Hi, new from Wisconsin..

[Christian Nelson]

I've always loved the square body Chevy. Hopefully will own one til I die.

I currently have a 77 4x4 K15 with 700r4 and 400 engine.

Body is SHOT.. Wanting to weld it up, the cab mounts rusted through, and the body has sunk down in the front the floor pans are rotted through, I have gotten all the replacement body parts, and would be interested in seeing others' who've done this repair.

Thank you!

 

[dhamp]

Welcome Christian! Man, you've got a lot of work ahead of you. That ought to be a nice project. Got any pics yet?

 

[78shortandwide]

Yea you have a mountain of work ahead of you, but it will be worth it. We all like pics here so do share.

 

[89Suburban]

Welcome, good luck with the repairs. Save that square.

 

[Christian Nelson]

No pic yet. Might make some of y'all cry.

THis is a LONG term project, since it keeps getting put on the back burner by other projects. The whole cab supports on both sides are just gone. I was able to find the parts I need (I THINK) but I have to drop the gas tanks before I get to cutting and welding under there.. It's got the two tanks one on either side. GOt it a few years ago, I've had 5 chevy trucks of this style. I love them.

My dream truck is either a blazer, or 1/2 ton pick up 4x4, with a 4 speed manual tranny. Bonus would be year 1974, rust free..

Maybe someday. No money for that right now. Maybe if I fix this one I can sell it and buy a '74 project truck..

BLazer would be nice if I can put a fiberglass tub on it.. Stupid salt trucks around us pretty much make sure than o matter what I do, the truck will rust out from under me!!!

 

[dhamp]

If the cab is that bad, would you not want to use it for a donor and find one for cheap and swap the drivetrain and misc other parts??

 

[Christian Nelson]

If the cab is that bad, would you not want to use it for a donor and find one for cheap and swap the drivetrain and misc other parts??

Well, that's just it. Due to the salt, and stuff, there are NO trucks of this vintage without these issues! Finding a "donor" truck is impossible. Around here, engines aren't what fails. Plenty of cars get driven to the scrap yard, though the entire body is shot.

I had a car a few years back, the whole thing pretty much cracked in half due to the rust, I drove it to the junk yard, though it wobbled and swayed if I went faster than 25mph. Passenger seat fell through the floor, etc before that happened. I hoped to get something for a perfectly running engine, and the guy said "they all run".. I've always envisioned hauling good running engines down south, and bringing bodies back up here.

But, I am sure others have thought of that. Every now and then I see a guy trying to sell a cab for $2k stripped out.

 

[Christian Nelson]

Ok, y'all asked for it, here's some pics of my mess. Amazingly, I bought this truck from a guy who was driving it like this. I was thinking a small amount of rust work would be required, but as I began pulling the carpet up, removing the pieces of plywood stuffed in to keep your feet form going through, etc, this is what I ended up with..

I bought some floor supports, and floor pans, along with bottom of the door wells that the floor attaches to..

I think this is backwards after looking at it right now, but I was just putting it there to illustrate my problem..

A closeup..

And the driver's side..

Closer

I was able to find these from LMC truck

Part # for anyon else looking for this..

Now, I don't really have much to jack the cab up with, I for sure need to remove the gas tanks, and I was thinking maybe just tip the thing off the frame, what do yall think?

 

[89Suburban]

Son of a bitch, he found the replacement floor braces!!! Good ****!

I wonder who his inspection mechanic was.

 

[Christian Nelson]

No inspection (THANK GOD!!) in Wisconsin. Yet, I've seen worse looking rattle trap cars driving around in state on average in states that DO have inspection. Yes, we have the occasional person who drives a really unsafe vehicle (like me) but mostly the cars are newer here (because after like 10 years theres nothing left of the car!) and fairly maintained (have to to run throughout the winter, being stuck in a stalled car in -40 is no fun) so it isn't that big a deal. THis truck was worse than I had thought. Someone had done a pretty good job of covering it up, and dual tanks hid alot of it from below. Sad thing was from the outside, this truck didn't look so bad (which was why I bought it).. Lesson learned I guess, but I have a wire feed, and I think I can eventually get 'er fixed. I just need some time.

 

[89Suburban]

I know some guys here including myself have been looking for those floor braces. How did you find them?

 

[Christian Nelson]

LMC catalog. I think I also called them. It was a couple years ago, so I have a hard time remembering, this project got put on the back burner, but I am thinking soon I'll start it up again! I got pretty much all the parts I need, I just am not a body guy, would like to see pics of others doing this kind of work. Give me ideas, etc.. I know, people say "just weld it in" but I was wanting a bit more specifics. Like, how to get to the underside, and get everything out of the way the easiest. etc. I am thinking right now the easiest will be to take the doors and front clip off, and just yank the whole body off. Work on it flipped sideways. You all want me to get the part #'s from my catalog for those cab supports?

 

[dhamp]

Are you going to pull the cab off & get it blasted before you start welding in new pieces? No telling what other cancer you may find.

 

[Christian Nelson]

Are you going to pull the cab off & get it blasted before you start welding in new pieces? No telling what other cancer you may find.

We will see, I will cut any heavy rust, and rust convert anything that doesn't knock loose. I dunno about blasting, from what I can tell, rust treatment works as good if not better. KNocking the loose stuff off is the big thing I think.

Right now, I have a tranny to finish rebuilding for my wife's 93 suburban, and a tractor to sell, and I gottat redo some of the heating pipes from my boiler since I lost a pump last year. Lots of winterizing to do, but I am hoping to be able to yank that cab this fall yet. ONce that is done, I will see what iv'e got.

 

[Irishman999]

It hurts to see this knowing there is 2 good cabs sitting at my parents place, welcome to the forum!