My new 68

[bw4sale]

Well, some of you probably watched this on ebay. I ended up with it. Picked it up on Monday. I've always wanted a 68 stepside and ever since I sold my 72 a few weeks ago I've been looking for something else. Anyway, the body is alot worse than the seller said. The cab has a lot more rust than he let on. I've never done ANY body work, so I'm not sure what to do with it. I was planning on bagging it on 18's or 20's and driving it, but now I'm not sure. I hate to see the rust get worse and dump a bunch of money into something that the body is so rough on. What do you think? Should I look for another cab with less rust or just drive it for a while and watch it get worse?

Just two picks and they are not very good. Sorry.

Need input. Thanks.

BTW - if anyone within about an hour driving distance of me needs help with ANYTHING on their project (truck or not) I'm willing to work just for the experience.

[72Levi]

Send us pics of the rust, maybe not as bad as you think.

[hatchetman]

Please,please please restore that thing!My brother has a '69 step,my brother-in law has a '72 and I have a '70 about the color of yours and they are all awsome!!!!

[RACINJASON22]

It's never good when seller deosn't represent sale in a good way. Specially in your case without much body reair experiance. What better time to learn than the present though. Good luck with what ever you decide. RJ22

[whatnow123]

I wouldn't sweat the rust too much, I freaked on my truck, but once I got started on it, it wasn't as bad or as hard as I thought.

Looks like a decent truck depending on what you paid for it... and to bad you don't live in Arizona, I would take you up on your offer in a heartbeat!

[1LoC10]

Looks pretty solid form the outside.. whats rusted on it

[faribran]

bw4sale
too bad u dont live closer to my neck of the woods.... u could "putter" around with me in my shop...
as others have said..... ur truck might not be as bad (rust) as u may think.

Rich

[LooseScrews]

If only ours looked that good!!! I'd take it in a HEARTBEAT!!!

[bw4sale]

Snapped some pics while I was home for lunch.

The outer rockers look ok. There are no inner rockers (someones crappy patch job). The cab supports front and back are shot. The floor has been patched poorly at the rockers on both sides. The cab corners look like they have more bondo than metal. And the think that worries me the most is this junk above the windshield. That's just the cab.

All four fenders need help as well as inner fenders and core support. Bedsides as well.

I'm just not equipped to handle this much rust myself and I don't have the money to have it fixed. What should I do?

[67ChevyRedneck]

Oh man, sorry about the purchase

From the looks of your close ups, the rockers and cab corners are homemade. The cab corners are supposed to be rounded, not squared off.

You're right, the area above the windshield is bad and is not easy to replace. If you were to pay someone to repair the cab, it would cost a lot of $$$. You may be better off going to a big swap meet this summer and try to pick up a western cab for a few hundred bucks.

Or you could spend a couple hundred on a good welder, a couple c-notes on patch panels, and learn how to weld My first welding job sucked, but I did it

Another reason I hate E-bay.

Sorry bud

[bw4sale]

Thanks 67ChevyRedneck. Yeah, my last ebay deal went great. This one not so well, but that's the way it goes. I should have looked at it first. My brother lives in Spartanburg, so every once in a while I make it over to your neck of the woods.

[BigSky71]

That isn't so bad! With a welder, grinder and some hand tools you can fix that stuff. I had never done rust removal before and just tackled mine and I am happy with the results. Fixing that stuff is not some dark science, its just building a 3-d puzzle. Here a few pictures of where I started and where I am now. Note, you could just do one part at a time, and would not need to remove the cab from the frame.

[70rs/ss]

I think I would have walked away from that one? How long ago and how did you pay? If it was through paypal or something they may help you get out of it? I'd start trying to give it back (because he mislead you) and try to find another/nicer one than that.

[bw4sale]

Anyone else wanna chime in? I'd like to hear your thoughts. Should I be looking for another cab? thanks

[BP68]

I ended up piecing my truck together. I bought a 68 shortbed 307 3 spd not running. Sold the eng/trans, and wheels and had 300.00 in the purchase.
Had some hard to fix rust in the cab. Started looking and got a wrecked 72 longbed with a/c cab minus grille, core support, hood, right fender, engine and trans for 400.00. I used the cab and tilt column, and still have all the other parts and a decent long bed to sell.

Cab corners, inner and outer rockers, front floors, and right floor supports had to be replaced, plus a little patching here and there on the firewall.

Those parts are very available and not very expensive. The rust over the windshield is gonna be the trickest. Also look behind and above the glovebox opening (underside of wiper cowl opening in cab) I have seen several with bad rust there.

I would keep my eye open on a cab deal, but start calling around or try to find a friend of a friend of a friend that does body work and get some estimates. The parts won't be that expensive, but you need to know what the labor is gonna be.

[nvrforgotten52]

not as bad as mine, and i did all mine easily. they even sell that piece for the inside of the cab... but its like 160 bucks... but the rockers and cab corners are cheap and relatively easy to replace with a grinder, welder and a hammer haha

[Dano69c10]

That truck is a keeper! Look for a new cab first.
Inspect the frame/suspension to make sure there is no frame/suspension issues with regard to rust. Once you have a good frame/suspension and a good cab it's all downhill from there.
My 2 cents
Dano

[Ron 586]

As hard as it is to face you only have two choices, fix it or sell it like it is. You can't just live with it if you are going to trick it out with wheels and bagging it and such. Best choice is a good cab to swap on it. Yours can be fixed but you are going to need a real pro to tackle the roof rust not some backyard bondo slinger. The rockers and floor issues aren't that bad. I don't know how deep you're in the truck but a dump and start over might be in order. Of course you might have the same thing to face again but at least you know what to look for now. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[67/72junkie]

Find a god cab and fix it.

[bw4sale]

Thanks for all the input. I'm already on the lookout for another cab with less repair. I think I could tackle rockers. Maybe cab corners. Until then, I may go ahead and start on the suspension mods.

[hgs_notes]

If you go through the hassle of replacing the cab, and you dont do body work, do NOT settle for a cab that needs work. There are ones out there that will basically need sanded and repainted for a little more cash. It will be worth it later.

HG

[1LoC10]

Its not too bad... if it makes your feel better heres mine

[1LoC10]

and Goodmark does sell this inner roofpatch, so you know

[bw4sale]

If you go through the hassle of replacing the cab, and you dont do body work, do NOT settle for a cab that needs work. There are ones out there that will basically need sanded and repainted for a little more cash. It will be worth it later.

Yeah, I want to do it right. If I find a cab that needs some work I will do it. I just want something better to start with than what I got now.

[jkaylor68gmc]

I am down in Dayon if you ever need anything. Like 15 minutes away.