Greetings and seeking advice from San Diego!

[Timbotec]

Hello all!
Just wanted to say hi and tell ya what a great community you all got here, been lurking for a few days and it seems like a great place with lots of helpful and encouraging people.

I guess i'll jump right in and tell you that Im posting on behalf for my dad, who's not mechanically inclined (but brilliant in his own right) and his 1974 C10.

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He's had her since the early 80's (before I was born) and has quite a lot of sentimental value to him, she's seen him through 2 divorces and helped haul us 4 kids kids around (I learned to drive on her). Anyway he's up in the Bay Area and the truck has been parked outside pretty much its entire life so as you can imagine the rust on her has been building up for quite sometime. About 10 years ago I got on him about it and said if he wanted to keep that thing out of the scrap yard he had to do some body work on it. He invested a couple hundred bucks to a shady tree mechanic for what, in my opinion was a pretty crapy bondo job and some parts swapping. Cut to a few weeks ago he sends me some new pics after I asked how the truck was holding up and I was honestly shocked how bad it had gotten (Ill try to attach pics bellow). She still runs pretty strong with the original 350 motor, drives straight and I dont think the frame is rusted out (although im not sure i would be able to tell).

Ill cut to the chase here, What are my options? Is it beyond saving? What sort of costs are we looking at here? Do you have any recommended body shops in Northern California or even San Diego? Is it worth it to take it on myself?
See pics bellow, The forum is only letting me post 5 but I have more if needed.

Thanks in advance for any responses, I look forward to possibly tackling this projects and being involved in this forum.

Tim

 

[Shorty81]

Welcome from Ohio. Yes, it's worth saving especially with sentimental attachment JMO. It's just time and money!! I've seen much worse restored.

 

[animal]

 

[Frankenchevy]

For what body shop labor is in Northern CA, I’d be tempted to buy bedsides from one of the online retailers if you can find a decent bed on CL.

If you can find a donor cab with rotted out floors, corners and cowl, you might be able to snag it up relatively cheap. You’ll only have 6-8 inches to blend on the b pillars and an inch or two on the a pillars. Not a whole lot of welding to replace the roof. Mostly some careful measuring and cutting.

What does the cowl area look like? Pop the hood and look at the firewall. Also look just rear of the front fender with the door open.

 

[Timbotec]

Yea I shopped the LMC catalog a bit looking at panels, I think I can handle swapping those out but Im not sure my skills are up to cutting and blending in a whole cab top. My welding skills are sub-par at best. Most of my mechanical expertise has been in Motorcycles and doing suspension work on my Tacoma. How big of a job is it? Im thinking that the rear cab above the window is the worst of the rust on the truck, is there any other way of repairing it short of a cab swap?

 

[FireTruck1984]

Hello all!
Just wanted to say hi and tell ya what a great community you all got here, been lurking for a few days and it seems like a great place with lots of helpful and encouraging people.

I guess i'll jump right in and tell you that Im posting on behalf for my dad, who's not mechanically inclined (but brilliant in his own right) and his 1974 C10.

You must be registered for see images attach

He's had her since the early 80's (before I was born) and has quite a lot of sentimental value to him, she's seen him through 2 divorces and helped haul us 4 kids kids around (I learned to drive on her). Anyway he's up in the Bay Area and the truck has been parked outside pretty much its entire life so as you can imagine the rust on her has been building up for quite sometime. About 10 years ago I got on him about it and said if he wanted to keep that thing out of the scrap yard he had to do some body work on it. He invested a couple hundred bucks to a shady tree mechanic for what, in my opinion was a pretty crapy bondo job and some parts swapping. Cut to a few weeks ago he sends me some new pics after I asked how the truck was holding up and I was honestly shocked how bad it had gotten (Ill try to attach pics bellow). She still runs pretty strong with the original 350 motor, drives straight and I dont think the frame is rusted out (although im not sure i would be able to tell).

Ill cut to the chase here, What are my options? Is it beyond saving? What sort of costs are we looking at here? Do you have any recommended body shops in Northern California or even San Diego? Is it worth it to take it on myself?
See pics bellow, The forum is only letting me post 5 but I have more if needed.

Thanks in advance for any responses, I look forward to possibly tackling this projects and being involved in this forum.

Tim

Of course everything can be restored, It only depends on Money, Resources, Skill and time.

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2022/07/18/a-1980-chevrolet-k20-scottsdale-farm-truck-seemed-destined-for-a-long-slow-decay-then-the-original-owners-son-found-it?refer=news&utm_source=edaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2022-07-18

Here’s one that seemed too far gone, but was resurrected and restored.

