My Parts Truck

[bryancobb]

I bought a golden color 1986 Long Wheelbase truck with a 2.8 V-6.  It appears to have been frozen in time from being parked in the early 1990's.  I bought it "for a few hundred dollars."  The body is in pristine condition without a tiny dent anywhere.  Corrosion is limited to light surface rust on body panels.  I have been cannibalizing parts for two weeks now and am astonished that bolts and nuts under the truck are in perfect shape and are not rusted.  I stole the fuel tank straps and hardware off it for use on my red 1989 truck and they came loose very easy, without penetrating oil.

 

Here's the rub...my red 1989 has no floor pan left on the driver's side and I am about to cut out the floor of the gold truck to patch mine.  I grieve to hack-up a perfect truck but that's what I bought it for.  Overall, the gold truck is ugly and looks like junk, but as I said, the body is sooo straight!  

 

Please, someone help me feel better.  I considered stripping the cab and frame, painting it red, and letting it become my red truck.  That's bordering on being unethical / illegal since I only bought it as a box of parts, never to be resurrected.

[eaglescout526]

Post some pics and I mean good pics and we can all give you an opinion as to what can happen to it. From the sounds of it, you’d be better off finding an XJ for scrap metal parts and save the 86 and make it look nice for the next person. 

[bryancobb]

Let me get the seat and carpet pulled from the parts truck and I will take some pics of the junk truck.

 

[Pete M]

don't even bother trying to cut out a floorpan.   regardless of the ethical problems with hacking up a perfectly good body, it's simply not worth your time.  the floors are held in by a million spot welds and you can get a perfectly good result from just flat sheetmetal.    it's all going to be covered by carpet anyways.