84 Short Bed diesel. Project Driver.

[rs74]

Figured I should make a thread here on the short bed I just bought. I had been looking for a roller since I still have the engine and trans out of my other short bed. Looked for a nice long bed for a while and found nothing worth looking at. I figured I would just wait until something came along. Then this truck came up for sale. Not at all what I was looking for. Colors were all wrong, it was a diesel but the price was right. I almost went and looked at another that I was thinking about but decided against it even though I liked the trucks looks better than this one. Well I bought the everything is opposite of what I wanted truck.

Anyway this is just going to be a daily driver for the time being. It's a 6.2, 700r4, 3.08 geared short bed. 95% rust free. It has two spots on the tailgate that need fixed and there is a little rust that formed under the seam sealer in the drivers door jam. That should be the easier fix vs. the tailgate. It does have little specs of surface rust here and there. Going to break the rust killer out and try to take care of as much of it as I can for now.

I have only had it three days and today was the first day I could try to get to cleaning it up a little. I own a mobile truck washing business so getting it cleaned up was pretty easy for the most part. Alot better than now that it has had a bath.

Now for the laundry list of things it needs. Interior is completely trashed. I looked today at a couple of yards and found nothing along with calling a couple of others. So I am kicking around the idea of putting a Burgundy interior in it to clean it up a little. Even though it has a bronze paint on the interior I am probably going to do the swap to get me buy for awhile. It is in tons better shape than the tan in it now. Outside work includes probably putting a set of my rallies on it when I get a set of white lettered tires. Going to take off the side trim and have a buddy buff it out for me. That way when I can get some new side trim then it ready to be put on. I would like to give it a 2.5/4 drop but that will be after I get other things done. The biggest thing it needs is a transmission. I talked to a guy today who has a newer style 700r4 that he said he could build instead of building the older style that is in it. I degreased the engine bay while I was washing it today. That will give me a good point to see what gaskets or anything that I might need to replace. It had some oil build up in the compartment. Needs a front windshield and might see about putting either a new slider in the back or a one piece rear window. Not sure yet on that.

Other than that I am just going to drive it once ready. Not going crazy on this truck. I still have my 85 short bed to get finished. It is currently on hold due to me building up my business. I pretty much sold all of my extra trucks including my 03 Chevy crew cab daily driver to fund the business which meant putting the short bed on hold. So this diesel pretty much replaces my crew cab. I don't need anything new to drive. As long as it is reliable and not an eyesore inside or out. I can't stand the interior now so that is one thing that will change first. It does still have first gear so I have been able to see how the brakes are and how it steers and handles somewhat. Pretty peppy in first gear. Well enough with the chat. Here are just a few pics. I should also say that I have a 85-87 GMC grill located that is supposed to be brand new. Going to try to get it next week. Will probably put that one in the K30 and the one that is in the K30 now into this truck. I think I also have the matching bezels for it already. The same style of grill that is in the pic of my K30 in my avatar. The grill in it now has two broken tabs on the bottom and is all faded out.

[rs74]

One more. The rest are on my phone.

[rs74]

Might put these wheels on for a while since they have new 295/50's on them until I get a set of tires for the rallies. Same cab the interior is coming out of too unless I find a nice tan or Mahogany interior real soon.

[rs74]

The interior on this thing is not salvageable to me. The tops of the door panels and kick panels are falling apart. Chalking I think it's called. The dash is all busted up, carpet is in bad shape and the seat fabric is gone. Headliner fabric gone too. So I have the old cab off my 85 short bed that I will be taking the interior out of. It's not A1 shape but far better. I kind of miss the burgundy anyway. I will just have to do something about the cargo light switch that is in this truck. The burgundy doesn't have a provision for a switch but I am sure I can carefully take care of that or try to find another one that does have it.

[rs74]

I started swapping over the burgundy interior today. Looks better already. Still have to do the carpet, rear plastic trim, seat belts and still have to find a burgundy cloth seat. I do have a charcoal vinyl seat to use if needed until I can find a cloth burgundy seat. I need to buy a new drivers window switch since the one that was in it had the passenger switch broke. I also shot some wd40 in the track wheels then some red grease on them. Made them work better until I put the passenger side door panel on then it seemed to slow it down a little bit. Not sure if the rubber on the door panel is pressing against the glass as it goes up or what. That's all so far other than I tested a small spot on the paint with some wax. Took some oxidation off. Going to have a friend buff it out when I am ready.

[rs74]

Not the best of colors together but it is in better shape than what it had.

[UKNOWME]

Good interior transformation. Keep the Outlaw 2 wheels until you can rinds some rallies. Those Progressive saw blades are not appealing.

[rs74]

Originally Posted by UKNOWME

Good interior transformation. Keep the Outlaw 2 wheels until you can rinds some rallies. Those Progressive saw blades are not appealing.

I am going to keep them on there for now. If I don't find another set of rallies to put on before I start driving it then I will have to put the others on. The Outlaws have no tread and the others have new tires on them. I am looking for a set of rallies though. Not really wanting either rims on there.

[rs74]

Originally Posted by UKNOWME

Good interior transformation.

