Firewall Rust???

[wHATANERD]

The firewall of my 69 C/10 has major rust damage, especially around the wiring channel on top. I have attached a few photos of the damage, and am curious on how others have tackled this issue. It also has rusted thru inside the cab under the fresh air vent on the drivers side. The passanger side seems ok, but will not know for sure until it's sandblasted. Any assistance is needed, as I'm tring to figure out should I repair this cab, or replace. Thanks

[wHATANERD]

here's another shot above the engine.

[oldblue1968chevy]

mines like that too...not rusted thru tho....

unless ur makin it a show car, i wouldnt really worry too much bout it....but idk dont listen to me..

[wHATANERD]

It's not going to be a show truck, but is in the process of a frame off resto with the intent of being a really nice driver.

[oldblue1968chevy]

well..ur in the same pickle as me..dont think im doin frame off...is urs rusted all the way thru or just surface?

[wHATANERD]

Unfortunantly it's all the way thru on the cab. The rest of the body panels on my truck are in great shape

[beautimus]

you may have noticed that there are several layers of metal coming together in that area. gm used some really crappy seam sealer to bury the seams. and since its shaped like a trough in that area, it puddles water and when the old sealer cracks, it rusts through and drips inside the cab. i have seen cabs rust so badly in the channel, that, after everything is unbolted you can actually pull the fire wall away from the cowl with your hands. yours doesn't look that bad to me. mine didn't have any rust there but the sealer was in bad shape, so i dug it out before i had the cab blasted. then i sealed it up in fiberglass all the way across to prevent the rust out later.
another place to watch for is the seams inside the cowl. if you remove the cowl cover look to the sides of the cab inside the cowl. those can leak and rust through there also.
i guess what i am saying is check it out better when you get it all apart and wherever you find sealer, dig it out, fix the rust and reseal everything. and occaisonally check the sealer.

[bdnga]

I started working on my rust last year - I had similar issues. I have no past experience at this but with the help of the guys on this forum I tackled it and made some good headway on mine. I ended up shaving my firewall in the end - here was my first attempt before I decided to shave it (trying to keep the lip). Good luck with your project - these old trucks are great therapy!

[wHATANERD]

Thanks eveyone, I know this cab can be repaired, and I will most likely shave the lip off of the firewall also. It just going to take alot of patience. I appreciate all the great info I get from this board.

[bigguy69]

mine is the same way except on the pass side. i am like you i am pretty sure i can fix it. we will find out i guess. keep us posted on ur progress.

[wHATANERD]

It will be a while before I tackle the cab. I'm currently working on the bed floor, and will be working on the fenders next, but I will uploads some cab repair photos when I get there. Thanks for all the great information.