How bad is it?

[Mike00]

Dad gave me his 72 Chevy after owning it for 22 years. I really want to fix it up so what should I do first?







[IMG]http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r278

[Mike00]

More.

[57sailplane]

find yourself a good rust free cab!

[72BlckButy]

Originally Posted by 57sailplane

find yourself a good rust free cab!

[sleepyboy]

step 1..you live in Corpus??.Make sure the a/c blows cold...I live in SA

[71big block]

Empty about 8 more beer bottles and put them in the bed with the one that's there and it will look a lot better.

It's not bad at all, around here it would be considered almost rust free.

Fix the safety stuff first and then take your time with the rest and you'll have a blast

[72armyswbtruck]

That is a nice truck to start with

[Mike00]

Where is a good place to find a better cab?

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by Mike00

Where is a good place to find a better cab?

How about Texas....??

Seriously, If you get away from the Gulf and the salt air you should be able to find a good cab for a reasonable price. "Go West Young Man"...

LockDoc

[57sailplane]

i agree

search the salvage yards further inland...

[weasel29gm]

Yea find a better cab and go from that. I looked at one today,the guy wanted $2800 worth maybe $1200-1500. Since yours was free and been in the family fix it right. Its a heirloom!!!

[68C15]

PART IT OUT!!!!!!



(I'll take the bed sides)



seriously though, that is a good starting point. LockDoc is right, you are so close to choice parts. start hitting the bone yards.

[dan42]

Probably what you should do first is what you can afford to do first - I would start with little things, because when you start on big things, you can get discouraged in a hurry...I know from experience. Do the stuff that doesn't cost much and is fairly easy first, that will get you rolling. Just my .02.

[TruckinDaddy]

Just don't try to haul gravel with it and everything else will work itself out.

[wugunguy]

I agree with 71 bigblock-have a few more cold ones. Find a new cab and it'll be a pretty decent truck.

[st1x10]

Make sure the brakes and suspension is good. Then look for a cab.

[Mike00]

Will a 67-72 cab work or do I need a 71-72? What carb would you recomend for it? We replaced the 350 years ago with a new one from the chevy dealer but it has been parked for awhile & I know that the carb is bad. Other than that it runs good.

[steveshow]

Why is the carb "bad". Has it been sitting w/ gas in it? If you want to drive it, you need to be sure it is safe for the road. Has it been sitting a long time? If it has been sitting, go to a parts store and buy a carb kit and a gallon of carb cleaner, disassmble, soak, clean and rebuild the carb, change all fuids in engine, trans, radiator and rear axle and power steering. Pull the wheels and take a look at the brakes and especially brake hoeses. While the wheels are off, check the tires for knots, excessive cracking, ec.Bleed the brakes, even if it seems to stop OK now. You will be suprised what come out of it! While Clean all grease off of the drivetrain you can with degreaser and a power washer so that you can tell if anything is leaking badly and fix accordingly. Don't worry about cosmetics until you do the work to make it road worthy. There is no use putting a truck on the road that is not safe. It looks as if the first task would be to find a decent cab. Are you in Texas? Donor trucks in Central Texas are still around. Even with a donor cab, expect to have to install rockers and possibly cab corners. If it needs more than this, I would pass on buying the cab. Craigslist is a good source. I believe the cab years are the same, find one with the large back window and factory AC. If you have the room, you can restore the cab before swapping it onto your truck. It is a lot easier to work with a cab off the truck. Plan to buy a new pass fender and fender well and battery tray, possibly radiator support. Originals are rotted out 99% of the time. A good tip on resto parts is to find an out of state vendor who comes to your state for swap meets. I use Kenny's Truck Parts in Oklahoma. I can call him with a list of parts I need, he brings them to the Ft. Worth or New Braunfels, TX swap meets, saving me shipping, and since he is out of state, not TAX! GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN! DON"T GET OVERWHELMED!

[Mike00]

Thanks guys for all the help!!!

[67ChevyRedneck]

DRIVE IT DRIVE IT DRIVE IT!

Seriously, drive it! Don't tear her apart before you've enjoyed it some and work on stuff as you go. I'd replace the cab as well. They make all sorts of patch panels, but when the roof/driprail gets that bad... the cab is probably shot

steveshow had some great tips. You can get a second cab and basically get it ready for paint before you even have to touch your drivable truck. You can fix the tailgate/bed/interior on weekends and still drive it during the week.

Most importantly though, go through the suspension, engine/drivetrain. Replace any worn stuff and enjoy Things that typically wear out and should be replaced are the trailing arm bushings, cab mounts, and for the front end the control arm bushings, ball joints, and tie rod ends.

You already have power disk brakes, power steeing, auto, and A/C, heck you're good to go!

Enjoy!


I'd also like to add, I'm originally from the rust belt and I've seen some bad cabs in my time, but I don't recall EVER seeing one with the inside back wall of the roof rotted out!

[Mike00]

Yeah the cab is pretty much a rust bucket. There is also alot of bondo under it.

[57sailplane]

you asked how bad it was so i said replace the cab.. i agree with everyone else you should get her running good. nice thing about trucks is you can use them to fix themselves.. you should get the mechanics working on her. then temporally fix the bed with plywood of sorts so you can haul your new cab home..
i would then get everything ready on the cab to replace it done first before even attempting to rip your nice old truck apart.. what i mean by done is if the Donner cab needs rockers do that first. then paint as you like then replace the cab.. this way you can use the truck as needed and it wont were you down not having here running. you can always go back and do a complete rebuild when you have the money. but if this is your sole hotrod i would suggest keeping her running with all four wheels on the ground.. because a hotrod not running is no fun at all..

[Mudder]

Look at a lot of pictures here and decide what you want to do with it. You can research this site and find a ton of info for whatever you want to do or where to get things. Just take your time and enjoy it.

[retselgerg]

look around the net and find yourself some ideas, ride it some and get the feel of where you want to go with it, a good carb out of the box is a edelbrock 1406, the core things to do are get to make sure the breaks are in check, make sure its gonna be dependable, and figure out a plan on getting another cab or repairing yours, but just enhoy it don't rip into and have to wait 3 years to enjoy, ride it and locate your parts

[Mike00]

Sounds like a good idea. I plan on having it up & running within the next 2 weeks.