Our friend transformed his clapped out truck for $2,000 – and the results are great!
Are you restoring a clapped out truck and you have a limited budget? Our friend David took his clapped out truck – which some of you would consider a “beater,” or “farm truck,” and made it into something special. Sure, this isn’t a frame-up restoration, but he was able to take something tired and transformed it into a nice ride. All for about $2,000.
David bought a (very) well used 1992 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 4X4 with a 454 cid engine. It is kind of rare nowadays, and David had to do a lot of investigating to find a good runner. Very few standard cab 4×4 3500 trucks with this setup exist in Colorado. This thing had seen better days, and it was living on a mountain estate, working hard – before David bought it. Once he got his teeth sunk into the project, he named it “Powder Keg.”
As we tag along for the tour, David tells us about his ups and downs restoring this pickup truck. There were a lot of things he had to punt with, and other things he learned about along the way. He was able to keep the budget to about $2,000 mainly by doing the hard work on his own. That includes wet-sanding and painting – which is a pain in the neck.
Kill or keep the clapped out truck’s bumper?
One cool detail you need to see is what David did with the truck’s rear bumper. When he picked it up, he noticed it had a unique, beefy rear bumper. Unfortunately, it was pretty gnarly. It needed to either be replaced or refabricated. Fortunately, David opted to restore it, and it looks epic.
Sure, the truck isn’t showroom quality, but it’s impressive given the time and money put into it. There are a few things Powder Keg still needs before it’s basically finished. Typical to Colorado, it has a cracked windshield, which will have to be replaced. It could use a good alignment as well.
David, and his “Mini-Me” Kase take you through a tour of this Silverado, showing you all of the improvements made!
