JeepTruck.com For Sale - 1973 J10 shortbed pickup

JEEPERS Back in 1978, I decided I wanted a truck. I was in partnership with 3 other guys, we worked exclusivly on sports cars. Alfa Romeos, BMTroubleU's, Merkeades Bends, Triumppps, MG,s and the likes. My partner bought a Volvo P-1800 ex SCCA race car, I bought an ex EMRA MGB. We both went to work putting our mini hotrods on the street. Great fun, rally's, gymcanna's, hillclimbs, roadracing, streetracing, the like. When I decided to get a truck, I found an ad for a 1973 J-10 pickup. I wound up buying this thing back in 1978. It was a bone stock shortbed 73, that had never been plowed, and had very little rust. The first thing I did to it was bring it in the shop, put it on the lift, and steam cleaned the entire bottom. Then, because we were promoting this undercoating system which put "Rusty Jones" to shame, mixed 50% Castrol motor oil, and our Zep product together, and undercoated the truck.The next thing I did, was to rip(meticulously peeled) the wood-grainded decals off the side off the thing. It was white, and brown with wood grainded mid paneling. complete with the plastic delineating surrounds that they used back then. I sanded it all down, and put it in red oxide primer. The 360 2bbl it came with was bone stock, and ran excelent. I drove it around like that for a couple years. Bought some 15" chrome spokers, and shod it with BFG's or something. Got out of the partnership, went on my own, and still had the Jeep. Well, my ex partner went to an ice-race, and called me up asking me to go. I said that I had sold the MG, and all I had was the Jeep, he says, hey run it. So, I showed up at the frozen lake in Springfield,NH the next day(Sunday) , substory, I hadn't planned on running, I was just going to cruise around in my Jeep, drink a few beers, and enjoy the day. But,...I did bring my helmet, just in case. well long story short, when I got there, there was a Chevy 3/4 ton all jacked up, a regular Chev, a Ford 1/2 ton, and a Subaru Brat. My buds all egged me on to register and run, but I said, Hey I've had 2 beers! They said so what so I did. Went through tech, and got signed up for the 4WD class. Came my turn to run...... I inched up to the start line, waited for the 3-2-1- go, hit the 8 track version of ZZ Tops Legs, and beat everyone by 30 seconds!! The guy with the Chevy went home shamed , the Ford had electrical problems, so it was me, and the Subaru Brat. I trounced him! Got the trophy, and went home.Couple years later, I was communiting with some dude in Atlanta Georgia(I live in Vermont), he had a salvage yard that dealt almost exclusively in British parts, I had a shop that worked almost exclusively on british cars, I needed a TR6 body(tub), he says flippantly, why don't you come see what I got, so I loaded up the Jeep, hooked onto my car trailer, and headed for Atlanta, Ga. Spent 2 weeks there, bought $5000 worth of MG parts, put them in the truck, and came home. A decade or so past, and I had relegated the Jeep to plowing my shops parking lot. Found an ad one day for a 79 J-10 with plow, $1500. Called the guy, stood there looking at a dilapitated 79 J-10 with a year old Fisher 7 foot electric plow. I said huh, does it run? He opens the door, hits the key, "WANGO"! like a top..He says, my brother bought this truck new, and only plowed his driveway, he died, and I got it. I checked it out, the body, except for the cab, was falling off it. I looked at the speedo, it said 12,314. I said, speedometer don't work?, he say's nope, that's the original mileage. I wrote a check for $950, had it towed home, swapped the cab, engine,trans to my 73, got fired up, painted the assembled rig Mac Truck "eggplant", kind uv a purpleish black color, sold the plow for $1000, put my 8 foot Fisher on it!!!! I added the west coast mirrors, because I could. The look sharp in my mind. Way back a long time ago, when it was still a J-10, I was hauling a load of firewood for a guy, and the rear wheel/axle/brakedrum came off, leaving me on 3 wheels, so I converted it to a 1968 J-4000 diferential set-up,you know, 8 bolt, full floating axle, closed knucle front end. Plowing the dooryard took forever because of the closed knuckle set-up, besides it was drums in the front, so I got on the phone found a junkyard in Maine that had truck parts, ordered a front diff for a 79 J-30 full floater, disc brakes, 4-11 gears, paid the $300, got real busy at the shop, and 3 years later got around to put it in. Built my own 3" lift setup, and repiped the brakes and all, only to figure out that the yard had sold me a 3-73 gear set!!!! Yup, twisted the front drive shaft right off!!! So now he sits with 32's on the rear, and 235-15's on the front! It works. ! This truck needs a home to someone who can get the gears matched, and get him back on the road. I have also put an Edlebrock high rise on it with a 600 Holley. I sent the original TH 400 out, got it rebuitl(with shift kit). It's kind of a "slut" of a truck, the 73 frame, the 79 cab, engine, differential thing, but you don't find too many shortbed J series these days. It starts right up like anything would with 12,000 miles on it, the doors shut like a brand new truck, it looks very elegant in it's Eggplant paint, works like a horse, the electric 8 foot Fisher works great, so, all in all it has been a very pleasant 29 year experience! I'm asking $3500 for the truck, will take no less, my e-mail is jags@sover.net, phone # 802-889-3545.