Builds Cruiser Build 2.Slow (1 Viewer)

[BGMachine]

Hey All, If you didn't see my earlier post, I just acquired a new to me cruiser! I figured I'd start another build thread to catalog this truck. I'm planning on building it up fairly similarly to my last truck and it will probably take a while. I'm going to be splitting my efforts between the cruiser and my M715. At the moment, I've started ordering all my parts to fix what's needed before going any further.

To be fixed:
Rear hatch handle and mechanism (rusty and the handle is gone)
Replace the broken tailgate hinge
Replace the washer fluid diverter valve
replace the broken wheel, powder coat all wheels
new tires (33" BFG KO2's)
remove rusted out factory hitch and replace it
repair trailer harness
full tune up (plugs, wires, cap, rotor, ignition, air filter, oil change, coolant chant, PHH replacement, re-grease birfs, change axle and Tcase gear oil)
remove running boards and mud flaps
clean slider windows and attempt to mitigate further corrosion
check the brakes


This should keep me plenty busy for a couple of weeks. I'm also thinking of bedlining the rockers again. Michigan has tons of rocks on the road so every bit of protection helps. There's also some rust bubbling up the front passenger door that the bedliner can hide and inhibit.

After all of this, she'll eventually get a 2.5" lift, extended brake hoses, ARB bumper, Warn VR10,000 winch, 4x4labs rear bumper, snorkel, center lock switch, sliders, roof rack, CB, Aux lights, etc. I'm aiming to have it look kind of like this one:

Here's how my last truck looked:

Hopefully I've learned from my past mistake and I don't get rid of this one. I'm excited to get cracking on this thing!

 

[BGMachine]

Alright, so I didn't get to really work on the 80 today. My F150 had other plans. But I did take a few pics of the interior. I still can't believe how clean it is on the inside! Aside from the floppy driver's side visor (I just removed it).

 

[BGMachine]

Ok, so slow and steady progress. I was finally able to get the wheels off thanks to the most galvanic corrosion that I've ever encountered and things aren't looking too bad. The brakes have a great amount of pad left and most of the wheels are ok. One of them is damaged and I have a new one on the way. I was able to de-bead all of the tires but I need to go get tire spoons so I can take the tires off of the wheels. Once separated, I'll take the wheel's to my buddy's place to sand blast them and I'll paint them before getting new tires. After that, depending on if I get a house in the next two weeks or continue renting, I'll either leave it alone or start buying the big ticket items like a lift and bumpers. I'm going to need to make a rear tire carrier since I had to cut the spare down. Does anyone know of tire carriers for below $1000? The lowest bumper/carrier combo I can find is $1600. If not, I might just make my own. It's nice to be working on a cruiser again but, it's beating me up already.

the broken wheel

home brew de-beader

my first sticker! I'll get some ih8mud ones eventually but I had to put my badge on it first

 

[BGMachine]

Alright, I've made some progress today. I tried to remove the tires from the wheels and I just can't get them free. I'm just going to drop them off at a shop and have them dismount them. To give myself a little win, I decided to remove the running boards. I'm always amazed how much better they look without those stupid things. I also looked at removing the hitch and the bolts holding it on are rusted in solid. I'm tempted to cut it away but I imagine that the bolt holes are where aftermarket bumpers mount. I also looked at mounting my pintle mounted hitch (to replace the rusted out OE one). The factory holes with nuts welded to the back are rusty enough that I don't trust them. I'll either tap them out a larger size or try to knock them off and slide in replacements. All of this rust is wearing on me. I have to keep sweeping it out from under it. Anyways, hopefully over the rest of the weekend I can get the old hitch off, new one on, and the wheels dismounted and prepped for paint (maybe painted it time and weather allow).

 

[BGMachine]

I got a new set of tires for the old girl. I'm always amazed how much better they look without the running boards and with good tires. Now with stiffer tires though, I'm hearing more suspension noise. I'm not really sure what it is but it's likely a bushing of some sort. The next steps are to finish the rest of its maintenance and to fix an O2 sensor exhaust leak (it looks like the sensor is missing it's gasket).

