Why An Old Pickup Truck May Be The Best First Project Car For Me #blogpost

One: Both Manual And Automatic Gearbox Trucks Are Common

Chances are that if you are looking for a classic car for cheap with a manual gearbox, it’s going to be a pickup truck. Manual Mustangs and Camaros by comparison will run more of a premium and be hard to find. You can also find plenty of automatic gearbox trucks out there as well if that’s what suits your fancy.

Two: They’re Quite Common And Cheap

If you live in America, chances are that you’ll see several old pickup trucks either on the road or in someone’s backyard. This means that when you’re shopping for one, you have several options to choose from. On the other hand, there might be only a couple of 68 Mustangs for sale in your area that are either too expensive or too worse for wear. The commonality also means when you’re buying parts for it, they should be a bargain and relatively easy to find.

Let’s say you have a 69 Mustang and a 69 Ford pickup that are in the exact same condition. The Mustang will be more expensive than the truck by far in almost all cases. With that in mind, you should be able to get a project car in good condition for cheaper if you were to buy a truck compared to if you were searching for something like a Pontiac Firebird.

Three: You Can Get Some Serious Power And Rear Gears With A Truck

If you’re a fan of the mantra “there’s no replacement for displacement”, pickup trucks might be for you. While the biggest engine that ever came in a Camaro from the factory was a 427 cubic inch V8, you can get a 454 cubic inch V8 in a comparable Chevy pickup. Also, most rear gear sets in pickup trucks give you more acceleration than the rear gears in many land barges, which are more for highway cruising than drag racing.

Four: Pickup Trucks Are Very Useful

With a pickup truck, you can haul and tow many more things compared with cars of the same era. A long pickup bed is a great place to sleep under the stars during a cool summer night. Plus, there’s room for…um… activities if you’re into to that kind of thing.

Five: Working On Them Should Be Easier

Due to the fact that the engine bays are bigger in trucks compared to say a Ford Mustang, you’ll have room to work with when fixing it. There’s also the fact they’re higher off the ground, so you might not have to jack up the car in order to get under it for repairs.

Six: You Can Get It With Four Wheel Drive

If you really need good traction and off road prowess, you can get a truck with four wheel drive. Not only do you have all of the wheels being powered, 4 High and 4 Low has gear reduction for better towing and torque. However, if you think four wheel drive is unnecessary, you can get a rear wheel drive truck instead.