration guidance

Grit dog · Mar 14, 2026

Ricko1966 said:
I very seriously doubt you are going to restore it. Guys restoring vehicles will spend $2000.00 for an original radio thats the correct year. They won't be changing their engine they'll rebuild it to factory specs.They'll install the original GM rubber end seals on their intake so they don't lose points. You will spend more money than you can believe to actually restore a vehicle. You are better off just to fix what you can the ways you can,on the budget you have and enjoy your truck. Just reread more of your post Restore means return to original condition,building a race truck,a slammed truck etc. Is not a restoration.

Agreed 100%.
But based on the OPs post, he was pretty clear he is using the term “restore” to mean fix up, bring back to life, not the purist definition of a restoration.

Ricko1966 · Mar 14, 2026

IMHO When people loosely use the term restored,restoring restoration. To describe installing the wrong carburetor,a cheap paint job,a 200 stereo,and a hog ring seat cover. It cheapens the term restoration for the guys that actually take the time and spend the money to restore them. And it perpetuates the incorrect use of the term until it no longer has any meaning.Then truly restored cars aren't understood, appreciated and are undervalued,because restored no longer means anything.I'm rebuilding my engine, I have a can of degreaser and a can of paint. That cheapens the term rebuild.
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CountKrunk · Mar 14, 2026

My truck is certainly 44k and not 144k! Hahaha

1STLS1 · Mar 15, 2026

Having just put one back on the road after over 10 years in a field, I will add my .02

I was fortunate being able to do most of the work myself as it would not have been cost effective otherwise. I think your $10k budget will be quickly blown out of the water from all the stuff you didn’t think about. If you have another mechanic do the work, items like belts, hoses, battery, cables, fluids, engine mounts, tune up parts, etc. will be replaced. Considering the age of the vehicle and how long it sat, these are prudent purchases. I bought a new alternator, starter, a/c compressor, radiator, fan clutch , heater core, a/c evaporator. A/c hoses and a/c condenser just because when I closed the hood, it was done. A quality reman engine isn’t cheap and almost rare today due to the quality of parts. I found a used GM Goodwrench engine with really low miles. Good, reasonable mileage, small block Chevys are rare but out there. I highly doubt you would ever drive the truck enough to recoup the expense of the quality reman. Current independent garage rates here in West Phoenix go from around $175-210 an hour. Having been a manager of an auto repair facility, I would quote it as time and materials with a guess of around 20-24 hours labor to R&R an engine with no accessories. By the time they had the mark up on parts, 3/4th of your budget is gone

You mention “fuel tanks”, back in the day when people daily drove these 8-12 mpg trucks, the dual tanks were necessary. With it being a third, limited use vehicle, I would only put one back in it just to keep it simple and the expense down

I am not a big fan of headers on a daily. Everyone will chime in how they have never had an issue but I don’t want to deal with the blown gaskets, I would leave the manifolds on it and have a new exhaust bent up for it at a muffler shop. The Summit one you quoted is great for a DIY person with a welder and some experience doing it but having a muffler place bend pipes to go around the transfer case and it doesn’t rattle or fall off when your done keeps your life simple.

Due to the age of the vehicle, I would redo the entire brake system just because of safety and reliability, it’s not that expensive. Reman calipers, rotors, pads, repack wheel bearings, shoes, wheel cylinders, drums, master cylinder, flexible brake hoses etc. Go through the front and rear suspension, replace worn parts, shocks and spring bushings as needed. Change the u joints or grease them if they have been replaced once, change the oil in the differentials. Make sure the transmission isn’t leaking and verify it works, address that as required.

I recently sat down and itemized all the receipts from the purchase and building of my truck, to say I was shocked was an understatement. I enjoy it and tell people it keeps me out of the bars and pool halls at night but the truth is it's an expensive hobby and not cost effective to have somebody else do repairs on it. It's difficult to bring them back after sitting that long.

xm20k · Mar 15, 2026

1STLS1 said:
Having just put one back on the road after over 10 years in a field, I will add my .02

I was fortunate being able to do most of the work myself as it would not have been cost effective otherwise. I think your $10k budget will be quickly blown out of the water from all the stuff you didn’t think about. If you have another mechanic do the work, items like belts, hoses, battery, cables, fluids, engine mounts, tune up parts, etc. will be replaced. Considering the age of the vehicle and how long it sat, these are prudent purchases. I bought a new alternator, starter, a/c compressor, radiator, fan clutch , heater core, a/c evaporator. A/c hoses and a/c condenser just because when I closed the hood, it was done. A quality reman engine isn’t cheap and almost rare today due to the quality of parts. I found a used GM Goodwrench engine with really low miles. Good, reasonable mileage, small block Chevys are rare but out there. I highly doubt you would ever drive the truck enough to recoup the expense of the quality reman. Current independent garage rates here in West Phoenix go from around $175-210 an hour. Having been a manager of an auto repair facility, I would quote it as time and materials with a guess of around 20-24 hours labor to R&R an engine with no accessories. By the time they had the mark up on parts, 3/4th of your budget is gone

You mention “fuel tanks”, back in the day when people daily drove these 8-12 mpg trucks, the dual tanks were necessary. With it being a third, limited use vehicle, I would only put one back in it just to keep it simple and the expense down

I am not a big fan of headers on a daily. Everyone will chime in how they have never had an issue but I don’t want to deal with the blown gaskets, I would leave the manifolds on it and have a new exhaust bent up for it at a muffler shop. The Summit one you quoted is great for a DIY person with a welder and some experience doing it but having a muffler place bend pipes to go around the transfer case and it doesn’t rattle or fall off when your done keeps your life simple.