 

[HARDGEAR]

That is a pretty 80. I love that grey, I’m salivating, my white is absolutely impossible to restore and maintain!
Just keep up the good work. Because it’s worth it.
I had pounds of rust and many stiff bolts to. Once you get through it, it becomes easier.
I PB blast everything now just in case. I need to keep things soaked in lube. Its messy but I also use an oil squirt pump to get all the important underbody mechanicals. Check that Ebrake.
No body sees the oily mess under there anyway, preservation first!

 

[BGMachine]

That is a pretty 80. I love that grey, I’m salivating, my white is absolutely impossible to restore and maintain!
Just keep up the good work. Because it’s worth it.
I had pounds of rust and many stiff bolts to. Once you get through it, it becomes easier.
I PB blast everything now just in case. I need to keep things soaked in lube. Its messy but I also use an oil squirt pump to get all the important underbody mechanicals. Check that Ebrake.
No body sees the oily mess under there anyway, preservation first!

Yeah, I'm going through and lubricating all of the mechanical parts. Any ideas for protecting the frame? It's ok but there's surface rust. I think most of it was due to the hitch disintegrating. man I love living in the rust belt

 

[BGMachine]

ok, so I finally scored a tire carrier rear bumper! It's pretty nice but I need to do a few things. The biggest issue is the side with the tire bounces a fair amount over rough road hitting the flare. I need to tap another bolt or something to try to stabilize it. Other than that, it's fine. I also learned that you need to sand over areas that you used a flap wheel on before paint... I have quite a few swirl marks. oh well. Next time I guess.

 

[BGMachine]

the head gasket went out last friday so now I'm trying to get it replaced. Successfully got the engine apart and parts (head, intake, valve cover) will be dropped off at the machine shop next week. I have my pile of parts and gaskets and it's ready to go back together. I only broke a few parts but it came apart easy enough.

 

[BGMachine]

more pics. One of the cam bearing surfaces has a nasty score in it. oh well.

 

[man0fsteel]

Great pics and work! I’m about to do some mostly cosmetic restoration of my ‘95 (new paint, roof rack, lighting). I look forward to watching your new ride get built.

 

[BGMachine]

Made some good progress on the 80 yesterday. I was able to replace all the valve seals, replace all the vacuum lines under the intake, the knock sensor I broke, and reinstall the head!

It was a bit of a pain by myself to lift that thing. I tried to use my hoist but unsurprisingly, it didn't fit under the hood. So I got it up onto the engine bay then lifted it onto the block myself.

While the valve cover was off and clean, I decided to paint it with wrinkle paint.

Everything is going together easily enough so far. Hopefully I can get it all back together today. I need to reassemble it all, change the oil, flush and replace the coolant, then bleed the brakes if I can. Hopefully I can get it back on the road today. I'm getting tired of driving my rampage.

 

[BGMachine]

Well, after a late night last night, I was able to finish!!!

It only took the whole weekend but I think I made pretty good time for a top end engine rebuild. Got everything back together, changed the oil, flushed the radiator, and went for a test drive at 9:00pm. no problems and I nailed the distributor timing position on the first try! I'm so excited to have it back! And just in time for a camping trip to Michigan's UP this weekend! I did a legit radiator flush and refill this afternoon. Oil looks good still and I'll check the coolant tomorrow. Now I should be able to focus on my actual project truck... but all this working on it has made me fall in love with this truck again. I really want to give it a 2" lift, bumpers, sliders, snorkel, bedline the rockers, cb, lockers, winch, etc but I need to focus. hopefully later...

 

[BGMachine]

well, good news, I get to work on the cruiser again. bad news, it's because I was in an accident. I wound up cracking my trans cooler, puncturing my A/C condenser and maybe braking a refrigerant line on top of smashing the bumper. could've been worse, at least the airbag didn't deploy. So now I've started repairing and replacing parts. I made good progress tonight but I need to find this AC line that broke. I don't know if I did it when unbolting the line or in the accident. oh well. While I'm here, I'm also going to replace brake hoses and bleed the brakes. I also want to replace my center lock actuator. plenty to of work to do before winter. I'm not sure what I'll do about a front bumper.

not the worst fender bender

front end off (aftermarket trans cooler that was being used as a band aid for a road trip)

condenser removed

Old vs new

you mean, they're not supposed to be bent?

the broken line that goes from the dryer to the condenser. hopefully the local dealership has it or is able to source it.

looking better already

the trans cooler damage. bent and cracked

and the new, properly sized trans cooler