My advice would be to find another ‘74 C10 Shortie that need less work. Sure it’s not the same truck but still holds the nostalgia. Save yourself 10s of thousands of dollars and tons of frustration and headaches. Good luck! Keep us updated with pics of your project. Welcome !

 

[Doppleganger]

I restored a car for a guy on the east coast - was a car they owned since new and that all of his kids came home from the hospital in. He was sentimental about it. The windshield leaked for decades and rotted everything from the firewall to the back seat out. A-pillars at the floor, floor pans (all) and part of the frame (was a unibody) was gone. He insisted on using the original bod - which was not only impossible (and dangerous) but no body shop would touch it. I wound up finding another rust free bod and transferring everything salvageable from the original onto a solid frame and shell. Doors, trunk, hood, interior, drivetrain, etc. For what would have had to be replaced / grafted in, it was basically the same thing. That alone saved him $35K and at least 6 months.

Just my 2c.

 

[Timbotec]

So just so im clear, the cheaper option would be find a donor body and swap whatever we can?

 

[AKguy]

I will second the thought. The trials of going through what you are currently faced with is a pretty big job and the nickels and dimes add up pretty fast.

 

[mtbadbob]

Have you ever watched Graveyard Cars?? They save a ton of that rusted-out Mopar junk!
My favorite saying..."It's only time & $$$"

 

[Vetal4]

Of course everything can be restored, It only depends on Money, Resources, Skill and time.
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2022/07/18/a-1980-chevrolet-k20-scottsdale-farm-truck-seemed-destined-for-a-long-slow-decay-then-the-original-owners-son-found-it?refer=news&utm_source=edaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2022-07-18
Here’s one that seemed too far gone, but was resurrected and restored.

That was a good read, I'm just old enough to remember the tail end of the farm crisis, we weren't nearly as bad off as that family but I can definitely sympathize with running old worn out equipment, terrible fencing, paint-free buildings, etc.

 

[RanchWelder]

Howdy!

You can save anything. Just be prepared to throw your wallet at it hard.

You'll need a good tig welder... or BUY one and do it your self.
Lil' hammers and sheet metal make a man proud...
Fabricate the world!

Them lil' body parts, pans, hoods and quarters from LMC can make you good!
The seam over the rear window looks terminal...
That is a $2000.00 fabrication by an expert body man in steel.
The fiberglass work required to fix it is extensive. High art...
The main problem is if you ever roll over, your cab is compromised where safety is concerned.
You can find and replace with a good cab for $450 and skip the nightmare.

Drive to LMC for vacation and save on the shipping charges for everything else... by picking everything up with your own trailer. See the USA and truck your parts back home. Shipping will hurt this year, after all about to happen to the trucking market...

Be certain the frame is 100% good, or your wasting your money for the love of a broken heart...

Good Luck!

 

[Corvette Ed]

Welcome aboard from East Tennessee.

 

[Snoots]

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[Grit dog]

Welcome!
Whether it’s worth saving is dependent on your budget.
Seriously doubt the frame is compromised and the “rest” of the body besides the cab is comparatively easy.

The rear quarters are just “normal” typical rust. These trucks don’t have structural rust, frame, until they are 1000% worse than that.
Rear quarter rust, fix with patch panels if can do or pay for bodywork. If rest of bed is good. Parts cheap. Bodywork intensive.

Or replace bed sides. Parts $1200-1500 and not bad diy work. And the rust is magically gone and no extensive body work needed.

Or easy button and cheapest option given your location. Find another bed with no rust and not banged up and swap it.

Same w front clip parts but you didn’t post rust there.

The cab is trashed though, if you intend to do any real long term, proper repair.
The seam sealer failed there and no one fixed it. To fix it right, cab is junk and also easy to source clean and not too expensive in the PNW. But have to disassemble the whole truck and reassemble.
Tedious and have to be pretty handy. But overall the best option. That is the worst spot but not the only rust on the cab if that is that bad. Guaranteed.
Given where the truck is however, the reality is the ONLY reason to restore that (due to the roof rusted out) is for sentimental value. The roof rust makes it worse than 90% of trucks in the PNW. You could buy a 70s C10 no rust, not running for a couple-3 grand tops and swap a motor and some parts AND paint it the same color as pops truck for arguably the same $ as just the bodywork on that truck.

But back to the first thing I wrote. How money you got to spend vs how much does the truck mean to you….