I jusy got done doing this last year,i bought an 85 that the frame was actually in two for a 100 bucks that has 186 thousand miles on it but runs fine and a working auto tranny. it was split right where the cab and bed meet. the next thing i did was get a frame, i managed to salvage one from a wrecked 87 at the local junk yard, of course this was a independant frame so what i did was set up the rear suspension(and actually i used a rear axle out of a 86 because 86 and up the rear is a full 3 inches wider than your 85) next i got to work with the torch
and grinder and cut all the independant crap off... its so easy without a body in the way.... then i set up the front suspension, after that i had a party
and a bunch of my pals helped me to lift off the 85 cab. then i started switching stuff over like the gas tank, brake and fuel lines, etc. I then lifted the motor and tranny as one out of the busted up frame and actually i did this outside so i had to pull the old frame out from underneath the motor and push in the new frame which was a little hairy cause the new frame sat a lot higher than the old one. but anyway then i had another party
and we put the cab back on, believe me if you dont want to break anything you have to have a bunch of guys. my buddy is a frat bro so he had his whole pledging class come over and do it, i had like 13 guys to do it, it was a piece of cake. after that it was just hooking everything up and turnin the key. my email is sp4rky14@yahoo.com if you have any questions
here is a few picts of the almost finished product without bumpers and a bed and a lot of other stuff.....
