What's this 76 K10 worth?

[inscape01]

I looked at a 76 K10 Scottsdale today. The body is fairly straight, there's some rust on the corner of 1 door and it looked like the bottom front of a wheel well had rust as well. The tailgate has a dent in it and the driver's side bed was hit, not too bad just a couple of creases and missing trim. The floor board was replaced (covered by a rubber mat so I don't know how well) the steering wheel is a horribly small aftermarket wheel (smaller than my Civic's) it's missing the handle for the e-brake release. The engine supposedly has about 3k miles on it with an RV cam rebuilt by him. It has a SM465 which was grinding into gear. The windshield fluid pump is dead. He mentioned the rear end being rebuilt, I think he said something about it having a hole, not quite sure. The locking hubs were rebuilt 7 years ago. I couldn't move the seat forward and the clutch pedal is missing the rubber pad. The exhaust was pretty rusty, the frame around the steering box was not cracked. and the tires are probably about 40% left. I belive that's all, he's asking $2,000 for it. I think the tranny needs new synchros, is that correct? I'm also not sure how much I like the way it shifts, feels vague and loose, is that normal? I know it won't shift like my Civic which I love, but i'm hoping it's not more work than it is fun or I might actually prefer an auto.

Well I hope that's easy to read, It's probably going to need quite a bit of money put into it to be nice, so what do you guys think? Is it more hassle than it's worth? I do kind of like it not having A/C, less clutter under the hood. Oh and the engine is a 2 bolt main out of a 78' I believe it had an edelbrock intake, quadrajet, HEI, RV cam, I think it had headers as well but I don't remember.

Here's an old pic of it, looks pretty much the same just without the canopy.

This doesn't make me feel too good about the gas tank: "Recently, General Motors (GM) has settled 297 cases in which passengers involved in pickup truck accident suffered severe burns and burn-related deaths. The company paid the victims and their families over $495 million in settlements. The type of pickup truck involved in the horrific accidents was the C/K model. Approximately nine million of these vehicles were manufactured between 1973 and 1987, and were equipped with side saddle gas tanks. Many years later it was found that GM had been aware of the gas tank defects since the early 1970's. This is not the first time GM has gone to court for defective gas tanks, the company has previously settled gas tank explosion cases, although the amounts of those settlements have not been disclosed." Is this a concern for off roading as well?

 

[inscape01]

Well I think I may offer him $1,500. Is that a fair price?

 

[POWERMAD]

$1500 would be reasonable, if ya have the cash wave it at him and see if he takes it.
Don't sweat the fuel tank recall hype.
Unless ya get t-boned by a Mack truck. If that happens ya won't have to worry about anything ever again.
Seriously before ya go droppin $$ on a rig that ya have concerns about have someone check it out first.
If yer set on getin a rig with a real gear box (my personal preference) then that one would be a good start.

 

[SICNICK]

I got my 83 in basically the same shape for 800 bucks...

 

[inscape]

Well he said it didn't need to be rebuilt and that I wasn't pushing the clutch all the way in and good luck to me, in other words I think he told me to F off. Well, my search will continue. I think I like Blazers more than pickups anyway.

 

[Chevy305]

WOW!! that thing is nice looking!!

Everything you mentioned can be easily fixed. He is probably right about you not pushing the clutch down all the way. You just need to move the seat up . These body style of trucks have a long clutch travel in relation to your civic. Also with the SM465 it is kinda like driving a school bus, gears are far apart, and no OD. Believe me 1 465 tranny can out last 3-4 entire drivetrains without needing anywork. It is a BULLETPROOF transmission. Also the sloppy shifter is kinda normal.

Also since it has a rusty exhaust that is a perfect excuse to put on a set of duels

If only this truck was in my area...

 

[inscape]

So it is a good deal then? I do like how simple the engine is, no vacume lines everywhere. I do feel completely dumb now about not pushing the clutch all the way in I couldn't move the seat up and my foot had to be all the way extended to get it in.

 

[beater_k20]

This doesn't make me feel too good about the gas tank: "Recently, General Motors (GM) has settled 297 cases in which passengers involved in pickup truck accident suffered severe burns and burn-related deaths. The company paid the victims and their families over $495 million in settlements. The type of pickup truck involved in the horrific accidents was the C/K model. Approximately nine million of these vehicles were manufactured between 1973 and 1987, and were equipped with side saddle gas tanks. Many years later it was found that GM had been aware of the gas tank defects since the early 1970's. This is not the first time GM has gone to court for defective gas tanks, the company has previously settled gas tank explosion cases, although the amounts of those settlements have not been disclosed." Is this a concern for off roading as well?

well... i believe the story about the exploding gas tanks was aired on either Dateline, or 60 Minutes. later, it was proven that there was an outside ignition source that was NOT part of the vehicle, or anything that would be involved in this type of collision. whatever network aired it was forced to retract their statement on how dangerous they were. i have street driven 6 of these trucks for long periods of time, and owned many more.

are they a concern for offroading? yes, moreso than a Burb or Blazer tank, which is protected on the sides by the frame, but not generally a safety hazard as some would want you to believe.