Re: restoration frame off?
I'll throw out my opinion since I have completed a few frame off, nut and bolt restorations and have 3 in progress at this time (not SyTy's but easier vehicles). To frame off, fully detail and make new front to rear one of these trucks, my s.w.a.g. is that you will spend $50K. Seems that you have good intensions and a goal and if you stick to it from start to finish $50K is the number. Between parts, more parts, labor, shipping, more parts, more labor, paying someone to do stuff, start to finish, $50K. What will it sell for in the end, $12.5K
Reread Harmon's post. Search what he and his wife did. Reread his $38K statement. Harmon has been in and out of these trucks front to back. This is your first project in SyTy land. You will have more than 38K into yours. Did I mention $50K.
You almost can't even make money flipping these trucks without doing anything other than cleaning it. You need to find a truck that is an unknown to the board, has low miles and needs nothing. I've seen it happen once here lately and the only reason it worked is that the truck was bought right and sold at a better than average price. It was not sold on this board.
I love doing frame offs, but I do them to muscle cars that bring money and where there is a market desire to have one that received a full frame off and factory correct restoration. Unfortuneately the SyTy's do not fit that description. I own one of each and watch the market closely. There is no demand for a frame off 120K truck that makes it feasable to complete the task. Even if it was a 45K mile truck, the market is not there. The truck will sell when your done with it but you will not make any $$$ on the deal.
Want me to do the job for you, pricing starts at $75K and goes up depending on what is wrong with it as the vehicle is disassembled. You'd have to be insane to have me do it and in all honesty, I'd prob refuse unless you had Bill Gates behind you financially. He's got the money to burn on one of these trucks.
I wish you the best of luck.