I drug home this basket case in spring, 2002. It's not as bad as it looks,
though. No rust through or serious damage, but it will take some elbow
grease to get the surface rust off in some places. I have most everything
but the time to put together a pretty nice truck.
--update: 10-16-04
This is what I've done so far. I've swapped the rear end to a limited slip
Dana 44 from a '67 GMC with 3.55 gears. I've removed the old bed wood and
cleaned up the bed sheet metal some. I've been slowly sanding out and
treating the surface rust, then re-doing the old body work, dinging it out
closer to eliminate as much filler as I can. I was lucky to find the old
filler had not rusted under it. So far the body work on the hood, driver
door and part of the cab is all I've gotten done and primed, but winter is
coming with more spare time to work on it now that my shop is built.
--update: 11-18-05
I think I've reached a turning point in this project. Instead of a basket
case requiring more baskets every time I work on it, I'm finally starting to
get parts out of the baskets and put them back on! I've gotten most of the
body and paint from the cab forward done, plus the frame is painted.






I still have a lot to do and more parts to buy,
but it finally feels like I'm gaining on it.



--update: 01-07-06
I've had quite a few distractions lately, but I've managed to get the
front sheetmetal together as well as new kingpins and front brakes.



I hope to use these 6 lug rally wheels with the original style
hub caps by fastening replacement clips to the wheels.



--update: 01-25-09
I still have a few distractions but I've made some progress this
winter. After refinishing the rear bumper and mounting it up,
I rolled the truck outside and went to work on the bed.





I've finally got the body and paint work done on the bed and all
the sheet metal bolted back together.



I bought enough 1"x6" and 1"x8" cabinet grade pine to build the bed
floor. I then used my table saw to cut it to size and cut grooves
for the wear strips.



I have the planks in place in this picture just as a mock-up so I
can be sure everything fits right and to locate all the holes I need
to drill. Once that is done, I'll take it back apart to apply the
finish. I was going to use POR15, but the planks have such a nice
grain that I may use something else.



--update: 02-07-09
This is where I ended up on the finish. I used black paint as the
stain. I put on a wet coat then wiped it off quickly. That was
followed by several coats of 'Helmsman' clear gloss.



--update: 02-20-09
I now have the bed bolted back on. Looking more like a pick up!



And from a different angle.