Started peeling the onion as Greg says, what do you think?
Not bad....
I see all the classic 1st Gen trouble spots need attention..... Front floor corners, cab supports, lower A-pillars, some torsion box patching, etc.
Check the upper windshield areas and the lower corners of the windshield near the cowl panel.... Also take a peek up underneath the rear bedfloor right underneath the tailgate area... Water and mud can get packed up there and will rot out the last couple inches of the bed from the inside out.
This is where is gets tricky.
I'm assuming that you aren't going to do any of the sheetmetal repair yourself and are going to farm it all out to a local bodyshop / restoration shop? How deep are you going to let them go...? Getting the front cab supports repaired requires cutting out the torsion boxes, floors, and the outer and inner rockers. It's the "right way" to do that repair (MAW) and you won't ever have to deal with it again later on. When you go to final paint you can feel good knowing that you aren't "hiding" anything.
The tough part is the hourly rate (and experience) of the shop doing the work. If they specialize in early Chevy trucks, this will be well-understood territory and they should have good systems in place to get those areas fixed efficiently and cost-effectively. If they are learning as they go....you could end up paying a fortune for their OJT.
Rough ballpark guess: you've got maybe $3000 - $4000 in rust repair as it sits if you do it well. Add the bodywork & paint on top of that figure to get the whole thing into a rust-free single color condition.
There are SO many variables that affect cost that it's really hard for anyone to quote you accurately until they start cutting metal out....and at that point, they basically have you over a barrel.
Post more pics!!!
-G
Fingers crossed for it being in "relatively solid" shape.
