Low buck? More like no buck. The poor mans build.

[Just call me Sean]

This is going to be my work truck, but I would like to make it a bit more presentable. I'm a paycheck to paycheck guy, so very little money to spare most of the time for extras. I've got more time than money but I think I do well with what I have. I've done as close to no buck builds on some of my other vehicles with pretty good results and I would like you to see what I can do with this one if you care to watch. I'm open to all comments on my progress, good or bad you won't hurt my feelings.

So I just got this '87 R10, which only cost me $100 for title fees because I traded my old truck for it. No real firm plan, mostly some bodywork and paint and finding all the missing pieces at one of the 10 junkyards within a five mile radius of my house. The amount and quality of the bodywork will depend on how I feel at the time I'm working on that particular area. So to begin, some pics of how it was when I got it about a week ago.

[Just call me Sean]

So first up was getting rid of the tonneau cover snaps that were all around the bed but not on the tailgate.



Then scraping off the pinstriping and molding adhesive that someone painted over, three times:



I would scrape some, then sand some, switching around here and there. Mostly attacking the passenger side first, all hand sanding.



I threw on the flat spare and pulled off the passenger side rims to paint them and primer the truck. Have to start on the side I won't see as much.

[Just call me Sean]

The progress has been good this first week I've had it because work has been slow so I've been home. Mostly primered and the painted rims on:



Yes, that's the color I chose for the whole truck. It's Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze. If I don't like it I can always paint over it.

Now on to the drivers side, and because it's my side I decided to do some welding. Welded shut the snap holes:



Primer over that and more scraping and sanding:


As you can tell I pulled off the remaining trim and fender emblems, and also I'm shaving the rain guards from the roof. Next, I decided to do my horrible repair of this ugly rusted jamb:



Cut out the rust:




And weld in some metal I cut from a fender I had laying around:



I've only welded with flux core as I don't have the money for gas. I do my best with what I have. It may not be pretty but it should work. Since I don't know how to work the metal enough to shape the whole piece I'll have to get creative with the part that is supposed to fold into the jamb but isn't there because I didn't do that.

[rusty76]

I'll watch.

[c3006]

Me too!

[Just call me Sean]

Got a shot of the unfinished patch primered, and sanded out the last of the painted over adhesive:



I had to cut off the bottom of the patch as it went screwy and was too far from the remaining existing metal. Couldn't work it more yet as I need to get more grinding pads, cutoff wheels and such. I left it long towards the door until I figure out the side of the patch.



And a view of the backside, just to see if my penetration was good:



I've been treating the rust spots and welds with a phosphoric acid de-ruster, which doesnt seem to be the greatest stuff.

[Just call me Sean]

I picked up some body supplies at Home Depot, $16.50. Totally blew the budget.

I really wanted to get some paint on this weekend, to see how it was going to look. I chose the drivers fender and door, even though I didn't weld the emblem holes shut yet. The fender has a dent I don't feel like fixing yet, and the drivers door is so ugly I want to replace it anyways... eventually. I did weld the brace behind the door handle which separated from the body, creating another blemish on the outside that goes pretty well with the others. So I wetsanded them out with 320. In this shot you can see the only other thing I have bought for the truck, the master cylinder. The guy drove it here with no brakes.



While I may not be doing it all "correctly", at least I'm removing trim and stuff. Another angle:



That's my paint prep. There will be no more coats of primer, I'm spraying it how it looks. Unfortunately the weather is not very cooperative this weekend. Once it was dry and ready to be taped off yesterday, it rained. I cleaned it today and began taping it off, then it rained. Currently waiting to see if it will pass.

So I took a few shots to show my "paint booth". The place I live is called Big Oaks.








I should choose my paint days carefully, but I don't really. I have painted under these trees many times before though. I painted this one in the same spot:





Hey, my daughter picked the purple. The blue for the truck, however, is totally my fault. While I'm waiting on the rain I decided to clean the overspray off the stuff I removed. I've been using a well worn green scrubby, been in the family for years, but I think it's time to say goodbye. My wife is going to pick up some new ones with some grocery money, so when she gets back with those I'll complete that and put up some before and after pics.

[Hankster]

I'll watch! this is pretty interesting! I actually dig the color of the wheels.

[bigwheel15]

Ive always felt the low/no budget builds are some of my favorites and are more fun to follow than the no-holds-barred restos(no disrespect to any). It gives the owner more of a chance to be creative and really do things different. Looks like you are well on your way to a nice looking truck, ill definitely be keeping an eye on this thread.

[rusty76]

Looks like you are having fun! Old trucks are full of work but fun.

[Just call me Sean]

Thanks for watching guys. Yeah, if you're not having fun you're doing it wrong.

I got off work early and no rain today so I put some color on. I'm not happy with how it turned out though. Always had good results with Krylon but it's looking blotchy. I'm hoping when it dries fully it will even out. Also the cans were spitting a bit, so there's a little texture here and there. But now I get the general idea of how it's going to look.

Just after spraying:




Masking peeled:



Another angle:



I even painted the underhood edge:



Still working on getting the overspray off the brightwork. Most has three layers of paint, but the side marker has four. I also got the horn to stop blowing constantly so I could put the fuse in. Those cheap aftermarket steering wheels with the hole for the horn wire in the wrong spot. Not the first time I drilled a new hole in one because someone pinched the wire between the wheel and adapter. Also coiled up a piece of wire for the missing spring that pushes on the wire, where it pushes in and twists. Still no horn though, I need to find a big spring, the one that pushes the button away from the wheel.

