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[sstaten69]

Hello i live in sin city( for now) and my son is almost old enough to drive and being he has helped with our nova and chevelle he has the bug and wants to do a 69 or 70 chevy truck. we are going to look at a 69 tonite is there anything that we should look for as far as rust or hidden signs of damage.. thanks for all and any help Steve
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[ChevLoRay]

Welcome from the Heart of Arkansas!

I bought my youngest son a '69, when he started driving. He's the reason we're working on my '69, at his house.

Common trouble spots in less arid parts of the U.S., are cab corners, the rockers, the kick panels and usually beneath the battery box. There are plenty of horror stories about rust and cancer on these trucks, but it depends on where the truck has been kept. Keep reading. Others will give you more to look for.

[ldgn63]

rockers are problematic to say the least. ive also seen several with rust on the drivers door at the top hinge.... i dunno why

[70cst]

Rust around the windshield area...

Underdash Wiring...make sure it is in decent shape.

Rust in the rockers and inside the cab by the vent areas...

Also consider...
What engine do you want...
Do you want an manual transmission or automatic?
Do you want a numbers matching truck?
AC...is that important?

Although you asked about possible rust issues...if you are starting to look these may be things to consider. Don't be afraid to get back with us if you want an opinon on the trucks value.
Just some thoughts. Good luck

[1quik70]

Usual body rust is pretty evident when looking these old trucks over. I would pay close attention to wiring, body mounts, and core support under the battery. Check the SPID in the glovebox, and check the VIN!

[Hardesty454]

Under cab, the mounts and cab corners (front and back). Dont forget the drip pan either, those are horrid to replace.

[sstaten69]

Wow thanks everyone this helps alot. will let you know how this one goes?? he has been looking for somtime now he wants a short bed with the wood floor, a/c, bucket seats still trying to figure out what else he wants he looks at them in magazines and when we are at car show or just when he see's them out and about.
thanks again
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[PanelDeland]

Don't worry so much about what options it has,unless he wants to restore rather than modify it.Most options are fairly easy to swap.Mechanicals don't seem to be an issue since you've done others,so find the best body you can.The most expensive part of any build will be paint and bodywork.

[Steve Hafner]

The "track arms" or "trailing arms" that go from the rear - forward, were badly rusted under my 70 that lived in the snows of Virginia all of it's life before I had it - they could not be repaired and had to be replaced with new ones. Mine also had rust in the cab corners, door bottoms, fender bottoms, rockers, top of front bed panel, tailgate and top of the windshield area that others have talked about here. ALL of these things can be replaced or repaired - as long as you have DEEP POCKETS !!!

[VA72C10]

I agree with looking for the best body possible. Unless you plan on doing the body work that will be the most expensive part. Rockers and cab corners are replaced easily enough....it's rust on the firewall and especially around the hinge areas on the door and around the windshield that are the biggest areas to look out for and most expensive/hardest to fix. Keep us updated on your search! Being in Nevada you're going to have a better selection of trucks in good shape to start with than most of us do....so you're already ahead of the game

[Constructor1]

My 1970 is a Arizona truck so would be similiar to what you will be looking at. The only rust I had was on the floor at the kick panels. I would try and pull the carpet up at this area. Good look and welcome. I am fairly new to this site, but have found it to have tons of info and a lot of great members more than willing to offer help.

[sstaten69]

Ok called the guy to go and look at the truck and the luck of charlie brown ( I GOT A ROCK)found me again. so a guy named Steve called him this morning to look at the truck and bought it.. wow what are the odds of that. oh well it was a long bed and my son doesnt like the looks of those so we will keep looking and he will have to keep saving. thanks for all the help we was very happy when i showed him the replys and he wrote all of the key places to look ,down in a little folder (i think it is his wish book) with pics of trucks..

[sstaten69]

Ok its been over a year now, we moved to Missouri got a house and got settled in, and yep our son is driving, and beeing he still has to bug to do a truck. We have looked at alot of trucks over the past year and finally found one that will be a good start, a 68 chevy long bed not to bad the owner hasnt started it in almost 2 years so will look at getting it running, has some rot on the rockers and in the bed, dont think this will be to bad of a fix we will do this ourselves. he has a book of all kinds of pics and ideas of what he want to do with the truck, so guess the fun starts... thanks for all of the tips on what to look for...tried to add a pic of it but cant seem to figure it out.

[sstaten69]

OK update, we pulled the holley crap off of it. using his sisters edelbrock, new fuel pump,oil/filter cleaned up the wiring alittle. and ITS ALIVE kid has been grinnin ear to ear for hours. being it has been sitting a few years before we got it we started it using a gas can, need to clean the tank out, then he will get some behind the wheel time on it...

[ole dollor]

welcome from Texas...hope you find a good truck to work on, there is a for sale on the board, you may want to look at it...there is some nice trucks for sale....

[sstaten69]

ok we got the tank all cleaned out, so it running real good. Drove it around the block and coming up to the stop sign no brakes. Back brakes are gone after looking at them we found a hole in the front to rear brake line so will need to replace the line. makes it easy to smoke the tire (yep its a peg leg for now). so after telling him how to do it the kid did his first tire fire today, but still not driving it to far yet as its really hard to stop that truck.

[c10srule]

great to see younger generations enjoying these old trucks

[GMCJOE]

I think it is time for you to start a build thread. Glad the youngsters are staying interested in the old school trucks.

[sstaten69]

Ok he has pulled off all of the mouldings and emblems, and he has been learning how to weld up the holes, and spot prime it.(it's lookin really good) got the brakes working ok needs power brakes for sure..And know back tires. He cant wait for summer he wants to get a summer job to get more parts for his truck. You know power brakes,steering,lowering kit and a mountain of other parts.. think he will get it legal and on the road for school next year. (his jr year) wish i could get all the pics to load....

[oneoff]

Welcome to the site and becoming a C/10 owner. Great people and information here!!!

[rogergodding]

You'd better get some pics up quick!! Still having trouble with that?

[So.Cal.Super]

Originally Posted by rogergodding

You'd better get some pics up quick!! Still having trouble with that?

x2!!!



always wanted to do that

Have your son start a build thread, great way to document what he does.

Best of luck!

[sstaten69]

Originally Posted by rogergodding

You'd better get some pics up quick!! Still having trouble with that?

yep still cant figure it out... it ask for a http:// and i cant find that i have the pics in my pics folder?

[rogergodding]

Click on the paper clip next to the smiley face and you can browse your computer to upload them... if not shoot me an email with them attached and I can do it.... rogergodding@hotmail.com.....

[sstaten69]

ok got it posted a new thread called this is my sons truck... thanks for the help...