In the market for a pickup or suburban

[Zero Signal]

My car is getting an H/C/I combo soon and my girlfirend's car is probably getting new head gaskets in the near future and I need something I can haul things with so I can stop borrowing other people's trucks. I'm looking around for a pickup like a 80's/90's Ford or Chevy pickup or 4x4 Suburban for less than $3500. I've seen quite a bit for sale, but I'm not sure what to look for in these vehicles. I don't care if it's ugly, just something usefull and cheap to fix. What would you guys suggest?

Something like this would be perfect http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...nced=&end_year=2006&max_price=3500&cardist=11
But again, if I looked at it, I wouldn't know off the top of my head what to look for on it. How could I test the condition of the 4WD? I know plenty about the motor and body but thats about it when it comes to a 4x4 like that one. The one thing that I will be majorly concerned with is how safe it would be on the highway.

 

[94-302-vert]

Buy that jsut because it is a gass guzzling awesome truck...

As for the 4wd, I would get on some grass and leave it in 2wd, hit the gas, put it in 4 high, make sure that works, then same with 4-low. if it passes this test then it is time to get line up with a curb and do the same test to make sure you get no noises when under a considerable load. then look at fluids and that is about all you can do.

The biggest things are to look for signs of abuse/neglect: rust, bent frames, etc...