Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[Vic1947]

Picked up this short stepside on January 13th in 20 degree weather. Drove it about 15 white knuckle miles to get it to the house where it now sits awaiting some sort of rebuild. I'm determined to use it as a daily driver and not over restore it like my other truck. Like many 40+ year old trucks, it has lots of problems. My goal is to address the safety and reliability issues as well as the sheetmetal shortcomings. I doubt it will get anything other than a good coat of epoxy primer and I currently have no plans to convert it to discs or 5 lugs. I will post progress reports as they occur, so follow along if you like.

[sgaylord]

Looks like a good start for a fun truck.

[Low Elco]

Keep it as is! Piss off the neighbors! See ya next thursday, Vic!

[Xeen]

I have seen this truck in person and it is obviously rough however Vic has serious fabrication and welding skills and he will make this thing better than the day it rolled off of the assembly line. I am looking forward to watching it go from a lump of coal to a diamond.

[Low Elco]

You know he can't help himself.

[RatRod68]

hi powered pressure wash, fix the heat, wiring and seals, freshen up the brakes, tune up, and wear it out. Love the rake and stance of it. What size wheels and tires are those on the back?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by RatRod68

hi powered pressure wash, fix the heat, wiring and seals, freshen up the brakes, tune up, and wear it out. Love the rake and stance of it. What size wheels and tires are those on the back?

Uhhhh... too late! Found too much rot causing the fenders to droop and generally creating an unsafe condition. As you can see, I have progressed beyond just minor stuff. Not to worry though, it will be thrashed on the street as I have no plans to pretty it up.

Rear tires are P275/50R15's on 8" rims (I think). They're worn out so I'll know the exact width and offset when I get the tires dismounted.

[Low Elco]

X2 on the rot. Yeller's front biscuits had DISINTEGRATED. Totally. So now what? What's rotten? Core bottom? Fender cups? New wear parts in the front end? How are the rockers/cab supports? I have the # of a great sandblast guy. How's Kathy feeling?
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[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

X2 on the rot. Yeller's front biscuits had DISINTEGRATED. Totally. So now what? What's rotten? Core bottom? Fender cups? New wear parts in the front end? How are the rockers/cab supports? I have the # of a great sandblast guy. How's Kathy feeling?
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Core bottom is completely gone, will require a different one. I picked up some good used inners from Bob's. Don't know about the front end stuff yet, however, the old dog drove nice and straight coming home, so hope springs eternal. Has new rockers and some floor patches, but all the floor supports are gone and the panels were scabbed on like you see a lot. I plan to cut the new outer rockers off where they were tacked on and reuse them. I already bought a complete new floor for it, so that takes care of the supports, the inner rockers and the gaping holes in the floor covered by the scabs.

I saw your post about Mark in Blue Springs and will give him a try. Do you know anyone who has experience using his services? Brian wants to buy my stepside bed so all I need to have blasted is the cab, doors, LF fender, hood and maybe a few other pieces. In keeping with the low buck objective, I plan to buy a long fleetside bed and cut it down to make a shorty out of it.

Kathy pulled thru okay and we're both back to 100% ...or as close as you get to it at our age. She gave me quite a scare though. First night she came down sick, she fainted and fell while getting out of bed. Then fainted again about 15' down the hall on the way to the bath. At least I had ahold of her the second time so she didn't hit the floor like a sack of taters. She's sporting several large bruises, but no other ill effects.

[Low Elco]

OY, that's scary when Momma goes wobbly! Glad she's better!

Teeitup, Ron Manes and Bob may have a good support. I've gotta come see the floor deal. On the one hand it looks mega-sketchy, on the other, it solves a ton of problems at one whack.

The Grain Valley blaster is a good cat. Young guy, comes from a family of hotrodders and will give you exactly what you request at a good price. The paint store cats know his dad and have yet to hear a bad review. There're always car parts there whenever I go, must be a good sign.

I think it'd be cool to see what you can make out of used stuff, kind of as a point. Except of course for the floor, let's not be silly. Have fun with it, call me or Dad if you need a pair of hands.

