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I've come as this seems to be the best place to document my resurrection. My dad bought this truck new in 1979 and drove it every day until about 2003. I grew up in this truck, played in it, learned to drive in it, etc. In the mid 2000's, he gave it to my brother and I. Around 2009, my brother sold it to a guy he knew. I allowed it being that I was too busy in the Marine Corps at the time to worry about it. I've thought about the truck over the years and even looked at buying one, but never took it seriously. Several months ago, my dad bought a Mini Cooper as a tow behind vehicle for their RV. It needed some work and he took it to a shop in town. In the back lot sat the truck. He snapped a pick of it and sent it to my brother and I. I never knew who my brother sold it to, but it was this guy that owns the shop. I asked if he'd sell it and long story short, we closed the deal and she's now back in the fam.
She's rough... Probably hasn't been driven in about 15 years and had seen some hard off-roading in the few years before being parked. The previous owner replaced the 20R with a 22R and the 4-speed with a 5-speed. I toyed with just getting her running and driving her some, but the more I looked, the more I found and I think it's far beyond a simple fix and drive. Ultimately, I want to tear down and do it right, so that's what I've started. I'm only two days in so far.
Day 1: Started removing things. Seat, seatbelts, vinyl flooring or what was left of it. Hood, front bumper, grill, headlights, and quarter panels. Some serious and some not so serious rust. Probably the typical for this truck. Floorboards are the worst. Driver side quarter panel has a hole at the bottom corner where it collects dirt. Started removing the dash, not my favorite thing. I'll get it out eventually.
Day 2. Brought out the wire wheel to dig through some rust and get a better look. Floorboards were pretty much as expected. Fairly rotten on both sides. Seat braces are both rotted out at the outer edges. Found some pinholes in the roof just above the driver-side door. Bed is bad off, both from rust and being backed into trees most likely. Not sure if the tailgate is salvageable. Pinch welds are rotting through on the driver-side. Passenger side not so bad.
I've never welded, so I've got that mountain to climb. I'll be looking for advice on anything and everything, so if you see anything you've tackled and have suggestions, please fire away.
Last edited by ultrayogger; Jun 6, 2025 at 05:31 AM.
Reason: Title Change
Intro video is okay, but the next 5 are pretty dumb. I've never done video stuff before, later ones are bearable but also mostly dumb.
One tip, take it all apart, all the way, no holding back. From the pictures yours is maybe a bit better off than mine but not by much. No sense in thinking you're saving yourself time by keeping something together.
Last edited by booyah11; Jun 10, 2025 at 02:54 PM.
I got the '78 resurrection thread! Best of luck on it, mine has been a rotten disaster but it's cool bringing something back from the dead.
Intro video is okay, but the next 5 are pretty dumb. I've never done video stuff before, later ones are bearable but also mostly dumb.
One tip, take it all apart, all the way, no holding back. From the pictures yours is maybe a bit better off than mine but not by much. No sense in thinking you're saving yourself time by keeping something together.
Yeah... I tried to change the title after I saw yours. I'll be following along. You're much farther along than I am.
Jun 6, 2025 | 05:19 AM
