Been thinking about whether to buy a new truck or to build what I want from
an older truck. If I buy new it would be:

3500, reg cab, srw, duramax diesel, six speed, 4wd

If I go the build-it route, it will start with an 82 to 87 K20, a mild
small block, an nv4500 or maybe a richmond six speed, the new atlas 4 speed
transfer case, dynatrac axles front and rear with air lockers and lots of
other goodies.

To build the truck from scratch takes lots of time and quite a bit of
money. Buying a new truck takes a small amount of time but lots of money.
The build it truck will be more fun. The new truck carries more prestige.
I'm in the construction business so, whether I like it or not, prestige
counts with customers.

"Rick J." <noemailplease (AT) none (DOT) com> wrote

Yea but the other side of the fence, you can show them the quality of the
truck you built and prove to them you actually know how to work with your
hands. Physical proof of ability is much more important then a sales pitch.
Although, as a suggestion you can still get 6.2 or 6.5 diesels in "drop in
packages", and a few months ago the 6.6 (Duramax) was approved for military
use. Therefore, with in the next year the Duramax should be available over
the counter in drop in condition (i.e. complete and ready to run, and I hope
with mechanical injection. I just can't see the military fussing with the
computers). Therefore, you may want to consider going with your build, but
modifying it to a 1ton 4x4 and going with a diesel. Gas engines are easy to
build but with gas going to a soon to be $3+ per gal. a diesel will get you
better mileage (and in most states no emissions inspection). I bet if you
go with a 6.5 and 3.73 axles, you could pull upper teens or low 20's on the
highway. Unfortunately, these days you have to consider how much it will
cost to feed your horse... You tell yourself well it does not matter, I can
tolerate 14mpg until you realize that totals to (in my case) $1200 per year
in gasoline at $2.35 gas and with it at $3 I will be looking at $1500 or
more. Therefore, look to the future, in the end the extra mileage will
return the extra cost of the drive train with in a few years. ...My opinion
for what it is worth...


good luck,
mark

Rick J. wrote:

If you can afford it, go for both. I would. Use the New truck for work,
the other for play. You can find Clean K-10's or K-20's on Ebay in
Texas, Kansus, Florida, Gorgia, and a few other states. A K-30 uses a
larger frame. 8 inch for the K-10 & K-20, 10 Inch on the K-30.
Personially I would start with a K-30. With Dynatrack Pro-Rock Dana60's
with the High pinion gears. This will reduce driveline angle.

Really if you want to do it a bit at a time, ordering parts maybe a
month a head (so they come in just as your ready), you could build one
hell of a K-30 over a year or two.
Charles

Myself, I'd buy the new truck with the D-Max and the Allison tranny. I've
heard that the Allison will be a 6 speed for '06. Nix on the manual tranny,
GM is still having clutch problems. The Allison is a better transmission
anyway, drive one, you'll see. Of course, that's what I'd do. If you have
lots of free time ( no kids, a wife that understands these things, etc ),
the necessary tools, a shop to work in and are willing to end up with a
neat 20 year old truck that you built yourself go that route. Bear in mind
that a truck that one builds themselves piecemeal like you speak of will
probably never be quite right, and you'll constantly be working on it (
unless your skills and expertise at such things are professional quality.
Then there is the 'prestige' issue. Hands down, get the new truck. Put
yourself in your customer's shoes. A new truck projects success which comes
from a well run business. On the other hand, a 20 year old truck, even a
nice one, projects an image of either a guy that is just making ends meet
( his business is struggling ), or a kid that is not quite a businessman
yet. These are all my opinions, but then that's what you asked for.
Oh........did I mention, I bought a new D-max 2 years ago. My 5th or 6th
pickup, but my first diesel. I'll never buy another gas truck or one with a
manual transmission again. The diesels will out perform the gassers any day
of the week and if you 'chip' them you can get 450 hp and over 900 lb-ft of
torque.
Hope this helps,
Paul




"Rick J." <noemailplease (AT) none (DOT) com> wrote

I wish that was the only problem I had to worry about in life, weather to
build a truck or buy one.

"r_d" <rock_doctor (AT) nospam (DOT) hotmail.com> wrote

the argurment can go both ways, build a good truck that suits your
company's needs looks good, but dont forget about the appearance a new
truck provides. Me I would prefer function over form, so I would lean
towards the built for the task truck. What would you be doing mostly
with the truck, hauling the cargo or doing administative work?

Charles Bendig <rarepartshunter (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote in
news:ZidLe.57795$B52.6425 (AT) tornado (DOT) ohiordc.rr.com:

I can't afford both.

I thought the reg cab k30 (non c+c) and k20 had the same frame and the
K10 was the one that was different (smaller).

"r_d" <rock_doctor (AT) nospam (DOT) hotmail.com> wrote in
news:42fd577e$0$50899$ec3e2dad (AT) news (DOT) usenetmonster.com:

Agreed, but my skills are in building houses, not trucks.

Those are good points, thanks.

"mudmonkey" <MatandLaura (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote in news:1123973179.596547.248490
@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Hauling tools and material. But when you price jobs they see what you're
driving. I don't know how much it matters, but I'm pretty sure it does
matter to some people.

SnoMan <UseLinkToEmail (AT) AutoForumz (DOT) com> wrote
My first truck was a 68 utility body with a 327 and a sm420 and 4.56
gears. God I loved that truck. It had plenty of power for me and was
extremely simple to work on. It had smallish stock tires and the engine
screamed on the highway, but it was a fun truck to drive and own.

The biggest downer, imo, with new trucks today is that they are too
complicated. I don't need or want half the stuff I'm forced to buy. The
35Gs for a new truck reflects that complexity. I could probably build
what I want with a third of that money.