# Project farm plow truck.



## Holland (Aug 18, 2010)

Poke some fun guys! Shake your head, have some laughs, whatever you want.. This is a budget build at its best! As long as she has heat and wipers, we'll be happy! Enjoy!

Putting a truck together for my dad to use at the farm. Wont ever leave the property. He retired from farming a few years back and auctioned off most of the equiptment. So we dont have the equiptment sitting around like we used to. So it currently takes him over two hrs to plow out the farm with an open station tractor. We had this old farm truck sitting in the weeds for years. Been looking around for a cheap plow to throw on it for him and i found one the other day. Truck had not started in at least 5 years, went back with 5gal of gas and a new battery. Within 10 min it was running. Changed the oil and it runs as good as the day we parked it.

I'll update with some more pictures as I go. Only into it about $60 and 5 hrs so far. (using up parts I had sitting around, so i wont figure them into the price!)

Masked off the top and gave the bottom a 10 dollar paint job. This aint a beauty contest! 









Beats sitting out in the cold, he should like this alot better! haha









My $45 exhaust job. Free mufflers i had laying around, couple sticks of pipe,a couple clamps and one new donut. Good enough for this truck.


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## Holland (Aug 18, 2010)

Put on a used set of tires off the duramax. Shes ready for a plow!


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## Stik208 (Oct 19, 2004)

Looks pretty solid other than the bed see if you can find a bed for it. Im jealous.


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## Holland (Aug 18, 2010)

Back when i was younger we were gonna fix it up as my first vehicle. Wish i would've! (it was in a bit better shape 10 yrs ago) She was even packin some heat under the hood back in the day! :laughing: Shes a gasser now tho, converted before we originally bought it.


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## peteo1 (Jul 4, 2011)

Man those old trucks are awesome! I love them steel in the dash, the big round gauge clusters, and the fact you only need a basic set of standard wrenched, a cheap screwdriver set and a jack and you can take the whole truck apart. Those things were built to work too which it seems nowadays trucks are built to break. All she needs is a Fisher out front!


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## Holland (Aug 18, 2010)

Picking up the plow tonight! Buddy of mine who own a body shop thinks he has a set of doors and cab corners for it. He's trying to talk me into fixing it up! I really dont want to turn this into a restoration! haha


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## GSS LLC (Jul 7, 2012)

welcome to the club... doesnt look like a farm truck to me. looks like a reliable easy to wrok on plow truck!


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## Holland (Aug 18, 2010)

Man i thought i'd catch he!! for even touching this old girl. Looks like i've got alot of support for the project!


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## GSS LLC (Jul 7, 2012)

the third truck from the left in my photo is an 83 flatbed former diesel now gas. it has plowed every snow in the state of Iowa for the last 8 years. all commercial properties. when something works, it works, and old chevys work. you dont need 50k wrapped up in something to push snow with.


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## Holland (Aug 18, 2010)

O i agree. The older stuff works just fine. Heck even our tractors got the job done. I just want to get him out of the cold. He's ridden around with me plowing with my truck and when i plow for the township, but he has never plowed with a truck himself! 

The only other truck on the farm is his 04 SS and i dont think that would handle a plow too well!! haha


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## CAT 245ME (Sep 10, 2006)

It's nice to see another old 73-87 GM being brought back to life, they are worth rebuilding and extremely dependable. When finished nicely they get lots of attention, I often have guy's stopping in home too see what it would take to buy mine. 

I remember awhile back a Dodge dealer had a nice 86 K10 long box advertised as "Last of the real 4x4's". And it's true.


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## mercer_me (Sep 13, 2008)

Nice looking truck. I also think it would be worth doing a total restoration. What year is it? What are you putting on it for a plow?


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## theholycow (Nov 29, 2002)

mercer_me;1498568 said:


> Nice looking truck. I also think it would be worth doing a total restoration. What year is it? What are you putting on it for a plow?


Question, not busting any balls here but a serious question: What makes a vehicle like that worth doing a total restoration? Undercarriage pic shows everything rusted and some serious rot, interior is all rotted, half of the sheet metal panels need to be replaced, and the other half don't have paint that could be restored.

Every day I drive my 1980 Buick that I love, and I often think that if I came into a bunch of money (read: won the lottery) I'd want to fully restore it...but then I think about it and wonder which (if any) parts would be original when it's done -- and it's in better condition than that truck.

Anyway, OP, cool project. I'd do exactly the same thing with it, or I'd repair it until it was roadworthy and drive it.


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## CAT 245ME (Sep 10, 2006)

theholycow;1498587 said:


> Question, not busting any balls here but a serious question: What makes a vehicle like that worth doing a total restoration?


Most important for me is having a solid frame to start with, a truck this old will often need body panels replaced but thanks to the aftermarket and southern rust free original body parts, anything is possible. If you can do most of the work yourself and not pay somebody to do it for you means big savings. Also salvage yards are your friend, and craigslist can be a big help on finding parts for a low price.