Due to the age of the vehicle, I would redo the entire brake system just because of safety and reliability, it’s not that expensive. Reman calipers, rotors, pads, repack wheel bearings, shoes, wheel cylinders, drums, master cylinder, flexible brake hoses etc. Go through the front and rear suspension, replace worn parts, shocks and spring bushings as needed. Change the u joints or grease them if they have been replaced once, change the oil in the differentials. Make sure the transmission isn’t leaking and verify it works, address that as required.

I recently sat down and itemized all the receipts from the purchase and building of my truck, to say I was shocked was an understatement. I enjoy it and tell people it keeps me out of the bars and pool halls at night but the truth is it's an expensive hobby and not cost effective to have somebody else do repairs on it. It's difficult to bring them back after sitting that long.

Nothing like starting into the receipts and hitting 12-1500 just in ARP hardware.

I put it all back in the box and opened a cold one and said maybe 1 day in the far future.

Grit dog · Mar 15, 2026

Ricko1966 said:
IMHO When people loosely use the term restored,restoring restoration. To describe installing the wrong carburetor,a cheap paint job,a 200 stereo,and a hog ring seat cover. It cheapens the term restoration for the guys that actually take the time and spend the money to restore them. And it perpetuates the incorrect use of the term until it no longer has any meaning.Then truly restored cars aren't understood, appreciated and are undervalued,because restored no longer means anything.I'm rebuilding my engine, I have a can of degreaser and a can of paint. That cheapens the term rebuild.
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No, I get it. And that car add interpretation has more truth ti it than most think!
Guess I don’t see someones loose use of the word “restore” de-valuing anyone’s nut a bolt resto. At least it hasn’t yet.
But doesn’t matter. The OP ain’t come back. He’s made 2 long and obscure posts like 2 weeks ago.
Guessing the old farm truck that he had sugarplum dreams about making a daily driver on the cheap without doing the work have again fizzled due to reality getting in the way.

bucket · Mar 15, 2026

There's always a gray area between "restoration" and "restomod". Like, if someone was to modify a vehicle in such a way that it looks factory fresh, but it was never actually offered from the factory that way... it looks like a nut and bolt resto, but does not look like a restomod.

But these days with the widely known, very high end restomod builds, I think a lot of people associate only the high end stuff as being a restomod. The "lesser" stuff tends to be categorized as a restoration to a lot of folks.

Ricko1966 · Mar 15, 2026

My view point is the term has been misused by so many,for so long that most people don't even know what restoring a car is. There are guys out there,I know of one right now,searching for a NOS or Rebuilt brake master cylinder with the correct casting number and date code. I Know someone looking for stamped steel wheels with the correct date code . The money and effort and time,even just finding parts is unbelievable. And I think its devalued that when anyone that paints their car and puts a set of wheels on calls it restored. I thought that O.P. genuinely thought what he was doing or contemplating was a restoration. And I think a lot of people think they are restoring their vehicles because the term has been so overused and misused. I think there are a ton of really nice vehicles on here and everywhere that truly are beautiful cars in their own nitsche,but I won't call them restored if they're not. I don't tell anyone I'm restoring my Chevelle because for one it's not a good candidate,the original interior,engine,transmission windshield and rearend have been replaced by some else when they "restored "it. And I don't have the patience or money to do it right. So it will be a clean 66 Chevelle,big block,4 speed that is put back together with all wrong parts,it will be cool,it will be fun,But I won't call it restored and I won't tell people I'm restoring it,I haven't earned it. I guess it's kinda like being a veteran or a cop or? If you really aren't one,you shouldn't claim it. Sorry so wordy,and sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings,but the guys restoring a car will search for an original radio with the right dates code and pay big bucks for it,it's not fair to them when you buy a stereo at Walmart for the car you are "restoring ".

Grit dog · Mar 16, 2026

^Again, agreed. And I may be guilty of using the word “restored” out of its purest context as well.
That said, there’s a reason other descriptors exist. Like concours or nut and bolt when describing vehicle restoration.
Not having some room for interpretation would be just as bad as referring to an otherwise generally original “restored” vehicle with u joints from Auto zone and a new water pump from Rock Auto as a restomod.

gilby959798 · Mar 16, 2026

Ok, I am basically fully redoing my 77 K25, I am upgrading things along the way including a new transmission, I am currently at almost $18K and I am doing 99% of this by myself. Still gotta finish metal work and then move to body & paint, plus engine, interior, driveshafts, then all the other odds and ends that it needs along the way. Check out my build thread to see the depth of how I am doing my truck but I fully intend this to be somewhere around $40k when I am said and done... If I paid someone to do this, it would likely be close to $100k to do this truck. I have been trying to keep my costs tracked on a spreadsheet so I might be off a few hundred of where I am so far, but you can see how much it costs to do one.

