Hello all! New guy here with a recent purchase. Its a very tired rusty 83 that I was initially going to put a flatbed on and use to hunt on and just beat it up. I figured that would be fine since the truck is in such rough shape anyway. I have always loved these trucks but here in south Alabama most people think that these things no matter what shape there in should be on Barrett Jackson for what they are asking for them. LOL........Anyways like I said before I have always loved these trucks and got this one and after stumbling on this website searching google for parts I have found a passion for this thing now that I hope stays with me. I just cant see trashing this thing out any worse than it already is now after looking at some of the trucks on here and every time I look at it now I want to fix or work on something. I want to say THANK YOU to all of the Yota guys and gals that have kept these things alive and have given me a passion to breath new life into something that was truly headed to a devastating state! I will post more pics as soon as I can resize all of them.

 

I cant get the picture larger but it does look like it has some great potential. Great looking trucks and easy to work on. Lots of info here. I will move your build to the Pre 84 section where others with like minds can be of great help when you need it. https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f197/ Welcome to Yotatech.

 

THANK YOU! and Love your rigs!

 

well maybe these will work LOL I cleaned the camo paint off of the rims. Not the greatest things but better I think

 

This old girl has ALOT of cancer and I don't think the bed is going to make it. The tailgate doesn't seem to be correct for the year. The latches have nothing to latch too and looks as if there never was anything to attach too.

 

the interior is shot!!! and that's putting it lightly.

 

That is cool, there is a guy on here that sells fiber glass parts for these trucks. beds, front fenders, ect. The fenders on my trailblazer are kinda' beat up so I might go the route of fiber glass fenders, and the front head light mounting face(don't know what it is called.)
What size tires are those?

 

Thanks! I am pretty sure they are 33x12.50x15 previous owner had 35's on it at one time hence the butchering of the fenders.

 

Not much but at least it is a start. LOL pun intended I guess picked this stuff up today and got the battery safely wired up and secured and replaced the tired starter. Spins over like a new one now. putting the energy suspension sway bar bushings on tomm and the mount bushings(the factory ones are non existent). Hopefully that will soften up the ride a little? with the spring over lift and the what once was power steering with no pump and wasted shocks it rides like big wheel going down stairs! I ordered a drag link rebuild kit and hopefully have enough sense to rebuild it. don't have a lot of roaming on the road but the steering does have some play in it and that is where most if not all is coming from.

 

Looking forward to your build. Let me know how those sway bar bushing turn out and if they help at all. Mine are pretty shot. That tailgate inst for that truck bed as you figured. These trucks either had two side lathes or a single handle in the middle of the tailgate.

I might be interested in trading tail gates with you depending on the condition of yours. I have a single latch tailgate on a double latch bed. We have what each other needs lol.

 

Thanks! Your build is what has changed my mind about trashing out this truck and bringing her back to life. The tailgate isn't in the greatest shape I will try to get you some better pics of it tomm. I don't think that it is rusted out but has a dent or two In her for sure. (camo Paint hides a lot of stuff! LOL but the good news is if it isn't correct I don't want it so my fiancé wants to go to Huntsville to see her mom and oldest daughter is up there in college so road trip! we will bring it with up and maybe meet up somewhere if we can get the schedules matched up!

 

That's a long drive for me. Shipping it would be much better.

 

ok I will see what I can do for ya

 

well here are a few pics of the dash after I got it out.........uhhhhh whats left of it anyway.

 

here is a few after about 4 hours work on the top. I grabbed the closest thing I had to spray a cheat coat on it so I can do some final blocking to see where my high/low spots are. Not going to be perfect but hopefully better than it was.

 

Nice dash! What did you use to repair it?

The drag link is pretty common sense - put it back together in the order you took it apart. The hardest part is getting it off if it is seized on. I used a big prybar screw driver with a square shank to grab at with a crescent wrench. But to tell you the truth, the drag link doesn't typically wear too bad and if you have a little bit of wondering you may just need to tighten it up a bit.

Good luck with the build!

 

Thanks Kawazx636, Well I am trying with just straight bondo this first time. If this doesn't give me the results I am looking for I have talked to some people that have used some plastic filler also a lot like bondo and f that doesn't work then I guess vinyl cover LOL.

