what year truck did i buy?? experts needed!!

[mooman929]

Well this thread exploded and I 100% agree. Its almost impossible these days to find a unmolested squarebody unless you pay out the nose.

yeah sad thing is I paid too much. pics were a lot nicer than it was and I drove 4.5 hours with a trailer and cash and that's the only reason I hauled it home....

 

[MadOgre]

yeah sad thing is I paid too much. pics were a lot nicer than it was and I drove 4.5 hours with a trailer and cash and that's the only reason I hauled it home....

I have concerns about the safety of those cross members as it looks like every cross member but the front one has been hacked in there.

 

[mooman929]

I have concerns about the safety of those cross members as it looks like every cross member but the front one has been hacked in there.

yeah if there would be any kind of bad luck it would happen to me.....but again I appreciate all the help from everyone. you guys are great!

 

[MadOgre]

yeah if there would be any kind of bad luck it would happen to me.....but again I appreciate all the help from everyone. you guys are great!

Oh well the body looks like its in real good shape so just keep your eyes open for a complete frame. The 87' 3/4 ton frame is a real nice one. If it were me I would track down one of those frames, paint it up nice and swap all your stuff over onto it. And then you would have a rockin awesome truck!

 

[mooman929]

Oh well the body looks like its in real good shape so just keep your eyes open for a complete frame. The 87' 3/4 ton frame is a real nice one. If it were me I would track down one of those frames, paint it up nice and swap all your stuff over onto it. And then you would have a rockin awesome truck!

I actually have a good 83 k20 parts truck in the woods our back. If needed I'll do that!

 

[MadOgre]

I actually have a good 83 k20 parts truck in the woods our back. If needed I'll do that!

OK well all you have to do then is get crakkin! LOL

In 84' they updated the front engine cross member and installed a little piece on the passenger side to prevent the cross member from cracking. This and the one for the steering gear can be added to your 83 easy peasy. Just need to find the brackets at a wreckers or something. They are riveted on so you will need to use a drill and cold chisel to get them off. You could just use a cold chisel and a 2lb hand sledge, it would just take a while longer.

These 2 updates make the front end a lot less prone to cracking. Personally I would get the ORD brace for the steering box as well.

http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/steeringkit.htm