Forget that the words "project truck" and "wisdom" should never be used in the same sentence and follow the journey to find old truck soul with new car reliability.
I'm Just Here For The Halftime Show
There’s a very specific span of time in a guy’s life when a casual look at his Google or Facebook Marketplace search history will reveal some form of the phrase, “vintage truck”, “project truck”, “best project truck” - and the ever ominous, “project truck for sale”. A trained clinician would call that “specific span of time in a man’s life ”a mid-life crisis" - but a better merchandiser would call it a “Spectacular Half Time Show".
The IDEA of old truck ownership is layered with vivid hallucinations of weekends having your son hold the flashlight while you inspect the distributor, after work trips to the auto parts store, and lazy Sunday morning cruises to your favorite fishing hole (with the dog riding between you and your very relaxed wife on the bench seat).
The reality looks more like your son hiding from you so he doesn’t have to spend his Saturday morning in a hot garage, you find out that there is indeed something wrong with that distributor (and they don’t make it anymore), you see the parts store employee more than you see your kid seeking refuge in video games to avoid you - and because you’ve been planning that fishing trip all week, you decide to take your reliable daily driver instead of the project truck because you elected the option with the highest probability that you will actually arrive at your honey hole…oh yeah - and you leave your wife and dog at home (they didn’t really want to go
By definition, the term “project” truck implicitly has the word “hassle” baked into it. It implies that you need time for the project, you need capital beyond the initial investment to fund the project, there is no real implicit end date to the project, and true to it’s name - it’s just one moreproject on a guy’s ever growing list of to-dos and responsibilities.
I Need A Daily Driver, I (desperately) Want A Project
There is a chasm between the work-a-day reliability of a daily driver, and the ethereal fantasy of a classic truck sitting in the driveway waiting for that Saturday morning ride to the beach, woods, or favorite breakfast diner.
The cheat code has historically been owning two separate vehicles. Owning a 1-6 year old daily driver that’s still south of 100k miles, AND a separate project truck is a great solution - but has it’s own set of downsides. It will require additional project truck insurance, extra project truck parking, dealing with project truck registration, the burden of maintaining two vehicles (one that will sit parked more than it will be driven) - not to mention project truck financing.
That reality doesn’t fit into my lifestyle at the moment. Parking space is limited - and if I went this route I would be tempted to dip my toes into vintage truck territory (since I would have reliable daily transportation in the other vehicle).
For the sanity of myself and all the people that have to interact with me on a daily basis - I am avoiding the vintage truck (anything pre-80's) and sticking to the most reliable "classic" (25-ish years old) I can find.
For better or worse, I want to maximize the man/machine connection- and my overall ownership satisfaction by being the one to turn the wrenches, troubleshoot the problems, and engage that analog part of my brain for solutions. So that means the 'restored by someone else" route is off the table. This is a strictly DIY venture.
Enter The Dual Purpose Project Truck/Daily Driver
Last year I started toying with the idea of a daily driver/project truck mutation. That is, a truck that is reliable enough for a busy daily lifestyle, rugged enough for some medium weight outdoor hobby duty, and a forgiving mechanical “personality” that doesn’t need to be tended to by a master technician with a pristine garage - because I am an intermediate mechanic with a set of franken-tools that have been acquired over a lifetime of bad internal combustion related decisions (and an unfortunate Harbor Freight addiction).
So - in setting out to grab my slice of the project truck dream, that is also practical enough to give me some daily peace of mind, I have a "clear as mud" set of criteria in looking for the one:
1. Reliability Mixed With Throwback Simplicity and Styling
I like things that work the way they are supposed to work when I want them to work.
Does the dirt bike start EVERY time on the second or third kick? Does the guitar get into tune immediately - or better yet, just stay in tune more than it is out of tune? Does the miter saw cut at the exact angle it's dialed to, or does it have to be calibrated every 6th cut? The things that don’t work well in my universe are on a fast track to the curb, neighbors’ garage, or most likely - Facebook Marketplace.
Problems are an inherent part of the old truck journey - but managing the scale of those problems is key. Buying the right year, make, model can be the difference between me sitting on the side of the road, or hanging out at a campsite in the Blue Ridge Mountains 6 months after purchase.
2. Part Availability
Amazon, Ebay, and countless online old truck part dealers are available at everyone’s fingertips - but when it’s 5pm on a Saturday, I’m covered in grease and shame, and just broke the plastic on a 25 year old airbox - I’ll appreciate owning a vehicle that has the majority of the primary parts in the back of an auto parts store that’s less than a 5 minute drive from the house.
