Thinking about building a truck from basically scratch

[Don B.]

And I've not been doing much this winter so far with this god awful cold we've been having. what I have been doing is a few snow blower repairs. I bought one that needed an engine transplant (I had a perfect replacement collecting dust under the bench I was looking for something to use on) so I got that going.. I hauled that Machine to my mother in laws garage so I have something to use up there and don't have to haul one back n forth.
But as slow as progress is going in the body shop I may be doing the needed rough work on this 2nd cab I have here and swapping with the one I have at the body shop. The 2nd cab is in much better shape than the one I have there, the one I have here, all its problems are up high in the roof edge/drip rail area. I have another real nice roof cutoff from yet another cab which I suggested to the body shop and they said "no way" to them doing a roof panel swap. If I could get another set of hands I can do most of it here. The extra set of hands is my problem with that idea. Anything I can do to cut down on the amount of time and materials they have to expend. will hopefully mean less I have to pay them.... I was hoping for a prime, scuff and shoot but it's not working out that way. The main grunt who has been assigned my truck said he has most of a week in straightening each bed side thanks to that sandblasting snafu mentioned earlier.and I see a lot more Bondo than I had hoped though he assured me "it's a very thin coat"
I know I won't be using that sandblasting company anymore.

 

[Don B.]

My problem (and it seems worse the older I get) is lack of patience to "go slow and get it right" and "finesse" to work the metal straight, especially on my own stuff no matter how much I try. I get "close" then start to rush and that's when things get screwed up.
I can weld and fabricate, and I'm actually a pretty decent welder, I can and do my own home improvement but I tend to stop when "function" stops and "making it look pretty" takes over.

 

[Don B.]

Ok
Took a powdercoating class at the Eastwood store near me last Saturday and there's literally nothing to it.
Sunday I went and picked up a $40 kitchen oven via marketplace. Soni can try some powdercoat myself.
Monday I went back to Indiana (was there Friday for a swap meet, Sunday for the oven and Monday after work, different parts of the state) after a nice tailgate, better than any of the other 3 I already have... Idk why everyone wants $400-500 for a nice tailgate for these trucks. The next gen I can find all over for $100-$150
So when I seen this one listed for $150 I had to go look. I got it for $120 and it's NICE. Using this one will save me more than $120 in bodywork needed to make one of the 2 that I have in the body shop nice without Bondo.

Next is to find something that used to be common around here, but isn't anymore. And that's an automotive machine shop. I have a block crank and set of heads that needs machine shop attention.

 

[Don B.]

Well we just missed a tornado "EF3" by a couple of miles.
The shop where my truck body is is inundated. (Swamped with insurance jobs) from it, don't think they had damage themselves. So that will delay my resto...
We ourselves have 2 damaged durangos, I'm on a waiting list for new windshields, should be able to get the first one in end of this coming week. The other one I have insurance for, I think they will total it, (won't take much, it's only an 03) plan is to "buy it back" and put a windshield in that one for now and live with the dents.
I'm driving a Cummins truck borrowed from my son at the moment. Not liking the $5/gallon for diesel and it's not enough better on mileage to make up the difference vs gas at around $3.59.

I have my project truck's bare frame in my garage on the lift ( I have my own here at home)
New rear springs and shocks are in, new ball joints are in, new steering linkage laying underneath it, ready to go on, new steering box right there with the new linkage, I rebuilt the front end on this truck about 15 years ago, everything was new then but the ball joints and steering box,,, sold it to my cousin and he only put about 40k on it, probably 50k mi on that steering linkage, front springs and control arm bushings since installed .
I'm saving the steering linkage for my 1/2 ton, that all still seemed good ( moog from back in the day before they went to China made product) so for what things cost these days that stuff is too good to throw away, strangely there was a time when id have thrown out that sort of thing without a 2nd thought
All of the bushings I put in were polyurethane back when I redid the front end back then, and still look brand new. So they're staying.
Plan is to get the frame done ( brakes and stainless lines are left, plus remount the gas tank) then trailer "that" over to the body shop so I can mount at least the bed and cab after they paint all the jambs and stuff.
THEN it's onto the engine work, im having difficulty finding a machine shop, there used to be 3 within 10 miles of home, they're all gone.

 

[Don B.]

Then today in the way home from Menards I happened across an 85 W150. (W means 4wd) With a lift and a stick, for sale in a parking lot...that won't keep me from continuing with my D250 but it would make me consider selling my 85 D150 in its place... (D means 2wd) Hmmm... If I get enough from the insurance for the 03 Durango.... But we filed the claim 2 days ago and haven't even gotten a phone call from the insurance company yet....

