a cry for help

[sovereignroom]

hello members, my name is Sergio, I have a 1966 Dodge D100 sweptline w a 225 slant six engine, it used to be my grandfather's before his passing, then owned by my uncle. He has now offered it to me, and I'm in love with it. It does not function at all, however, super rusted, and all these other bad things. A lot of what I need to do to make this vehicle a daily driver requires lots of money, disc brake kits, short coil-over suspension, tires, rims, heater/ac, gage cluster panels, side view mirrors, the electrical stuff, and of course the engine itself. I've managed to do quite a bit of stuff on my own that I'm pretty proud of. It had a bunch of garbage n junk in the bed, had a rotting shell on top, removed everything, and it was stuck in between the side of my house, and I managed to pay a tow to tow it out. but as the days go by as a hand scrub rust off the truck in what it looks like an un-affective way, I get more sad and depressed that I'm not closer to achieving my goal. I don't want to drive any other vehicle besides this truck (and any other 60s car as well). I'm 22 I have a job but I don't get paid enough to make true change for my truck. I'm not sure why I'm exactly writing this, maybe to just get my story out there to the community. I just get very depressed that this D100 that is being passed to me, isn't operational. If anyone has words of inspiration, guidance, free time to help (located in the bay area CA), or even parts to give for the low or free. please, I would like to get help from our sweptline community.

[sovereignroom]

here are some photos of my D100.

[Hobcobble]

Hello Sergio,
Welcome to the site.
You have a pretty decent looking D100 there.
I'd suggest determining what the truck "needs"
as opposed to what you "want" for it. Your truck
probably has the original brake system which is
reliable when restored. Its original leaf spring
suspension is very reliable, provided no leafs
are broken. The wheels that are on it look decent
enough to use with some better, more stock sized tires.

Vehicles this old require a good amount of money
and know-how to restore and maintain them. There's
no easy way around it. I'm not sure what your chances
are of finding competent and willing local mechanics to
dedicate their time toward your project. I would suggest
that your first $30-$50 spent is for a Factory Service Manual.

You've got a long long road ahead of you. Best of luck.

John

[BigBlockTrucks]

In addition to what has been said. These trucks turn into an addiction for most of us

[712edf]

Welcome,

Are there any tech or trade schools in the area? Sometimes they will use a vehicle from the public to practice & learn repairs on. You foot the bill for parts but they donate the "labor" as it's part of their learning process. Its not quick, usually spread out over a few semesters & sometimes different locations or campuses, for instance it may be at one shop for drivetrain work, somewhere else for suspension & a third place for body. Or you could just have them do one phase (engine or transmission) & you do the rest.

Don't get discouraged. Don't focus on what ever other new rides the other 22 years olds seem to get at the snap of their fingers. Life is much easier & fulfilling for you when you don't look at what other's have.

Also don't grew impatient. Our world is too damn fixated on getting things NOW! The younger people are the worse it seems to be. That holds true for basically any generation in history but more so now than before.

Lastly, even if you had plenty of money at your disposal, it still is going to take lots of time & effort. Those TV shows that show a heap being turned into a mint machine in 60 minutes aren't painting a realistic picture of what really goes into a project time wise.

And as much as we love trucks here on this site, most of us will tell you that there are much more important things in life than our beloved vehicles.

Bucky