I know this is a long post, but I felt the need to explain a few things...
As if I didn't have enough projects already, I found a '55 TF half-ton for
sale. I only know it had the original 6-cylinder in it and the owner drove it
home about 6 years ago. He parked it, removed the 6-cylinder, and sold it to
help finance the rebuild of a 283 taken from a wrecked early Corvette - I
don't
know what year. The original trans is still installed in the truck, with the
front of the trans covered up with a tarp and some blankets. He did things the
right way, meaning he diagramed everything he removed, wrote everything he did
in a journal, and took lots of pictures. The only part he got rid of was the
engine - everything else is still there.
As fate would have it, he passed away before he began tearing down the 283
for the rebuild. His wife is now interested in selling the truck. I've known
this woman on a business-only basis (she owns a bar my company services) for
about 3 1/2 years, and I only learned about the truck last week.
The 283 is sitting on a stand in the garage covered by a plastic tarp and an
old blanket, while the truck is parked beside the house. Everything needed to
rebuild the 283, minus the machining, is in 3 cabinets in the garage, still in
the original packaging.
The truck is amazingly complete. It's a big rear window cab, and as far as I
can tell, all of the chrome, stainless steel trim, and major/minor components
are there - down to an unmolested dash, including the original glove box
latch. It's a true Nevada truck, meaning there is a bit of surface rust here
and
there, but otherwise the body is very very straight - no cancer. Her asking
price is $1500 for the truck, and she'll let me know about the engine after
talking to her son. I should mention that her son owns a body shop, and he
knows
what the truck is worth. I talk to her son on a regular basis, and he told me
the
only reason he doesn't buy the truck and build it himself is because he's too
busy with a '66 Dodge Charger and a '69 Plymouth GTX Hemi restoration of his
own. He's the one who told her to price the truck at $1500 to sell it fast -
she just wants it out of there. He's also told me he'll do any rust repair
needed on that truck for his cost if I buy it. His labor will be free, as long
as
I don't start talking about custom bodywork.
My question to the list is this: I have no idea which transmission is in the
truck - I'm assuming it's the stock 3 speed - I know it's a manual trans with
a column shifter. Will that 283 bolt up to the transmission? I don't know what
bellhousing, if any, he had bought for the engine. If not, what size
6-cylinder engine should I look for at my local wrecking yard to bolt up to
the
original transmission? I haven't committed to buying the truck yet, however
she has
let me know that I'm the first serious nibble she's had on it. I'd really like
to get it, but with the complete rebuild of my '54 still ongoing, I can't
really justify spending more than $3000 to get this one on the road -
including
the $1500 asking price for the truck. If I can find a 6 cylinder that'll mate
up to that trans, and install it for less than $1500, I'm getting it.
Older trucks are pretty rare around here in wrecking yards, so I'm looking
for a pretty common engine that will bolt in. I'm fairly new to GM trucks, so
I
don't know if there was an engine produced in the 70's-80's that'll mate up to
the trans and not require a $500 wiring harness to fire up.
Any help you may provide will be greatly appreciated. Please don't just ping
me off list to offer me more money for the truck - I'm not interested in
reselling it for a profit. If I can get the truck and get it on the road for
the
$3000 price cap, it's sold. If I cant, we'll talkb&
Thanks again,
Mark in Nevada
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