Rusted Automotive

After a few months of hitting one obstacle after another, my brother's 1990 GMC K2500 is finally running and driving. During that time, my dad and my brother began looking at vintage Dodge pickups for sale so my brother could build up a Dodge pickup truck as a nice-weather driver. Vintage Mopar trucks are a rare sight today, and make a nice affordable alternative to the more-common classic GM and Ford trucks. A prime example is this 1949 Dodge B1-B-108 pickup truck, which has earned the apt nickname "Yellow Rose". Find it here on eBay in Northridge, California, with a Buy-It-Now price of $12,499.99. Hailed as the first postwar trucks available from Dodge, the B-series pickup truck was introduced in 1948 to replace Dodge's prewar pickup trucks still being sold at the time. This Dodge B-series is a half-ton B1-B model, and is one of 299,900 built from 1948 to September 1, 1949. Painted white, yellow and gray,...

One of my favorite shows of all time that I will never get sick of is Seinfeld . The amount of times I related to that show is both admirable and disturbing, and the concept of a show about nothing was and still is a brilliant concept. The best part of the show, however, was Newman (played by Wayne Knight) and his USPS Chevrolet P30 step van. My dad owned the exact version of his truck and used his truck to haul his tools around for his contracting business. A little bit older but still a step van is this 1954 Chevrolet Boyertown Merchandiser body, a rare sight in any condition today. Find it here on Craigslist in Richboro, Pennsylvania, with an asking price of $800. Introduced in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the step van (also known as the multi-stop truck) was used for local deliveries for anything from bread to mail. Chevrolet introduced its Step Van beginning in 1935, and in the 1950s mildly updated its Step Van mechanically and vi...

As cars become more and more valuable, the more well-known vehicles typically become more and more expensive. Muscle cars are no exception, and as cars like the Mustang and Camaro become more and more expensive by the generation, an automotive enthusiast must turn to alternative vehicles to build. Hot Rod magazine writer David Freiburger once wrote an article on building up a pickup truck to handle and perform exactly like a muscle car for a fraction of the price. That truck, a 1974 Chevrolet C10 Step Side appropriately named "Muscle Truck", has since gained notoriety on Freiburger's YouTube show "Roadkill". A bit more factory-built is this 1992 GMC Sonoma GT, which is a limited production, budget-friendly version of the Syclone built for only one year in 1992. Find it here on David's Classic Cars in Phoenix, Arizona, with an asking price of $10,995. Based off of a regular-cab Sonoma pickup with a six...

While recently reading an article in a car magazine, a writer discussed how step-side pickup trucks are the truck equivalent of a two-door coupe. While at first I was not sure how I felt about that statement, over time, the statement began to make more and more sense. One of my favorite step-side pickup trucks is Chevrolet's Square-Body pickups; David Freiburger of Roadkill built up a 1974 C10 Step-side with a LS6 small-block that guarantees burnouts. Finding a clean, unrestored C10 step-side is harder to find than the proverbial needle in the haystack, but there are a few still out there. A perfect example is this 1974 Chevrolet C10 Step-side, which has only covered 44,000 miles in its 43-year life. Find it here on Craigslist in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with an asking price of $5,500. After being fully redesigned for 1973, Chevrolet's C/K pickup trucks gained nominal changes, most notably the front grille and a new ...

There are certain vehicles that one rarely sees in nice, unmolested condition out on the road. Finding one for sale, however, is like trying to find the proverbial needle-in-the-haystack. One of those vehicles is the Chevrolet S10, especially 1982 to 1993 versions. An even harder version of the S10 to find is the Baja appearance package, which is a rare sight in any condition, let alone one as clean as this truck is. Find it here on Craigslist in Dallas, PA, for $13,750. Introduced in 1988, the Baja was an appearance option that was available on any S10 that had four-wheel drive. Available in Midnight Black, Apple Red and Frost White, the Baja option included  a roll bar with off-road lights, a front tubular grille guard with fog lights, a tubular rear bumper, an under-body shield package (transfer case shield, front differential shield, fuel tank shield, oil pan/steering linkage shields), a suspension package, a Chevrolet windshield ...

With Halloween a little over a month away, I should mention that Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and that I used to dominate Halloween as a kid. In sixth grade, for instance, I dressed up as beloved 1980s television icon, Mr. T, which garnered many positive reviews from my classmates and prompted my middle school principal to shout "I pity the fool!" every time I walked down the hallway. Mr. T is no shrinking violet so to say, and judging from this mural, this 1973 GMC Motorhome appears not to be one either. Find it here on  RV Trader  in Black Diamond, WA, with an asking price of $19,000 obo. Produced by the GM Truck and Coach Division from 1973 to 1978 and built in Pontiac, Michigan, the GMC Motorhome was the only complete motorhome built by a major car or truck manufacturer. Considered GMC's halo vehicle, GMC marketed the Motorhome as a vehicle that could suit a variety of purposes, including mai...

Though summer is basically over (especially since Labor Day has come and gone), there is still plenty of time to go out and go camping. When I was a kid, my mom, my brother Kurt and I would go camping all around Pennsylvania in a 1976 Chevrolet G30 Holiday Rambler Spirit of America RV (say that five times fast!) Eventually, we used the RV less and less, especially once my family acquired a cabin in Pike County, Pennsylvania, but we did paint the RV in my brother's college football team colors and take it up to his college's home football games and tailgate with it. This 1983 S10 is a Sandtana camper, one that I've never seen before until now. Find it  here on Craigslist  in Gulf Islands, British Columbia, Canada, with an asking price of $2,500. Introduced back in the early 1980s, the S10 Sandtana is a tilt-top camper built on the S10 pickup chassis. Weighing only 3,470 lbs, according to a  July 1983 Popular Science ...

I love vintage trucks, especially SUVs; I find that compared to today's SUVs, vintage SUVs are spartan and utilitarian yet still visually appealing, whereas today's SUVs are overloaded with luxury and are more used as family car than workhorse. Ever since I was a little kid, my mom and dad owned Suburbans (a 1992, a 1993, a 1994, and briefly a 1996) before buying a 1998 Tahoe. Though the Suburban was the first SUV, the Travelall was the precursor to the modern full-size SUV, a formula that is still being used today. This Travelall is a 1973 model, and though a bit weathered, I would still rock it as a daily driver, tow rig or camping rig. Find it here on Hemmings in Cheshire, Connecticut, with an asking price of $8,500. Introduced in 1953 to compete against Chevrolet's Suburban, the Travelall is touted as the precursor to today's full-size SUV. After being considered a part of Internationa...