Builds 1984 Pickup Rebuild (15 Viewers)

[Mudder]

This is going to be a slow rebuild. The plan is to finally fix the 84 pickup I had in high school and swap the 3RZ I bought for it in 2017 in it, finally install the dual case adapter I have and put the high steer kit on. Once it’s driving and every is running smooth I’ll put lockers in it as I want this to be my hunting rig.

It won’t be pretty, I’m replacing the front clip due to me running a red light and t-boning a lady but the rest of the body damage to the roof will be staying as I’m trying to keep this cheap (under 10k is the goal).

Current progress is just washing it with the fender and hood off and truly figuring out the damage to the front frame cross member. I figure if I document this I won’t let this project go to the wayside.

 

[Mudder]

Here’s the drivers side front clip, too much damage for me to bother trying to fix it when I have a front clip with way less damage I can put on. Once the spot weld drill bit gets here I’ll get it cut out then pull the engine, trans, and transfer case. I need to reseal the transfer case as it’s leaking oil and has some blue sealant poking out of it.

I will also have to tear into the 3RZ and do a balance shaft delete. I was told that it had a light knock sound when I bought it long ago, I never heard it run though.

 

[Woodini]

Watching

 

[aztoyman]

Me too. I just recently drilled out all those spot welds on an 86. I sold the front clip. Not fun but not too bad either. Good luck with your build.

 

[Mudder]

Me too. I just recently drilled out all those spot welds on an 86. I sold the front clip. Not fun but not too bad either. Good luck with your build.

I had drilled out on previously using drill bits as the cab is trashed. I’m hoping the spot weld cutter makes it easier.

 

[88repo]

... I’m hoping the spot weld cutter makes it easier.

Take care of it and it should take care of you. Go slow and don't let it overheat. And lube is your friend.
Careful using the ones with fingers as I hear they can snap off easily.

Currently doing the same work to mine and found grinding my own bits was the ticket.
Really need a lathe to do them right though.

 

[Mudder]

I’ll be wire wheeling the areas before hand so I can center punch. I’ll then use a small drill bit to get the hole started so it doesn’t walk. Once the front clip is off I’ll be cutting out the front cross member and welding in a front frame brace then I’ll add some 2x2 square tubing behind it to act as the new front cross member.

 

[aztoyman]

2 1/2" square tube fits perfect.

 

[Mudder]

Got the front clip removed today, it works so much better with a spot weld cutter than a drill bit. I used WD-40 for the cutting oil. A 90 degree drill also made the wheel wheels very easy to deal with.

I got the pack of spot weld cutters from Amazon got $20 shipped and I was worried about the quality, I only used one side for all of them and accidentally poked through into the cab on a couple due to their angle.

 

[Mudder]

Front cross member is off, engine out and separated from the transmission. I’ll do final clean up on the cross member once I have the 2x2 tubing. For now all I did was use a sawzall to remove it so the winch plate was out of the way.

 

[Mudder]

what would be the disadvantage for bolting the front clip back on?

Being able to pull the front clip would make doing the timing chain, head gaskets, exhaust manifold gaskets or even pulling the engine a lot easier. I would use metric bolts, and lock nuts with big fender washers on each side if I did it.

This truck is mainly a hunting rig, it might get driven daily in the winter and the longest trip I’d make in it is a two hour round trip. Anything for there than that I have other options that are a lot more spacious and have cruise control.

 

[aztoyman]

I never thought of bolting it on. I like it.

 

[Mudder]

I keep making myself laugh with what I did in high school to this truck. It’s got all the wiring from a 1989 pickup and I couldn’t get the cluster to fit so it’s been held on by a zip tie and one screw. The interior wiring is something else too. I believe I cut the factory speaker wires and ran my own which are all a mess.

Oh, and that fuse box is not mounted at all. There’s a lot of little stuff that I’ll have to fix.

 

[Mudder]

I never thought of bolting it on. I like it.

I’m seriously considering doing it just for the ease of maintenance but I am worried about it eventually causing problems due to road vibrations and flexing.

 

[88repo]

I keep making myself laugh with what I did in high school to this truck. It’s got all the wiring from a 1989 pickup and I couldn’t get the cluster to fit so it’s been held on by a zip tie and one screw. The interior wiring is something else too. I believe I cut the factory speaker wires and ran my own which are all a mess.

Oh, and that fuse box is not mounted at all. There’s a lot of little stuff that I’ll have to fix.

View attachment 3298228

View attachment 3298229

So that's an '89 cluster?

Aside from the mounting, how did it fit behind the '84 bezel?

 

[88repo]

I’m seriously considering doing it just for the ease of maintenance but I am worried about it eventually causing problems due to road vibrations and flexing.

Other things to consider, may or may not be important, are how it'll react in a collision and every penetration for a bolt has potential to leak water in.
Just food for thought.

 

[Mudder]

So that's an '89 cluster?

Aside from the mounting, how did it fit behind the '84 bezel?

It fit okay, definitely could’ve been better and I’m actually hoping I kept my old cluster and it’s hiding in a box to install it again.

 

[88repo]

Did you happen to check if the '84 harness would even think about plugging into the newer cluster?

 

[Mudder]

I’m not sure honestly. If I have a spare cluster I’ll check as I had done the EFI swap in high school and it has been while.

 

[Mudder]

Got everything out of the interior that I wanted to remove. The old sound deadener came off with the use of a hammer and putty knife. There definitely is more rust inside than I had anticipated so it’ll be getting a wire wheel then I’ll paint the whole floor with a brush paint that also neutralizes rust.

If anyone has any good products that they’ve used in the past that are a brush application I’d love to hear about them. I may also end up pulling the cab off the frame and hiring the underside as well due to the interior rust so bonus if it’s good for inside and outside use.