drivabeater 4.0: what i should have built last time.

Budget first:



truck: 1200

front brake pads: 29.99

drop shocks, clear headlights, springs, spare rotors, etc: free

glove box:14.15

instrument bezel: 19.61

ash tray and sockets: 12.58

trim panel under dash: 13.06

bumper: 51.93

trailer hitch and 7 pin connector: 37.21

factory trans cooler and lines: 27.25

rockauto order (4 tie rods, lower ball joints. Pitman, idler, plugs, cap and rotor, idler bracket, antenna bezels: 235.21

turn signal switch: 39.99

mirrors: 55.50

fuel filter: 4.99

trans filter: had.

Plug wires: had

fog lights and wiring harness: had

various bulbs: had

oil filter: had

ATF/oil/gear lube: not counting it, because I dont want to. But, not much! Had the gear oil already.



total to date: 1741.47



so, its time to do a real deal build thread post on this truck. Instead of haphazard comments and incoherent ramblings.



The story starts like many others: I already have a cool truck. 95 silverado regular cab shortbed. My daughter, who is 11, has claimed this as her first car. Im ok with it. Its a savage title, high mileage, fully depreciated sport truck that is tired and needs some minor tlc.

20180530_075258 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



So I started truck shopping on craigslist and marketplace for an 09ish extended cab shortben half ton silverado. They are still commanding an insane price in my area. Figured id save for a while, or build a copart truck.



So I mentioned to my body-man buddy that does copart to keep his eyes open for one in black with a tan interior that could be put back together over the course of a couple years. We got to talking about why, when I had a good truck already, I would want to do that. The conversation progressed, and I explained it all to him. I also said that I had slight buyers remorse at not getting a fleetside extended cab version of my truck, as otherwise I had the perfect blend of utility and style.



Couple days later he sends me these pictures, telling me that he told the seller that I was buying this one for me. I could have strangled him. I had no idea it existed.

received_359717505041349 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

received_761625161071684 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

received_330317444832724 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



story was that the truck wass owned by a old coworker of his from 20 years ago. It had been in this part of NC all its life, had 136k, 5.7 4l60e, 2wd. Been parked a couple of years, and $1200. supposedly able to be driven home.



So, I didnt kill him instantly, cause that sounded like a pretty good deal! I agreed to go look at it, with the full understanding that I would throw him under the bus if I chose not to buy it.



When we got there, these two younger, very heavyset girls were trying to get the door open. Apparently, someone came to test drive the truck a month or two ago, and locked the keys inside. They were the only set, and sitting plain as day on the seat. My buddy and I took over getting into the locked truck (we've had more practice. No further comment) while the girls cleaned out the toolbox and bed. They filled a curbside trashcan from the bed, and a contractor trashcan as well. With garbage and unwanted stuff. Another contractor can with stuff they wanted to keep.

When we managed to break in and get the keys, they filled another curbside can of garbage and made a not insignificant pile of keep. This cleared enough room I was willing to test drive it. The truck fired up with no issue after being parked for a month or two, blowing a little oil smoke that cleared up pretty quick. I went for a test drive, noted that the front end was loose, AC inop, violent brake shake and no pedal to speak of, and a hard shifting trans. But truck ran strong, 1t was straight, the fluid dint smell burned, etc. I bought it, as brother Dustin told me he'd buy it if didn't. Worst case, Dustin buys it from me at break even was my thought. The girls finished filling the last trashcan they had while we did title work and paid. Apparently the girls were the owners daughter and her best friend, and the daughter was the last caretaker of the truck, so dad made it her problem to clean out. Cant say I blame him.



They claimed the truck has a shift kit, and they used to pull heavy trailers with it. There's an aftermarket cooler and extra large radiator, so maybe. Also, there was a master cylinder core in the back, and some other evidence of someone chasing brake issues.



we finished the transaction, stopped at the first gas station to clean the windshield, put 10 gallons of fresh gas in it, and shovel out more trash. These are the gas station pictures.

20200829_170710 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20200829_170719 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20200829_170722 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20200829_170729 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20200829_170736 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



we got it home, and parked it next to my red truck so they could get acquainted. I also killed a few wasp nests, and mostly filled the green can from stuff from under the seats and in the bed. I pulled the gm rubber floor mats to clean them, and get the trash from under them. Just staggering....

20200831_091631 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



next stop was to get the first layer of filth off. Started by removing the toolbox and bed rail caps. Then went to the local full service car wash and spent $28 worth of the good money. They washed it, vacuumed it, cleaned the windows, etc. its not clean. Not even close. Hell, the roof is still mostly black. But, its clean enough to clean and work on! Except their undercarriage wash that I paid extra for didn't do a damn thing on all the mud and filth underneath from the trucks years of living on that rutted, red dirt road to the trailer a mile in....

20200902_125700 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20200902_125706 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



took it down to dads after this. Its too long to fit in my shop, and I didn't feel comfortable working in the gravel for an unknown length of time with the truck on jackstands. Just have visions of it sinking and falling.