Ricko1966 · Mar 16, 2026

Grit dog said:
^Again, agreed. And I may be guilty of using the word “restored” out of its purest context as well.
That said, there’s a reason other descriptors exist. Like concours or nut and bolt when describing vehicle restoration.
Not having some room for interpretation would be just as bad as referring to an otherwise generally original “restored” vehicle with u joints from Auto zone and a new water pump from Rock Auto as a restomod.

I don't have a problem with someone doing a car correct within reason and calling it restored. Yes I know the difference,but finding a correct date code master cylinder or correct date code wheels is not practical for 90% of people. The ones that get me are the ones that 75% of the car is wrong and they say they are restoring it. Most of them aren't even period correct. I'm restoring my" insert car name here" I'm putting in a junkyard 5.3 and a4l80e,I've got some bucket seats from a lexus,going with 20" American racing wheels,I'm going to lower it 4 inches tint the windows and put a single din stereo in."THATS NOT A RESTORATION" Take my Chevelle a 454 is too new, but it's close to right, I suppose a wrong date code m21 is kinda acceptable,wrong year seats but most wouldn't notice, 1972 Cutlass 8.5 rearend 90% wouldn't notice,Chevy rallys,and a Sony am/fm 2 Knob. It's not terribly wrong,and very period correct but I wouldn't call it restored,or tell anyone I'm restoring it. The only thing really right on the car is the paint color,and ride height.

xm20k · Mar 16, 2026

Ricko1966 said:
I don't have a problem with someone doing a car correct within reason and calling it restored. Yes I know the difference,but finding a correct date code master cylinder or correct date code wheels is not practical for 90% of people. The ones that get me are the ones that 75% of the car is wrong and they say they are restoring it. Most of them aren't even period correct. I'm restoring my" insert car name here" I'm putting in a junkyard 5.3 and a4l80e,I've got some bucket seats from a lexus,going with 20" American racing wheels,I'm going to lower it 4 inches tint the windows and put single din stereo in. Even my Chevelle a 454 is too new but it's close to right, I suppose a wrong date code m21 is kinda acceptable,wrong year seats but most wouldn't notice, 1972 Cutlass 8.5 rearend 90% wouldn't notice,Chevy rallys,and a Sony am/fm 2 Knob. It's not terribly wrong,and very period correct but I still wouldn't call it restored,or tell anyone I'm restoring it. The only thing really right on the car is the paint color,and ride height.

Basically, if I said my Lowered, 388, Powerglide, and 9" rear with TMI interior is a restoration. But I fixed some rust and painted a couple things.

I want that 80s/90s pro street look minus the flamboyant paint.

Grit dog · Mar 16, 2026

Ricko1966 said:
I don't have a problem with someone doing a car correct within reason and calling it restored. Yes I know the difference,but finding a correct date code master cylinder or correct date code wheels is not practical for 90% of people. The ones that get me are the ones that 75% of the car is wrong and they say they are restoring it. Most of them aren't even period correct. I'm restoring my" insert car name here" I'm putting in a junkyard 5.3 and a4l80e,I've got some bucket seats from a lexus,going with 20" American racing wheels,I'm going to lower it 4 inches tint the windows and put single din stereo in. Take my Chevelle a 454 is too new, but it's close to right, I suppose a wrong date code m21 is kinda acceptable,wrong year seats but most wouldn't notice, 1972 Cutlass 8.5 rearend 90% wouldn't notice,Chevy rallys,and a Sony am/fm 2 Knob. It's not terribly wrong,and very period correct but I still wouldn't call it restored,or tell anyone I'm restoring it. The only thing really right on the car is the paint color,and ride height.

I wanna see the car!! That’s one of my dream cars.

Ricko1966 · Mar 16, 2026

Grit dog said:
I wanna see the car!! That’s one of my dream cars.

Only pic I have of it in my phone. Hope to get it in primer..Late spring,drive it in primer over the Summer,then paint in the fall, fingers crossed. The primered ones not mine but when I saw it I thought I can live with that short term
Edit. The reason I only have one pic,is I bought a big SD card IDK where I got it,probably Ebay,maybe Amazon. Anyway put it in my phone and transfered all my pics. It was several thousand pics,hours of transfer time.Went to bed woke up checked the card it had no or almost no pics. I then installed a recovery program and was able to get some pics back that were some where still in the phone. I guess it's common junk SD cards and you lose your data. Beware.

bucket · Mar 16, 2026

Ricko1966 said:
Only pic I have of it in my phone. Hope to get it in primer..Late spring,drive it in primer over the Summer,then paint in the fall, fingers crossed. The primered ones not mine but when I saw I thought I can live with that short term

There you go teasing me again...

Experienced masters, please provide restoration guidance

Grit dog

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Ricko1966

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CountKrunk

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1STLS1

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xm20k

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