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## mercer_me (Sep 13, 2008)

theholycow;1498587 said:


> Question, not busting any balls here but a serious question: What makes a vehicle like that worth doing a total restoration? Undercarriage pic shows everything rusted and some serious rot, interior is all rotted, half of the sheet metal panels need to be replaced, and the other half don't have paint that could be restored.


From what I saw from the poor quality picture, the frame didn't look that bad. I have scene a lot worse frames than that and people fix them. The interior looked pretty good to me besides the dash was cracked but, that happens to a lot of those old trucks. You can buy a new panels for it. Maybe not do a complete restoration but, at least get it road worthy and looking decent.


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## BOSS LAWN (Nov 6, 2011)

Everything is going together well! Good luck! Thumbs Up


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## Squires (Jan 9, 2009)

That truck is in better shape as is than most of the plow trucks i see in my area currently.
I should get some pictures of what i have seen plowing gas stations and other parking lots around here.
More rust and fiberglass than sheet metal. Same truck i watched the tailgate fall off as the bed was wagging so badly, looked cracked off in the middle but i think it was just the cab and bed mounts causing that illusion. To note, this was not a lot truck at one location, i have seen it all over town.
As for the truck, it is a 3/4 8 lug, probably a 60 front, 14 full float rear? frame looks good as mentioned just some surface rust, but not scaly looking.
LMC truck and your set


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## Holland (Aug 18, 2010)

mercer_me;1498568 said:


> Nice looking truck. I also think it would be worth doing a total restoration. What year is it? What are you putting on it for a plow?


Its far from deserving a total restoration! haha Its an 82. Bought a c8 meyers conventional mount last night for it. Its pretty rough but for the money its worth sticking a little time into. If it was going any further than the end of the driveway i wouldnt have brought it home tho!



theholycow;1498587 said:


> OP, cool project. I'd do exactly the same thing with it, or I'd repair it until it was roadworthy and drive it.


Thanks! I dont know if she'll be back on the road or not, but dad did take it a couple of farms over to run grain cart the other day haha. guess he wanted to take the old girl for a cruise!



mercer_me;1498616 said:


> From what I saw from the poor quality picture, the frame didn't look that bad. I have scene a lot worse frames than that and people fix them. The interior looked pretty good to me besides the dash was cracked but, that happens to a lot of those old trucks. You can buy a new panels for it. Maybe not do a complete restoration but, at least get it road worthy and looking decent.


Frame actually is in pretty good shape. Especially when you consider what its been through its life. Lots of time to rot out and its solid. Interior is so-so. Panel wise i dont think there is a panel on it with out rust... Not saying its NOT restorable, just not what im after.



Squires;1498836 said:


> As for the truck, it is a 3/4 8 lug, probably a 60 front, 14 full float rear? frame looks good as mentioned just some surface rust, but not scaly looking.
> LMC truck and your set


Na she was a 6.2 originally so its pretty light in the axle department! 14 rear semi float, 44 front.


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

Looks like it will serve it's purpose. Heat and wiper's! Keep Dad warm and dry. Throw some body parts on it and paint and he could use it for a daily driver. My Dad never cared what it looked like. As long as it started and plowed with heat and back up lights. He never even open a can of car wax. I took care of his trucks.


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## Holland (Aug 18, 2010)

o he takes care of his stuff. thats no problem. He was looking this old girl over and greasing everything when we had it at work on the lift. Its just an old beater so we arent doing anything special to it.

Got the plow mounted today. (C-8 Meyers, E47pump) Pump took a bit to get going but it seems fine other than it needs a new "A" valve.


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

My late Father was funny. He would call me. Hey can you do this for me? Look at the front brakes? I would find them to be GONE! An F-350, it needs rotors,pads and calipers. In his later years he just drove the trucks. He did not pay attention to the need for maintenance. The plow pump would need a fluid change and filter clean. He could not tell me when he did it last! I used to cut on Him and He told Me I sound just like your Mother!


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## theholycow (Nov 29, 2002)

MickiRig1;1500378 said:


> My late Father was funny. He would call me. Hey can you do this for me? Look at the front brakes? I would find them to be GONE!


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## derekbroerse (Mar 6, 2004)

theholycow;1500420 said:


>


Just turn the radio up a little higher! :laughing:


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## derekbroerse (Mar 6, 2004)

theholycow;1498587 said:


> Question, not busting any balls here but a serious question: What makes a vehicle like that worth doing a total restoration? Undercarriage pic shows everything rusted and some serious rot, interior is all rotted, half of the sheet metal panels need to be replaced, and the other half don't have paint that could be restored.


What makes these trucks worth fixing is that they are stone simple (anyone with a little mechanical knowledge can rebuild one), cheap to buy parts for, plentiful, and you can build one to work just as hard as a new one for the same as only a couple months worth of payments on a new one.


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

His rotors looked just like that one. I looked under it and "What the hell?" Dad your buying F-350 rotors and having them pressed off & On, you realize that? Big money! 
Another time I am looking at the engine. Big block,what's that rusty canister attached to engine? Well, that's the oil filter. Not a spot of orange paint on the Fram filter!


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