Proud New Owner!

[brendonak]

Hey everyone,

First thanks for answering all of my questions, I've went ahead and picked up the truck, 67 long bed, 6cyl, 3spd. The truck has 82k origional miles, the previous owner bought it form a lot where the origional owner took it, only a few months ago! It runs like a top, drives straight, I love it! There are a few rust spots, but nothing abnormal.

Plans are to clean up the body, paint it cream or champagne yellow, drop in a new process a833, swap out the rear end for a ford 9" posi (3.00), drop in a super mild 327, drop it 3/5, maybe some 17" hopsters or cragars, and drive it!

I found a floor shift conversion for super cheap and changing out the engine is the last thing on my list, easiest and it runs perfect now so I have no reason to.

This summer right after graduating college I had a pretty rough time, got a DUI (culmination of bad habits), then 5 weeks later totalled my Tundra, all right before starting grad school. This truck is the second vehicle I've bought myself, but the first on my own! I'm so happy I found this thing, its nice to start to get your life back on a more positive track. Now I can just park this guy at a friends place, away from any harm, buckle down till thanksgiving break, then body time!

Anyways I'm off to tear into this site, so much good info! Thanks for everyones opinions on the pre-purchase, I really appreciate it!

Oh and I love the fact that it has a metal bed, perfect for my KTM!

Pics





solid


Here are some shots of the rust, any advice as to what parts to get for replacement?



Thats about it, just the passenger side kick panel and front of the passenger fender. The windshield line on the inside of the truck is rusted pretty bad. On the outside its been sealed with some form of silicone. How would I tackle that?

[jrdv]

Congratulations on the truck.

I'm sorry I have to give you the bad news. The rust above the windshield is not good and usually requires a new cab. I'm sure some of the body shop guys can give you a little more info.

The good news. Drive it and enjoy it.
The rest of the truck looks good!

john

[70cst]

Except for the top windshield area your truck looks solid. As far as repair to that area I will defer to those who have more knowledge than I.

Hey... brendonak to your new extended family. Just for your info...Consider the $25 Site Supporter membership that gives you the added benefits that you can ask...Wanted to buy (WTB), Whats it worth (WIW), Want to Trade (WTT), and For Sale (FS) posts.

Again Welcome!!

[brendonak]

Thanks guys! New cab? Bummer. Maybe I can find a shortcut

[ChevLoRay]

There are patch panels made to repair that area above the windshield. Other than that, it looks pretty nice. Check out WES on this board. He's a vendor.

When it comes to silicone sealers, some are for automotive usage, others aren't. I can show you pix of what happens when you use the non-automotive kind.

But, welcome to the board from the Heart of Arkansas!

[powell72]

Roof rust is a bummer but it's a neat original truck, have fun.

BTW, swapping the gears to 3.08's would be cheaper and maybe less work than swapping to a 9''.

[72BlckButy]

Congrats on the purchase! That will make one sweet ride.

[brendonak]

thanks again! I'm not sure of what all is involved in the 9 inch but I can have the rear end for free which is a pretty good price. Same goes with the 327. I'll have to check outtiose replacent panels and I doubt the repair was made with automotive silicone

[Spray-Bomb]

Sweet truck bro

Heck, if it comes down to it just get a good roof from a truck that is rusty down low & graft it on

BTW, you own the best year

[MrBeast]

Nice to see another old truck getting some new life breathed into it, the thing with these trucks is that if you are good to them they will be good to you, they are great old trucks.

[70inline6]

Too bad your purchase and this thread didn't match better. It's a shame.

Roof scrapped...

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by 70inline6

Too bad your purchase and this thread didn't match better. It's a shame.

Roof scrapped...

Yeah his is a small window though, to fix his roof he is going to want to get another small window roof to make it easier to fix, then all he has to do is cut it through the A and B pillar and weld a much smaller area to make it all fit.

[Blue'72]

Hey brendenak! Welcome to the board!! I have the top of a cab that I kept that would fix that problem. You're free! I'll check it out better and get some pics.

[Blue'72]

Well I can't seem to resize the pics to work other than this. It's a little worse than I thought, but definitely workable. The inside is clean and rust free.
It's a large back window, but you should be able to use it at the seam.. (Edit) I just saw the above post and not sure if this would work based on that..

[MrBeast]

It can be done, but it is wayyyy more work, it would honestly be easier to find a whole good cab, you could cut straight down the middle of the roof, and then through the A pillars, no reason it cant be done that way, but it would be a lot of welding.

[stllookn]

That rust is probably a direct result of the drip rail seal above the windshield. I would fix the drip rail seal, pull the windshield and see how bad it really is. Check the "A" pillar seal above the front windshield as well. Shoot a picture of the front drip rail above the windshield for us.

[factorystock]

Aside from the rust issues, it looks like a very clean base model and you should be able to drive your low mileage 6 another 100k without doing anything except routine maintenance.Your truck was built for "economical transportation", and it has plenty of life left in it just the way it is.Most projects sooner or later become "expensive transportation", be warned.

[streetstar]

Gotta love the long bed if your a dirt bike guy.

Just slam the tailgate home with the bike in straight

[LockDoc]

-
Myself, I would just replace the whole top as some others have suggested. From the pictures the rest of the cab is too nice to replace.

Just my 2¢ worth

LockDoc

[brendonak]

Thanks for all of the replys!

I'll snap some pics of the roof later today

As far as hauling my dirtbike and jetski's this thing will be perfect. Long beds are cheaper and having the tailgate shut is awesome

So as far as fixing the roof, why couldn't I buy that guys roof section and convert to large window? I know that small windows are more desirable, but I'm all for fixing the problem properly, that and the large window will be much easier to live with.

[Classic Heartbeat]

You could do that. The easiest way to do that would be to cut the windshield pillars near the top and then drill out all the spot welds along the rear of the floor (behind the tank). That would give you an entire new (used) top and rear of the cab if you want to go with the large rear window. Then you have only the windshield pillars and several plug welds to do. It would be hard (not impossible) to cut ot below the rear window and section it in that way without warping the metal. The other thing that you could do is to cut the inner roof section out and replace it with one of our patch panels. However you would have to remove the windshield to see how bad the rust is. If both of the windshield frame lips are rusted that may not be an option. WES

[brendonak]

Ah, that sheds some light on the situation. I'll get more pics for you guys and we can figure out more later.

[dfosh]

I don't want to hijack but has anyone used the panel above the windshild ? Any info on the install .

[bad6772]

Richard H is doing his at the moment.....And from where i stand if the Replacement Panels are large enough to totally remove your Rust .....i would do that....Its not going to be easy....If it was everyone would do it.....I would replace that section (if thats the only real rust) way before i would replace the cab.....Just My 0.2