[Just call me Sean]

Sitting here looking at it in the dark with the porch light bouncing off the panels, definitely calling this a primer coat. Good practice though. Needs more primer, more blending of the paint layers. Pretty sure the humidity caused the blotching, sorta forgot about that. Got to pick a better paint day next time. It will be staying as is for now though, I'm going to give it a day or so to dry then put the trim on so I can play around with the other side and/or prime the rest of the bedside.

[79c25]

Looks good so far, for a shade tree paint job. Definitely better than what I could do.

[Theoriginalsilverado]

Looks really good considering! I'm gonna be watching this one closely

[rusty76]

I like that color.

[Just call me Sean]

Did a few things. I have the before and after pics of some of the trim.



After:



I even sorta straightened out the bent side marker, even though it's broken. Here's a shot of the passenger side trim I didn't clean yet, next to the bars I did clean:



Also a stupid small fix, some of you may have done something similar. It bugs the crap out of me how the inside door handles do this. Passenger side:



I fixed the drivers side. Just a small self tapper then cut and grind it until the handle is perfect:



I just had to get some shots of the side with the trim and painted rim on. Almost looks good.





The truck did come with all four center caps, but no screws. They look like someone took a wire wheel to them, so I took a wire wheel to the one in the pic. Looks better. My wifes truck came with an extra set of trim rings, although not in very good condition, so I might use them too. I wasn't aware that these wagon wheel rims were stock, but they have the center cap screw holes. Were they offered stock?

[y5mgisi]

Subscribed.

[Just call me Sean]

I had to mess with the wifes '83 Sierra some today. A little backstory: I got it two weeks before this one, the transmission wasn't acting well but it came with another. It made it home but as I pulled in my driveway it lost all gears. I figured out if I shut off the truck and sit a minute I could restart it and the gears would come back, but they would randomly disappear again. Then it just had gears enough to move it around a little and then disappear, so I stopped screwing with it and put in the other transmission. It worked but poor shifting, until it started doing what the other tranny did and progressed the same way, gears to move it a little then disappear but come back if I shut off the truck. WTF?

So, today I made sure the cooler and lines weren't clogged since it's the only thing unchanged. It is clear so I need a tranny, 700R4 if you're curious. I found one for $300, just need to get money for that.

Then, on to mine again. Decided on a welding day. Prepped the other side of the bed.




There's a few top side holes I'm getting too, from toolboxes and crap. Then the damn rain again. It's a pain trying to work with no overhang. Sitting here, waiting instead of welding. Maybe it will subside.

[Just call me Sean]

When I first started welding body panels I tried welding until every imperfection was filled, which really didnt work well for me. There's always some porosity look to it, I keep it very minimal. I first would smooth it over with spot putty, but I felt JB Weld is a much better choice so I started using that.




I'll sand everything out and shoot it with primer.

[natedogg]

The Wagon wheels was a factory option. Personally I have only seen 1 squarebody with them and snapped these pics. The pics were taken at LP field in Nashville where the Titans play. I went to the Good Guys car show and was disappointed when only 1 square was at the show, but it was nice to see this square in the parking lot. Sean, can you post a pic of your spid decal on your 87?

[Just call me Sean]

Thanks for the info on the rims, really neat. Does that make them somewhat rare?

Here's a pic of the sticker. It is correct as the VINs match.



Anything special in there?

Only one thing I can think of to do in the rain, wetsand:

[Just call me Sean]

More welding. Corner trim holes, piece of metal held in place with UL foil tape on the backside:



Didn't even melt the tape when I tacked it in. This is how it looked when I was done:



Those aren't holes, just depressions. I treat that with the phosphuric acid stuff then sand and clean and JB Weld to smooth it out. Primered:



You can just see the '83 in the back. Got the rain guard and fender emblem holes done too:



The top corner of the windshield was thin and rusty. Should have cut it out but I just threw a bunch of weld in there, treated it and JB Welded it. I also ran out of primer which is why it looks like that, just had enough to cover the bare metal. You can see a little rust showing at the top of the door. Here's a better shot of that:



Pretty ugly. Working on a plan for that.

[Just call me Sean]

This weekend I need to switch off to the '83 for a few. My wife got rear ended in her Blazer and the insurance company is totaling it out, so I need to get her replacement working again.





Took about an hour to get the transmission out, did it when I got home from work. This will be the second time, tranny that was in it didn't work and the one that came in the bed didn't either. Found one for $300, hopefully the yard still has one. Need to pick it up tomorrow and throw it in. Then I'll have to see if I can get the a/c working for her. Hopefully I'll have time on Sunday to work on mine more. Plus, now I can use the Blazer tag for my truck so I can "drive" it.

[rusty76]

The trans not working would that have anything to do with the TV Cable? I don't know but was just wondering. I have no experiences with these trans but was just wondering, seeing how both trans seemed to exhibit the same syndromes. Good work on the truck! Coming along nicely. I know you could wagon wheels stock on these trucks. They're not super common these days but every now and then they show up.

[Just call me Sean]

Yes I checked and played around with the TV cable. With the Holley intake and Edelbrock carb I was worried the bracket wasn't quite right but that seems to be fine. Road tested and this transmission seems to be good. Finally we can use this truck. Going to see if I can get the a/c going tomorrow. Compressor isn't locked up so I'm going to see if it will hold vacuum. Also need to get a vacuum tee to hook up the vents. I don't like the intake and carb setup, somebody messed it up good. Nothing hooked up right, no vacuums no gauge sensors missing the cruise control parts. I want to find stock parts or TBI it.

I might get to do something with mine tomorrow... maybe.