Firewood truck
Newbie
I've been posting in the 'introduction' section, so it's time to start a thread in here. I guess that this is the best place as my truck isn't a restoration project or an off-road toy, it's just a crusty beater that I got for a few hundred bucks in March (2023).. I set a budget and have been doing basic repairs and buying as few new parts as possible, usually as many junkyard/parts trucks parts as possible without any shame!
As I dug into the turd, I had seriously thought about scrapping it a few times but realized that I could pull this off if I stayed true to only fixing what was necessary to make it a functional ( and safe to drive) beater truck. I still have a few engine oil leaks to hunt down and a few odds and ends to wrap up, but for the most part I feel like I can drive it where ever I need to take it, once I get it to start!
Here's how I got it. Looks are deceiving, although I gave it a hard look over and drove it (against the advice of the guy selling it) so I thought that I had a decent idea what I was getting myself into.
Right off the bat, I knew it needed full brakes and shocks, front and rear. I also had to replace the rear brake line after finding 3 sections put together with compression fittings. New flex lines and a MC rounded out that mess. E brake cables also got installed.
The truck had a homemade exhaust on it, it was beyond a hack job. I salvaged a complete exhaust from a '94 from the manifolds to the tail pipe, for $50. It didn't take very much to make it bolt into place. I had to drill 2 holes in the rear of the frame for the tail pipe hanger.
Front and rear shocks, the old ones on the front looked like originals. New upper control arms that came with ball joints along with some OEM alignment cams from a parts truck. I had no idea that GM actually welded in washers to hold the alignment from the factory. While I was in there, the old CV axles were shot from someone cranking the torsion bars to the moon. New CV's went in along with a used ( but not broken) front diffy.
The replacement came out of a low mileage K1500, same 3.73 gears as the old one that came out of the truck. I also had to replace the wiper motor.
Rear bench seat from a crew cab replaced the remains of a destroyed seat that was in the truck when I got it. The interior got some wiring issues sorted so that the interior lights all work the way they're supposed to. I had the tilt column apart to replace the ignition cylinder and ignition switch along with a repair to the tilt mechanism.
I had to replace the intake manifold gasket twice because I didn't get a good seal in the rear of the valley the 1st time.
I think that covers the bulk of the work. I still need to track down a decent engine oil leak and I need to replace the bulbs in the HVAC controller and the headlight switch.
As I dug into the turd, I had seriously thought about scrapping it a few times but realized that I could pull this off if I stayed true to only fixing what was necessary to make it a functional ( and safe to drive) beater truck. I still have a few engine oil leaks to hunt down and a few odds and ends to wrap up, but for the most part I feel like I can drive it where ever I need to take it, once I get it to start!
Here's how I got it. Looks are deceiving, although I gave it a hard look over and drove it (against the advice of the guy selling it) so I thought that I had a decent idea what I was getting myself into.
Right off the bat, I knew it needed full brakes and shocks, front and rear. I also had to replace the rear brake line after finding 3 sections put together with compression fittings. New flex lines and a MC rounded out that mess. E brake cables also got installed.
The truck had a homemade exhaust on it, it was beyond a hack job. I salvaged a complete exhaust from a '94 from the manifolds to the tail pipe, for $50. It didn't take very much to make it bolt into place. I had to drill 2 holes in the rear of the frame for the tail pipe hanger.
Front and rear shocks, the old ones on the front looked like originals. New upper control arms that came with ball joints along with some OEM alignment cams from a parts truck. I had no idea that GM actually welded in washers to hold the alignment from the factory. While I was in there, the old CV axles were shot from someone cranking the torsion bars to the moon. New CV's went in along with a used ( but not broken) front diffy.
Rear bench seat from a crew cab replaced the remains of a destroyed seat that was in the truck when I got it. The interior got some wiring issues sorted so that the interior lights all work the way they're supposed to. I had the tilt column apart to replace the ignition cylinder and ignition switch along with a repair to the tilt mechanism.
I had to replace the intake manifold gasket twice because I didn't get a good seal in the rear of the valley the 1st time.
I think that covers the bulk of the work. I still need to track down a decent engine oil leak and I need to replace the bulbs in the HVAC controller and the headlight switch.
