Not a hotrod, but it is a build

After Itouldyouso mentioned that the not so skilled people could do a build thread I thought I would do one of my daughter's truck. It is not a hot rod, but I did buy it last October and she got it for Christmas and her birthday this past June. And like any project, I still am not done. But now that the main work is done, my Spirit is back in the garage and waiting for me to get caught up on everything else. Sorry about the size of pictures but I don't know how to make them smaller. I'm not real sure why they are big, at least in the previews because they are smaller on the ranger station where I posted pics.

The first couple of pictures are when I first bought it for $400.
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These next pics are during the tear down phase.
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looks like you got a great deal. the metal looks pretty good for its age. should be a great build. are you going to bring it back to stock or modify it?

And then the body work began. Tori did not know what she was getting outside of a truck and she requested black with pink metal flake. With it being black, there were a number of dents that needed some attention. I just realized that I didn't have any pics of the cab corner that was repaired, but overall, the cab was in really good shape. I found a fender that was better than what I had so that saved a lot of work.
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I also cleaned up the frame a little in preparation for being undercoated.
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This next batch of pics are of it in primer and the frame undercoated. By the way, the bodywork, priming and painting was all done in a 1 stall garage. It was a challenge working around everything, but we managed. The guy who is teaching/helping me said the Spirit will be going to a paint booth.
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Barb is right, that body is really solid. You guys out in places like Kansas have no idea how lucky you are to have cars in the condition of these virtually everywhere. Tori is going to love her new ride, and you've already made major leaps. Keep us posted, nice to see something different too. :):)

Don

A project is a project. They all take a little skill and a lot of trying to learn Good luck with your build I'm sure your daughter will be happy

And finally, we have some paint! Black without the pink metal flake.
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you are really coming along quick. keep up the good work.

I noticed in the last pic that I posted that it was smaller. I wonder what I did when I loaded them. We are now at around November of 2009 and the truck was painted the weekend before Thanksgiving and my folks joined us for Thanksgiving so my Dad was able to help me undercoat the flatbed and start putting it all back together.
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Christmas arrived and Tori received cards and we went to everyone who helped me to pull this off before she even saw the truck so that she could thank them. You also have to know that I am known for messing with people, especially my daughter and she was a little or extremely worried because of the hints that I would drop about the truck. At this time, it was painted and back together, at least for the most part. This next pic is when we finally got home and she was behind the wheel for the first time.
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the next pics are what she looked like when Tori got it.
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Before she could start driving, I told Tori that she would have to learn to change the oil, plugs and tire. She still needs to do the plugs, but she put new shocks on the back and changed the front shocks. I love the pic of her day old manicure and oil on the hand.[IMG]http://i905.photobucket.com/albums/a...orthehands.jpg[/IMG]
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And then I started on the stake bed. These first pics are when we were figuring out how I wanted it to look.
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And now these pics are with the stake bed done.
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I wet sanded the cab about three weeks ago and when Tori and I get a chance, we will be putting some wax on it and putting the side rails on again. I still need to put some carpet in it fix the AC but hey, in another month, she won't need that. So that's my build and it doesn't take long to go from start to finish when you are pretty much done with the work when you start the thread.

You did a good job and pretty quick, your daughter looks like she is happy. Maybe she will do a complete build someday.

Richard

looks great. tori looks really happy.

That smile on her face was worth every bit of work you all put into it. What a difference from the first pictures. :eek::)

BTW, I really need an engine/general purpose lift, like you have. I didn't see that one at Harbor Freight. :LOL:

Don

It actually belongs to the guy I bought the truck from. He goes to my church so I was able to keep the flatbed at his place and clean it up there. I can also say it went back on the truck a lot easier than when it came off. We had 6 or 7 guys pick it off the truck and put it on the trailer. It was a lot heavier than I anticipated. By the time we got it on the trailer, John said he had a tractor to put it back on with. It was a challenge to get this done at home with Tori around, but she never saw it until Christmas.

What a great gift for the kid, looks like you had some good help pulling it off!!! Nice looking truck, too, should make a great driver. As for the A/C, if you can put it off a bit longer then you'll have all winter to get it done!!!!!:LOL::LOL::LOL:

Thanks for the comments on it. I like how it turned out and so does she so that is all that counts. The AC will not be a winter project because I had to move my car out of the garage to do the truck so this winter I will be working on it. At least that is my plan.

Awesome - the truck looks great and the time with your daughter is beyond priceless! More dads need to get their girls involved in this great American hobby! I have three daughters and my 28 year old loves cars..

Keep the pictures coming - you've been an encouragement to a lot of us here!!

Warm Regards,
Glenn

Neat project and she seems very down to earth. In these days where most daugters (and sons) want a shiny new car with navigation, sunroof etc it is refreshing to see there are good kids out there that appreciate the hard work it takes to make that truck so nice. Great job, great family. Don Jr.:D

Well technically, she does fall in that category of wanting a brand new car. She asked for a Mazda 350 or something like that for Christmas when she was 14 so we got her one. It was a hot wheel and she did not appreciate my interpretation of what she wanted. She then asked for something that was younger than she was to drive so an 1986 truck sounded just about right.

Too funny - I did the same thing for my kids with the hot wheels! They also didn't get the humor until years later. My youngest is now 23 and pretty responsible. He has a '71 Chevy 1/2 ton that's pretty nice as well as a '98 Escort for daily driving (33mpg vs 13mpg - go figger?)

Warms my heart when I read about dads and their kids working on projects together - especially their daughters! Keep up the great work and congratulations on being such an awesome dad!

Regards,
Glenn

Very NICE job. Must have been very rewarding to see the look on her face when she was presented with the "build". Great job.