It's here: The truck is a mixed bag; the body is in great shape and the reason I like to get them out west. But, it was kinda rough in other ways. Let's start here:






The body is in pretty good shape overall; no real rust that I can find. I don't have pics, but there are some holes in the roof from something that was mounted up there. 2 of them look to be for lights; not sure about the others. Those will def need to be sealed as the reason I don't have more pics is we had this huge angry weather cell come in with lightening and lots of rain ala Florida afternoon storms.



I looked at the exhaust, and it has a splitter after the cat that goes to (2) straight through glass pack mufflers. That will need to be replaced eventually, but I was surprised that it isn't all that loud.




It's got potential for sure, but it also has some issues that need addressed. AC isn't blowing cold, missing passenger door electric window control - the driver's side does do them both altho when you go up on the switch, the window goes down, steering wheel is way off center, and the factory dash tach bounces all over the place.


I didn't drive it more than just from beside the transporter to my driveway. Gas gage is on "E", and I don't argue with gas gages! Tomorrow I'll go out and get 5 gallons of gas and put it in so I know it's got some.

I'll get more pics tomorrow and post up what I see. I have to get it down to the DMV and make it legal. I'm taking the plate off my other '85 and transfer it over. I think for what I've got in it all will be OK. It's going to need some work and repairs, but should be a great highway cruiser and tow truck for up to 7-8K or so.

 

I like it! Good looking wheels. And I might even like the fender flares. As for the A/C, if it is blowing then top it up. Could be worse. Is this Big Whitey?

 

I need to make a decision soon on the wheels. The front tires need to be replaced; their size is 33x12.50LT15. It looks like the wheel width is 8". The least expensive tires this size on Tire Rack are $153 each. This also has a 2" body lift.

Here is the door tag (I just went out in the rain to get a shot of it):




So, do I get a set of the 33s and live with the wider tire and body lift? Or do I get a set of the correct size wheels and tires and remove the body lift? I did some searching and see these wheels which I think were what came on it:




I've seen these wheels reconditioned for $65 each, plus the chrome center trim pieces (not sure their price). Tires per Tire Rack are $78 to 140 or so, with many around $100. So, I'd have probably $250/wheel+tire. :

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireS...75&diameter=15

I'm thinking to keep the 33s, put new tires all the way around. What I don't know is if the 2" body lift is needed to clear the bigger tires in some situations. I don't like the lift because it's a pain to do anything in the engine room. I couldn't reach the dipstick to check the oil w/o something to stand on, which means if I keep it lifted I'll have to carry a small stool or similar around with in the bed where I can crab it easily. Thoughts?

 

Gary, I forgot to address this in the last post. I don't normally name my vehicles, but this does beg to have a name. Big Whitey would work, but sounds so non-PC which may be a great reason to call it that!

 

I'd ditch the body lift and go with some 33s, looks like a nice solid truck!

 

I'm with you on ditching the body lift. It has 33s on it now and that would be the easiest course to just replace the current tires with something a bit less aggressive. I'm concerned about having the clearance for the tires if I do ditch the lift.

I have to go into town today to get the truck legal, and plan to stop by my suspension/brake/Chassis/tire guy and ask his opinion and see about scheduling it for a lookover inspection/repair. I'll post the findings and hopefully make a decision later today,

 

These are what's on it now. The fronts are down pretty far and would need to be replaced. I did some online looking in the 33x12.50R15 size and see 2 models for Mud-Terrain; the KM and KM2. Both seem a different tread pattern than these but I may not be looking at them right. They do look to be more aggressive than the mostly street driving I'll be doing. So, if I stay with this size will probably look to go with something else. Reviews said these are squirmy on the road and loud.

 

WooHoo, 4th time's the charm. The first 3 attempts to post this pic vanished into the computer wasteland with no clue why. If they show up suddenly, that's the story. It might have been too big a pic size (altho the tire pic above was bigger), so i reduced the size and it inserted fine.

