70's trucks aren't too expensive to maintain. Can they nickel and dime you to death? You better believe it.

That being said, my 73 d100 adventurer (like the one with the topper) was a 318/727/9.25 truck. When I got it, I replaced pulleys (someone AC deleted it incorrectly), hoses, belts, alternator, battery, voltage regulator, power steering pump, aluminum intake, carb, fuel pump, tires, mini starter, and drove the snot out of it. It made a trip to Sacramento from riverside. It got 11 up 13mpg down. I trusted that truck to go ANYWHERE. I even put 3/4 ton springs under the rear because I was pulling trailers and hauling hay. Lots of hay. That truck drove and rode great. All the replacement parts were more or less within a few months of ownership. Most were done "just because" since the truck sat for a number of years.

My 74 w200 that I just bought has been an entirely different story. She sat for 12 years. Took minimal effort to get running. New rubber fuel lines, fuel pump, dropped on a known good used carb, battery, and cleaned out the gas tank behind the seat. She fired right up. Drove her for a bit, and brakes went out (fixed). Then head gasket blew (fixed) clutch went out (in process of being fixed). I have replaced radiator, hoses, belts, heater core, power steering pump and hoses, battery, voltage regulator, and some misc stuff. I have about $2k into it above purchase price. I've had it for almost 2 months. BUT there is nothing else wrong with it. I put in a bench seat in place of the buckets and the ride is substantially better. She rides rough, but she IS a 3/4 ton 4x4. Once all the kinks are worked out, she will be as dependable as my 73 d100 (the one that got wrecked).

Granted I DO have a yard full of extra parts that has kept me from having to buy stuff, the cost of maintaining these trucks is not too bad. Plus, they are so dang easy to work on.

Muumuu, find one that is already in good shape. I should have just ponied up the extra cash and bought the power wagon that was going for $6700. It was turnkey, needing paint.

Oh, and I've been eyeballing that purple 73 for a while. I'm not going to go out of my way to make an offer, but if it goes below $1000 I may consider it. Afterall, I DO have a spare running/driving drivetrain or 2 haha