Odd story

[Chuck Brown]

Hey Fellas,

Well, Ive got a short one for you tonight thats far from weird, but might give you an idea as to JUST how busy Ive been this past year.

Around January last year (2008), I found a 1964 J200 for sale about about 500 miles away from where I live, but not far from where I actually grew up as a kid. Having had several phone calls with the owner (son of the original owner since '64), I closed the deal with the condition that I could have a shipper pick it up in the spring, and all was good.

(The truck was fitted with a 360 bored .030 over, Edelbrock intake, lifted suspension, headers, new radiator, sunroof...but the PO sort of boogered up the ignition pretty good when he couldnt get it started to get it on the transport truck and the underdash is a mess of stripped wires and electrical tape now that looks like it was all done in a serious hurry.)

Well, spring turned into late fall 2008 and I had been too busy for the past 9 months to get around to having her shipped but finally had it dropped off in the middle of the night at my farm property way out in the country. That was back in November, and technically I still had never really seen thr truck, as when it got dropped off it was about 10:30 at night and all we did was roll it off the transport truck.

Well, after owning it for 15 months, I finally got to sit in it and take a few snapshots and a 360 degree video walkaround, so feel free to check it out.

Chuck Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcAB5UoPmpU

[Dirtball]

So... were you happy, sad, shocked, satisfied, content... what? Didn't look bad 'til you got to the passenger side, but I'll assume you already knew about it. Thanks for the video...

[Chuck Brown]

So... were you happy, sad, shocked, satisfied, content... what? Didn't look bad 'til you got to the passenger side, but I'll assume you already knew about it. Thanks for the video...

Ha-Ya know, thats actually a darn good question, I've got a whole MIX of emotions right now!!! I guess I was happy in that I could finally lay hands on the truck....then I was sad when I took a hard look at the passenger side of the bed!

Then, I was happy again that the cab was in solid shape...then I was sad again that the ignition had been pulled apart in an aborted jerry-rig attempt to get it started. I think the old fella I bought it from may have applied too much emotional attatchment to it when he was describing the condition over the phone.

Theres a lotta putty on the passenger side of the bed too, let me tell ya! The odd thing is, the fender flares are all solid, but the two areas of a.) JUST behind the cab and b.) behind the rear fender flare really brought me down.

Once I get the bed off, I can probably get it sandlblasted for about 200 bucks, but if the rot is all along the body lines, I dont think I want to bother and may just opt to go with a flatbed.

Fortunately, my Father-in-Law owns a steel fabrication shop and has gone into retirement as of last year, so he gave me the key to go in and work whenever I feel like it.

All in all, Im both happy AND sad I figure....time to go take some pills, I guess!

Chuck Brown

[The PIG Smith]

Good Looking Project!
I like RED! :thumbsup:
The paint on the dash looks to have a shine to it!

If it is just the bedsides that are bad, ZM Jeeps sells replacement bedsides.
Be very happy that your cab is good shape.
Trust me when I tell you everything else is minor compared to a rotten cab.

I would not worry about the electric nightmare and just spend the $$$ for a replacement wiring harness with a modern fuse block.
Both ZM Jeeps and BJ Offroad can help you out this these items.
...or a generic Painless wiring kit would work.

I think you have a nice truck from what I can see with some unsolved opportunities.

[Chuck Brown]

Good Looking Project!
I like RED! :thumbsup:
The paint on the dash looks to have a shine to it!

If it is just the bedsides that are bad, ZM Jeeps sells replacement bedsides.
Be very happy that your cab is good shape.
Trust me when I tell you everything else is minor compared to a rotten cab.

I would not worry about the electric nightmare and just spend the $$$ for a replacement wiring harness with a modern fuse block.
Both ZM Jeeps and BJ Offroad can help you out this these items.
...or a generic Painless wiring kit would work.

I think you have a nice truck from what I can see with some unsolved opportunities.

Thanks Bryan, and thanks for the tip, I didnt know I could find replacement sheet metal for the bed! Red is a pretty sharrp color for these trucks, and I figure I'll still go that route, but I checked behind the lifting paint and it looks like it originally shipped as blue, as the red has cracked and peeled off in large flakes. The dash is odd though and sines like heck. If it werent for some paint lifting where it meets the windshield, it looks great almost like that old bake-lite stuff they used to make old telephones and vintage tube powered radios with, it has an almost plastic-y type feel to it.

You possibly got a weblink where I can check out that sheetmetal at ZM, its a heck of a deep site to navigate and I came up short under body materials?

Chuck Brown

[shaolinsifu]

it screams out for 35's!! Good lookin rig,have fun with that one !!

[DerekTJeep]

What is in background? I seem to see a 1974-1978 Mustang behind Jeep on Youtube.

[newtojeeps]

Good luck with the find.

[Chuck Brown]

What is in background? I seem to see a 1974-1978 Mustang behind Jeep on Youtube.

Good eyes, you're close though...theyre part of a collection of '65-'66 project Mustangs that I've somehow managed to amass over the years. If you look closely, we were actually pulling them out of our barn where they had been stored and had partially collapsed in the background. Miraculously, none were crushed in the great Barn Landslide!!!

I WOULD like to go with 35"s after I get her torn down, but I'm not sure if the axles are up to the job. Can anybody with a sharp eye check out the last 20 seconds of the video and maybe ID what axles they are (I zoom in on the rear near the end)?

I've got a few things to address once I dig in:

1.) Rebuild ignition
2.) Replace windshield
3.) Pull bed and assess if its worth it after sandblasting
4.) Gas tank is said to be leaking

I guess the truck will have to take a number and wait for a little while longer while we get a new barn erected this spring and I can have a place to work inside.

Chuck Brown
(BTW, if you hear me grunting in the background, its because I was all sore and tired after tearing down the barn all day and now I was being treated to cold rain coming down on my miserable bald head.)