Hey guys,

I snagged this rust bucket for $1000 and have since transformed it into a pretty sweet little truck.

Here are some pics of it's progression from junker to off-road machine, to give you an idea of what you can accomplish with a limited budget.

As purchased pics:

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Pulled the bed, sanded/painted the frame, re-did the brake lines, exhaust and shocks:

 

Lifted the bed 2" with the good old hockey puck technique.







Then, I lifted the cab and painted it redneck style with rustoleum and a roller.

 

Every 4x4 needs a nice set of tires, so I bought some new 33" BFG A/Ts and mounted them on a set of rims I snagged off CL for $50.







Then the plenum problem reared it's nasty head, so that was addressed.





Had some rubbing issues, so the sawzall came into play.



Much better...

 

Rather than mess with lifting the stock bumper, I redneck'd a new one of those as well.

 

After a month of wrenching my evenings away, it was time to see what this little tank can do!










I put it through it's paces and everything went great! No breakages (despite some hard driving), tackled everything I attempted. I was thoroughly surprised at just how much this thing can roll over top of.

All said and done, I'm about $4300 into the project. After I hook it up with a winch, off-road lights and a rear bumper, I'll probably still be under $5000. Not too shabby in my opinion!

Thanks for looking guys and don't be afraid of an old truck, they're tons of fun!

 

nice i have a 2 wheel drive im about to be starting on. did you have to find a new dash piece?

 

I also have a 1992 Dakota. Yours looks alot better than mine does though. Very nice work.

 

love the rugged look! cool!