newbie needs help with rust

[muckmuck]

I was hoping that I could get some help with my project. I have a 1972 GMC Jimmy. After tearing it apart, I have found a whole bunch more rust then I thought it had.

the bed floor has holes in it, the rear wheelwells have holes, the bed floor support has holes, the cab floor has holes, and a couple of small holes on the body. the inner wall of the bed also has holes. i am going to take some pics right now and post for you.

my question is- is it to bad to fix? i have a wire feed but i have never done body work before. should i find a cleaner truck?

i have already ordered new front fenders, bumpers and front inner fender wells. i have looked lots of places but i cant find every part that i need.

any suggestions?

hopefully my pics work!

Thanks,
mike

[muckmuck]

some pictures--

[muckmuck]

few more-

[saulgoode]

Welcome to the board. That's not too bad, I've seen much worse. Take some time and look around the FAQ section and the paint and body section, there is a wealth of information on rust repair. If it were me, I'd begin by figuring out how and what caused the rust and work from there. Is there a drain stoped up, mud and debry causing water to pool somewhere. Once you figure out that then cut all the rust out, buy some patch pannels from board vendors, get the welder out and go to town, paint and repeat in 20-30 years.

Hope this helps,
Saulgoode

[Gee_Emm]

You can use a pickup truck for alot of the metal. Check out my thread I have with the progress of my 72 Jimmy. It will give you a good idea what to do as far as patch panels go. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...2&page=1&pp=25

[RED72blazer]

I was just going to tell him about your thread Gee. It's good inspiration.

[bisquik65]

Glad your don't look like this one!!! Now this is rusty

[muckmuck]

thanks for all the info. i had seen your posts gee, but that looked more involved then i think i could handle. i just keep getting in deeper with this. they filled all the rust holes with bondo and painted it and sold it to me. i never know what i will find next.

what do you do with parts you cant buy anymore? do you just put in a patch? i just found another hole right buy the VIN plate on the door jam.

where could i find new wheel well tubs? are they the same as a pickup?

thanks for all the info!!

[bouncytruck]

Wheel tubs are easy to find. they are the same as pickups and reproductions are sold through just about every vendor. The Blazers/Jimmys share a lot of common parts with the trucks.

Get the catalogs from http://lmctruck.com/, http://www.chevyduty.com/ and http://www.truckandcarshop.com/. They all list out most of the reproduction parts available. There are a lot of vendors on this board too. They are a wealth of knowledge when it comes time to order parts.

[Gee_Emm]

Pretty much everything from a pickup can be made to work with exception of the inner windsheild frame top rail. Alot of the parts are still available, wheel tubs are the same front and back, cab floor patch panels are the same, the bed floor from a pickup can be used for patches or a complete floor can be shorten to work, doors are the same as a pickup...

[RED72blazer]

go on fix it. It's only rust.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Don't look too bad and hey you gotta start somewhere,the rest of the rig looks good..

[muckmuck]

thanks for all the info. the plan is to strip it and have it blasted and go from there. i may have a body shop replace the entire bed sides. i dont want to screw that up.

the plan was just to sand it down and paint it, now i am going to do a complete frame off. oh well. it should be worth it in the end.

thanks for your feedback!

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by muckmuck

thanks for all the info. the plan is to strip it and have it blasted and go from there. i may have a body shop replace the entire bed sides. i dont want to screw that up.

If you replace the entire bedside, that's pretty easy to do.
If your doing skins, that's another story.

Pickup bedsides and blazer bedsides won't interchange without modification's either.

Don't scrap it, save it, you'll be glad you did.

[muckmuck]

so where would i find a bedside in good shape or new?

also- how do i search the forums for answers to these questions? i am also interested in the painless wiring and wondering if anyone has used it.

thanks

[bill4rest]

Originally Posted by vtblazer

If you replace the entire bedside, that's pretty easy to do.
If your doing skins, that's another story.

Pickup bedsides and blazer bedsides won't interchange without modification's either.

Don't scrap it, save it, you'll be glad you did.

Is there a thread that goes through that process?

[bouncytruck]

the search is disabled right now, so you're probably just going to have to ask.

Your bedsides don't look bad enought to need complete replacing from those photos. It looks like most of the cancer is at the bottom. I'd try patch panels if I where you. Most of the vendors carry Blazer specific patch panels.

[donkey69]

Welcome from MN! A guy should be able to fix that rust ok.....only one way to learn....get after it!! You can always take it in and get it fixed ($$$$) if you're not happy! Lots of info here too.

[LUV2XCLR8]

Originally Posted by vtblazer

Don't scrap it, save it, you'll be glad you did.

[orangeuavol]

Reair it, its well worth the effort. This was my first attempt at rust repair of such magnitude =>http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jason_burkhart/my_photos

[muckmuck]

great pics! thanks!