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I found my old truck for sale, need some opinions on rust, pics inside!!!!

01maroonz71

01maroonz71

1/2 ton status
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Jan 8, 2007
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Location
Palmetto, fl
well guys, i can't believe this, but i found my white buffalo. i sold this truck in late 2008 as a down payment on the house me and my wife purchased. since the second it drove away i regretted selling this truck. i put alot of blood sweat and tears into it and i loved it.

the guy who bought it moved to WA, i am in FL. i never thought i'd see the truck again, but now it's back in FL. i found it on craigslist yesterday, and made the 2 hour drive immediately to go check it out. i sold it for 7k back in 2008(sold it for too little money i know) and it now has 40LTB's on it. it also has a built TH400 and vortec heads on the crate motor now. they are firm at asking 6k for it.



the thing im concerned about is the rust that is around the doors. the frame is cracked at the steering box and is down right scarey to drive, but i can patch all of that no problem.

IS this rust a huge deal? i have never done body work. can it be fixed? or do i need a new cab?

thanks so much




here are some pics of how it currently sits and some of the rust(sorry for the night pics)



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these are the specs from when i built/sold it. i lost my ass on it, but was hard up for money at the time.


SUSPENSION BRAKEDOWN:

1ton running gear(D60,14bolt) geared to 4.56 with a open front(see below)/detroit out back.
new driveshafts built about 2months ago, lengthened front, CV shaft rear(to get rid of vibes)
8in BDS springs up front with a zero rate moving the front axle 1inch forward
rear is a shackle flip with one ton springs and raised spring perches on the 14FF(no blocks)
there is a body lift on the truck(PO did that)
greasable shackles for the front springs.
it has almost brand new 39.5 TSL swampers with balancing beads in them and they run perfect(2k miles on them)
it also has crossover steering with HD tierod/draglinks
the rear 14FF has disk brakes on it and it stops awesome
the front kingpins are in great shape...just redid them and shimmed them to eliminate deathwobble.

NEW STEERING BOX/PSTEERING PUMP/LINES installed yesterday...this thing drives good again


MOTOR/TRANS/CASE

the truck has a BRAND NEW GM crate motor 290HP/350TQ that has 2122 miles on it. it has a 50kmile warrantee through my dads dealership
it has an edelbrock 650CFM carb that i put on new when the motor went in and a mallory distributor.
it has a tall K&N and a brand new radiator/hoses/fuel pump/water pump(when motor went in)
it has a TH400 with a deep pan/trans temp gauge that shifts perfect!!!!!
the xcase is a NP208 and works perfect also...(CV slip yoke driveshat in rear, and is brand new)
the truck has a/c but i unhoooked the compressor to go serpentine..but the kit i bought doesn't fit the motor(ebay trash)
the a/c works, but needs frion in it. the truck has a vbelt setup on it now and it works great. every single fluid has been flushed very recently.
it has an electric fan on it just in case that comes on with the a/c compressor.


INTERIOR/EXTERIOR
the interiorr was redone by the previous owner and is in almost perfect shape....it's missing one air vent, but i have a new one to go with the truck.
the headliner/seat/carpet/dash are all in two tone red/grey and are in perfect shape.
the stock gauges were replaced with autometer pro-comp gauges and i added two gauges on the pillar(trans temp, and vac gauge) VERY NICE!!!
it has a pioneer cd/mp3 player in it with two speakers installed in the door to go with the 3in the dash.
it has all power windows/door locks/ and intermitten wipers.
i had line-x sprayed in the bed about 5months ago and still shines nice and black. it's real nice for haulin stuff.
it has a class V hitch on it.
there is a stainless toolbox in it and matching bedrails
the windows are tinted but are peeling a little on the vent windows.
as stated above...the only rust on the entire truck is a little on/around the pass door....when you open the door you can see it...it's in the door jam, but only one spot(about the size of a quarter) has gone through...the rest is all solid metal. THAT IS THE ONLY thing wrong with the whole truck...it would be show quality/PERFECT with that fixed.
 
Ah, I remember this truck back in the day. Always loved it...

You have a welder? Frame cracks wouldn't scare me. They make patches and braces.

