Hi everyone after dabbling in the worlds of prototypes and bugs im now back with my latest Project, a 1973 Single Cab pickup. Ive always fancied one but didnt want to sell my prototype bay Tintop so if i was going to have one it would have to be on a budget. these things are like hens teeth.trying to find a solid project with decent dropsides and a reasonable load bed.has taken Two Years. Anyhow this turned up on ebay and after looking at loads of photos that the seller emailed me i decided it was pretty solid and took the plunge. After winning the auction i then had to work our how to get it back 150 miles from Somerset my home near guildford. I decided to do it the no hastle way and got a local recovery company to bring it back for me. After an eight hour round trip its safely home on my drive. only had an hour or so of daylight since and so far it dosent look too bad. The tyres are all perished but luckily i have a spare set from my Tintop it needs both fron arches and a new front panel. and probably one rear arch. the rear corners have been done badly and might need redoing but otherwise the loadbed and drop sides are in remarkably good condition as is the chassis just one jacking point needs attention. The most dissapointing bit about it is the lack of an engine.what was described as two spare engines in crates turned out the be two crates of loose barrells pistons crankcases and various other engine bits that might make an engine on eday with a lot of work. lucily again i have a spare from when i did the Devon. unfortunately i do not have any ancilliaries and will need to source engine support bar, alternator,carb.manifold,exhaust,heat exchangers dizzy air filter and so on. theres usually a catch with ebay purchases. overall though im really happy with what ive got. I start tomorrow by changing the wheels and making a long list of parts needed. keep you posted.
welcome to the gang ,btw I don`t think you can get rear corners, so order panels first.... looks a nice project... 8) btw yours looks like a crossdresser ,so keep that in mind ordering brake parts etc...
Hello Mick thanks for the heads up on the rear corners I will re use the ones on there if I can, I'm pretty sure it's a late bay It has the deformation panel and the later steps. Do you know where the mplate should be on a single cab?
Good luck with it. Unusual to see a pick-up with a front mounted spare. Don't think I've ever seen one.
if you need any advice on what panels you can get and from where drop me a pm, but dont cut a thing until you have a new bit to replace it pickup parts are getting almost impossible to find its taken me 7-8 years to find all the bits for mine nos, though mine is a lot worse than yours a lot worse. yours looks pretty good to me all the pcikup only parts look fairly solid. if your choping stuff about im only at the bottom of the A3 i would be interested in having a look around and maybe take some reference pictures for when i begin mine
davidoft did you source rear corners ,i tried late bay ones and they were completly wrong ,what other panels are different? m plate behind the seat ,is that the original colour ,mine is neptune blue the same colour as your dropsides..
things that are different on a pickup battery trays outer sill locker door side rear corners rear inner arches( dont know how much yet) long sill ( usually use splitty one) fuel tank bulk head engine bay bulk head load floor ( not sure on detail here either)
Thanks for the info Davidoft i will pm you soon when i know what i need. changed the wheels over yesterday http://s298.photobucket.com/albums/mm268/bigdazz67/?action=view¤t=IMG_3146.jpg Amazing what a difference some clean wheels and hubcaps make as far as i can make out the welding needed is limited to the front end as follows nsf arch osf arch front panel ns door osf jacking point the rear end is pretty solid the rear arches are a bit bubbly but im hoping i can patch them as needed, the rear corners are solid and have been done recently but the finishing off is not good, im hoping i can strip back the filler and make good the repairs. the offside sill is solid but there is some bubbling a few inches up where it is attached to the locker floor might have to make a long sill fron a van fit. Other things needed rear engine support bar carb manifold alternator distributor bulkhead tinware over exhaust tinware front dropside latches. I have 4 cases three sets of pistons and two pairs of good heads, so can make a good engine just need a local machine shop to grind the crank and line bore one of the cases.
still deciding on the colour. the drop sides are not the original ones but i like the colour. the main body colour is a sort of greeny blue not Niagra. my Early is in niagra. im thinking about biege similar to my bug. i dont appear to have an mplate so im not sure of the original colour but where the paint is flaking i can definatly see white. i dont want to do it in white but a beige will look nice. somthing like this probably staying stock as i want to use it as a work horse so 8 ply tyres are a good idea. Niagra and marina blue are my favorites but my other bays were done in those colours.