Anyway, we decided that the violent brake shake was multiple issues. Drums out of round, warped rotors, and badly worn steering linkage.

Step one was the get the spinny bits round again. Turned both drums and both rotors on the brake lathe at my friendly local parts store. The drums were really bad. Like oval bad. Rotor was slight. Other rotor was fine!

20200904_103557 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



Went ahead and bought fresh pads for thoroughness sake. We greased the slides for the front calipers that had probably never been greased, cleaned and repacked bearings, etc.

the brake shake was gone! Pedal steel feels like crap though. Plan is to adjust and re-lube and double check everything, bleed the brakes for fresh fluid, and see what I think. I believe I will ultimately do the gmt800 master swap like I did on the stepside.



So, next stop was parts procurement. Needed to go to the junkyard anyway, so I figured id shop for the new truck while there. But before that, I met up with Brett, whom I had given my leftovers from the stepside to. He used what he needed, sold his truck, and gave me back what was left. Spare brake rotors, lowering springs, headlights and turn signals, etc. all good stuff! My junkyard run netted me a good suburban bumper and trailer hitch (spoiler: suburban don't fit truck), factory trans cooler, gauge bezel, glovebox, knee panel, ash tray, etc. not safety related at all, but stuff to make the truck much nicer.

20200908_134500 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20200908_134507 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20200908_134546 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20200908_134629 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



after we did the brakes, I brought it back to my house to do basics like get it registered and inspected, etc.

so obviously, that ACTUALLY meant make it nicer by doing unnecessary stuff instead of fixing whats broken that relates to safety or reliability.



First up was more cleaning. With superclean and a pressure washer. The underside picture on the lift is out of order, but a good example. Thing cleaned up reasonably well! I'm not sure what the gray damage is on the black plastics. The texture of the plastic is actually different in those spots. I'm thinking acid or something ate into it at some point in its life. Ill probably not worry about it. Probably.

20200910_070312 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20200919_092652 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



then, I moved on to the back bumper. The old one was pretty mangled.

20200911_161305 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20200911_172054 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



suburban one bolted right up. I did adjust it better later....

20200911_172039 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



moved on to the nasty ass interior next. Mostly to get the fragile interior plastics put in their home. The first thing I tackled was the broken glove box. Now, the tan parts I got from the 99/00 Yukon at the junkyard are a different shade of tan. Very obvious. Also, the glovebox outer cover was in worse shape than mine. So I took two, used the best parts of both, and made a good glovebox. I peeled the Yukon RPO label off the box, and used my bandsaw to cut the RPO codes off the original glovebox so I wouldn't lose them.



20200913_083845 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20200913_083849 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



moved on to cleaning ac vents, installing non broken pieces, etc. cleaning parts as I go. I did successfully break my turn signal switch though! Score one for captain hamfist...

20200913_095503 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20200913_080201 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20200913_080149 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



in the process, I failed to figure out how to adjust the ignition switch and shifter to work better for the column lock out. To turn the key to the lock position always requires juggling the shifter. Hopefully its obvious once I pull the turn signal assembly I broke.



Lastly for this post, I grabbed new power mirrors from amazon. The passengers was completely FUBAR, and it was just as cheap to buy two.

20200914_111119 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



dad and I started in yesterday. Got all the steering linkage replaced with fresh (pitman, idler, idler bracket, all four tie rod ends), oil changed, and everything greased. Next is trans service and factory cooler install.

Subbed

Subbed also! You said N.C, where you about in the carolinas?

".....filled trashcan.....removed trash.....filled trashcan....removed trash.....filled trashcan....removed trash.....filled trashcan....removed trash....."

Hoarders truck?

I'm amazed at what passes for a cheap truck down south..... no rust and it's dirt cheap (although in this case if looks like you got a lot of dirt too)

Looks like a good project, but you outspent me on brake pads, first thing. When I buy cheap pads, I usually am sub $10 on Rockauto

Sub'd

454cid said:

".....filled trashcan.....removed trash.....filled trashcan....removed trash.....filled trashcan....removed trash.....filled trashcan....removed trash....."

Hoarders truck?

I'm amazed at what passes for a cheap truck down south..... no rust and it's dirt cheap (although in this case if looks like you got a lot of dirt too)

Looks like a good project, but you outspent me on brake pads, first thing. When I buy cheap pads, I usually am sub $10 on Rockauto

Click to expand...

Not a hoarder i don't think. Not enough signs. However, i don't think id want to eat from their kitchen!

And my thoughts on brake pad prices: not running is an inconvenience. Not stopping will kill you.

Thanks for the welcome back guys!

White96k2500 said:

Subbed also! You said N.C, where you about in the carolinas?

Click to expand...

Outside Charlotte in albemarle

Ive read through your previous driveabeater threads. Love it. Subbed.
Very similar to what I am doing with my truck atm.

dusterbd13 said:

Outside Charlotte in albemarle

Click to expand...

Ohh okay. I’m near asheboro in bennett.