Newbie here, upgrade suggestions for a 1985 b2?

[Diablo420]

I recently bought an '85 b2 with the 2.8 and the 5 spd tranny off of craigslist for 400 bucks (he even filled the gas tank and has new tires! 235/75/r15 yokahamas). The guy I bought it from had replaced the motor with one from the junk yard and it runs great so far, doesn't smoke or overheat either. The only thing it needs that I can tell so far is replacing the starter ring gear and the front driveshaft where it exits the transfer case has too much slop in it and needs the bearing replaced. I plan on doing the Duraspark and Carb swap and was wondering what other upgrades I might benefit from, gonna have the tranny and t-case out anyway so should I replace the 1350 with a 1354? Mine needs work anyway so I thought I'd ask. Not planning on any Hard Core Off-Roading but plan on spending a lot of time on the Beach here.

 

[Diablo420]

I also plan on painting it with Hurculiner inside and out after I fix the surface rust on the roof and hood with Jasco prep and primer. It has a few small pinholes in the roof, should I fix those first or will the Hurculiner take care of that? Will most likely be putting the 3" body lift on it that's offered on James Oaks website sometime in the future also. We have Pick and Pull Salvage yard that I'll be spending a lot of time in once this Texas Heat lets up a bit so I need some ideas. My income is limited but I can budget $200 to $300 a month for it. I will be doing all the labor myself to keep the cost down tho. I also wanted to say this is a Fantastic Site and I'm glad I found it as it's given me Tons of Ideas, which is the reason for my original question as it's a little Overwhelming....LOL

 

[--weezl--]

you have really asked way too many questions to even begin on replying to them individually... congrats on the purchase, sounds like you got a good deal, 2-300 a month towards your truck is more than i've got to play with... you seem pretty eager to jump into it, but you need to slow down, take that much on, and none of it will get finished...

here's what i suggest you do, take everything you've listed, now prioritize it as to what you think should get done/what you want to get done first, and things that are not urgent at all... this list should be of EVERYTHING you might want to do, weather or not you think it's feasible, logical, or worth it long term...

next, go through that list and reorganize it to group together things that would be done at the same time, IE the 1350 to 1354 swap with any other work that requires the tcase to already be out...

next, search on this forum for any and all information regarding each individual task at hand, search google, and possibly a few of our "competitor sites" i recommend doing this task by task, you can work ahead of yourself, but chances are you'll forget what you read, by the time you get to working on the bottom of the list...

james "jim" oaks owns TRS also, so i won't say anything bad, but body lifts are everywhere, make sure you're getting the best price buying from him... IIRC when i bought mine, bodyliftkit.net was the best price i could find... additionally, make sure you buy from A) a trusted seller, jim would constitute as one of these imo, and/or b) a brand name you trust (i used performance accessories because the reviews and sales were off the charts)

also, i am not implying or saying that i believe bodyliftkit.net is a trusted seller, i do not have any experience with them, i did not buy my lift kit from them, i used them for price comparison only, they may or may not be a good site to deal with, i take no responsibility if you buy from them and get scammed or if they rock

 

[Diablo420]

I guess I should have worded things differently, this is pretty much everything that I can think of that I Want to do. By no means will it get done SOON. The ring gear and T-case bearing is definitely priority. Am I wasting time on the 1350? Should I go ahead and just swap it out since I'll have it out anyway and the bearing in front is Shot? I don't want spend time fixing the 1350 only to find out later that I should have swapped it out. And with the front bearing shot no telling what else may be wrong inside it....lol The rest will get done a little at a time, and 2-300 a month is the MAX and by no means will it be every month. Hell, who knows my Ranger may get Jealous and break down and want money spent on it AGAIN. My main focus is to fix the problems and have it dependable by Spring, other than that just looking for suggestions. I've been reading thru the forums here for some time now which is where my ideas have come from. And actually the body lift kit I found on James Oaks page is sold by Performance Accessories, which is cheaper than the one I found at LMC Trucks site. I checked bodyliftkit.net and the one they sell is made by performance accessories and cost a buck and a half more...lol I found the exact same kit at suspensionconnection.com for 8.50 cheaper, shipping may change that tho.