No money - what to do to/on my truck?
 

Guys, I need your help.

We literally have little to no money right now to spend on my truck ('68 C10). It runs and drives, although I've been biking to work to save $$$.

What projects can I do to the old girl that will still keep me busy and working on her, but cost less than - say 50 bucks per month - for awhile?

She needs a lot of work - new/rebuilt engine, tranny work, body/paint, etc... :lol:

We just moved to Michigan from Alaska and are trying to get our finances straightened out.

Thanks for any suggestions!

just keep it on the road a bit. letting one sit without running it will kill one worse than anything. i let one sit for a year or so and next thing ya know i was replacing water pump, alternator, calipers, and all kinds of stupid stuff. i'd drive it at least 10 miles a week or so.
also, hello from a fellow yooper. i was born in munising and raised in the u.p. all my life. keep that thing in the garage for the winter. :)

Scrub the piss out of it. Cleaning agents won't cost too much so most of it is elbow grease.

Bodywork is cheap and takes a lot of time to do right. When I am limited on funds for a given period, I spend time on a given area of the body. Since my truck is "rattle can flat black" I can work on a small area, then paint it at the end of the weekend and it looks better and better each week while I save for the larger projects.

Last weekend I bought a gallon of bondo, box of paper, and 3 cans of paint. Grand total was $35 and will keep me busy for the next few weekends. This weekend I picked up a '95 Chevy Silverado 60/40 seat for $50 off Craig's List. It cost me $8 for all the bolts, springs, and wire to install them with full adjustablility. I also just bought a complete clear light kit off ebay (from GMC Pauls) to replace all my side markers and tail lights with clear lenses with colored bulbs. Total cost with shipping was $53. They were willing to combine shipping on the side markers, reverse and tail lights that saved me $18 on the complete set.

Next is a white face guage kit ($22 shipped off ebay) and carbon fiber overlays ($5 a foot, also ebay). With new bulbs, my complete dash rebuild will also be less than $50.

All my little projects give me something to do while I save for the motor rebuild. I have also picked up a lot of stuff over the past few weeks like my Carter AFB carb ($50), Edelbrock Intake (also $50), MSD distributor ($60), Edelbrock air cleaner and valve covers ($50 for both) all out of the paper or off Craig's List. The dollar amounts are small enough that my wife doesn't freak and right before her eyes my truck went from a $600 farm truck to a good looking cruiser and she doesn't know why :)

Yoou can also sell things you upgrade to recoupe osme of the costs as well. Good luck on your rig.

take the bed off for a weekend// wirebrush and sand the back part of the frame a quart of rustoleum is about $6.00 while you're at it check the wirein to the back lights a length of trailer harness wire is about 10-15 if they need replacement// the following weekend flip the bed upside down clean it up use the rest of the rustoleum// the weekend after that take one of the front inner fenders out clean paint the inner fender and that section of the frame// pull the seat out clean and paint the floor

you can make a big difference with elbow grease and cheap paint

Wow - thanks for all the great ideas!!! I always find myself trying to do the biggest projects first - bad move. The smaller (and less expensive) will do the trick!

Don't forget that setting achievable goals helps keep you motivated.:D

Yepper...that's exactly what I am hoping to do - keep the goals small, keep the interest high! :metal:

Drogster,

welcome to Michigan, I am in Kalamazoo...where abouts in Michigan did you land?


Chris

Spend the time now to clean it up. That will make it easier to work on in the future.

I did this last weekend.............. pulled the seat out and all of the old ratty carpet and pad put in by prior owner. He had a few rust holes in floor, all the pad and carpet had gotten soaked and fortunately for me I got it all out of there to acces and plan some repairs, The damage is minimal now but had I given it a year or two, oh well!!! I then took some Naval Jelly I picked up at Schucks for a few dollars and smeared it around in every where I could get to, this was after vaccuming scraping etc to all of the floor area and removing all of the loose rust.

This is by no means a permanent cure, there are still a number of spots requiring cutting out the rust and patching in new metal, but it is cheap and adds to peace of mind.
Another thing I did to my truck when I had to replace front ring and pinion (4x4) was to take everything apart from the front axle that was fairly accesible,steering rods backing plates and steering knuckles. This gave me time to get all of the money together for parts while painting etc. to all of the rest. I used the Rustoleum flat black....about 7-8 dollars a quart and cleaned and painted the frame etc.

A lotta work...........a lotta time.............hardly any money spent.

Keep your eye on the handout add papers you find at gas stations and markets, I found an entire front clip in cherry condition off a 68.............zero rust and good trim for 200 bucks. A parts truck for 500 that was running.................transfercase, 4- speed tranny and all kindsa stuff that I can use on my project.

Leg work is cheap also. Plan a day or two a month at the wrecking yards..................a regular gold mine!

Talk it up at work too. I just scored a Crane Hydraulic Roller cam from a guy I work with that took it out of his 383 ( wanted more lump!) I payed 125 for it , less than half!
Also I got a Carter ( now Edelbrock ) 750 carb for 100 that is like new. Complete with a bunch of jet rods and springs also!

One other thing I do is to buy a good penetyrating oil and get into and around your truck on every fastener. It goes a long way to getting out the stuck bolts.
I did a Willys truck, thourougly neglected , had long term rust in places and only twisted a very few bolts dissassembling the entire body from chassis. The truck is almost 60 years old!!!!

Use pen oil and lotsa patience and it will go a long way!

Thanks again guys.

I'm in Sault Ste. Marie now. Born and raised in Traverse City. Went to college (1 year) at Western. Don't remember much of that year though!