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Project: The Rusty Bucket

20K views 94 replies 50 participants last post by  t.justice  
#1 ·
First off, I'll explain the situation with the truck. Back in November 2012, i found this truck in a guys yard, after been looking for a diesel truck for about 2 years (Being 16-18 years old, funds were low) I seen that it had the "Cummins Turbo Diesel" emblem, so i stopped in and talked to him about it. I was told it was a 2000 Ram 2500, 24 Valve Cummins, 4x4, with only 79k miles. He told me his price was 2000$ but after talking to him a bit, i got him down to $1800 seeing that the started was pulled, it was so rusty, and that it had been sitting for about a year. 2 weeks later i borrowed some cash from my dad and pooled it with my money, and brought the truck home. In 3 days i rebuilt the starter and had the ol girl running. That same day i blew trans lines. In the next 2 months i replaced the following....

All trans lines
All Starter Bolts
Crank Position Sensor
Lift Pump (Airdog 150)
All new breaks
Few other odds and ends.

Since about April, i have been driving the truck practically everyday, and i had found that with all the rust, my cab had rusted in half, as i would shut the door, the latch would push the rear of the cab out. So i had to end up pushing the rear of the cab in as i shut the door, meaning it was unable to close from the inside, so the passenger side door was used alot! I ended up bying stacks for it from a friend for 100$ and had some fun with the truck until i got fed up with getting in through the passenger side.

So heres the truck before my little misshap.....

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I than went a little crazy one night and decided to start my project restore.... heres what i ended up with....

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And then i went a little farther.

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Surprisingly enough though, the box took about an hour to pull, and the cab only took about 6 and nothing horrible went wrong. I am now looking for a new body, and starting to buy engine parts as i strip the truck down even farther for a full frame off restore.

More to come!
 
#2 ·
Nice man, subbing for future updates.
 
#3 ·
Damn, that's getting into it. Take pics & ask anything you want.

You jumped past my standard "it will need $2000 to $3000 for what you don't see." Do it right the 1st time & you won't waste any cash buying parts the 2nd time.

Rust free trucks are available in the south. I'd like the drive train in a 70s model body.
 
#4 ·
Im excited to see how and where this project goes :thumbsup:
 
#5 ·
:agree2: Used to live in ohio I know how bad it is to battle rust ill be excited to see how this goes
 
#6 ·
Subscribed. Can a 1st gen body, or 3rd gen fit?
 
#9 ·
Very little to update on, I have been working a ton of hours, bought a new motorcycle and have been spending some time with the girl friend, but i did get 95% of the wiring harness unplugged and tagged to get the motor and frame ready for a heated power wash to get the mud, grease, oil and flaky cancer off. I plan on hitting her hard within the next few weeks. Ill keep everyone posted!
 
#10 ·
The best thing you did was get rid of those silly little stacks.........

Good luck with your build, they take alot of time and patience. Don't give up!
 
#11 ·
Alright guys, I finally put some time in the garage and worked on the ram some more. Tonight i got the engine wiring harness off, the ECM off, and a couple more odds and ends, did some looking around to see what i got to play with for the future. Next step is taping the turbo and intake ports up, the rear end harness plug, and some Misc, areas and trailer it to my shop that has a diesel powered heated power washer, which i have 10*, 15*, 25* and 0* nozzles to blast the rust dirt and oil off the engine. By some of the pictures you guys can see on the exhaust side, everything past the manifold is pretty well messed up beyond repair, so i am looking at a new manifold, turbo, and the tube that connects to the exhaust and turbo. In my head, it's $$$$$... Also you can see i am definitely in need of new injector lines, and when I'm that far down, i might as well do new stage 4 BD injectors! But for now, here's some pictures. Ill get some of the truck cleaned up probably this weekend.

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This is how rusty the side of my block is, there is at least 3/16 of an inch of scale on the block.
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#12 ·
Holy crap thats alot of rust! Looks like one hell of a fun project, sub'd to see this ol' girl put back together.
 
#14 ·
Durning the last months of driving, I beat the living hell out of this truck, got it hotter then hell itself, and it never failed one bit, intact the thing seems bullet proof... But time will tell, gotta pick up a stand for it tomorrow!
 
#15 ·
I love seeing builds like this. Good luck, and I'll be watching this thread now. :)
 
#16 ·
how in the world does a block ever get that rusty? I live in the rust belt but man that is some bada$$ rust! At what point does that rust compromise the integrity of the block itself.? Maybe a good rust converter would help. Or like ghostman was sayin might want to think about another engine. Or paint her up and runer til she goes no more. Never know with the cummins they are built pretty stout, might go another million
 
#17 ·
And now people know why I would never in a million years live and that part of the country. Rust is no bueno, I prefer anything west of Minnesota pretty much.

Gonna be a heck of a build for ya, but I'll be watching. Good luck.
 
#18 ·
Alright, new update!
Last sunday I got a huge amount of stuff done, i got the 4000 psi pressure washer home, and used the 0* nozzle to blast all the scale off the engine, trans and transfercase, frame, and axles. After half way, i lifted the engine out, and split it from the trans and washed the engine thoroughly. When i was done i placed the trans on a pallet, and put the motor on a stand. Everything looks to be coming along. Next step is to remove the axles, and prepare for blasting and paint. I still also gotta find another rust free truck for the body.

I also found a full set of injector lines, they look like they are brand spankin new! And the best part, got them home for only $125!!!

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#22 ·
I thought about cheap, but then thought, what's the fun in that?! Right now I'm looking at a BD Super B single turbo, and BD injectors 125hp. Any thoughts?
 
#24 ·
Good choice for the turbo but I would look at Ducky Fuel Injection or Diesel Auto Power for the injectors :thumbsup:. 125's would be a nice size, even consider 150's :stirpot:
 
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#25 ·
I always love these "Rust Stories"... Why is it a guy like me living up in Idaho uses his truck more offroad and has salted and chemically treated highways to and don't have any rust to speak of? All I can say its owner didn't know what a garden hose was. I rinse my truck down weekly in the winter time to get the mud and salt out of places it should be so it can't start to creating metal cancer on the truck. I will clear easy 20 years before seeing rust.

But back to the OP. That thing is going to need a lot of love to get back to a start of no to low rust state.
 
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#28 ·
More of an update, but details will come soon. Not much has happened, except new parts, new truck to assist with the project, and some work on the frame.<br />
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Happy day!<img src="http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/images/smilies/Thumbup19[1].gif" border="0" alt="" title="Thumbs Up" class="inlineimg" />