Luke,
Although I am also in QLD , I'm too far south to be of direct assistance, however I will keep my eyes open. Perhaps I should have said 'ears' open! How far afield are you willing to go to retrieve a vehicle? Equally as important, is it definately a Chevrolet vehicle you are after? I as that because I have a friend who does a substantial amount of travel, both within QLD and interstate, in search of CMPs and part/s thereof. He has no interest in Chevs though. I suspect something traumatic must have happened to him during his childhood, while in or near a Chev.
Although he only accepts Fords, he obviously will get to hear about Chevs too, but wouldn't be attempting to buy any!
I agree with previous comment that these trucks are very much like chocolate biscuits. You can't stop at one. Especially the case if your chosen vehicle requires replacement of worn-out, missing, or rotten parts, which it no doubt will. While I'm restoring only one vehicle, there are lots of extra bits squirreled around for 'just in case'. Speaking of storage, on the off chance that your restoration space is as limited as mine was originally, I suggest you do what I did. Get lots of rusty truck parts and leave them laying around your yard. Eventually the wife will be so sick of looking at them, she will recommend you get a nice new shed built to hide them in. Problem solved.
The truck I'm restoring will retain an original engine type (Ford, sidevalve V8) but it will be virtually a fresh engine. When I started restoring that truck, I would have been aghast at the thought of changing for any other engine, but I recently bought a second CMP for almost daily use, and previous owner had a 4 cylinder diesel engine grafted in, from a Canter light truck. If it wasn't for the engine swap I don't think I would feel confident enough to drive it as often as I do, so I think your plan is quite a sound decision. I hope your truck has longer legs than mine though! It's a push to get over 90 km/h on anything other than a billiard table flat highway, but has lots of power down low. Still as rough as guts to ride, but that's part of the charm of these old things. If your resto will have the larger wheels (20", as opposed to 16") you shouldn't have same lack of speed I get.
May I suggest you consider placing ads in some of the rural newspapers up your way? I know my CMP hunting friend has had very good results from that avenue. Don't despair if no immediate results. I got a couple of calls half a year after work colleagues put flyers on country town noticeboards while they were travelling out west. One of those leads resulted in the purchase of my restoration truck, the other call made me a good contact for parts. Neither one was particularly close, but a few hours round trip is OK by me. Makes a good day out for the family.
Hope you get as much enjoyment out of these old vehicles, as many of us have already. These trucks are certainly worth saving, and good fun to drive. I'll email you if I hear of anything promising. Do keep watch on ebay and gumtree too. Occasionally something interesting DOES appear up north. All the best with your search, and feel free to contact me if I can be any help.
One tip, take HEAPS of photos along the way. Partly for your own reference, partly to post here! Nothing gets things across like a photo of whatever is being spoken about. There are considerable variations in specifications between Ford and Chevrolet, and also between the different types within a manufacturer. Not everything is interchangable. Photos help identification much easier. Ask plenty of questions on MLU. Nobody will get annoyed. Everyone here is very willing to assist where we can. Once you get a vehicle, start a restoration thread for it, in the Restoration section.