Local part availability can make the difference between a project truck on blocks that sits under a tarp, and one that rolls out of the driveway (under it’s own power) at my whim. That means I need something that the manufacture sold for many consecutive years, and only made significant “generation” and body updates every 8 years or so.
3. Wide Knowledge Base
When it comes to taking a novice skillset, amateur set of tools, temperamental truck, and an outdated service manual to tackle something you have never done before (much less watched anyone else do) the undisputed king of learning how to do that thing is Youtube.
Every old truck I am considering buying, I search YouTube for the Make/Model/Year and the phrase, “spark plug change”. The right model truck has at least 30-40 different videos - which is important - because not everybody on the internet knows exactly what they’re talking about. I want a big information casserole complete with opinions, counter-opinions, how to’s, passionate comment sections, and dialogthat I can soak up on a Friday night before I grab the ratchet and sockets Saturday morning. (A friend told me, if that doesn’t sound like a great way to spend a Friday night - don’t buy a project truck)
4. Easy To Work On (By Today's Standards)
I’ve popped through a number of small repairs, fixes, and upgrades in my life. I have a decent socket set, grinder, some nice combination wrenches, and a handful of specialty tools that I have bought on an “as needed” basis. The most specialized tool I have is an OBD-II scanner that has saved me far more money than it cost me.
Small suspension projects, minor brake work, and interior/electrical add-ons are all within my zone of “relative” competence. When it comes to the engine, you can count on me for a plug or coil replacement - but once it comes to cracking into the engine block, off it goes to a real mechanic.
Where I really start to fall apart mechanically is when complex chips and computers are introduced into the equation. I can deal with early ECM’s, simple fuel injection, and a few sensors - but complex digital systems are where I’ve got to draw a line. Anything post-2010 is probably going to start getting into the 25-50 different computing systems - and I just can’t work with that.
I’d love to find something that is good, solid, and reliable, but lacks drive by wire and rather depends on a cable throttle. It doesn’t necessarily need a carburetor, but that real cable connection between the pedal and throttle body is just analog enough for me.
5. Fun To Drive
Let’s face it, a super reliable daily driver comes with some drawbacks. They are built with pragmatism as the primary directive - the words “fun”, “exhilarating”, and “emotion”don’t appear once in the design brief of a 2025 Honda Accord.
On the other end of the spectrum, trucks that are designed and built by pretentious engineers focused only on driver experience usually need some kind of major preventative or mechanical maintenance every time you look at them the wrong way. I'm looking for something that has great power to weight ratio, responsive breaking and steering. I am notoriously rough on physical things - so I also need a truck that can power through the realities I am going to put it through on a regular basis (dirt bikes in and out of the bed, floorboards full of sand, stretching oil change intervals to the max, and the occasional wrong weight oil in the crankcase.
A great old truck should ignite the same excitement of driving grandpa’s bullnose (with a vintage trucker hat shoved between the windshield and dash) for the first time.
I’m also a big fan of the Ivan Stewart era of off-road truck racing, so the truck has to have a sense of styling, a suspension setup that’s on the stiffer side, responsive breaking & steering, and a power/weight ratio that really responds when you press the accelerator. Since it’s also going to be my daily, I’ll add fuel economy to the wishlist, but I think we are starting to reach a little.
6. Old Enough To Bring Back To Life, But Not Precious
Again - we aren’t talking about a project truck that I’m going to meticulously restore right down to the original details. I’m looking to strike a balance between something that can handle some DIY maintenance/upgrades, maybe a little suspension upgrade, and still get where I want to go - reliably.
If a project truck is going to spend 6 days a week in the driveway, under a tarp, or in the garage - only coming out on Saturday mornings to the car meet, that’s when things get precious - and for me - not fun. I don’t have a perfectly polished and organized set of tools, I’m not going to lose sleep over using non-OEM parts in most cases, and car shows aren't my thing - so I'm not shooting for any kind of competitive standard.
If I start a project on a Friday night, I might be able to use my wife’s car through the weekend for trips to the parts store - but I NEED the project wrapped up by Monday morning for my commute - so it’s really going to limit my ability to take on big, overly time intensive projects.
To be continued in Part 2
The Facebook Marketplace gods are smiling brightly on this adventure - and I'm close to pulling the trigger on a dime. Details to come...
Rusty Meador is the founder of Beach & Barn, and is always looking for people, places, and things that combine workhorse grit with a laid back coastal vibe.
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