ok here is the story.....

about 2 years ago i was given a 1988 dodge half ton 2wd with a bad tranny.was given to me by my moms husband.i was running demolition derby at the time(just quit last summer after 17 years)and was going to build a gmc 3/4 for a derby.well the tranny went out right after my mom got hit in the side with it,so he thought it wasnt worth fixing.gave it to me and told me to run it in a derby also.well i got looking at it and i told my wife lets just give it to our oldest son(14 at the time).he and i could pull the tranny,he could pay to have it rebuilt,and bam! he has a cheap first truck when he gets his license.i am not a dodge fan at all(sorry) but it was a cheap start for him and he liked it.here is a pic of him trying to find out how to pull out the dent in the bedside.

so he got his license and we got the dodge on the road this summer.i told him it would be nice to sell his dodge and get something better on gas,like a toy.so he cleaned up the dodge and sold it.we found a 93 toy with 127xxx miles.found alot of frame rust under the bed but the had not collapsed any were.so i bought some steel and started plating.i quit running derbies last summer but i still know how to plate a frame haha . we read on this site about the b/j flip,so we started on that and found the top arms were rotted bad!!! found a used set on here from a member.(thanx)i knew to look for the frame rot but not the a arms i missed that when we bought it.here are some pics.




so we are a little new to the yota scene,but i did know that the 22r is a killer motor.it has had a new t/c and a new clutch installed recently.the paint isnt the best but its pretty solid.i need to upload some more pics but so far we have .....
3" blocks and b/j flip and got some bucket seats.also found some starion rims for a 100 bucks!.also sanded and painted the stock steelies.
here are the seat we got for 10 bucks.haha not sure what there out of but they fit nice.now he has added a racy set of seat cover to cover up the blue.


as you can see from the pics i have 2 boys.one is 17 and one is 14.the younger one really like to turn wrenches so he helps as much as he can.so i will upload some recent pics shortly.

ok........ next

 

welcome aboard and cool truck!

 

You could get a lot done fast with an able crew like that. If you are going to buy some front shocks I strongly suggest a pair of 69 Camaro KYB Gas-a-justs. They are meant for a v8 so they will improve handling. And I used them with just a bj flip.

 

ok....now i am a chevy fan through and through(got one in the garage getting restored right now) but i know that these 22r are a great motor.and the boys really like them.so we started looking for another one for the younger boy.he could work on it for the next 2 years then when he gets his license he will have a sweet little ride.

so off to our friendly craigs list. haha found this little peach tuesday in columbus ohio.


got it real cheap....$600 !! it has 170xxx miles and is loosing water.but the oil still looks brown.the thing starts up and runs good but we are looking into a head gasket repair?? here is a few more pics




clutch flywheel,front window,tires,alt.,radiator all have been installed within the year.so after fixing water leak we should be good for while

so then grandma calls tyler(my youngest boy) and tells him she will give him some cash towards the truck also.so he is doing ok.even if choose to spend alot on the motor we still are doing good.

his plans are to lower and get rims.both boys plan on painting there trucks next summer.so wee will keep adding pics of the progress.

 

sweet project keep us posted

 

Welcome dogg!

 

nice, I have 2 trucks similar to yours a 89 standard cab that I got for free when I was 14 and a 92 ex cab just like yours in the pic that I got last month for 500. I did my own body work when I was 16 and had it painted cheap at macco.. I paid 800 bucks for the whole thing door jambs bed and some body work that I missed... My trucks been painted for about 3 years now and never been parked in the shade or inside, barely ever washed or waxed and it looks just as good as day one... search my 89 build thread for pics.... I had no idea what I was doing at the time.. should be get your kids motivated to see what you can do with out knowing it. good luck.. you got 2 awesome trucks !

 

thanx for the welcome guys.i will see if the boys want to set up a account then they can learn from this site also.they have been checking out stuff but havent signed on yet.

 

i will check into the shocks for sure. my uncle owns a body shop but he is not going to paint the trucks for the boys.he is going to look over their shoulder and teach them how to do it.it wont be perfect but they will learn how and what it takes to do a real nice paint job.im sure they will turn out all right.

 

Welcome! Nice trucks to start with, I'm sure they'll turn out great!

 

Greta projects and what an great dad they have to teach them all of they stuff they will learn. Most kids these days only care about video games and tv,plus there to lazy anymore. Look foward to the finished trucks.

 

thanx for puttin up the pics dad. cant wait to get workin on mine. that'll look sweeeet with two dropped yotas in the driveway.

 

Wow guys, loving the trucks. Nice to have a dad like that. I had an 88 toy in high school to and loved that truck. Nice work so far and keep us posted on what you do next, plus we love pics. Welcome to TM guys

 

i likey the xcab... got some rust but hell, reminds me of my truck when it wasn't touched by me!

 

here is a pic of dereks truck now.




he had the starion wheels on for about 2 weeks,then took them off.the tires were very bad and i dint feel real good about letting him drive with the wires about showing.so he took them off and started stripping the clear.we got two tires for the front now but he will have to get some back tire for spring.he still needs to find some back snow tires for his steelies.

derek helped tyler take the back bumper off of tylers excab yesterday.then tyler started cleaning the inside.my wife looked outside and see he had fallen asleep,so she snapped a pic




here is a pic after he woke up

 

Those trucks look good, seems like they are off to a good start, now start dumping those trucks.

 

yeah you got 2 very clean trucks. I wish mine were as nice when I got them...

 

the look cleaner in the pics.i had to do alot of welding to the frame of dereks.have to take off the bed and gas tank off tylers also.it has frame rot right by the gas tank.not near as bad as dereks was.

i have been looking around the site and you guys have some nice looking rides.im guessing you guys must live out west.it seems all these truck around here have bad frame rot under the bed.i looked at one last monday that had 264xxx miles still running strong body wasnt bad. looked up under the bed....it was rotted out. the guy wanted $1200 for it.way to much for the miles.but it seems no one talks about frame rot on here.maybe i just havent looked hard enough.

 

wish my xcab was dingless.


lol xcab's are the best to sleep in. recline both seats all the way, find a pillow, and just knock out in any angle!

 

I in tampa Fl, I dont know how bad your frames are but I have a friend in orlando that has bout 30 of these trucks and tons of frames that are good, he sells them for 50 bucks... and if they sit to long they go to the metal scrapper

also have your kids introduce themselves ! start a build thread for each truck !