Flood damaged truck

[BlueJeep]

I'm looking at a 67 Suburban that was in a flood. The water was about 1/2 way up on the windows, so it was deep... I'm expecting that everything has water in it (motor, trans, rear axle), I'm expecting that the interior is shot and the electrical system is shot. My plans would involve swapping in a 5.3/4L60, disc brakes, and maybe a 5 lug rear. What types of other things should I look for that I'm not thinking about? Anyone have any experience with something like this?

Thanks.

[steelhorse]

If you are going to do a total rebuild it shouldnt be a problem.If not the obvious electrical/mechanical stuff.I would also check all the drain holes and crevices for sediment that will hold moisture.

[d10s69c10]

well it wasnt a flood but i sank my taco once for about a day. aside from fluids and letting elctrical stuff dry out remove all your carpet/upholsty.. the combinatoin of water bacteria old spills/dirt will create a god awful smell.yes i agree to above theres alot of spots in the panels that will hold water so its a good idea to rock the burb see if you can hear water in some panels either drill remove vacume what ever it takes to not have it rust from the inside out.

[Livrat]

Having done one "flood victim" myself I found that along with the flood waters come a very fine "silt" which gets in everywhere and will fill up every nook and crany and will rust it out from the inside, hopefully the suburban your looking at has not dried out yet where you can very soon dissasemble the interior pull off the front clip, clean out all the factory drain holes and litterly turn on your garden hose and rinse out every where and I mean everywhere from the flood line down! Even then in a few years you will see things rusting through in odd places.

[lks dcvn]

Also been there - can't agree more with the silt - sand/dirt everywhere -

rust in places that you didn't/wouldn't even think of...

If you are going to rebuild everything - go for it - if you are hoping it will be an easy project - keep walking.

[BlueJeep]

I had figured on rebuilding much of it. I've already mentioned the drivetrain, and since it's an Iowa truck it'll likely need rocker panels, quarter panel (work if not replacement), floor supports, etc. I also figured on swapping out seats with ones from a newer 'burb, so I'm not really worried about any of that. What I'm concerned with are hidden pockets deep inside that can be filled with silt and become problem areas. I'm going to take another look through Frizzle Fry's thread of cutting his down, and see if I can see any "behind the panels" areas that I should pay attention to.

I'm still waiting on some close up pics from the seller, but I'm fairly interested in it so far.

Thanks for all the input so far!!

[LockDoc]

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If you need parts or want another one to look at there is one in Malcom, IA (about 70 miles east of you) it is a blue/white big block truck w/air. Seems like it was a '69 or '70. I think he was asking $1500 for it but I would have to check to make sure. I have been trying to deal with him on a '67 short step but he's not sure if he wants to sell it yet. I need to check with him on the stepper again so I could get more info and pics of the burb at the same time if you think you would be interested.....

LockDoc

[72-c20]

what kind of a 5 lug rear would you want to put in? I just "picked up" another "project"

[BlueJeep]

Probably whatever I could find. Bolt in would be nice, but I'm not scared of welding on some different brackets...