JCribb
Old Army truck mechanic
similar here, I bought my c3500 cclb from the j/y that I was working @, @ the time. zero rot, but pretty much every panel was banged up, electrical issues, ac delete, filthy as hell, bad repaint. currently rocking no headliner or carpet, non-working windows (remember, it ac delete), replaced the hood w/ a correct color unit & replaced 3 doors w/ 2-tone units. most of parts are from the j/y as I find them. currently has over 495k mi. while most wouldn't have bothered, it is the bare bones of what I wanted & hopefully one day get to where I want it. gmt400 crew cabs are not all that common in my area. especially reasonably priced. doesn't matter if they are a rot box or pristine condition, they are stupid money.
My dream is to own a CCSB one day, and I find CCLB quite often here in SEMO, but I don’t feel like cutting a frame down to make it happen, and I’m not setup enough shop wise to buy one of the many blown up big blocks in my price range. The other negative for me is like the extended cab trucks, almost all are auto tragic.