 

[Don B.]

1st pic is right after the frame got blasted and painted. It's home on my lift now, most of suspension replaced front and back, gotta figure out how to compress the front springs to get the ball joint nuts started without the weight of the engine and trans sitting on top...
Next is pic of brand new aftermarket cab mount bracket after I powdercoated it and mounted it, next is support gusset for gas tank cross member, after I powdercoated that, it's hanging to cool after coming out of the oven. I cut 2 of them off a junkyard truck, though only 1 of mine was bad. The one on the driver side behind the tank that catches all the salt, mud, road splash etc and the tank shields it from just rolling off... I guess a common thing to rot out on these.
The other side I never took off, just got the blast and paint treatment with the rest of the frame because it's still good shape. These are originally factory riveted in. I have grade 8 bolts and locknuts to put the replacement back in.
Today working on more sandblasting in the cabinet and more powdercoating.
I dismantled the door hinges for rebuild, and powdercoated them once while apart but the 1st powder I got for those and the hood hinges were a way wrong shade of green so I ordered some from a different place.
The door hinges and hood hinges had 2-3 coats of various colored peeling paint (off of different trucks) that had to come off anyway so I'm trying this route. Much cheaper than sending out to have done. Bought Eastwood's dual voltage powder application gun and an old electric kitchen oven from marketplace for a whole $40.
This powdercoating is super easy. And more durable than paint.

 

[Don B.]

I'm powdercoating parts like the gas tank straps machine shop gray and the front brake shields too. The battery tray and many other miscellaneous brackets underneath plus the brake calipers are getting done black. I have most of the parts in doing black done until I get under the hood.

 

[Don B.]

This kind of stuff pisses me off
As deep as I am into this project a guy on (I think it was) ramcharger central website posts a pic of a truck he got for $300 with a spotless body and a tired engine out in Arizona somewhere. And I've spent at least 4x that already this year alone on odds and ends incidentals. Doesn't include paint, or the powertrain, the leaf springs I bought at the very beginning of this last year were over $500. I just finally found a nice not beat up tailgate for $150, something I seen at the swap meet I went to a couple of weeks ago that the seller was asking $400 for .. more than this other guy paid for his whole truck.... Sure he dropped a motor into it and has to find a better seat but jeez... No bodywork needed and $300
I have more than that in having my frame sandblasted alone. Another $250 in paint for the frame..... You guys DON'T want to know what I'm paying the body shop to paint this thing
.

 

[Duner Wi]

Looking good. Thank you for updates. You could have a truck for the next 50 years.

 

[Mad Farmer]

I meant dimmer switch on floor, damn autocorrect.
Actually found one close to what I want, already in 1 pc too bad it's 3 states away.

Hi Don,

I just picked up on this thread and like what you are doing! I've not read through all the work you've , yet.

Except I'm a GM/Chevy guy. Most everything swaps out over a 20+ year span. I-6 to a 454. 1960s - early 1980s. I take the simplest carb and fit a manual choke or rebuild an original carb, 1-wire HEI distributor and alternators. I used to/still do, keep a spare distributor and alternator behind the seat or in the trunk if a roadside fix is needed. But also remember filing burnt out points roadside, gapping them with a matchbook cover, and static setting the timing using a rolling paper.....

Besides the floor dimmer switch, Mopar had the floor windshield washer pump. Remember those? No electrical, just a simple mechanical floor pump operated by your left foot. The outlets just came up simple through the panel covering the cowl. No BS of being connected to the wiper arms. I wish I had pulled some of those when my 60s Dodges and Plymouths, went to the junkyards.

If they were not all sent to the crusher, lots of those original parts would be had at the junkyard.

Concerning the wiper fluid pumps.......When we were kids, we took the passenger side nozzle and set it up to spray off too the side of the car/truck, and plugged the driver side hose. Rigged that way it would shoot quite a few feet. We pranked people walking down the sidewalks by giving them a squirt or two as we drove by. On sunny days our "victims" would look up to the clear blue sky, dumbfounded!

 

[Don B.]

