old miller / beastly

[Neb15]

All right! I picked this truck up in May of 2014, its proven to be a good truck and im planing on keeping it so time to do a build thread. This will also help me keep track of what ive done to it. Quick back ground; I bought it from a ranch about 1/2 hr outside the city I live in, the lady had bought it off a guy who was heading home to Australia after living and working in Canada for a while, he did quite a bit of work in the cap to make it good for exploring and camping on his time off, a few things in the truck point to it having bean in that community for a while before and I believe it probably always has bean a farm truck in the general area.
This is the pic in the ad and exactly how it looked when I bought it.

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There was a bit of confusion to what engine was in it but going on the parts code and stickers Im pretty sure its the 5.7L. Was running rough from old gas as it had sat the winter, battery was dead, exhaust loud/leaky, and a few bulbs and fuses were shot. Got it for $600.

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The inside shortly after, I already ripped out a bed area to get more useable space. Wasnt sure what I thought of the cap in the pic but thought it was pretty neat when I saw what had bean done to it, it has foam insulation under all the plywood.

 

[twomanymontes]

The body is a bit rough, but that's repairable. Can't tell if you have a grille guard rom the pic though

 

[RyanMerrick]

Not bad for $600

 

[Neb15]

here's more from when I first brought it home, and after a wash

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Long story short my blazer died and because of recently sinking alot into it and school the budget was small. Really didnt want to go back to a small car and jumped on a truck. Good news the battery and tires I had just put on the blazer were big enough to fit the truck. I also removed the running boards, too flimsy to stand on and I knew eventually get caught and ripped off.

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Have done some basic maintenance but theirs still more to be done, and now I have some newer problems. The Y pipe has started to come apart from one of the manifolds. And the door locks / handles are all messed up in various ways. I will update later with some plans, what ive done, as well as more pics

 

[Suburban1500]

That's an awesome bed cap, I like the lights on it. I'd keep working on that cap and put lights and aux power in it so you can camp out

 

[95C1500]

I like the cap too. Coming from an 18 year old, that means something lol

 

[96C1500]

I've always wanted to do something similar in a cap...

Sent from my Vortec powered HTC One M8

 

[Neb15]

Ive had A LOT of fun last summer with the cap. I do a few music festivals each year, and some crown land / forest reserve camping. I consider the cap an upgrade to a tent for warmth, privacy and noise. However its a lot like my suv, great for sleeping but not a fun place to hang out in. A friend has a small slide in he's willing to give me, and I think its perfect. Really small no cab over but has all the basic stuff in it, will fit inside the long box with tale gate closed, and light enough for the 1/2 ton. This means all the wood inside the back has to go to be able to remove the cap, I originally said no to it but now think its worth it.
A good pic of the inside camping, and my morning view. Same area pics in my sig were taken

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As far as a build thats about my plans for the beast, get it running as good as possible and prepare for a slide in camper for the summer. I also have a stereo to go in. I have one year left before my j-man ticket then I will probably look at something newer and cheaper to run as a daily (current thoughts are a bike or 4x4) and re evaluate the truck then. Its bean a champ at work too for running material and getting me all over rain or shine. Running through all these older photos Im noticing the windshield is getting worse, as is the rust on the bed. It seems as well that i loose trim pieces about as fast as I find it at pick n pull :/ In newer photos Ive found new rear wheel arch chromes to help hold the rust/body together lol. Ill include some fun/cool pics to keep it interesting, as there wont be much expensive over the top custom stuff.

 

[1994]

Chrome fender trim is about the WORST thing to 'help' with rust.

 

[Neb15]

speaking of rust, one winter in the city... might have to try my hand at some bodywork this summer starting with a smaller section

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The truck was running really poorly a week ago, had me worried. Found the cause was loose spark plugs, never had an issue like that before. I bought all new plugs and gave them all a little extra with the wrench. Made me realize I should get some more tools to keep in the truck in case something like that happens in the boonies. During my time under the hood noticed the thermostat I changed is seeping a bit of coolant out so something else to tighten this weekend. Took it out to the mountains today to go snowboarding, not much snow left but still a good trip.

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