• Welcome to For Trucks Only !

    We are a community of American Brand Pickup Truck and SUV owners. Join now! Its Free!

83 dodge d150 restoration/ rust repair help

83_dodge

New Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2011
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Location
wheeler wi
hello all, i have an 83 dodge d150 regular cab long box 2 wheel drive. my grandfather gave me this truck the day i got my license so in a sense it is my first vehicle and he is no longer with us, so this truck means alot to me, unfortunetly me and the truck are from wisconsin so you can imagine how rusty it is. i was hopeing someone out there would get me pictures from there rust repair or even pics of a rust free truck with some requested measurmeants maybe. my trucks need both rockers, i believe both cab corners, drivers side floor, some work on the passenger side floor, kick panels need work, inner rocker on drivers side possibly passenger side, been awhile since ive really done anything with the truck, i know someone is gonna read this and think to much work find a better cab, well that kinda defeats the purpose of it being my grandfathers truck now doesnt?? im 23 years old and this truck needs to see the road again, it cant sit around anymore. as far the pics im asking for are pretty much the way things should look before rust got to it, i know im gonna have to recreate some things from scratch like kick panel, inner rocker and some floor pieces, anyways if any of this rambled out scripture makes sense to anyone and that can help me, would be very helpful, thanks in advance

p.s i know this probably isnt the place to post this but i didnt where else to put it, sorry.
 
Check out youtube, theres lots of videos showing how to change the panels, also I buy my dodge parts from
www.lmc.com
ive had good luck with them, some people have had bad luck, but its your choice, post some pics of your truck, we love atching a restoration going on. And welcome to the site
 
Check out youtube, theres lots of videos showing how to change the panels, also I buy my dodge parts from
www.lmc.com
ive had good luck with them, some people have had bad luck, but its your choice, post some pics of your truck, we love atching a restoration going on. And welcome to the site

ive seen some videos on there but there panel replacement isnt as bad as mine, i know not all are gonna be the same. i almost jumped the gun and wrote back bull crap on lmc for having 80s dodge parts but i checked and got me a catalog coming, about damn time, getting sick of seeing every thing ford and chevy, nothing against them but come on, its get old. i checked out that other website and set up an account on there, im gonna copy what i put on here and slap it on that site and do some surfing and see if i can find what im seeking, ill try to get some pics up of my grampas truck but i cant make any promises.

thanks gray07
 
IMG_0996.jpgIMG_0997.jpgIMG_0998.jpgWell post some pictures of what you've got so we can tell how bad it is and maybe we can steer you in the right direction . At the very least it would make a good restoration thread like Gray said and maybe we can help you along the way . I believe I can get left and right floor pans ( but not full floors ) and rockers . "maybe" cab corners . But I'd have to check my sources before I committed to anything . I don't have any measurements but here's a before and after shot of a 4x4 floor pan that was done a "while" ago . I used a pan that was meant for a Two wheel drive but you get the idea . This was just a work'in beast so I didn't care about making the repair invisible .

IMG_0996.jpg


IMG_0997.jpg


IMG_0998.jpg
 
I have an 88 dodge power wagon and my floors are worse than that lol, bear that turned out perfect, I seen floor pans in lmc catalog, but I also need 1 brace under the floor and I just found where I can get them.
 
Last edited:
Just as long as you don't need a transmission tunnel . I haven't found a supplier that makes whole or complete floor pan's yet . Or just the tunnels . I've got the LMC catalog too but I haven't bought anything from them "yet" . So I can't say how there quality is as far as body panels . I'm kinnda picky on who I use for suppliers for aftermarket body parts . If I'm going to use something or sell something that someone else made then I look at it as my name is on it . I've gotten floor pans and patch panels for some people that were so thin or didn't fit right that they were sent back that same day . That brace your talking about ? Let me guess , It's the body mount support under your left foot ? ... Oh yeah , Thanks for the compliment on my floor job . That's how I do a floor on a driver or in this case my work beast . If it's something like a show car or truck then I'll hide were I welded it and try to make it look like I was never even in there to began with . You'd never now that , that was a two wheel drive pan in a four wheel drive truck would you . lol Ooop's I let out my little secret . Don't tell anyone . lol
 
my tunnel is perfect, yes its the floor brace for left, right one fine but I found place u can get them new

A little helpful hint . When your about to put the floor pan in on that side . Mount the body mount bracket to the body mount and frame . Then lay the pan down and outline the bracket on the bottom of the floor pan . Then drill a few holes on the pan that will line up with the flats of the bracket . That way after you weld up the pan you can weld up the bracket with some rosebud welds . If you look at the floor I did , that bracket should be right under the hole were the body plug go's . That's how you get to the top of the bolt for the mount .
 
My `76 clubcab was really bad, just take as many measurements as you can before cutting it apart and always fit the door before welding anything.

clubcab floors.jpg


76 Dodge floor.jpg
 
The biggest problem with these trucks is replacement parts are limited and most falling short of repairing the whole panel. I needed to patch area's around the floor that the replacement floor didn't fix and once you pull a rocker you find all kinds of carnage that cannot be bought as not to mention the rockers are sub par leaving the tail end to be reused. It will require a lot of patience!
I'm doing an 83 D250 right now (dads ol dodge) that I've already done those repairs on and it took some time but I love that old truck.

Feel free to ask anything you like.. Hoping to get back on it soon.
 
Back
Top