Another truck = more opinions....

thrashingcows

thrashingcows

Drowning deep in my sea of loathing...so I'm
Well I have found another crewcab, this time only about 10 iles from my house.

The only difference this time is that this truck is a "Project".

The truck originaly came from California and was a 1985 Crewcab, 2wd, 360/auto with 4:10 dana. The guy bought it and drove it here. His intenetions were to build a cummins crewcab. So he had bought a 93 cummins truck and then removed the body and stripped the 85 crewcab down. He also bought a 90 extended cab long box 4x4 for the chassis that the cummins drive train was going to go into and the body would fit on.

Now he then had several things happen, new house, work, renos blah, blah, blah and he now can't get to the project. He has sold all the drive trains but the rest is all there.
 
Here are the pics and more info....click for larger images...






So here is the truck all stripped down sitting on the 90 4x4 chassis...the diffs have been done through and springs have been re-arched with spacers for a smoother ride.





Here is the short box...rust free and in great shape, a few bumps and bruises.



As you can see she's stripped out!!



And this is the original 2wd chassis and the 93 cab sitting on it.
 
The only rust on the truck is the upper leading edge by the front windshield....why...:huh: Other than that the rest is in mint shape.

So my thought is to get the project and then use my 87 ram for basicly everything from the front bumper back...drive train...A/C& heater box's and all the power windows, tilt and cruise, power door locks, and the fancy AM/FM AND cassette!!!:D

Oh and for the interior the guy bought a complete charcoal interior out of an 07 ram, so that should add some modern comfort to the old beast.

The only draw back to this project is I will need to find another daily driver until I get htis one going.:doubt:

Thoughts..opinions...[smilie=::
 
my first concern would be a close up of the rust and a good HARD poke and prod at the rust...crawl under it and check the boxes under the doors neer the seat mounts...also triple check the rain gutter boxes for the cowl and look down inside the cowl tward the boxes and check the seam sealer where the side of the cowl meats the drain boxes....double check the gaspedal mounts and the seam around the xfer case cover..another high rust point!

next is price...thats a hell of alot of work unless your getting it for a steal....i know cause i did that to a pair of ramchargers

me personaly....id pass on it only cause i HATE the 80's boxy body..its to chevy to me..where the 70's body was SEXY!!!....course a box swap and a little massaging to the cab where the rear doors meet the body and cab extends to the bed and youve got a 70's look
 
On an historical note, 1985 was the last year for the crew cab. You'll have to make rear door panels to match the later stuff.

As far as header rust, it's not that uncommon. On the earlier trucks it seemed more prevalent though the cab never changed 1972-'93.

Depending on price, it might be a good one to snag if you don't mind the depth of the project... at least all the disassembly is done and you have a clear shot of what you've got.
 
Thrashing, do you need a crew cab truck or a project? What you posted pictures of is going to take long enough to turn into a running truck that if you actually need the truck in the near future, you'll probably be much better off actually buying a truck. Kinda like when I needed a gas sipper, I went and bought a civic. I didn't buy the disassembled shell of a really cool 2 door valiant with no drivetrain, I bought a car.
 
doc you sure they didng change the small wrap at the back of the cab for the "sqaure" body line? i could have SWORN they did atleast on all the extended cabs(4dr and extra glass)...i know on the 2dr's they didnt
 
Well the guy is asking $1850 Cdn..so like $1500 or less US....I think for the scope of the project it's a bit high....:huh:

I am reconsidering the whole "project" thing....I had a chat with the wife and we discussed things, she doesn't care if I get a truck or a project but she's a good sounding board and looks at things different then me, and I don't know if I really want to get into a BIG project like this.

Like you said V8440...I really don't need another project I need a truck to drive.

So I think I'll bide my time and look for the right truck...maybe I'll re-consider that orange 80 powerwagon crewcab again, and make him a low ball offer and see what happens.
 
cow the offer still stand for me to go look at it...but NOT TIHS WEEKEND!!!!

1500$ for a "project"..LOL tho the 07 interior is proly worth it..i wouldnt pay more than about 800 for a dissasembled mash of parts..even less without a motor and trans
 
69.5CUDA said:
cow the offer still stand for me to go look at it...but NOT TIHS WEEKEND!!!!

1500$ for a "project"..LOL tho the 07 interior is proly worth it..i wouldnt pay more than about 800 for a dissasembled mash of parts..even less without a motor and trans
Click to expand...

I think I'm gonna pass on the project...unless I could get everything for $500....so far out of all the trucks I've found the 80 orange powerwagon keeps drawing me back.

I'll drop the guy an e-mail and see if it's still available...then maybe next week sometime I can get you to go by and have a look for me.
 
next week is great..only thing that "might" be on my plate next week is taking mom out to see a asshat who is dieing:dgt:(good ridence to another piece of shit asshole from the planet even if it is my grandfather:toot: :giggedy:)..otherwise ALL of next week is open..this weekend ive got a comp on sunday and sat is planed with a buddy of mine to shuffle cars around to move his audi :doh:into "cutting" position..yay seats for the lloyd :shifty:
 
69.5CUDA said:
doc you sure they didng change the small wrap at the back of the cab for the "sqaure" body line? i could have SWORN they did atleast on all the extended cabs(4dr and extra glass)...i know on the 2dr's they didnt
Click to expand...
If memory serves, the upper body line dies mid-door on all the '81-'85 trucks, regardless of cab style (that would mean the front doors on a crew cab). The lower body line never changed with the exception of its traverse around the wheel openings. I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the rear doors are identical from 1972 through 1985.
 
its a rare thing to see a 4dr mopar so i could totaly be wrong doc..just something in the pic made the rear cab body line look 80's defined not 70's smooth
 
http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/1004996386.html

3k23o03p31fb12213691n34923ece547b17ca.jpg
 
Yep the upper body line does die mid-door on 80s trucks. My D-250 is an '81 but it has the exact same cab as a 70s truck does. Lower body line is the same though its shaped differently around the wheel openings.

If I wanted to turn my D-250 into a '79, all I'd have to do is swap the doors, front clip, and then find a good 70s box. I might do that in the future because my clip isnt great at all (one fender has 1/4 inch bondo in it and sucky paint, the other is dented real nicely) and my doors are dinged pretty good. Just depends how things go is all.
 
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