First of all let me start out and say that I am not a mechanic. I work on computers for a living. I am using this vehicle to learn on and it is a fun project because I always wanted a truck.

I Have a 73 D100 with a 318 in it that I bought 4 months ago. It is my first time working on any vehicle. It sat in a field for about 5 years and has a whole lot of rust damage. When I got it it was leaking coolant into the cab because the heater core had a hole in it. I replaced the heater core and that is now good. So far I have replaced the brake booster, master brake cylinder, plugs, plug wires, cap and rotors. I just got the new interior door panels cause they were broken. I replaced the weather stripping in the doors and now the windows go up and down again. It has one of the built in tool boxes and the hinges rusted through. It was screwed in with metal screws and now I am going to try to get a friend of mine to weld new hinges onto it. I stripped the paint on that part and primered it so that it would slow down the rust on it. I just found out that I need to replace the alternator and the radiator just sprung a leak. So I will be replacing that soon as well. I want to slowly strip this thing down and sand and primer it one part at a time. It needs a lot of body work. It also has the rusted out sections under the doors. I could use any help as far as finding parts for this thing. I think after I replace the alternator and the radiator that most of the rest of the work will be cosmetic in nature. Getting rid of rust and fixing paint. I will need to replace a lot of the trim. I really like the original paint colors. Off white and the Burnt orange. If anyone has any advice I would be happy to listen.

Thanks

 

Nice and easy project to learn on. I live in Alabama , and we have a few down here. If you need parts pm me with a pic or good description and we'll see what we can do.

 

After working on cleaning up the wiring, I was still having problems with the truck not keeping a charge in the battery. I took the alternator out and had it tested. It tested good. I had already put a new battery in it. I had cleaned off the contacts on all the wiring and the Coil was almost new. It turned out to be a problem with the Voltage Regulator. I bought a new one and slapped it in and now it starts great. Now I am having problems with the truck stalling when i put it in gear. I think it may be an idle problem where the idle is set to low and it stalls when dropping into gear. Or it may be that the carburetor needs an overhaul. I am pretty sure that the Carb needs to be tuned but don’t have the first clue on how to do that. I may need to have a pro do it. That and I noticed that the engine flexes on one side about 3 inches when i put it in gear. I have new motor mounts for it but since i broke a finger a week ago will have to wait four or five weeks to put them in. I am also hoping that they will Firm up the driving of the truck a little. It rattles like heck.

 

what type of carb is it? I guessing original 2 barrel. Rebuilding a carburetor is not hard. All you need is-- clean work area, can of carburetor dip ( pick-up at most auto parts stores), note pad, carb rebuild kit (parts store), compressed air supply ( compressor or canned, you don't need more than about 15 psi), repair manual depending on what carb you have. Oh yeah the hardest part of all some peace and quiet time to do it.

 

I tried to look the carburater up by the number and cant find anything on it. It is a two barrel Carb and without being able to identify it from the tag I am having a hard time getting a rebuild kit for it. Sigh. What a pain. I may just get a new Carburator for it instead.

 

local auto parts store should have reman'd units for a resonable price.

 

keep it original thats the best way. never give up. good project to learn on.

 

i agree with 6 bolt, however if you cannot find anyone to help at your local autoparts store on finding a rebuild kit. It would be very difficult. You should check the local machine shops and see if anybody still rebuilds carbs. We have only one left around my area. That original carb has better metals than what you would buy today. so, yes original is best, and next to best is old school!!!!!!!

 

I just bought almost the same truck a week ago. Havent started the restore, but have started gathering parts. Most of the parts are coming pretty cheap. You having any probs?

 

I've had my '73 D100 for a few years now. I was lucky and got it it pretty decent shape. The appearance is a bit rough around the edges, but runs great. I had to replace the thermostatic choke coil and the choke pull off was completely missing. It ran but was causing rough starts until warmed up. It was also stalling at idle. I had to make my own choke pull off link from a section of wire coat hanger, pretty pleased and proud of that hack.

I'm in the process of replacing the heater core and fan motor now. Grrrr, working under the dash is a PAIN!!! Any useful tips on getting the heater unit out? I'm working with old nuts and bolts in the engine compartment that hold the whole heater unit/box in(I think). My manual isn't very specific and the diagrams don't match up well. I was first trying to unbolt the heater box to seperate without having to remove the whole thing, but the cramped space is forbidding that. I might have to saw a couple of the stubborn bolts off in the engine compartment and try to replace them after the heater core is replaced. 8^(