Wagonmaster Sale/Swap, '63 T'all info

["J. Michael Shaw, II" <MikeIIDC@domain.elided>]

Well, I finally got the '63 T'all home, and it is actually probably better
than I originally thought.  I started playing with the engine, and it turns,
and even turns over under its own starter's power.  I bought a new coil-it
was missing-and cap, points, condensor, rotor, etc.  I forgot to get new
plug wires and plugs, but think I am well on the way to getting the thing to
fire up.  And if you guys don't check the BB Classifieds, let me fill you
in.  This is a '63 T'all that was a school district vehicle.  Never
privately owned-well, was, but never registered/driven at that point.  Some
guy got it at a county auction in '78 and parked it.  It has sat in the sun
for all these years-rust is a very minimal concern, though it is very faded
on its upper flat surfaces.  The rest is school bus yellow-over (and I love
this part) IH RED!!!  In the places where the yellow has peeled a little,
you can see the red and man, oh, man, is that ever RED!  It would be quite
an eye-catcher if I took it back to that color.  Anyway, it has the 220 in
it (In a book at the parts store, I saw this listed as a BG220-what is the
BG for?  I thought it was a BD 220-for black diamond, then noticed the light
blue paint on the engine and decided it must be blue diamond-anyone got any
info on this?), and it has (drumroll, please) 43,000 original miles on it!!!
It is the "panel" version, with a flat window from the rear door back to
before the curve in the body.  It has some dents, but nothing drastic.  I am
looking at this thing constantly, and thinking, "What are the
possibilities?"  I could swap the body onto my '68 4X4 frame-in the process
of making this swap, I could have the whole thing repainted to either the
original IH red, or back to the school bus yellow!  Have a big rugged IH 4X4
called "The Bus"!
Anyway, just wanted to let everyone hear more of my latest project.  Of
course,it does not qualify officially as a project yet, as I did put it on
the block and have a couple of possible trades working with it, but it is a
very interesting vehicle.  I am kind of excited about it, whether I get to
play with it or not.

Also am seeking advice.  I also advertised my Wagonmaster a while back, as
the T'alls were not moving.  I have someone willing to make a swap for it-of
a Midas for my WM and my '64 4X4 T'all.  The Midas is pretty solid, but has
been repainted-not original.  Outside of that, it is pretty straight, a
daily driver, interior is not perfect, of course, but is pretty good.
My dillemma comes in that I want a Scout that I don't have to feel guilty
about tearing up a little bit.  I would personally feel guilty tearing the
top off of the Midas and putting a roll-bar in it, etc.  I would like to
take the paint back to the original color if I were going to keep it nice,
and I am in no position to pay for that at the moment.
So anyway, the question is-should I feel guilty about possibly destroying
the Midas?  Is this just a little bit "too" respectful of a vehicle?  I am
not sure what I would do anyway, as I would prefer an 800 series Scout, but
I do need to clear some room and this would allow me to.  I would
hypothetically like to sell whatever I get rid of and have more room and
some cash, but don't know if this is too good of a deal to turn down.  I
also would like to keep the WM and possibly put what little money I have
into cleaning it up a little bit.

Any wise, old-sage style advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Michael