I bought my first truck, a 1983 Chevy Scottsdale, the day after I got my license in October 2013. The cab was so rusted that you could see the road through the floor and there were holes in every fender and in the bed. The inline 6 was caked in grease. It was a very rough truck but my dad and grandfather and I had decided that it would be a good way for me to learn how to work on vehicles.
Mission accomplished. In addition to a lot of minor engine work, we replaced the original cab with a 1986 Custom Deluxe cab from a local scrap yard. The scrapyard had flooded a few years before, which meant that the cab was cheap, but it needed a lot of work, namely an entire new interior. We also had a lot of bodywork done to both the exterior of the cab and the bed, and finally had it painted. It was beautiful and I drove it for the first time to my last day of sophomore year.
Four days later as I was driving the engine threw a rod. The engine compartment, which had 30 years of grease caked on, caught fire and melted everything up to the firewall. I was heartbroken.
Over the course of the next 4 years, we replaced all of the wiring in the truck and everything under the hood (as well as the warped hood), including a new 350 engine and transmission. Basically the only parts of the truck that haven’t been replaced are the frame, which is still in terrific condition, and most of the bed. At least 50% of this truck has come from the LMC catalog, one piece at a time, and I have been very impressed with both the quality and selection of parts. Continuing on, I plan to keep it running for the next 50 years, as long as the catalog keeps coming.