10's on $5,000 ?

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you should be able to sell all the inner fender wells as their galvanized and don't rust or at least they were in the earlier years..
 
I been wasting time here since 2013 :D


I could probably finish 3 Duster’s, 5 engines, 6 sets of heads, and the fishing boat I bought myself as a retirement gift back in 2010 and never used yet if it wasn’t for Facebook and Mopar websites. Lol.
 
I like it a whole lot. You don't see many '79 pickups in that good of shape anymore. If you can get a late eighties early 90's front clip and doors the metal is much lighter gauge. The 79 grille and one year only core support for the quad headlights in good condition is a name your price item among the Macho and LRE/MNE express crowds. You should easily be able to get enough out the early sheet metal to pay for the later body panels and then some. Plan on converting over to manual steering, the cast iron power steering gear on these vehicles is close to 100 pounds that needs to come off the front. Look for a mid 60's to '71 donor truck with straight axle or seventies slant six van for a donor. The rear suspension is going to be the biggest challenge, the best thing you can do with it is to take the factory rear spring mounts off and build slider boxes off the side of the frame and make some beefy ladder bars. As far as rear axle goes, a Dana 60 out of a 3/4 ton or van will work nicely, and easy enough to find with 4.10 gears and a powr-lok to boot.
 
The best you could do is contact Calvert, I think they have the monoleaf for it. At least I've seen it on one and talked with the owner.
 
we don't know what we'll get back in time for things like the 318, tranny, and a few odds and ends. Also, a couple pieces from the interior will be used in my wife's RC. Don't know how to put a dollar value on that.

Thats SIMPLE.......charge her 1300 buck and you back to 0 dollars invested.:thumbsup:
 
In my mind, I’m adjusting the performance goal from a 10.99 to an 11.49(the point where the roll bar becomes a requirement).
What that means to me is....... if you get an 11.49 or better with that truck in streetable condition for under 5k...... I’m going to call it “mission accomplished”.

Still gonna be a tough goal to reach IMO.
 
I guess you didn't know I was joking. but I wasn't about the 10 grand.
I want to see that truck in the 10's at some point, I don't even care about a budget, take your time and DO IT !
I knew you were joking, and my disagree was a joke :D
 
It has rust - mainly around the rear tires, rockers, and floor pan. But the rest is pretty solid! Frame is pretty clean.
 
I don't remember the weight difference between the independent front suspension and the '71 back straight axle but I would probably look into a straight axle retrofit. Sure, wind resistance is going to be a real thing if the front end is gassered up but probably not as much as maintaining traction is going to be. I would probably be getting pretty extreme on the shortening aspect, too. Something like a newer five foot quad cab box from a Dakota or Ram comes to mind if you can find a less than pristine example on the cheap. I would be looking for a set of used set A body fenderwell headers. That's the way the Dakota guys are doing it and I'm fairly certain it works well on the full size too.
 
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Hey...... I’m just saying that I’d consider it a job well done, taking a long bed pick up to 11.49 for $5k.

318will might still have 10.99 in his sights.
 
Hey...... I’m just saying that I’d consider it a job well done, taking a long bed pick up to 11.49 for $5k.

318will might still have 10.99 in his sights.
With my budget, I'll take an 11.99 in the truck. More weight than we were looking move and more wind resistance.
 
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