Thanks. Even though this wouldn't be my first choice of colors it does look a lot better. This truck is just a low budget driver. Not sure if it's going to be a keeper or not until I can get it on the road and put a few miles on it. While the mileage of the diesel would be nice I am not sure if I will like it or not.

[farmall]

I would drive that.
How many miles on it?
Let us know what your mpg is.
I think all 3 spoke wheels should be melted.

[rs74]

Originally Posted by farmall

I would drive that.
How many miles on it?
Let us know what your mpg is.
I think all 3 spoke wheels should be melted.

Not sure on the miles. Can't remember what the odometer says. I would say it is 100,000 plus what ever the odometer says. Still has the factory duals on it from what I can tell. It is a pretty tight truck. Steering is tight and the engine has very good throttle response and low end torque. It only has first gear. I took it out in front of the house and from about a 5-10 roll I stood on it and left a set of posi marks so I was a bit impressed with it. I don't normally drive my vehicles hard but when I get one I will see how it will run under pressure so I can see weak points. Although it does seem to smoke a little more than I like. I don't remember my 6.2 K30 smoking like this. It gets a little better once warmed up but still smokes more than I like and stinks more than my K30 did.

These rims must be like the old cab visors. Although I don't mind either one it seems like others don't like them at all. Lol.

[crashz]

I really like the interior color combo now. I know its not stock and it seems strange, but the two colors look like the compliment each other. Plus neither color over-runs the interior. I wonder what other stock color combos would look good together?

The build is coming along nicely. Good job!

Edit - I can understand abou the need to run the tires down on those hideous rims. I would too. But I pray that you can find some nice rally's soon!

BTW- the smoke and smell are probably injectors getting tired. Pretty common after 100K miles and are often neglected. Once you start running it on the road, see if it clears up, even with a little Stanadyne additive. If not you may want to change them, as overtime they can reduce fuel economy and eventually cause damage.

[naphtali5725]

good luck with your new truck

[rs74]

Originally Posted by naphtali5725

good luck with your new truck

Thanks. Trying not to get too deep into this one. Just making a nice little dependable truck. For now.

[naphtali5725]

Originally Posted by rs74

Thanks. Trying not to get too deep into this one. Just making a nice little dependable truck. For now.

how is your other truck coming along? getting ready to put the engine in mine over the next couple o weeks

[rs74]

Originally Posted by naphtali5725

how is your other truck coming along? getting ready to put the engine in mine over the next couple o weeks

It is sitting dormant for a while. Hopefully be able to start back on it this summer.

[naphtali5725]

Originally Posted by rs74

It is sitting dormant for a while. Hopefully be able to start back on it this summer.

yeah, i wish warm weather would get here... maybe i should build a shop just for my truck lol

[rusty76]

Good looking truck. I'll be following.

[rs74]

Originally Posted by rusty76

Good looking truck. I'll be following.

Thanks. It definitely has some its fair share of blemishes. Putting together a small order of little things it needs here in the next few days. Just buying a few things at a time and funding permits. Right now I am working on the first full tank of fuel to see what kind of mileage it will get. It has been a mix of local and highway miles this time around. If I can get everything lines out by mid April I might make a 9 hour drive with it up to Minnesota for a business trip. It will really have to earn my trust before then. The transmission works but I need to put another on in before then.

[rs74]

Did some grill swapping today. I bought a new grill for my 86 K30 so I took the old 86 grill and put in this short bed. Here is a link to that thread with pics. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=661598

[fluffyfreak]

Im diggin the trifans, pure 80s prostreet goodness

[rs74]

Well I think I am going to put it up for sale or trade for a newer short bed step side. I have three squares and can't afford them all. Also thinking about doing the same to the dually. I keep throwing money at all of them and just can't keep up. So if I can find a nice little step side that doesn't need much I think I will go that route since I am using this 84 as a daily driver. It's a good little truck but I am finding myself trying to fix everything it needs and I just can't continue on down that road. I need to get my 85 short bed done if I am going to be throwing money at something.

[rs74]

Like a lot of my old vehicles, I sure wish I wouldn't have sold this one. Now that I am trying to find another diesel short bed they are all but impossible to find. I thought I was going to be able to buy this one back recently but the guy I sold it to decided to not sell it. I didn't care for the color but it was a nice solid truck.

[rs74]

UPDATE: I bought it back. I really wonder about myself sometimes. Sell a truck only to buy it back at a later date. Lol. Anyways it is back here at home now. I'm not real sure at this point what the plan is with it but drive and enjoy it for a while. It still needs an issue addressed with the transmission and I need to put new bushings in the upper control arms. Probably end up being a full front end rebuild I imagine if I know myself.

I am not real sure how much oil these 6.2's burn but I know this one burns quite a bit even though it runs very well. Might just be the nature of them. I'm not real knowledgeable when it comes to the diesels.

Since I sold it the has had a new windshield, vacuum and fuel lines ran, new tires and glow plugs put in. It also has a new spin on fuel filter and adapter installed doing away with the factory square filter. I need to see about cleaning the rust out of the door jams like a lot of them get before it gets too bad. Probably going to start looking for some interior pieces also.

[LT7A]

Congrats on the buy back. I would drive that little beast. If you decide again that it needs to go, let me know.