AaronW
Full Access Member
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2021
- Posts
- 238
- Reaction score
- 294
- Location
- MT
- First Name
- Aaron
- Truck Year
- 89
- Truck Model
- V3500
- Engine Size
- 454
Hey everyone. Looking for some thoughts on what to do with the truck in the picture. It's a 1980 Chevy dually 2wd. 4 speed manual, custom deluxe, 350. This will take a minute to explain, so bear with me.
Here's the story: I ended up with it for a year or so ago. I bought it for the flat bed that was on it, which I was going to cut down to size and put on my 89 crew cab. However, a friend of mine had a use for the flat bed as-is, and he had a flat dump bed that came off a 76 Ford High boy, that was a perfect fit for my crew cab, so I traded him (and got an engine hoist thrown into the bargain).
So now, I've got the cab and chassis of the truck in the picture. The guy I bought it from had a new front bumper, hood, both front panels, and the whole front panel that the radiator and headlights mount to, so I've got all the parts I'd need to fix the crunched front end. the cab corners are rotten, as are the bottoms of the doors, and I think it would need rockers, too. Engine runs, has 70,000 or so miles on it. I don't know what kind of shape it's in, though. valve cover gaskets are definitely leaking, but that's about all I know.
So here are my questions for the assembled multitude here:
1. As I said, I've got an 89 crew cab that's currently in the final stages of a complete rehab job. My son has the 75 GMC half ton 4wd, 4 speed manual, that's sitting next to it in the picture; we've just gotten started working on that truck. One option would be to scrap the dually. In this case, I'd pull the engine, and use it as an excuse to learn something and do a complete engine rebuild, which I've never done before. I could probably sell the extra parts I've got, and maybe chop off the rear end, and build a trailer out of it, with a nice 1 ton axle underneath, or maybe just pull all the suspension out of it, in case that might be useful on my crew cab someday. If I scrap it, is this substantially the same engine and transmission that's in my son's half ton next to it? Here, I'm thinking we'd have an extra engine/transmission that could go in my son's truck, if we needed it.
2. I could keep the truck and fix the front end. In this case, what would make the most sense would be to put chains on the back, put some 55 gallon drums of water over the rear axle, and plow snow with it. Here, I'd probably rig up some sort of redneck utility bed, mount a generator on it and a tool box, and use it as a utility vehicle on my 15 acres, you get the idea. Alternately, I suppose, I could go all out, rebuild the engine, hone some body work skills a bit more, and see if I could sell it.
There's probably a bunch of other options, but you get the idea. Basically, I just need to decide if it makes more sense to part it out, if that makes sense in light of parst that could fit on our other rigs, or if it make more sense to keep it.
What do you guys think? Ideas? Suggestions? (Alternately, if somebody wants to come give me some money for it and the spare parts right now, it's all yours
)
Aaron
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Here's the story: I ended up with it for a year or so ago. I bought it for the flat bed that was on it, which I was going to cut down to size and put on my 89 crew cab. However, a friend of mine had a use for the flat bed as-is, and he had a flat dump bed that came off a 76 Ford High boy, that was a perfect fit for my crew cab, so I traded him (and got an engine hoist thrown into the bargain).
So now, I've got the cab and chassis of the truck in the picture. The guy I bought it from had a new front bumper, hood, both front panels, and the whole front panel that the radiator and headlights mount to, so I've got all the parts I'd need to fix the crunched front end. the cab corners are rotten, as are the bottoms of the doors, and I think it would need rockers, too. Engine runs, has 70,000 or so miles on it. I don't know what kind of shape it's in, though. valve cover gaskets are definitely leaking, but that's about all I know.
So here are my questions for the assembled multitude here:
1. As I said, I've got an 89 crew cab that's currently in the final stages of a complete rehab job. My son has the 75 GMC half ton 4wd, 4 speed manual, that's sitting next to it in the picture; we've just gotten started working on that truck. One option would be to scrap the dually. In this case, I'd pull the engine, and use it as an excuse to learn something and do a complete engine rebuild, which I've never done before. I could probably sell the extra parts I've got, and maybe chop off the rear end, and build a trailer out of it, with a nice 1 ton axle underneath, or maybe just pull all the suspension out of it, in case that might be useful on my crew cab someday. If I scrap it, is this substantially the same engine and transmission that's in my son's half ton next to it? Here, I'm thinking we'd have an extra engine/transmission that could go in my son's truck, if we needed it.
2. I could keep the truck and fix the front end. In this case, what would make the most sense would be to put chains on the back, put some 55 gallon drums of water over the rear axle, and plow snow with it. Here, I'd probably rig up some sort of redneck utility bed, mount a generator on it and a tool box, and use it as a utility vehicle on my 15 acres, you get the idea. Alternately, I suppose, I could go all out, rebuild the engine, hone some body work skills a bit more, and see if I could sell it.
There's probably a bunch of other options, but you get the idea. Basically, I just need to decide if it makes more sense to part it out, if that makes sense in light of parst that could fit on our other rigs, or if it make more sense to keep it.
What do you guys think? Ideas? Suggestions? (Alternately, if somebody wants to come give me some money for it and the spare parts right now, it's all yours
)Aaron
