New Guy on the Block

[Breaking Dad]

Hi Everyone-

I just picked up my find today. Im pretty stoked with it, so far everything seems to be as advertised except the transmission is actin a little funky. But you gotta figure something unexpected will pop up. Runs great and is a driver as is if it werent for the nasty seat which is first on the to do list. The plan is a commuter through winter and then into the garage with my 8 year old son to start tear down. Its pretty much rust free from what I can tell but well see once it gets down to the bones. Ill be lurking and learning for awhile but eventually ill be popping in for some advice, so thank you all in advance.

 

[DatWifey]

Welcome!  Can we see a picture of that horse in the yard in the bed of this little beast? ;) 

 

More pics of the pickup would be rad too.  From this one pic, it looks pretty good!  :thumbup:

[Breaking Dad]

Hahaha! For sure, Ill see if i can get him in there tomorrow. Here are a few I took real quick today, Ill take some better shots soon.

[DanielC]

I have several 521 trucks, and This is Helga, in the foreground, and King.

King would ride in the front of my 521.  I would open the driver door, he would hop (step) in, turn around, and wait for me to get in.  After I was in the truck, he would flop his front paws on my right leg, and put his head in my lap.  His butt was right up against the passenger door. 

[Breaking Dad]

Pretty Danes. Ours is named Dexter and he's much too spoiled to ride in the bed I'm sure. I'm really excited to get this thing going, I think it's gonna be a great family project. My wife has been sourcing parts 2 days before we picked up the truck and I cant keep my kid away from it!

[wayno]

Welcome  B)

[Z chopper]

 I cant keep my kid away from it!

 

ya well I think it is not your truck anymore, it became your kids truck once he saw it. 

[datson4life]

nice!

[Breaking Dad]

Oh he has for sure layed claim to it already. But thats the plan, itll be his when he starts driving.

[Breaking Dad]

Minor update. Rain has stopped what small amount of work Ive been able to do, but I pulled the Krako speakers and cassette player and any other random accessories the P/O put in. Took off the rotted seat cover to find 2 layers of shag carpet and a folded piece of packing foam. Im taking out the seat tonite and stripping it down, sanding and painting. It gets dropped off Saturday for spring repair, new padding and a new cover! My new seatbelts came in last night so Im hoping by midweek next week Ill be driving comfortably and legally. Ill post pics as soon as the seat is in.

[mrbigtanker]

Right on,you should have springs repaired before you paint it..I used to do it for living or hobby,just a suggestion.keep up the good work.

[Breaking Dad]

Id like to, but because of the timeline its difficult. I plan on hitting all of the exposed parts and getting them to my satisfaction then leaving the rattle can with the upholstry guy to hit the repaired springs before he covers it all. I know its not ideal but i dont get back to town after work till hes closed. Gotta make due. I appreciate the advice tho.

[mrbigtanker]

That will work to.what's next for the truck.

[Breaking Dad]

Well the P/O just redid the brakes but they are feeling a little spongy. Ive gotta get it in the garage and adjust and bleed them. I need to swap out the 4 speed for a 5. I commute on the highway and that sucker was screaming at 63mph. Plus i imagine itll help with mileage. And thats probably it for a little while. The goal is to strip it down to the frame and clean up and fix anything i can on a limited budget. Were going for a clean stock look with some minor tweaks here and there. Ive been scouring this site and gathering all the info i can. Everyone seems really cool so ill keep everyone up to date on our progress.

[Breaking Dad]

We got the seat out, stripped down, repainted and delivered to the upholstery shop. Way better condition than i thought. Only 3 broken springs on the seat back and none on the bottom. Rust was minimal. Sanded it down and hosed it with gloss black. After i dropped the frame i decided to go get some cheap carpet from Lowes and see if replacing the carpet would help with the musty smell. I pulled the ols carpet and found holes on the driver side floor board. Ugh! Thought i was gonna get lucky. I scraped off what i could and hit ot with some paint. Thats gonna have to be a project for later on down the line. Started putting the carpet in, giant PITA! I just cant seem to figure out how to get it over the tunnel and wheel wells and still lay flat on the floor. I got too frustrated to deal with it so i moved on to buffing the paint. I figured id do what i could to polish the turd. It actually shined up pretty good. My neighbor lent me some stuff to get the water spots off the glass and it worked amazing. Like getting brand new glass in it. Its actually made by some guy here in my home town. If anyone is interested let me know and ill post some pics of it. Im throwing on some pics of the seat frame and my rusty floor.

[mrbigtanker]

Do it in 3 parts wrap the center hump first and you will have to make cuts to get the wrinkles out i areas that the carpet will bind.Now thats depending on what carpet you bought.Now the easier way to carpet the floor would be to use a speaker box carpet its thin and very flexible,but hey at least your going for it. :thumbup:

[Breaking Dad]

Sorry for the bad quality....

 

[mrbigtanker]

Couple of stitches and the cover is good.haha.Keep up the good work and that hole is minor compared to whats out there.

[Breaking Dad]

Quick pic of the carpet. Not perfect but Itll work as a temprary thing till I redo the whole interior.

 

[mrbigtanker]

Looks good,Get some same material as the door panels or black vinyl and wrap  the kick panels. :thumbup: :thumbup:

[datrod]

Quick pic of the carpet. Not perfect but Itll work as a temprary thing till I redo the whole interior.

 

 

That looks great.

[Breaking Dad]

Thanks guys! The crappy cell phone pic actually makes it look a little better than it really does, but its passable. Im supposed to get the seat on Wed. Im gonna so get some supplies and make new door panels and kick panels this weekend if i get time.

[mrbigtanker]

Please dont screw the panels in.Make new boards if you have to and notch it it is not hard to do.

[Breaking Dad]

Im assuming from the finish that they are the stock kick panels. They have 2 small screws each holding them at the edge of the door. I see where everything else is notched and how the sill holds the bottom in but it seems like without the screws that one edge would seperate from the body.

[mrbigtanker]

So your right on the kick panels there is small screws that hold it in and a small part will tuck under the sill.The door panels is the main 1 they will look ugly if you screw them in,i mean its your truck but if your are looking for a clean look then re-wrap the stock ones or if you have to make new boards trace them out and put the clip holes back in and it will look good.