Pics to follow tomorrow. (Utterly craptastic web connection at home)
So I got to doing the math on making the move to WV, truck rental etc and it just made more sense to buy a cheap truck, make the move with it, get through the first winter with it and then sell it for something I want more down the line. Call it an investment vs an expense. I started out wanting oldopelguys 2004 Silverado he was selling for 2k, but some friends talked me out of flying to SD and then driving a truck I've never laid eyes on home to FL then driving it back to WV. So I got to digging around, and found this monster. 2k asking price, 2000 4x4 180k miles, auto, lever actuated 4x4, rusty rockers and missing rear drive shaft, in need of an oil change. He also had 10 years worth of service receipts, tires are new as of earlier this year, rear brake lines have been replaced, along with the drivers rear caliper replaced, ball joints were done last year.
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It needs some love, but I've seen far worse for more. The plan for it right now is to drop a drive shaft in, make sure it's reliable and use it to make the move. Though I might have to squeeze some make it nice work in there along the way. Just depends on how long it takes to purchase a house up north.
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Edit: I finally re-read the first post, and realized that a few missing words turn good things bad. 
So edited to fix typo's
Reserving this spot to keep a Running total on the truck.
Purchase price: 2,000.00
Carrier bearing/seals 55.00
Drive Shaft: 225.00
Bed Topper 120.00
Windshield Free.
Spray paint for trim. 0.50
Repl. Pass. Mirror 21.76
For today, I found a drive shaft in AR, and after some emails and a few phone calls the drive shaft is on its way to me for 225 shipped. Here's to hoping it gets here before I leave on Thursday to go up north for a few days.
After that I logged onto Amazon, and ordered a new carrier bearing, slip yoke seal, pinion seal, and u joints. Man I love the prices on full size truck parts, all of that was less than 60$ on prime.
4WD? Pshhhh, this is the rare FWD model. 
It drove home just fine as a FWD, heck I even moved it around the yard in FWD today. I still have a hard time believing the size of this monster. It's a whole new way of looking at spatial awareness. I thought my 88 k2500 was big, not so much compared to this thing.
Got the shaft installed last week, reused the u-joints that came with the drive shaft. Rear joint was squeeky. So I dropped it back out Saturday morning to put in a new one. Lots to do over the weekend, so it was last night before I finally got it back in (part of it was getting the right tools for the job, nothing like trying to figure out how to do the job half assed when you don't have to. Just didn't want to make the trip over to the shop to get the tools).
So anyway, I still need to pull it once more to replace the carrier bearing, but I need a bigger puller first. It still spins freely, and isn't making any noises. It's the fact that most of the rubber is split from the shaft, so it's a bit worn. Did put some miles on it this weekend though. Impressions?
OH MAN I've been missing some Torque from my life. Stepped on it from a 25mph roll, spun the tires a bit,(dirt driveway) and jumped to almost 70mph in fairly short order. Hauled itself back to sane speed in short order with no drama.
So, Running driving truck? Check!
Work beast of a truck? Check!
Unexpectedly makes me giggle? YEP! CHECK!
Still to do: (not required but wanted) Find a white fender that is not dented. Get windshield replaced. Find cheap front bench with a folding center console. Get it aligned as it has a slight pull to the right. (This also maybe a wheel bearing, as I heard it running rough in 4wd on the ride home in FWD mode) Rocker patch panels.
I've been driving it full time for almost two weeks now. Averaging 14mpg mixed city/hwy. Already made one trip to the scrapyard, and another to the dump. I find myself driving more and more like an old man in this thing. It's big, you barely lay your foot on the throttle and it moves on down the road at a decent pace, but really dig in to the pedal on the right and she'll move on out at a really good pace. I'm digging torque.
Picked up a topper last weekend for 120. I'll post up some pics later. Afterwards I threw the fishing gear in the bed, stopped by the roadside ice machine and spent Halloween fishing. It was nice being able to close the gear up in the bed, and not worry about someone deciding they want my stuff more than me.
What happened to original driveshaft??
No clue, PO swore it fell out while driving down the road. I couldn't get him to budge on the story so.... Who knows. Few dents underneath, but not a ton of carnage by any means.
The missing drive shaft story became a little more clear this evening. I've been working on building a trailer to move with for the past week and was cleaning out a few tools that slid under the seat. While I was under there I found a round plastic container.
That still had wacky tobacco in it!
That combined with the rolling papers and pipe screens in the ash tray tell a big part of the story. Part of me really wants to call the guy and tell him off for leaving that E36 M3 in the truck when he sold it. I found it though, not the cops. Needless to say it's gone, and I will be giving the interior a good once over before the move.
That stuff is no good. Burn it all before someone gets ahold of it.
Just text him a picture of the round plastic container. He'll know.
In reply to MrJoshua:
Nope. That stuff and I don't mix well.
In reply to Mitchell:
Probably pull the container out of the garbage later and do just that.
In reply to Wall-e:
It has it's uses, but I mostly agree.
I always check new to me cars for things forgotten by the PO. Never really understood the sloppy attitude with that kind of stuff, maybe that's why I never got caught.
Got the cracked winshield replaced yesterday. Freebie insurance claim in the state of FL. Man what a difference that makes. It was pretty pitted as well, so it truely is a night and day difference.
Replacement drivers side mirror was supposed to be here today, but our weekend substute mail person doesn't believe in going down dirt driveways so I have to pick it up Monday morning from the post office when I was hoping to be going down the road moving tomorrow.
Decided to use some surplus spray paint I had laying around to do some clean up work on the trim.
Bed rails were amazingly straight for a 16 year old truck, but they were scratched up pretty good so I gave them a shot with black semi gloss after a quick rub with 120 grit to scuff the "original" finish. 20 min or so to dry on the first coat then a second heavier coat. I ended up with a few small runs but since its mostly there to help protect the rails from the topper, I am not to concerned.
I'll post before and after pics later.
If I have time tomorrow I'm going to attempt the grill as it is pretty faded as is.
Forgot the before shot... skipped the grill. It's moving time, and I've got too much E36 M3 to do.
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HOLY BERK BALLS this thing is HUGE. 
Got to get it while I can! 
