Major Projects on a Daily Driver

[Christiansok]

Looking through the build threads I get envious seeing how thorough people can be when you have the ability to completely dismantle your truck. What about the people who are using their trucks as daily drivers but still want to fix them up? Anyone have any tips for projects that make a big difference without requiring you to decomission your only vehicle for too long?

One of the things that spurred this was thinking about cleaning up my frame. It would make it look a lot nicer but seeing as I drive my truck to work every day I'd either have to arrange a ride to work or leave the body on the frame and do my best. And if a project did take my only vehicle out of commission and it ended up lasting longer than expected because of some unforseen circumstances...well...I'd never hear the end of that I'm sure.

Any tips or small projects that people with daily drivers have done would be much appreciated.

[bosco200]

If you wanting to clean up your frame, I would suggest taking the bed off at least, thats the only way your really going to get it cleaned up and looking nice....I dont really have any advice on what to do when its out of commission, cuz I was 15 when I tore mine apart and couldnt drive any way

[Classic Heartbeat]

The bed and front clip are relatively easy to remove and put back. This would give you the greatest exposure to clean the frame. Just remember to have the replacement core support mounting kit befor you start. You probably won't be able to reuse the one on the truck. As for the section under the cab, prepare to get messy. The only way to do it without removing the cab is to get under it. As for other improvements, just take small projects on at a time. Have the parts to make the repair on hand and work away. Up to the point of paint you should be able to get things done without taking the truck out of commition. WES

[dmack91]

WES is absolutely correct. Tackle only what you are confident you can finish in a reasonable time (I figure what it should take me, and then triple my time estimate).

It is too easy to get carried away and tear down too much, resulting in project burnout.

It takes a special person (with lots of time and money) to tackle a frame off rebuild. Most get the disassembly part done, start on the refurb, then get overwhelmed and eventually walk away from the project.

Keep it attainable and within your time and skill levels and you can enjoy your improvements each time you drive it while thinking what you will do next.

[oldgold70c10]

Have extra parts/assemblies that you can take your time rebuilding off the truck, then install/swap them out during the weekend. I try not to get overly fussy with mine since it is a driver. I figure if I got it too clean/nice, I'd not want to drive it everyday.

[Storm Rider]

I'm doing things bit by bit myself on a daily driver (I have a motorcycle to ride but the truck is my motorcycle shop truck)... though after closely inspecting the chassis and body a lot of work will require taking it out of commission over a weekend in bits and spurts.

To give you an example...

Afternoon projects on my list are.

Rear Springs and Shocks (shouldn't take but an hour or two, parts on hand)
Brake inspection, adjustment, and bleed. (Little longer)
Buff off and treat rust in sections on external body work. (Taking it one face at a time, primer-ing as I go.)
Tint rear window (attempted to do that today and failed.)
Bust rust and prime the rear bumper.
Buff/polish all chrome.


Weekend projects:
Remove bedliner and inspect bed floor. (I'm dreading what I will find.)
Remove body panels one by one and treat rust on the backside.
Remove bed and mount the gas tank under the bed (22gal is currently installed inside a dock box in the bed, pretty ingenious jury rig).
Insert various body work projects as I identify them.

So just take it one step at a time. Don't bite off more than you can chew. And give yourself 2 more hours per job than you think it should take. If it's electrical... give yourself 4 more hours than you think.

If you schedule 6 hours for working on the brakes and get it done in 2... then grab another bit of the list and tackle that. But if you get two successes in one sitting... DON'T go for a third... have a beer and admire the work you did and plan for the next day you have to work on it.

Frank

[PanelDeland]

I cleaned the front frame,the engine bay,and painted them over a period of about 3-4 weeks as time allowed.I didn't remove the front clip so it was not as thorough as I would have liked but I didn't want the truck down too long.I probably could have done the lowering in about 1-2 days but chose to do it over the course of about 2 weeks.I took my time and painted parts and such while doing it.The trick is to have everything you need,including gaskets,paint,and all the little items you can think of.

[OARNGESI]

Find someone with a lift and powerwasher some shops will lety you use theres for a fee you can do wonders with a power washer onen cleaner black paint and under coating and not even take anything apart