Build dilemma

[69Steppin]

I'm at a crossroads on a truck I picked up this summer outside of Atlanta.

I figured buying a "southern" salt free truck was the way to go on a C10 build. I did some research and found the vin indicated it was a Atlanta build truck, and spent all 44 years within 150 miles of its original birthplace after a few conversations with the current owner.

After looking at about 30 pics. I drove about 14 hours and 1000 kmi. south non-stop on a 12 pack of Red Bull to buy the truck from upstate NY. I was disappointed in the truck standing next to it to say the least. We went back and forth on the price and I figured if I drove all way home with nothing it would have been a total loss trip ($750) but if I brought it home at a "cant refuse" price I could sell it at home and possibly cover my travel expenses.

The truck is solid except for the firewall and cab front (covered in fiberglass and painted flat black) It must have had 44 yrs of pine needles in the heater/air box that really took a toll on the rust..what a mess.

I have started to repair the heater box opening and the rotted out sides already but am wondering if its worth the effort to repair, or should I start looking for a rust free "donor cab" instead? In this area these trucks are pretty weathered if I was to find one in a junkyard.

Opinions?

[Mr Chevorlet]

I guess if you could post some pictures of the damaged areas we could give you some better suggestions. But its hard to tell right now.

[69Steppin]

Here are the trouble areas. Any help would be greatly appreciated...thanks

[D.PASSMORE]

Rebuilding trucks is never cheap:

http://www.gmcpauls.com/Patch_Panels.htm

You would be very lucky to find a truck on todays market , 100% rust free and with out someones R & R work that you would not scratch your head at. If you do, its a hefty price, but sometimes worth it. Hope this helps...

[RenoKeene]

That's pretty common on these. If you have the skills to repair it that seems to be the best way to go. What kind of shape is the roof, rockers, cab corners, etc? There are also companies that sell repop cowls but that takes another set of skills. All in all your in pretty good shape.
Carry on.

[RenoKeene]

Almost forgot, welcome aboard!
^^ Good post David, that's the fix I was referring to.

[69Steppin]

Heres the progress so far , just a roughed in repair to this point . I was moving right along until I found some rot in the cab behind the glove box and progress has come to a screaming halt.

[69Steppin]

Originally Posted by RenoKeene

That's pretty common on these. If you have the skills to repair it that seems to be the best way to go. What kind of shape is the roof, rockers, cab corners, etc? There are also companies that sell repop cowls but that takes another set of skills. All in all your in pretty good shape.
Carry on.

Thanks for the welcome!
The rest of it is very solid. It needs paint but I don't intend to show it, just looking for a cool looking daily driver. I am completely new to this type of work and wondered if it was even worth the effort.

[Mr Chevorlet]

From what i am seeing now and you say the rest is very solid i would say it is very repairable and not a waist of time. Like others have said you will have rust troubles on these trucks in one place or another. Carry on my good man you can do it. Looks good so far.

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by 69Steppin

Heres the progress so far , just a roughed in repair to this point . I was moving right along until I found some rot in the cab behind the glove box and progress has come to a screaming halt.

Your repairs look good and the rest of the photos make the truck look pretty solid. Keep going the way you are going and if something isn't quite right rip it out and do it over. When you are finally done you will look back at the work and it won't seem bad, you will have learned a great deal and most of your friends and the people who see the truck won't see how you did it yourself. Just two words of advice, " no bondo"

[RenoKeene]

Yep, your doing just fine. Going to be a great truck when your done. Most of that will be hidden from public view anyway.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Are you actually cutting out the rusted panels and butt welding them back in, or are you overlapping and welding the panels on? You really don't want to overlap them in that area. Every time it gets wet water is going to get into the "seam" between your panels and rust it out all over again. I would butt weld everything and when done use a garden type sprayer and coat everything with a thinned out rust encapsulator, por 15, or similar product. Overlapping the heater box area is fine, but you don't want to do that for the two corner cowl patches.

You're doing fine. Butt welding isn't difficult, it's the same as you're doing now, it just takes a little more time to "fit" the panels, leave a thin gap, then weld them together.

[69Steppin]

I have cut 99% of the rust out completely and left just over a 1/2" of original material to plug weld to. I figured I could use the unaffected pieces as a form instead of cutting it all completely out and rebuilding it from scratch, no? I plan on seam sealing everything and applying a rust inhibitor inside and out before its finished. It won't be show quality but hopefully good enough for a weekend driver.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Gotcha. If you can get seam sealer in there it should be fine.

I'm originally from NY. I know how impossible it is to find a decent truck up there.

My truck came from SC and I drove it around during HS in the late 90's, then I ironically moved to SC in 99.

You'll get it right

[hugger6933]

Your doing fine. Just think of it like you would if you were to eat an elephant. One bite at a time is all you can do.