1986 3+3 4x4

[LT7A]

Tell the truth. You'll have that van lowered, tinted out, and with tear-drop windows within the next couple of months, haha. That'll be a handy rig and a great donor.

[jcramsey]

Hahah. I’d totally drive that.My parents borrowed a family friends GMC Vandura to go camping when we were kids back in the 80s. Shag carpet, mattress in the back with some teardrop windows with pillow inserts. We thought that thing was awesome.

[jcramsey]

Finished getting some patches booger welded in the wheel wells and sat the bed up on the frame. Just got to make a floor for it now, straighten out the passenger wheel well, cut off the bumper, wire some lights…

[jcramsey]

Freed the 6.0 from the van a few weeks back as well.

[jjzepplin]

In on this one! That 3+3 was the doner vehicle I stole my Dana 60 front axle from. Nice project!

[jcramsey]

Originally Posted by jjzepplin

In on this one! That 3+3 was the doner vehicle I stole my Dana 60 front axle from. Nice project!

You got your Dana 60 from this truck? I'd be curious to know where all this thing has been!

[jcramsey]

Scrapped together some rails and cross members and cut some boards my brother salvaged from a job. Still need to make a couple more floor supports and work on securing it to the frame. Hoping to find some old bed strips to fill the gaps as well.

[jcramsey]

Managed to get a few hours in here and there over the past few weeks. Finally got the bed secured to the frame and my boards bolted in. Still need to cut two strips to fill the gaps on the sides. Got the lights wired up the other night and finished making a new filler neck for the gas tank today. Finally moved for the first time in a long while and now it looks like the rear seal on the transfer case decided it doesn’t want to exist anymore.

[jjzepplin]

Looking mighty stout!

[jcramsey]

Originally Posted by jjzepplin

Looking mighty stout!

Thanks, it getting there! Looking forward to driving it again.

[Corts60]

Awesome rig man. I’d love to have one of those to go haul old junk home. Haha

[jcramsey]

Originally Posted by Corts60

Awesome rig man. I’d love to have one of those to go haul old junk home. Haha

Thanks! I think everyone needs a crew cab junk hauler!

[HAULIN' IT]

Looking at the side profile, I think Id cut the back wheelwells to match the front fenders. Would help eliminate some of the damaged metal, give you some clearance & make it look more "proper" on the truck. Lorne

[Sovereign]

Originally Posted by jcramsey

Hahah. I’d totally drive that.My parents borrowed a family friends GMC Vandura to go camping when we were kids back in the 80s. Shag carpet, mattress in the back with some teardrop windows with pillow inserts. We thought that thing was awesome.

That's because it was!

Love the build. I dug the step side bed. I typically prefer fleet sides but the step side looks good on the crew cab. Good luck with the build!

[jcramsey]

Originally Posted by HAULIN' IT

Looking at the side profile, I think Id cut the back wheelwells to match the front fenders. Would help eliminate some of the damaged metal, give you some clearance & make it look more "proper" on the truck. Lorne

That’s worth looking into. Would be pretty cool to match the wheelwell size/shapes.

Originally Posted by Sovereign

That's because it was!

Love the build. I dug the step side bed. I typically prefer fleet sides but the step side looks good on the crew cab. Good luck with the build!

Thanks! I liked the stepside bed as well, but have been wanting another utility bed truck since I sold the last one I had.

[Palf70Step]

Super looking rig. Like mentioned I liked it with the stepside bed also.

[jcramsey]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Super looking rig. Like mentioned I liked it with the stepside bed also.

Thanks, appreciate the kind words.

Been driving the truck around some. The 250 is pretty gutless but it starts and runs and usually gets me from A to B. Had some significant play in the steering wheel, so I tightened up the adjustment on the steering box a little and it seemed to help. There's still a little bit of wandering so I might tighten it up a little more and see how it goes. Saw something about swapping to a Jeep XJ steering shaft to remove the rag joint so that's on my short list of things to do as well. Really want to get the steering/wandering sorted out before I even think about pursuing the engine swap.

[Corts60]

Originally Posted by jcramsey

Thanks, appreciate the kind words.

Been driving the truck around some. The 250 is pretty gutless but it starts and runs and usually gets me from A to B. Had some significant play in the steering wheel, so I tightened up the adjustment on the steering box a little and it seemed to help. There's still a little bit of wandering so I might tighten it up a little more and see how it goes. Saw something about swapping to a Jeep XJ steering shaft to remove the rag joint so that's on my short list of things to do as well. Really want to get the steering/wandering sorted out before I even think about pursuing the engine swap.

Be sure to check the frame where the steering box bolts to. Very common place for cracking and will cause wandering steering as well as the frame flexes.

[jcramsey]

Appreciate the tip. I’ll definitely check that area out.

[jcramsey]

Will probably regret it, but I listed the truck on FB marketplace. Trying to finish up our house build and wanna make sure the funds are there just in case I miscalculated anything

[Palf70Step]

Sorry to hear that, but I know what that is like too. I decided a while back is 1 project at a time. There is not enough me or money to handle multiple toys.

[Corts60]

Originally Posted by jcramsey

Will probably regret it, but I listed the truck on FB marketplace. Trying to finish up our house build and wanna make sure the funds are there just in case I miscalculated anything

Feel ya buddy. That’s the blue collar struggle most of us go through in life. I find myself in that position at times as well.

[jcramsey]

Thanks fellas. There will be other trucks. I'm not giving this one away though, so if I can't get what I need to get out of it I'll just keep driving it. I did get a message from a previous owner (not the one I bought it from) and he really wants it back, but what I'm asking and what he was offering was too far apart.

[LT7A]

I hope it gets to stick around. Was coming together really cool!

[jcramsey]

Originally Posted by LT7A

I hope it gets to stick around. Was coming together really cool!

Thanks. I still have it. Took the trash off in it this morning. I’ve got a set of factory steel wheels I would like to get around to putting on it soon if I could.