The rockers and floors are cake, but those upper A pillars will suck. Honesty Id replace the cab... In reality aside from paint it'd be easier.
 
i was afraid swappin cabs would be what's needed. i would LOVE to have my baby back, but WA was hard on her i guess. no rust really anywhere else on truck, just in these spots. the rust scares me though.
 
Yeah, if I didn't have some personal attachment or it was a really good deal I'd walk if it was me.


But for 6K could certainly couldn't build the truck, and clearly you've got personal attachment.

Could get a cab for 2-300$ easy, spend a weekend swapping it. If you've got the coin have it painted prior to install and she's golden.
 
Cant help you, but I see your just on the other side of the bridge from me. :D next time I head to Citrus, ill let ya know.
 
From those pics, it's hard to say about the pillar rust. If it's just in the jambs, I'd grind it down and apply some silver POR-15. Then see if it holds up over time before deciding on a cab swap.
 
6k for that much rust? Rest of the drivetrain better be pretty bad ass! That truck body is worth no more than $800 up here. Is there $4000 worth of parts under the truck? If so, then it would be worth it.

You can buy a blazer from here, pay the $1000 to ship it to FL and build almost the same truck for nearly the same money. Which do you want more and what is more realistic to you? Which do you have more of, time or money?
 
But how much is sentimental value? It sounds like the everything under the sheet metal is solid and good to go. So you'd be literally a cab swap away from back to where you started, you'll spend less time/effort/money swapping the cab, then you would buying a clean body and building it to the same levels as that truck.

My opinion.
 
Swap the cab, much less work than trying to fix all that rust. Rust free truck cabs are pretty easy to find.
 
There's at least 6 k in parts under the frame. It's already put together. You could cab swap and repaint and still have the same truck. That rust isn't as bad as I have seen and repaired. Looks like new rockers and hopefully that is just surface rust above the doors. If the floor is still good you can use it while fixing it up. It all just depends on how much of it you want to fix or completely restore.
 
the floors are all still good for sure. it's only around the doors. i dont know if the rust on the top of the doors is still solid or if there are holes. im going to go look at it again on sunday and see. if it's just on the surface up top can i just grind it and paint it for now up top???? the bottom is not a big deal, i have never done body work, but i can weld.

i have ALOT of money in the drivetrain/suspension. more than i'd like to mention. haha


he did put vortec heads on the motor, is that a pretty good power adder???? it was a bone stock GM 350 i installed back in the day.

thanks guys!!!!!
 
vortec heads are 64cc chambers . also flow as good or better than camel hump heads from what I have read.

I betting the cab is toast . if me find a cab and swap it .
 
i am strongly considering buying it, stopping the rust best i can until i have time to swap cabs. i have been working 80HR weeks for the last 6months and have had no time for anything. what would be the best way to SLOW the rust down as best as i can.

i plan on going to look at it again on sunday for sure.
 
Better pick it up then! Probably best not to let it slip away if you really want it back! And yes, you can just grind/sand blast and then do some POR or rust bullet or whatever to help slow the rust.
 
If the upper cab has holes in the door jambs,at least its not that critical as the floor or rear wall of the cab is,its not that "structural"..

You can work miracles with that "Metal 2 Metal" body filler stuff,its a lot stronger than bondo or fiberglass filler...not cheap,but worth it..easier than trying to mig weld scraps into those areas,and it'll last a good 3-5 years at least..

You must really like that truck..much as I liked the ones I had in the past,I dont think I'd buy one back if its rotted like that...six grand can buy a much nicer body..maybe drive train too..
 
Lookin closer at it today and it is worse than I thought. The b piller is about half gone. Good thing is its almost strait sheet metal and can be patched or covered and do the cab swap later. As long as the doors still close correct then structurally it is still strong enough to use and have fun until it falls apart. I see good petential in what has been done. Almost the whole drivetrain is fresh and tires alone are a couple grand. If you have the money and want your baby back there it is. Is you can talk him down any on the rust issues and frame crack even better.
 
I think its awesome that you actually found your old truck, and even more awesome that it went about as far away as possible in the US of A and came back to you!

Dude, its meant to be - you know you won't sleep until you have it back!

Though this one's probably not the best purchase "deal" in the world. And since so many of us here are obsessed with getting that killer deal that can be bragged about - you probably won't hear many of us tell you to run out and buy it but this is a really cool opportunity imo...
 
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