new guy with questions

[georgiachevydriver]

new member here goin to look at a 69 swb fleetside tomorrow. need to know if theres any areas specific to these trucks i need to look for. preciate the help in advance.

[vegaschevy]

the cab corners behind the doors where the bed meets the cab is one common area of rust. The other popular areas are at the floorboards right where it meets the side, and under the weather door stripping at the bottom below the door seal metal piece.
Other then that inspect it really good and go from there.

[71swb4x4]

If you are unsure about it, take pictures and post them here. We will gladly help you out.

The most important rule for most people is to spend extra money and buy something with very little rust and dents.

Common rust areas: rockers and floor pans, cab supports, cab corners. All of those items are fairly easy to fix. The core support and right fender under the battery are fairly common too.
Really bad rust would be rust at the top of the windshield frame, it can get expensive to fix, and the bad part is that it can be tough to spot. Firewall rust is bad too, check out down by the cowl vents.

Most people struggle with body work, so spend more money up front to buy a more solid truck. Anyone can learn how to do brakes, suspension, and most drivetrain work, but when you add body work to the mix there are speciailized tools that can cost a lot of money, and it's more challenging.

Edit: Do you have pictures of the truck now? If so post them so we can help you out even more.

[Ackattack]

^Those are the "common areas" for rust and are almost to be expected. As well as the inner and outer rocker panels and cab supports.

Where I get nervous is when there is rust above the windsheield, in the cowl, and upper kickpanels (around the vents) as these areas aren't as easy to fix as the usual spots.

Also, look at the radiator core support and front inner fenders. Very common for rust to be below the battery in those areas.

Without knowing the condition and price its hard to say what to look for. Basically you just don't want any suprises. Just about anything can be fix or replaced including the cab.

On a 69 some nice upgrades might be front disk brakes/5 lug conversion, a factory tach and tilt steering are great. Buddy buckets would be cool too.

Goood luck!

[xJoey Dubsx]

welcome

[georgiachevydriver]

heres a link to the truck not much to go on.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/1546498524.html

said it had a new crate motor (10 miles) but needs carb rebuilt. thanks for the trouble spots to look out for. i've wanted one of these since high school.


edit: couldnt figure out how to link it.

[wancosc356]

Here ya go:
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/1546498524.html

[71swb4x4]

Here is the link: http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/1546498524.html

Comments: It appears to have 1972 doors, not a big deal, just that different style door panel, which you see laying in the cab. If it is real solid, it may be worth the $1,800, but it will have to be very solid. Is there a tailgate? A good straight solid tailgate can run several hundred bucks pretty easily. To me $1,800 is a pretty high price for a truck that isn't a driver, that may have some body issues. The doors lead me to believe that they were starting to put together a solid truck. It all depends on what that black paint is hiding. And what in the world is hanging in the engine compartment? It almost appears to be grass. If it is grass, then I would think it was sitting in a field for a while, with no hood.
It appears to be a very base truck. No carpet, just rubber pad. No gauges, just warning lights. Probably a no frills truck that may have originally been a V6. None of that is a big deal though, and really wouldn't matter much to me.

[wancosc356]

I believe that grass looking stuff is good ol' pine straw.

That sure doesn't look like a 10 mile fresh crate motor. But maybe it was put in and sat for a long time. Ask for proof.

[rsavage]

It has a newer non original small block in it as the alternator is on pass. side and it looks to have an hei distributor. See what the VIN is CS was 6 cyl CE an 8cyl. If a six would have been an inline - no V6's in Chevys. It looks like it will take some dollars to make it right. If it ends up being real solid and runs well, offer him significantly less and see what happens. All he can say is no thanks.

[georgiachevydriver]

thanks for putting up the link for me. he said the motor has been in it for 8 yrs. i was going to offer lower than 1800 anyway. any ideas on how much? not really worried about the looks so much. i'll be going all out on it. just a solid body and not alot of work to get running.

[wancosc356]

Originally Posted by georgiachevydriver

thanks for putting up the link for me. he said the motor has been in it for 8 yrs. i was going to offer lower than 1800 anyway. any ideas on how much? not really worried about the looks so much. i'll be going all out on it. just a solid body and not alot of work to get running.

No problem. If I were buying it, I would would offer $1000 cash in hand. Don't seem overly excited about it or that you have to have it. Tell him it is essentially a parts truck in the current condition, unless he gets it running and driving.

Just my $0.02

[georgiachevydriver]

here are my other rides. im going to sell the s10. the blazer is a work vehicle and the silvy is gettin some minor mods in the near future.

[georgiachevydriver]

Originally Posted by wancosc356

No problem. If I were buying it, I would would offer $1000 cash in hand. Don't seem overly excited about it or that you have to have it. Tell him it is essentially a parts truck in the current condition, unless he gets it running and driving.

Just my $0.02

thanks again. i'll see what its lookin like tomorrow. im not very knowledgeable about these trucks yet so i really appreciate the comments

[wancosc356]

Originally Posted by georgiachevydriver

thanks again. i'll see what its lookin like tomorrow. im not very knowledgeable about these trucks yet so i really appreciate the comments

No problem.

Oh, wear some clothes you can get dirty in. Crawl under the thing and check it out. Also look at the firewall closely from the outside and inside. Lift up that floor mat too. Look at the drip rails and around the windshield and back window, inside and out. And look where the dash meets the windshield frame. Also look at the bottoms of the doors on the inside. Maybe take a magnet covered in a soft cloth to check the body panels for heavy bondo.

Good luck man and let us know.

[Kayotic]

Seems like a good start.

I might have sent an email through that ad looking to trade my '86, never did get a responce.

It's worth a look but try to get them to come down on the price.

Just because I like being competitive id lay $900 on the hood, make them feel proud they got $1200 for it if you need to...



Oh... Howdy from Lawrenceville. Welcome to the board.

[71swb4x4]

Those pictures do not show much as far as the body goes. That black does a great job of hiding rust and dents in pictures. Do not get your hopes too high, unless you have seen better pictures. Take your camera and take more pictures and post them here and we can get you some better advice.

[georgiachevydriver]

i'm definitely going to look it over thoroughly. i'm not in a hurry to get one. (really need to sell the s10 first) anyway i'll see how it goes. and let you guys know whats up. thanks again.

[georgiachevydriver]

well stuff came up and i'm going to have to do something else with the money for now, which sucks. but i'm going to keep looking for one and learning from the forum. i appreciate the help and hopefully i'll have one in the yard soon.