Well round 2 of green powder is looking a whole lot better vs the paint code I picked out for the body. Those parts are still in the oven. Now that I know that color will work as soon as I get these parts out I'm doing 2 sets of hood hinges the same green.
I've always been a Dodge guy, though I don't know/ haven't followed what's going on with them the last 10 years or so. Chevy Dodge none are anything like what I grew up with and I refuse to buy such brands like Honduh Toyota Kia etc.
I ain't paying $60-80k for a new truck that I can't get how I would want it to be. So given my abilities and tools/equipment at hand I have no choice but to build my own.
Yesterday I spent the day catching up with maintenance on my 78 fury 2 door hardtop. I'm 2nd owner of that car, have had since 2007. I bought that car at a retiring farmer's auction. This had been the 85 yo mothers car from new. It had 38K original miles when I got it now sitting at 56k. That car has been 2 power tours in 09 and 10. I like "different" rather than "cookie cutter" cars and trucks. Maybe not as "desirable" as some of the cookie cutter cars/ but I like having cars and trucks that everyone else doesn't.

 

[Don B.]

Well continuing with powdercoating small "underneath" parts. I don't know why but I decided to do the calipers red, once done I thought it was dumb. But they're underneath and won't be readily seen very much anyway..
Doing the caliper brackets black and spindles gray. Spindles are in the oven now. Can't believe how much reman calipers have gone up nor even the cost of pistons and seals for them. I got 2 pistons from rock auto and put 1 pair together, had to sacrifice a set of caliper pistons to keep powder out of the bores. The ones I assembled I used the phenolic plastic pistons, I have a set of steel versions coming from eBay. Now those are getting few and far between, steel caliper pistons. That'll give me a spare set (I have 2 trucks that take the same ones plus my kids ramcharger); ya know, as long as I'm doin

 

[Don B.]

One of my rear spring perches is bent downward, the leaf spring had 2 busted leaves on that side, I went and picked up another Dana 60 and I'm not sure if I'm gonna swap it out or if in gonna buy a set of spring perches and cut the bent one off and weld in a new one. Other side is fine and will act as a locator to be able to weld on the new one on the bad side in the right spot.

 

[Don B.]

I might have posted some of these already but here's some of what I have powdercoated for this job
If they come out in the post it's gas tank straps, disc brake shields, calipers hood hinges and door hinges I have a bunch more small parts that Ive done.

 

[Don B.]

Slow progress.
Dealing with insurance on the house hail damage.
In their ultimate wisdom state fraud insurance felt a need to put the bank I pay the mortgage to, as first name on the check for the hail damage. All they want is to run interference. I had to sign a paper saying "intent to repair" and still waiting for them to release the funds that were issued to ME to fix MY house. I've spent money out of my pocket because the bank won't release my money. I've never been behind on my payment. I live here not them. But they want to run interference in my ability to repair.
So I wait... And build up angst and frustration.
2 years ago I replaced the furnace and central air. Cost me $12k to get 9k for repairs. That other $3k went to taxes and penalties for pulling that out of my 401. Last year I spent $10500 to get the driveways paved. The. Later in the fall I put $22j worth of new windows in this place... I still owe renewal by Andersen for those.... And I have to sign papers that say I "intend to repair"
I've already replaced the garage windows. And bought a new man door for both the attached and detached garage. And a new sliding patio door. On credit because they won't release my check. So the truck is on hold for a bit. I have gotten the parts needed to retrofit my newer trans to older mechanical speedo drive and had the tail shaft machined for the speedo gear holder
I'm on a waiting list for another month to get my engine to the machine shop for overhaul.

 

[Don B.]

Well tomorrow I get my new (1ea) USA made and Canadian made rotors. Found on eBay in NY "pickup only"
Luckily I live between Mondays and Tuesdays stops on this year's power tour
A guy on another forum who's coming in for the power tour posted an offer to pick up parts to bring them along the way. So I messaged him and he's bringing those out. So I don't have to use the new made in China ones I already have. I'll have them in hand tomorrow. This week I'm gonna powdercoat the outside of the hubs ... I got my powder primer so first chance to experiment with that.
This week weather permitting I am gonna hang my other Dana 60 via chainfall over a tree limb, and put on a couple of sawhorses, sand blast the housing and paint it. After that next will be pull the hubs/drums, pull the backing plates and blast those in the cabinet, PC those the same squirrel gray as I did the front spindles and backing plates.
Gotta pull the original hubs and drums and hope I have at least 2 drums that are still in spec so I don't have to hunt down American made drums. I have all new (but old from 20+ years ago) shoes hardware wheel cylinders and E brake cables to put on, made before china was even a question.