[Xeen]

I don't think there is anything that Vic can't do with metal, that old truck will look better than the day it rolled off the factory floor when hes done with it.

[RatRod68]

whats a little metal flaking off on the prius driver beside you? lol

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by RatRod68

whats a little metal flaking off on the prius driver beside you? lol

[Low Elco]

Ps- Vic, I have a small trailer and LBT, all yours if you need to haul to the blaster.
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[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Ps- Vic, I have a small trailer and LBT, all yours if you need to haul to the blaster.
Posted via Mobile Device

That would be great! You're a lifesaver, Chip. I have no way to move stuff since we traded off the Jeep, so I was planning to rent a truck and trailer from U-Haul. I'll get with you when I've got everything ready to go. It will be a while. Still have a lot to take apart. Thanks!!

[Low Elco]

No prob at all. Do you have a cab cart? You can use mine. We could sched a day if you wanna get it pulled down, well get it off the frame and on the cart and on the trailer at one whack. Give me a bit of notice, I'm happy to be there.
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[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

No prob at all. Do you have a cab cart? You can use mine. We could sched a day if you wanna get it pulled down, well get it off the frame and on the cart and on the trailer at one whack. Give me a bit of notice, I'm happy to be there.
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The cab cart I used for Silver was borrowed and isn't available to me now. (It's being used by its owner.) So that would be a big help. I wonder what it's like to do stuff without friends? Thanks!!!

[Low Elco]

No problem atall, the cart is actually my bed cart from the thread. There are measurements on here somewhere for the cab floor bolts, and I have another set of the big casters if you wanna pop another one together that's a bit more on purpose. Or the big cart works good too. Let me know!
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[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

No problem atall, the cart is actually my bed cart from the thread. There are measurements on here somewhere for the cab floor bolts, and I have another set of the big casters if you wanna pop another one together that's a bit more on purpose. Or the big cart works good too. Let me know!
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Will do. The main thing is to be able to roll it outside when the need arises. Thanks again!

BTW, I may also need to borrow a cat if you have one...

[Low Elco]

Ewwwww. Always fun. What's the harness look like?
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[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Ewwwww. Always fun. What's the harness look like?
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Harness is a mess ...but not from four legged critters. The two legged variety has done the bulk of the damage. Already have a Painless wiring kit for 67-72 trucks in the parts room. I could tell from the twisted and taped wires under the hood and hanging down from behind the dash that fixing the stock harness was a non-starter. When it comes to wiring, it needs to be right.

[Low Elco]

Yeah, this is sounding more like a "clean it up and drive it" project by the minute! (Chuckle, snort, chuckle) Should I order some Al's for the underside of the cab? (actually not a bad idea) What color base should I order? Has the interior guy got an open spot in May? (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more)

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Yeah, this is sounding more like a "clean it up and drive it" project by the minute! (Chuckle, snort, chuckle) Should I order some Al's for the underside of the cab? (actually not a bad idea) What color base should I order? Has the interior guy got an open spot in May? (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more)

Yeah, I'm eatin' it now.

[Low Elco]

It's ok, we all understand. Hope my envy isn't showing too bad.
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[Low Elco]

Hey Vic, Have you found a bed? I kinda remember Bob having some nice parts on hand.

Are you wanting to do the blasting pre or post new floor, or while it's open? Just wondering, I'm bored.

Also, not to be a nosy prick or anything, since we're talkin' blasting, what are ya gonna do now? Epoxy primer sounds great in theory, but gets sketchy on a daily. What about that Hot Rod Flatz paint? It's UV stablilzed and comes in something other than black. Everyone does black. Hrrmmmmm. You'd think this was my damn truck! Tell me to go away if I'm a bother. I'm just stoked, I like slammed beat-around trucks.

Oh, I found a guy in Columbia that will polish a full set of wheels for $100 if they're stripped to bare aluminum. Flyin' Ryan says he does good work, he has Ryan's blower and custom bike exhaust now. You don't even have to pull the tires. I'm gonna have him do some on LBT if you wanna chuck yours in as well.