I have a buddy looking to rebody his shop truck. Looking for a nice complete Chevy long bed 73 - 80 body style truck to put on his 4 x 4 frame. Mechanicals not important. Would like nice paint, complete wiring and interior. Absolutely no rust. Basically a complete truck that wouldn't need alot of additional work, like windows, wiring, body work etc,. I have been looking around and haven't found anything that fits the bill yet. Closer to Chicago is better, but not afraid to ship something.
Would consider a little newer truck, one up through `87? It might be easier to find than the early one. Back when we still lived in Wisconsin I had a `73 Chevy plow truck that was rusted real bad but was mechanically sound. I found an `84 2wd Silverado down here with no rust and decent original paint. Even had a nice original interior. The motor had a flat cam lobe and I bought the truck for $1,100, took it back home and swapped everything over to the 4wd chassis. It actually made a pretty decent truck out of it.
I would do up to an 87 body. Just thought I could find an earlier body cheaper. I am doing the same thing you did on your truck.
I know where there is a 72 Chevy 3/4 ton truck in Texas for cheap. Rocker panels need attention, have pinholes, but the rest is solid. It was a long bed truck, but they chopped the rear frame rails after the rear axle and mounted a short flatbed to it. Truck has a great running 454 with 7,000 miles on it, 4 speed manual transmission, and is two wheel drive. Has all new tires on it as well, with the heavy duty semi style wheels. Last I knew he was asking $2,200 for it. I know the truck runs, drives, and stops flawlessly, and wouldnt have a problem making a long trip. If your interested I can forward his contact information.
