Keepin' Her Goin

[76/85 Truck]

My uncle bought my truck a couple years after it was built (1976) when it was nearly brand new. He had it for a long time and sold it to my grandfather... sometime around 2005 I'm guessing?

I bought this truck on June 15th, 2009

When my grandfather owned it, it had a lot of rust on it. The fenders were nearly gone, and the whole driver floor pan was gone, along with most the bed, including the usual places (cab corners, wheel wells)..

So he bought a 1985 GMC 2wd half-ton truck and put the body on the 1976 Chevrolet. The truck went from round eyes to square, blue to red.

Since I bought it, I have tried to keep it going down the road. I am 17, and I use this truck to get to and from work and school. It is my first vehicle.

I am going to go to college to become a mechanic/body man combo.

Since I bought this truck for $1500, I have replaced the white bumper for a chrome one, replaced the worn out seat for a wreckingyard replacement, changed the fender blinkers for chrome trim blinkers, put chrome trim around the taillights, installed a stereo and CB, built my own speaker box with 6x9s and an 8in woofer, replaced the worn out front leaf springs for 3-leaf leaf springs out of a diesel.

Put aluminum wheels on it with some better tires, the tranny went out so I put a wreckingyard tranny in it, changed the NP-203 chain drive transfer case for a gear drive NP-205, put some Mile Marker hubs on the front, replaced a few U-joints that it needed.


Now recently I have begun some rust repair... the cab corners and rear wheel wells are starting to go.

I have sanded on the box a bit and used some rattle-can gray primer to cover it up. I hope to soon have the rust holes patched up, and sand the whole truck.

I am taking it slow, because I am short on money, (about $550 a month, $200 of that going to gas). I will fix stuff as it goes and slowly take on the pain job.

Soon I will be buying a 350 short block that has a recent rebuild on it for $85 dollars, and I will build it up... My current engine smokes a bit on start up, and overheats fast because it is bored 40 over.

I will take pictures of stuff I replace and put them on here, on the other stuff I fixed I never did take a picture.

Thanks for reading, sorry for the lengthy post. I had to explain everything I have done and plan to do. Sorry for not taking pictures of previous fixes. It will be a slow build, but eventually hope to restore this truck, and keep it in the family.

Sorry again for the lengthy post.

THANKS FOR READING!!

[76/85 Truck]

Here is a picture of me starting on the surface rust on the bed




and the primer

[76/85 Truck]

Do you guys see those little rust dots all over the bare metal in the first pic? The rust dimples are below the flat surface of the metal... I couldn't get them out and didn't know how...... Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks!

[ghettoluxury]

sand blast it, it will come off