Shop truck project

Chad.S

Chad.S

Oldtimer
Not sure what category to put this in, it's not really a restoration and it's definitely not a collision project, so i decided to put it in here..

Been looking around for a dodge diesel 4x4 for a while and I came across this truck.
It's a little rough around the edges, but for a diesel the mileage was low, and the price was good. I was shocked to see how much these diesel trucks were selling for around here, so i started looking around for some wrecks, and trucks that needed work. And I came across this one.
 
Here's some pics..

Yea, i know,, it's ugly.. lol..
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First step to fixing it up is tearing it apart.
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next step.
make sure it has a worthy drivetrain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi3hMcnuJck
 
And this is why the town loves me. lol...
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Ok time to tear into it a little deeper..
Pretty much throwing a lot of new metal at this one. door bottoms, rockers, fenders, and I even traded some stereo equipment for another truck that had a better bed, switched beds and then sold the truck. New bed is clean but one side is beat up, might even get a bed side, we'll see how ambitious i get.
Goal is to see how much i can do without putting much money into it. So far so good. Other than a LOT of labor.

New bottoms
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New Rockers and corners.
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Hoping to put some time into it in the next few weeks, i want to get it primed, edged in and doors back on it as soon as i can, this thing i taking up way to much shop space.
I am planning on doing it in charcoal, but not 100% on that yet.
 
Black318is;611 said:
No bed....That's cheating...What year is the beast?
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Could say so, but would have been much better on the truck. The rubber that had to be cleaned off the cab, roof and fenders was nasty. lol..


It's a 1999
 
Chad, nice smokey burnout! Will make a great shop truck and you'll definetly get some use out of the 4-wheel drive in Michigan. Also should make awesome tow vehicle. Joe
 
Nice burn out!

Not sure you know but Andy ran ford diesels in quart mile, so he knows how to tune for power.
 
Ya, it does pretty decent for stock.. I thought andy only did the VW's.. I haven't even started driving it yet and i already feel like a diesel was the way to go.
 
Just wait until you tow with it, compared to gas the hills just disappear.
 
Chad.S;721 said:
I have had a couple people tell me that..
I just don't want to loose any reliability.
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Smarty won't hurt your drivetrain. If it is not a Smarty I wouldn't use a tuner.
Give Bob Wagner a call : http://shop.wagnerandassociates.biz/main.sc

I bought a Smarty from an online dealer (not Bob) and of course it had to be the one in a million that had a glitch. I called the seller and they said send it back and we will check it out and if I had not damaged it they would then send a new one to me.

As I was leaving in 3 days for a 5k towing trip I didnt want to wait. I called Bob Wagner and asked him if there was something that I could do to get it to correctly load.
After telling Bob the steps I had been through, he said " You are leaving in 3 days correct? I will ship you a new one overnite, just send me back the one you have asap".

The next day around 11 am the new Smarty was delivered by the big brown truck. Included was a prepaid shipping label to send the faulty one back.
I quickly put the faulty one in the new box, applied the label and handed it back to the driver.

Even more amazing, the dealer I bought it from was not one of Bobs dealers, the unit had been bought through a different distributor.
 
It won't mess with the drivetrain.. I am just worried about putting more power to it and start causing things to go out.
 
Also thinking i have my colors picked out.. I just sprayed cab jambs and fenders with a color that was inspired by jim, and mixed up some of that mazda green..
It's not exactly what i was looking for but it's a touch lighter and yellower.. Well that might be perfect if i spray a green candy around the edges and tips.. a easy way to get 2 colors into it. and i think it will still have a nice color shift under the candy,, i need to do a card or something..
 
Pics bro.. More pics.. You are already shooting color?? Holy cow, you guys are sooo fast!!

Kewl project by the way Chad
 
Bondoking;774 said:
Pics bro.. More pics.. You are already shooting color?? Holy cow, you guys are sooo fast!!

Kewl project by the way Chad
Click to expand...


Shooting color on the jambs,, not the exterior.. not that fast..
Was planning on working on doors tomorrow to try and prime and edge but looks like i'm going to the track to get another adrenaline rush tomorrow.

Glad you like the project. Definitely a transformation.
 
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