Hey @JayMB,
Sorry to bring up your old thread, but I ran across this post because I'm in the exact same situation as you are. I'm 22 and have had a couple of newer vehicles. Eventually, I got tired of spending my hard earned money on a payment every month and wised up to invest in my own house. Dad had a GMT400 growing up and I had been looking for a big block truck for the mainly the same reasons you were. Dead nuts reliability, easy to find parts, and having a truck that was built to withstand 2x what trucks today will. (Don't get me started on my '06 and '16 Half Tons) After searching forever, I found a 1997 K2500 5.7 L31 4x4 with the 4L80E and the 9.5" 8 Lug 14 bolt with 3:73's. Only rust is in the cab corners but it's straight as can be. Picked it up with 127k original miles for $2,800 USD. Best decision I ever made, because I forgot how damn cool these old trucks are and how comfortable they are to drive. Immediately I replaced the muffler with duals, and for preventative maintenance, added a new radiator, 180 amp alternator, heater core, water pump, belt, hoses, Bilstein 4600 shocks, better brakes, and 33" Goodyear 10 Ply Duratracs for the mud and snow. This thing it the ultimate truck for a guy with no kids and is about to start building his own house. Crank windows, single cab, the old sealed beam headlights like you have in yours, it's just way too cool. Anyway, the reason I'm writing all this is to say you're not alone in your journey to restoring one of these, and I have the exact same intentions. I want to be able to drive this truck anywhere, anytime, still drive it to work, and haul a 24' gooseneck with a small load of lumber or a bobcat when needed as I am building my house. Not having a car payment really goes a long way, plus parts are cheap for these things, so I'm wanting to stick around the $10,000 number too. I'm going to end up re-painting it the original Laguna Green because I've yet to see another W/T 3/4 Ton with this color. I don't know if I'm going to do a 383 since the bottom end seems to be holding up well, but it might be in the cards, who knows? I plan to leave the stock heads and just do a mild low grunt towing cam, swapping for the newer injectors, and a nice Black Bear Tune. Of course, the trans will need attention as well for towing. Kind of lost on a good converter to use, but I know I want to install a TransGo HD kit and a trans temp gauge. I do want to regear in favor of a Full Floater 10.5 with 4:10's, which vehicle did you get yours out of? I always hated the difference in the width of the front and rear axle's on these trucks. Nice to know someone out there has similar interests and plans to keep these trucks alive. Best of luck and I look forward to hearing what all you've done to the truck.
Best regards,
Jay Y
Sorry to bring up your old thread, but I ran across this post because I'm in the exact same situation as you are. I'm 22 and have had a couple of newer vehicles. Eventually, I got tired of spending my hard earned money on a payment every month and wised up to invest in my own house. Dad had a GMT400 growing up and I had been looking for a big block truck for the mainly the same reasons you were. Dead nuts reliability, easy to find parts, and having a truck that was built to withstand 2x what trucks today will. (Don't get me started on my '06 and '16 Half Tons) After searching forever, I found a 1997 K2500 5.7 L31 4x4 with the 4L80E and the 9.5" 8 Lug 14 bolt with 3:73's. Only rust is in the cab corners but it's straight as can be. Picked it up with 127k original miles for $2,800 USD. Best decision I ever made, because I forgot how damn cool these old trucks are and how comfortable they are to drive. Immediately I replaced the muffler with duals, and for preventative maintenance, added a new radiator, 180 amp alternator, heater core, water pump, belt, hoses, Bilstein 4600 shocks, better brakes, and 33" Goodyear 10 Ply Duratracs for the mud and snow. This thing it the ultimate truck for a guy with no kids and is about to start building his own house. Crank windows, single cab, the old sealed beam headlights like you have in yours, it's just way too cool. Anyway, the reason I'm writing all this is to say you're not alone in your journey to restoring one of these, and I have the exact same intentions. I want to be able to drive this truck anywhere, anytime, still drive it to work, and haul a 24' gooseneck with a small load of lumber or a bobcat when needed as I am building my house. Not having a car payment really goes a long way, plus parts are cheap for these things, so I'm wanting to stick around the $10,000 number too. I'm going to end up re-painting it the original Laguna Green because I've yet to see another W/T 3/4 Ton with this color. I don't know if I'm going to do a 383 since the bottom end seems to be holding up well, but it might be in the cards, who knows? I plan to leave the stock heads and just do a mild low grunt towing cam, swapping for the newer injectors, and a nice Black Bear Tune. Of course, the trans will need attention as well for towing. Kind of lost on a good converter to use, but I know I want to install a TransGo HD kit and a trans temp gauge. I do want to regear in favor of a Full Floater 10.5 with 4:10's, which vehicle did you get yours out of? I always hated the difference in the width of the front and rear axle's on these trucks. Nice to know someone out there has similar interests and plans to keep these trucks alive. Best of luck and I look forward to hearing what all you've done to the truck.
Best regards,
Jay Y