Everyone starts somewhere!

i was just in Des Moines today, not a single 1st gen on the road in town that i could easily spot in the north, only saw one on i80 (01-04 model)
did get some weird stares at a rest area near Casey from an Iowa dealer plated toyota miniVan full of dealers or whoever

how many miles are on this truck?

 

260k

 

Welcome to TW!

Good luck on creating CAD files & the frame buildup!!

 

Just about ready to lift off the cab! Got 1 more wiring harness to disconnect, gonna use a pulley system to suspend the cab under our lean to and get the front of the frame cleaned up. Did find the frame diagram, just have to motivate myself to get into Fusion 3D and actually make the model needed =) This sub 10 degree weather can kindly go away!!!

 

Can't help but wonder why. You can find a nicer starting point for less than you're going to spend getting that up to a comparable condition!

 

save the mid west taco!

 

Purchase a new frame and get a fresh start with structural integrity. Clean up the remaining parts or replace as needed. This is gonna be interesting.

Good luck.

 

I have far more time than money, and its a learning project for me. We have access to making a frame that's gonna cost us roughly $300 in mats/labor. A new, decent frame around here is upwards of $2000. The front is in pretty decent shape. The back half is just gone. So we're replacing it basically right in front of the cab.

 

Front is DEF in better shape than the back. Looking at in front of the mid cross member to rebuild from (basically chop off and attach new half.) Looking forward to starting the welding.. but first... GRINDING ><
Planning on hammer testing to find all the weak points and go from there!

 

Replace the entire back half and 3 link it. Check out Wyatts RST website. Better performance and more than likely cheaper for you in the long run while using your OEM axle.