The headliner, or lack thereof. Notice the names "Ruben" and "Donna" plus the drawings. Kinda like the cave drawings from the Neolithic era. I think these old trucks are like archaeology; following clues to make a good guess of it's former life. I will have to learn how to recover these, or perhaps order in a set that are done. While they're down, will look to insulate a bit better while I'm right there.

My understanding is this was a one family owned truck, and that Ruben either died or otherwise quit driving it. Donna signed the title but I didn't get it from her, so not sure.

 

The last one for this morning, I promise. Passenger door panel; note the missing electric window control. Both windows are controlled by the driver's side switches, but when you press it down, the window goes up, and vice versa. I will have to dig into that and figure out why, but it's down the list on things to do. I'm just glad they work, so no messing around with em until at least I get the AC up and running good.

Also, this panel is loose towards the back of the truck (right in this picture). I messed with it some, but think I'll need to get some of the original style clips or inserts and rework it to see if I can snug it up. Anyone got a good link to a parts source for these? I'll need a window switch also.

 

From what I see on my phone not a bad looking truck.
Not knowing what gears it has and looking to remove the body lift why not look in to say 32x15 tire? I would even look into a 30x10.5x15 tire and that would fit the 8" wide wheels.
Dave - - - -

 

Are the wheels rusting, or is the one in the pic just wet? I like the look of them, but if the are rusting that could be an issue.

For tires, I'd get something quiet and that doesn't squirm. I like the Cooper Discoverer S/TMaxx – LT285/75R16 - on Big Blue for that. In my experience 31's worked well on Rusty. They scrubbed some on the frame on tight turns, but not too much. I'd be worried that 33's would scrub a lot.

I think the door panel has been replaced as it is the wrong blue. Perhaps the switch is inside the door? And the kickpanel needs some serious scrubbing to clean it up.

 

Dave - Code 16 axle I think is 3.55 open - someone please correct me if I'm wrong

Gary - The wheels are wet - we had an angry storm come through yesterday afternoon and the rain continued through the night. There is some rust on the wheels, but from what I see it isn't structural, just surface all the way around the recess. I really don't like these wheels, but may stick with them as they're there. I do need to know some options with tire sizes whether I stay with these, or go to a 7" rim - OEM or otherwise. I'd guess a wide enough tire to fill the 8" rim but be a little smaller diameter would be the first option. If I go too narrow, then the fender flares wouldn't look right, but they could be removed too I guess.

On the door panel, good thought on the switch being inside. I'll shine a flashlight in it first to see if it's there in sight. There are numerous panels that are off color - kind of a green like what you see in the pic. Dunno if that's a sun fade sorta thing, but I had figured to eventually get some SEM paint and take them off for a respray. I did some googling, and see headliner kits with material and glue run about $50.

Off to the DMV now, wish me luck!

 

Actually a 3.50, which would be the 9" rather than 8.8".

Anyway, good luck!

 

I think you asked for an easy source for the push pins that hold the door on: .

 

On order; thanks Gary!

I did find the window switch bezel in the glove box, but don't see the switch in the door. And to correct something I put out earlier, only the driver's side control is backwards (when you press up, the window comes down & vice versa); the passenger side works as it should. These are the switches on the driver's door.

I stopped by my local brake/tire/suspension guy and he looked at it a little bit. He felt I should go to a 31x10.50R15. I need to find a good reference of tire size/width vs wheel width and I may still go to a narrower wheel. I can probably Craigslist these wheels and tires to offset the cost of new wheels and tires, altho the tires on my other '85 are in real good shape and are that size albeit on I think 6" wheels. I ought to switch em over just to see how it looks. I have a good set of wheel covers for those also.

DMV didn't like the Bill of Sale, so they printed out a new one and I need the owner's signature on the line indicated, so am on hold a little bit on that one until I can go back.

Gas gage read "E", but it was almost full. I put maybe 5 gallons in it. I was looking in the bed and notice the bed bolts are not original, so it's been pulled for some reason during it's life. I will have to get under the bed to see what's up with the sender and I haven't tested the tank switching yet - been afraid to; it's running now so not changing much just yet.