My 81 LOOOOONG bed

[BigRuss]

the day i brought the monster home


this is a size 13 shoe planted against the bumper so it sits pretty low in the front for a DD




had to rearrange the garage to get it in out of the snow/ice/freezing temps because the battery wasn't holding a charge



my half hour rendering but i think ima modify this to something a bit more old skool


that accumulated after about 30 minutes after making a quick run to the parts store


new rear end i picked up super cheap


after me and a buddy did the 2 inch drop shackles


and this paint will ooze over each square inch of this truck within the next year




still debating running 16's or 18's.... its tough for me to decide

[beastie_3]

There is a post on here of trucks with 18s

[BigRuss]

There is a post on here of trucks with 18s

yeah i started the thread... only pic in there is a poorly photoshopped pic of a square on 20's...  im just trying to decide so i dont waste money on something that im not going to like after 6 months..

[BigRuss]

new glass pack exhaust.... sounds good, just a lil louder than the one that was on there but has a decent little rumble to it... should sound better after i finish the exhaust... gonna end up going back to the Y pipe and knock about 5 foot of piping off because of my new drop...

[BigRuss]

found the paint for my "50 dollar paint job" its a nice Rustoleum Hunter Green... figured this truck is beat up and doest really deserve a whole heck of a lot spent on paint and body... just making it look decent, run great, and be reliable as all get out

[87454westernhauler]

Nice custom deluxe!

[BigRuss]

thanks... shes gettin tweaked and fixed up as i go along... i think my max budget for this truck will be 2000 bucks... so really not cutting corners just finding budget friendly fixes... 50 bucks for my exhaust, less than 50 bucks for my paint job... biggest part of the build is new wheels and tires...

[bake74]

     You will have to post some pics after you get your $50.00 paint job done.

[BigRuss]

i will man... i got a buddy whos gonna help me this weekend finish up the drop and hopefully finish the body work so that next week we can paint it... just Google "50 Dollar Paint Job" heres the best one ive found  http://www.rickwrench.com/index79master.htm?http://www.rickwrench.com/50dollarpaint.html
so yeah this should prove to be a fun experience

[BigRuss]

heres the final rendering for my truck... going to run 16's instead of 18's


getting ready to pull the bed to do the drop

bout to head over to my buddies house to utilize the air tools

before the drop

after the drop

over at my buddies after we got everything buttoned up


found a lil issue after i pulled the bed liner

[beastie_3]

Oh no...

[BigRuss]

thankfully all the rust is in areas that are super easy to fix... thats all at the headboard and above the gas tank... theres also a spot at the back corner... its not bad but im debating on ordering a FULL   bed floor or just say screw it and order either a Poplar or Red Oak bed kit... only difference is 20 bucks and better looks

[slammed79]

That thing will look sweet with the Red Oak, and for $20, its hard to go wrong

[BigRuss]

im thinking the poplar because its easier to get locally in case i break a board or it starts to rot out... besides ima put a nice dark stain on it...

[slammed79]

It'll be sweet either way. I love the look of wood beds.