Well I finally have it back together enough to take it up to NE Iowa to visit family. About the only interior thing I didn't get done was the headliner, but that'll happen when I get back. Also I'd like to find some better visor substitutes so I'll be on the hunt for that.

Then there's the other basic things I need to do:
1) change rear bumper and add hitch
2) convert to H4/9003/HB1 headlights, swap over to the other grille and trims.
3) pull rear axle and check bearings
4) trans fluid / filter change.
5) add extra reverse light so I can actually see.

At any length, I did manage to get her cleaned up and I must say it looks pretty good for an old crusty truck. I'm taking tools just in case something doesn't live up to expectations. There's a scrap yard up that way that has a bunch of Dakota's in that I can get stuff, and I do plan to go and spend some time there, there are a few things I need to pick up.

Steve

 

Wow. That looks rather nice for a 'crusty old truck'. Wish mine looked that good.

 

Thanks, but it doesn't look all that nice up close...or in daylight..haha. At any rate I hate driving stuff that looks ratty so the effort was worth it. What started as "I'm only going to buff the hood and top" ended up being a complete wax job except for the tailgate. And it has more rust than i care to admit. It really needs new fenders and a new box but that's not something I'm up to doing right now.

Steve A

 

You do have it shining!! Nice truck

 

That's a nice looking base to build on - if the frame's in good shape, it's one I'd have no problem restoring and driving!

RwP

 

Frame is in reasonable condition for the age. I don't see any extreme corrosion that would cause me concern. I still have a hankerin to create that extended cab long bed truck, and the option to do that presented itself recently but the JY with the long bed donor decided they wanted about 3x the value of the truck they'd acquired so in the end it went into the yard with all the other trucks and they destroyed to box in the process. They also refuse to sell the box and the frame section under it separately so there was that too. So the long bed version will be delayed a little longer. I think that's one reason I don't get too excited about replacing the bed even though under the wheel opening trims it's all gone.

Anyway, I'm at my destination so half the voyage is done and it was a non-event. I don't anticipate anything bad happening but I did notice that the door lock mechanisms are sluggish in the cold (20F here) and I couldn't unlock the driver door successfully. Fortunately the passenger door didn't give me much trouble but I am leaving it unlocked for the night.

On Wednesday I'll hit the scrap yard and hopefully come away with a few pieces I need for my truck. The last time I was there they had a pristine base gen 1 base truck 4 cyl 5 speed. If they wouldn't have manhandled it with the loader it would have been an awesome truck to own. It had an almost perfect box except for where the loader driver messed it up, same for the front end too. It had the factory steel wheels with center caps and beauty rings and I would like to come away with the set. Last visit I got a rear roll pan, I haven't decided whether I want to use it yet or get a gen 2 bumper for the rear instead.

Steve

 

Nice looking ride.

 

Thanks for the compliments.

I hit the scrap yard today, there was at least a eight gen 1 Dakotas there, managed to come away with a pair of new aftermarket taillights, new muffler, sealed beam front park / turn lamp and the pair of front reflectors. There was also an aluminum topper for short bed but the color wasn't something I could put up with so I passed on it even though It might be nice to have it.

I was surprised to find the muffler, for some reason I just decided to start checking under trucks and there it was. The tail pipe and intermediate pipe were pretty old so it was attached poorly. Took all of 15 minutes to get it out. I also found a reasonably new tail pipe (whole exhaust actually) on another Dakota but I couldn't get it freed before I had to leave for the day. I will try and get back there Friday on my way back to Des Moines. I don't mind used ones as long as they aren't shot and this one was really in good shape, the outline of where the manufacturer sticker had been was still there and it was actually pretty thick material.

The truck I had tried to buy wheels and tires from a month or so ago was gone. The gold Dakota had been three cars up and they didn't have time to get it down for them before when I was there so I gambled and lost, it had the base steel wheels with the oval cutouts, center caps and trim rings, it was a 4 cyl MT truck with sealed beams, probably 92/93 range. It was actually in decent shape and I had told the yard owner that he ought to save it in put it out back but he didn't listen I guess. If they would have treated it better with the loader it would have had a good box to sell and maybe even front fenders, but they managed to get into it with the loader and ruined a bunch of stuff.

I found the picture I took of it earlier in the summer

 

 

Couldn't agree more, but apparently the guy who owns the place didn't think it was worth much. I had tried on two separate occasions to buy the wheels / tires since the tires were brand new, but I couldn't seem to get that done. I looked around where I could get to this trip but didn't see it anywhere. I'll be back there tomorrow and I'll check some more but it wasn't out in the main field where they have been putting all the vehicles.

I would have liked to get the front fenders if both were as good as the one we can see, and the bed wasn't too bad, that is until they got their loader into it. They have stuff out in the field that's a lot worse than that truck, I don't know why they decided it wasn't worth keeping.

FYI this place isn't a salvage yard although they do sell parts, it's a scrap processing yard. So most of what they do is take in metal and then compact stuff and ship it out. They even dismantle computer components too although I haven't seen much of that in there for a while. I get there when ever I come up to see my family in NE Iowa because it's convenient and it's typically cheaper than most upull yards that I go to. It's also nice that there are plenty of trucks to pick and chose from too although recently they've begun to crush cars / trucks as they come in rather than park them out in the field. I'm not sure if this is a new policy or just because they want to clear some space before winter arrives.

It's interesting though that some of the things they get are unusual. They have several Corvairs in there, a recent acquisition was an early 60's Corvair 500 4 dr with AT. It was actually quite clean and very complete. They also have a Monza convertible and another 2dr somewhere. It looked like the owner of the 500 had the carbs removed to be serviced and then just never reinstalled them. There was tape over the carb mountings, it was a shame. Even had the small hubcaps. Also they had a 51 Kaiser Special (I think) that was a recent acquisition. There's also a couple Studebaker cars in there but none with very much left on them. The place is mostly trucks but there are other things too.

It would have been nice if they'd kept that gold Dakota, I liked that the center caps and beauty rings were still there, most often that stuff is gone. Especially since a lot of the Dakotas out in the field have been picked over pretty good. I found only one left tail light that wasn't damaged and that was aftermarket so I bought both sides to be sure and have them match. They were on the same truck I'm trying to get the tailpipe from, which, btw, has one of the cleanest frames I've ever seen. The truck itself is really fugly, but that frame is super nice!. I will try and take some pics tomorrow of all the Daks they have out there. I also might pick up a fixed back glass for extended cab just to have one around.

Steve

EDIT: I noticed the emblem but have no idea what it is!