My father passed in March 2024- I had his 1977 5-speed pickup hauled from Bend, OR to my home in Midlothian, TX. The truck was pretty beat, but still intact with nearly no rust anywhere, as Bend is a dry, high desert environment. I will post pics along the way, but intend to memorialize my Dad by making this rig look as good as possible. He bought it forty years ago second-hand.

First step upon arrival: it had been sitting for 3 years without starting, so I pulled the gas tank, installed Starbrite tank cleaner and steam cleaned it out- no rust anywhere. Covered the tank with Rust Convertor in matte black finish and reinstalled the tank. Note to self: check the fuel sensor before reinstalling tank - it does not work-LOL.

New fuel, new battery, new starter, new plugs and wires, I trashed the smog pump, and the engine started up fine, but needed a tune-up to run optimally. The rear bumper was bent badly and I removed it- those bumpers are ugly anyway!

New whitewall OEM-size tires were installed to pass a safety inspection, and I found some brand new OEM hubcaps on eBay from a guy who installed after market wheels and stuck the OEM caps on a shelf for 47 years - unbelievable luck if you are aiming for a stock look. I still have to pull, sand. and paint the rims to look new.

Dad had a minor collision in the truck - crumpled right front fender, grille, and head light assembly- no shop would repair the fender in Dallas for safety reasons, but I found a replacement OEM primed fender (brand new metal, not fiberglass) in Bulgaria and it arrived safely to my home for $329.00- cheap if you really need that part! The radiator was also repaired from the crash.

Next, sent the truck to a local mechanic, who installed a Flowtech header wrapped with DEI titanium exhaust wrap, a Weber 32/36 carb, pulled all of the vacuum and smog crap out, a new water pump and a new electric fan and relay replaced the OEM fan and clutch that were also bent in the crash. I also located a new OEM front fascia/grille pieces, and the coveted OEM (NOS) front grille emblem! They charge too much on eBay for some of that stuff, for sure.

The truck now has a new exhaust system from the header: a stock equivalent muffler and piping back to the tip. It runs great now with good compression, and needed no top end rebuild even with 330k miles on the original 20 R. I see why they call that engine BULLETPROOF if you change the oil- the one thing Dad did have done every 3k miles.

Next step this week is a replacement windshield and rear glass I actually located at a Dallas glass supplier- shocking that he had the front glass. I replaced the window regulators with clean salvage units from YodaJim salvage in Colorado and reinstalled the original side glass. Jim also had salvage visors and an ash tray that were like new, and head light bucket assemblies that included the stainless headlight dress rings along with several other needed parts. Check that guy out for mini truck parts!

New repro taillight assemblies were located in Thailand- the fit was not perfect, and the harness had to be cut and manually wired, but they look good. I also found all of the new rubber glass seals and weather strips on eBay from a Thailand supplier, and those will get installed this week when the glass goes in. I found a salvage OEM antenna in Alaska, and just received a pair of the original West Coast mirrors from a salvage yard in California- really clean!

Looking at the chassis, there is really no rust except some very minor surface stuff that can be sanded or covered with Eastwood rust encapsulator, so at most, I think I will only pull the bed, spray the frame, and replace the fuel sensor while the bed is off. That might take a week or two.

The truck will then go to the body shop for a new MEDIUM BLUE paint job (like the original OEM color) and finally to the upholstery shop for a new seat- the only thing intact is the original seat frame with a plywood top and cloth cover at present - the original foam and vinyl covers were eaten by field mice- You Tube shows it to be a straightforward job for a talented upholster to recreate the original seat design.

I found custom-made interior door side panels that perfectly match the originals from a guy in Thailand- WOW, they are nice, and arrived last week. As well, new pedals, door handles, pull handles for the interior roof, and door lock pulls that are OEM repro also arrived. I am buying an Accuform dash cover that matches the original along with an interior carpet kit and the truck should then look pretty good.

I am doing as much of the work as I can by myself, but the big stuff requires professionals and cash. My Dad will soon be smiling down from heaven, and I will have a truck that I can eventually hand down to my kids. Pics coming soon!

Finding parts is a huge challenge for all of us, and I feel fortunate to have found the key things needed to get the truck back on the road!

 

This will be a worthy thread. Condolences on your loss. What a nice tribute to your pops! What score of parts you have in such short time.. I've come across people looking for that type of parts list going on years. Please keep us posted on this mini!

 

Thanks, Erwin! Finding a body man that will work on this old truck is a challenge, but I think I have found an old school guy locally. The key is to tell them to make it look as good as they can, even if not perfect. No body man wants his work to look shoddy, but most want to replace all body parts rather than straighten them- not an option on this project.

I am searching for an OEM salvage A/M or AM/FM radio- if anyone has one available, please let me know. I know there are retro radios, but the original is preferred. If no one has a radio, but they DO have the RADIO DELETE plastic cover that they will part with, I might be interested in buying that part. More pics coming along the way!

 

Should someone desire the OEM carb that I replaced with the Weber, it still works just fine and I will sell it at a very fair price. I also have the original air cleaner, should someone need that part.

 

I need a new back window for my truck and found one for a 1978 pickup in the Houston area. Will this fit my 1977? I think so, but want to be sure before driving 4 hours to get it. I already have the new rubber- I just need the glass.

 

I would bet yes. There were very little metal differences in the cab of these generations of trucks.

 

I drove 450 miles RT on Saturday and picked up two rear windows in Houston, just in case one got broke during installation. Cleaned all the residue and stickers from a skateboarder (LOL) and the window looks great- it gets installed tomorrow morning! No salvage yard would ship the window to me. I will likely offer the extra window to someone that needs it for their mini- it appears it fits 1972-1978.

 

Last two critical parts needed before heading to the body shop- a hood (found it today at YodaJim's in Colorado) and a front lower valance (found today in Lawton, OK- NOS of all things!) Yahoo!