1982 Chevy 3/4 ton toy build:o)

[Wes]

Hello everyone)

I've been lurking here looking for Ideas for my $600 truck and $200 slide in camper. I picked it up a year ago and have been slowly poking away at it.

When I got it someone had rigged up a second fuel tank and did a poor job of it. The fuel cap was a valve cover oil cap???

I added a fuel door off a burban.

I've added Skyjacker 2" Add-A-Leafs front and rear. In the rear I also installed some overload springs to help with the camper. Nearly all the bolts were replaced) It was kind of good that I decided to do this. One of the leafs in the back was broke in two. I replaced it. I haven't had a chance to see how it sits with the camper in it yet. Hopefully this week. I like how it sits now)

I'm building front and rear bumpers for it. I started on the front first because I had all the metal) The center is 3/8" C channel and the ends are 1/4" plate. I really had fun playing with my new plasma cutter\o/ It only weighs about 80-90 pounds. I really like how it turned out. They will both be painted white.

Today I welded on the mounts and cut out the holes for my LED turn signals. Plasma cutters are fun) I'm still working on building a new grill. The old one was busted.

The rear bumper will have the same style LED turn signals in it and I will be building a swing out tire carrier on it as well. I'll update this as they become available)

Thanks for looking)

~Wes~

 

[Jimmeh]

Love that bumper man! Can't wait to see the rear one. Makes me really want to find an old box body to build.

 

[Mc Taco]

X2 on the bumper! Looks real good with nice lines. The flames aren't something I'd put on my bumper, but I'm a boring kind of guy. The grill is great. Lots of air flow and a heck of a lot more protection than most of the plastic ones of today. Paint it black and good to go! Nice work on the fuel door.

Welcome to ExPo!

BTW, what is the camper like. Salvageable interior, or in need of a complete redo?

 

[BurbanAZ]

nice platform for a build, i love chevys especially the old box chevys. Glad to see you enjoy your plasma cutter, i just got one and havent used it on a project yet. I made my bumper, rack, etc.. with my old oxy/ace torch setup. I think the plasma cutter will be way better to work with

 

[Wes]

Thanks for the welcome!

The camper interior is in great shape. There was a little water damage. We resealed the roof last fall. We are going to pull out the carpet and put in vinyl. Other than that were just going to use it. I need to get the electrical up and working still. I just haven't had the time.

As soon as I wire in the front turns and fix my brake hose I'll start on the rear bumper. It should go fairly quickly)

~Wes~

 

[Wes]

Signals are wired in and the brakes work\o/ I decided that with the lift I need steps. Mainly for my short wife(o: Last year I did some steps on my boat trailer and I liked how they looked. I'm going to try it on my truck. They need more work but here is the concept.

I'll post a few more/better pictures later. I kind of like how they are looking)

~Wes~

 

[chilliwak]

Welcome to the site Wes! Always good to have more old Chevy pick-up owners online. Check out my build thread in my signature. Your truck reminds me of mine when i first got it.... Cheers, Chilli.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Love it!

 

[borison]

Put a bow tie on that grill, paint it black and call it done.

 

[Wes]

I've started on a rear bumper and a couple repairs. Tonight I pulled the bed bolts off. The front of the bed is getting modified. I'll post pictures this weekend)

~Wes~

 

[Outback]

The Flames on the bumper will make it go faster! Love it.

 

[Wes]

I'm building a rear bumper. I've ran into a couple of problems. My camper lacks going in and letting me shut the tailgate by about 3/4". This was going to make my tire carrier funky. I had made some chains that were 4" long to hold the tailgate up. That's as far as it would shut. This would make the tire hang way out over the bumper. I started looking things over.

The front of the bed had been really beat up by a PO. Today I pulled the bed part way off so I could get to the bolts holding the bed front panel on. It was pretty beat up. Here you can see how crooked it is. The piece of ten gauge under it is my new bed front\o/ I just have to make it.

It looks like someone took a battle axe to it:Wow1:

I plan on adding a piece of 2" X 1/2" channel as a stiffener between the bed and the cab. This will give me an extra 1 1/4" of room in the bed.

Then I can get back to building bumpers\o/ and the camper will fit right\o/

Later,

~Wes~

 

[Wes]

Today I managed to get the front of my trucks bed made and installed. Yesterday I was able to use the brake at work and cross bend the piece to help dampen vibration. I made a lip out of 1/2" X 2" channel to reinforce the top edge. The top edge had a arch to it from the cross bend. I clamped the two parts to a short piece of I beam to straighten them out while they were welded.

I was pretty excited\o/ My welds are getting better I think?

Here it is with the clamps off. It stayed pretty straight. It had quits a bend to it because I broke it a little more than I should.

Here it is installed. I think It looks a lot better than the old one. It is bent just a little. But it's not bad.

I'll paint it when I do the rest of the truck

We were measuring today and I might still not have enough room to shut the tailgate? I was going off memory and didn't actually take any measurements till today. I'll have to put it in to see for sure. I'll try and do that tomorrow. But the piece needed fixed and that's done. I might have to make some new hinges if the gate wont shut?

~Wes~

 

[Wes]

Just a reminder for everyone to be careful when your working on your stuff. We were moving the bed front today and that I beam slipped off the saw horses it was sitting on. It would have hurt the lead for my TIG welder if it hadn't hit my foot.:Wow1:

I'll probably live

~Wes~

 

[Wes]

A quick update. A little slow going around here. Still limping around. I did install some new shocks a couple days ago. Just some Monroe's but they should make the ride a little smoother. I might get some parts for the rear bumper cut out today. We'll see)

~Wes~