After eyeing a 1972 Chevy 4x4 3/4 ton Camper deluxe for the last eight years , the owner finally sold it to me. It is as original as the day it came home from the dealer. The body and interior are in excellent shape and the truck only has 57,000 original miles. There is some minor rust in the roof and door corners but nothing cancerous or hard to fix. I have the original stickers , sales brouchures , license plates , invoice ,owner manuals, radio etc. It needs the rubber parts replaced and I had to put new tires and shocks on it. My question is this : How much can I modify it without ruining the original status? It has one front spring that needs to be re-arched or replaced and for the price of doing the work I could get a mild lift kit ( 4") with all new springs. Would that ruin the value? I have a hunch it would, but I'm too cheap to spend $350 for a set of new front "stock height" leafs when I can get a whole new after market suspension (front /rear )for the same price. Do I just bite the bullet, keep it stock and buy a new set of leafs from LMC. I have never had a vintage vehicle before and this one is so original I don't know which way to go. HELP. Is there any car show classes for all stock but not restored vehicles.? Also LMC is the only place I know to get vintage parts , can anyone recommend others ? Thanks in advance. Jon p.s. If anyone has a set of 3 leaf springs in good condition , I would be interested in taking them off your hands. p.p.s. Anyone have a guess on the vehicles value? I have heard from $8000 to $12000.
