Could a teenager build this in one month?

[thebrown83]

Ok like the title says. I found this truck in a junk yard and I am thinking about buying it. I believe it to be either a 67 or 68 short bed 4x4. No it is not wrecked and the frame looks to be strait. The cab is just unbolted and sitting to the side on the frame. The front core support and inner fenders are also just resting there. The junk yard also has most of the parts i would need to build this truck like a short step bed, fenders, glass, wiring, guages, etc. The only thing the junkyard doesn't have is a motor, trans, and transfer case. The cab is fairly rust free and the frame also looks pretty rust free except the body mounts. I can get this truck really cheap but having a 4 wheel drive truck doesn't do me much good except in the winter time and it will be snowing here in less than a month. My question is do you think that a 17 year old with limited mechanical knowledge but a fully equiped shop could slap this truck together in less than a month to have a truck to play in the snow and mud with? My dad is a mechanic and I would be working in his shop but he would not have much time to help me. By slap together i mean not paint or polish anything and only fix the necessary things to get it going.

[ripdog28]

not to be mean...NO... Unless you have all the parts (you will be missing a lot) sitting there and a few extra hands it is very unlikely. Some of us that have our finances in order and building experience take a year or more to get done from that point. You need a lot more then you think to get that going. Make sure safety is in the build also not just slapped together. You wont need that MSD box for a bit so send it out to me

[thebrown83]

Thanks for the imput and yes safety will be considered... Anyone think this thing is even savable? Maybe summer project?

You wont need that MSD box for a bit so send it out to me

Haha i don't know about that. It also has an msd blaster coil though

[thirdstreettito]

Right tools, enough money, yes. Well, I could, but then again I have rebuilt 2 engines and painted 2 vehicles, and fixed countless other things.

[Richard8971]

IF you had everything and knew it was in good order.... maybe. Personally, that is not a truck you slap together. If you are serious and want it, do as much homework as you could and rebuild the sucker from the frame up. You will have as much if not less invested than if you bought a new truck, and you will end up with one that is 100 times cooler! (Might just take you a bit longer. )

Don

[tcb-1]

some nice things going for it though. the cab looks good, a swb 4x4 frame with running gear is also very nice to have. looks like the po mounted the tank under the bed.....

might be well worth getting and building as money and time comes along.

[harmsy]

Don't think so........but if you do buy lets see it when its done.
Good Luck

[LuckyHenriksen]

Quite a project. But I think you would be hard pressed to finish it in 6 months, let alone 1 month. Cool truck though. If you like it and like 4 wheel drives, it would be a great winter project to have ready for summer

[71swb4x4]

It wouldn't be too tough if you had a complete parts vehicle to rob the parts from.

[Longhorn Man]

you can do it quick
you can do it cheap
you can do it right
Pick any 2 of the above...

[Richard8971]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

you can do it quick
you can do it cheap
you can do it right
Pick any 2 of the above...

LMAO, my wife put up something similar on the wall at our collision shop. Customers got a kick out of it and it got the point across!

D

[willis0107]

It would really be a push. I think that even if you did get it all together in a month you would spend another month just trying to get all of the buggers out of it. You have to think that once you get the engine and drive train all back in and the body on then someone needs to put the glass in. Then you have the electrical. It looks to me like the wire harness is missing out of it With that being the case then you will need to find one and hope that it is in good shape or you will have to buy a new one. The wiring harness is no easy feat and can sometimes take two weeks on its own. I do think that it would be a good buy. The cab looks solid the same with the front end on it. The rear bumper is the S$$$ so yeah its worth a couple of hundred.

[Sport/Truck]

I don't think so either......
before you try I'd make sure you can get a clean title before you put tons of sweat equity & money in the truck.
s/t

[thebrown83]

EDITED BY MOD: ok I understand what the concensis is. Even if I could get a motor put in and the body pannels put back on in a month it would still take another month to get stuff wired up and get bugs worked out and even then it wouldn't be built right. I guess I just dreamed of playing in the snow with a 4 wheel drive truck this winter. I guess I will see if the guy has a title for it and see if my dad approves. "OK GUYS, ANYONE READING THIS, DO NOT OFFER VIN SWAPPING OF ANY KIND, IT IS ILLEGAL AND WILL BE EDITED" Then if I get the truck I will build it right instead of fast. I do have access to many parts trucks to use though.

[69gumby]

With a huge checkbook maybe a year, if you only work on the truck. It's hard to tell how many things are missing. I'm a teenager ( well at heart anyway ) and pretty good mechanic and I wouldn't take on that much of a project. There are good deals out there on complete running trucks. This way you know what you have and you can fix things as you need or want to and you can drive the truck too. But way to go! Keep going on one of these model years and have a great time.

[jonnybravo]

go ahead and try if its to much and you decide to sell it maybe you could get your money back so you have nothing to lose and a bunch to gain

[Richard8971]

Man... wish I could have half a day and my tool box to go snoopin'

Give a woman the mall... give me a junk yard!

D

[jrdv]

Make sure you can get a good title and go for it! Frame and cab look like a good start----better than some complete trucks I've seen.

[Blue_71]

with that tank being in the back, i would measure it to make sure it is a swb frame and not a blazer frame

[rob32472]

you could probably "put it together" but to restore the way it deserves not unless you have access to the extreme truck makeover team

[thebrown83]

What kind of tranny/transfer case would this have had if it has a b&m automatic shifter and no hole for a transfer case shifter thing?

[72BlckButy]

I say if you can get it cheap, get it and make it your father/son project.

As mentioned above it has a lot of great parts there, so it's definitely a great start.

[69gumby]

Hey, here's another thought. Take a look in the GM Trucks for Sale section on this site. On the first page there is a 1970 GMC 4X4 Jimmy for $5,500 in P.A. If your looking to get in to a 4X4 this year that would do it, and that would be a nice investment also. Then if you want to build that truck you can take your time.

[ulakovic22]

Depends on how you want it to look. It could be done in a month but it won't look that great because you wouldn't have time to clean up everything, re-paint/powder, new weatherstripping, wiring, bushings, etc.

[k5hart]

That truck looks like it was possibly a nice truck at one time. Wonder why it got stripped and scapped?? I don't see it going back together in a month.