I will start the tear down tomorrow. I'm going to take notes, and pictures. Everything will be bagged or labelled, as I don't know when it's going back together.
Quick note:
floor might not be that bad
frame is definitely gone

 

Most of the tear down is done . I just need to pull the cab off the frame, and pull the engine. Not bad for one guy (me) and some hand tools. Took me two days. See what you can accomplish when everybody leaves you alone for once.

 

Always wanted to use this:

But I know it is a pain to take'em sometimes when you get rolling on a project...

 

What I started with:


Tools:

Still need to pull the engine:

Cab is empty:

Frame is gone:



Hopefully I can save the floor:





Small holes in inner fender:


Broken leaf:

All parts/bolts/screws bagged and tagged:


Still need to remove/gut the doors and remove all glass.

 

Step One : Find a 1983 4X4 shortbed frame...

 

I am starting to feel pretty good about my 82 I found for $600. You have lots of work to do but it will be worth it in the end. Keep up the good work!

 

Too bad you are not in the PNW, frames come up on craiglist all the time.
http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/pts/386490031.html $200--shortbed
http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/pts/388159487.html --long bed

There was on recently that had a sky off road manufacturing suspension set up..
I am glad that I left the east coast a few years ago. Seems like new cars get old quick with all the salt on the roads during the winter

awsome job keeping your parts inventoried..gonna save some headaches down the road

 

NICE job on the dismantal , and organization of pieces .. It'll go a long way .

 

Start building us some frames Slacker!!!!!!

 

Don't forget floor pans and rockers

 

x2! you can build a heep out of a catolouge! how a bout some basics for the first gen guys>? haha


anywho, tear downs are always fun, the tagging and bagging...well i commend you on a job well done, never could do that haha, i just have a bunch of trays with sorted 10mm,12mm,14mm in long and short thats all these toys are! gotta love it

 

I got the rest of the parts off the cab, pulled the cab off the frame (how light they are with nothing in them). I put the cab on a small skid so it's not directly on the ground. I washed the floor, walls and inner fenders.
Tomorrow I'll pull the axles (springs are no good), trans/t-case, and engine.

Then hello Mr.

Will post pics in a couple...

 

frame


cab

 

right on ..

I did this one a few years back as well . had to weld in new floors .. almost the same as your project .. original frame was not as bad as yours , but I still had to replace it .



complete frame up ..

POR-15'd the new/used WET SANDBLASTED frame , and went from there ..







KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK .





.

 

That black on the inside of the cab and lower part of the firewall, is that POR-15 also? While I'm waiting for a frame, I'm going to start the process of repairing the cab.
I also saw another 1983 longbed for sale. I'll call and hopefully look at it today. It's in the same town that I bought this one, weird! The frame is bad but maybe the cab is in better shape.
One could only hope.

 

yep , after I did the floors , I had the whole underside sand blasted , and POR-15'd the inside , as well as the out side .

make sure , before you start welding in new pieces , you clean out the inside floor silencer , the "tar" type stuff on the floor ..

 

Well, looked at the other '83. The frame is ALOT worse than mine! The cab looks to have the same "damage" as mine. The inner fenders do not look to have rust holes. It has a bed, it looks also to have surface rust and the part right behind the cab on the pass side is bent up a little.

It's $500 OBO. I know someone who'll go half because they want the plow that's on it. I could probably pull the hood, fenders, bed and some other little parts, then scrap the rest.

I decided to save my money and put it towards a frame.