 

You made that dash look a 100 time better then it was. Your generation of trucks really turns heads when fixed up. It is kind of fun finding different ways of fixing things. Grego92 made new door panels for his truck all from scratch and turned out great. Another thing that makes builds so great. Keep at it and you will get it.

 

Just a little information for you - Bondo is a brand, not a specific type of filler. Bondo makes all kinds of fillers and isn't necessarily a bad choice when it comes to certain things. Personally I go with higher grade products due to the nature of my projects - especially for exterior body work. I'm not saying that using the brand is wrong for your application (obviously, I wouldn't go out and get a $120 gallon of filler to do a job on a vehicle that is just going to get bashed), but the type of Bondo you used may be inadequate.

Like I said, I don't know what type of filler you used, but here's some guidance for you on the types of fillers:

• Resin & Fiberglass Mat/Woven Roving - good for large repairs and recovering things that have an existing shape to cover. This is what a lot of guys use on their dashes (followed by other fillers for finishing). Can be a bit messy and challenging for those who have never done it before. It withstands a fair amount of expansion and flexing to prevent cracking. You also would want to do some research on epoxy vs polyester resins depending on how you plan on top coating it and your budget.
• Long Strand/Kitty Hair filler - a long fiber fiberglass reinforced filler (looks like cat hair in a goop of thick mud) - this is what I typically think of when somebody says Bondo. It yields good strength and can be applied rather easily, but doesn't feather well and usually requires additional lightweight filler over top to get a desirable finished surface. The fiber reinforcement helps prevent cracking and can take a good bit of expansion.
• Short Strand filler - Similar to the above long strand, but this has very short fiberglass fibers to reinforce the filler. The fibers are so small that that is resembles more of a thin paste. This is great for filling bigger dents and developing a contoured surface. It can be sanded rather smooth and feathers out "ok" - good enough for a texture painted surface, but not for a gloss paint job.
• Lightweight filler - these are your "plastic" fillers usually made of polyester base. Great for smoothing and surfacing mild imperfections - 99% of all high quality restorations have some sort of lightweight filler on them - the other 1% uses lead or body solder. Sands and feathers very well, but may require glazing putty to achieve a flawless finish. Does not flex well and can crack easily. Most manufacturers say not to apply it more than 1/4" thick, but my rule of thumb is around 1/8" thick or less.
• Glazing putty - basically a thinned lightweight filler that has better leveling and filling characteristics. Used to finish body work - feather edges, minor surface leveling, filling pin holes, etc. Sands extremely well - I never touch it with anything more coarse than 220 grit.

The problem with dash pads is that they are made up of foam or soft materials. Softer materials can bend, flex, expand and contract more. When you put something more rigid over top of it, that can be a recipe for disaster if it isn't reinforced enough.



My dash is in rather good shape, but I will likely do something like others have done to their's. My steps will likely be

1. Clean/degrease/dewax the crap out of it (this is VERY important after years of Armor All on it)
2. Scuff the crap out of (40-80 grit)
3. Repeat #1 again
4. Lay fiberglass woven roving over the dash using epoxy resin (this will give me my strong base to prevent cracking)
5. Trim/sand
6. Apply a short strand filler to achieve the general shape
7. Apply a lightweight filler to smooth the shape
8. Glazing putty as needed
9. Urethane surfacer primer
10. Top coat

Wow, I just went on a little rant there... sorry


Hopefully you used the Kitty Hair that I think of when people say Bondo. In that case, I think you'll likely be ok.

 

Thanks Terrys87 just trying a little something different
Thanks for the info kawazx636, I have been in paint and body a long time and mechanics as well and yes I totally agree with you on the fillers and the reason I went with the cheap bondo instead of the rage gold or the lightweight filler was just as you mentioned.... the cost. I had a can of the cheap stuff someone gave to me and I figured what the heck I cant hurt it no more than it already is so I would try it. after letting it sit in the sun today it seems to have held up pretty well but I also feel like it may just be a band aid on a head wound if you will. we have used the kitty hair and fiberglass resin in the past and the problems we have had with it is the difference in the heat expansion vs the factory foam and plastic and it caused a lot of warping so I had never tried this ave so went for broke LOL. I am thinking however to get this one done and smoothed out and I have a good friend that makes fiberglass molds and have a mold made where we can pour them and see how it turns out. But again thanks for the advice I do appreciate any ones input if it can help me or anyone else!