The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks '65 with roof rot - worth getting?

Hi! new guy here, been lurking for a while now while I've been waiting for the right truck to show up on CL to do some learnin' on what I'm in for.
Well, the right truck may have showed up, so I registered so I can pick your brains. Dunno if this would belong in the Paint and Body Shop section, or if this type of post is generally frowned on (of so, oops my bad)

All pics of the truck are here: https://picasaweb.google.com/114974669979148085566/65ChevyPickup

And I'm going to try to post some pics below; here's the general rundown:
1965 C10 longbed with big rear window & wood bed, ~48,000 on the truck, unknown mileage on the 250 L6 in it (72-77 according to the casting #).
truck - front
Starts & runs good, 3 speed on the column shifts good.
The truck has the rat rod look going for it, but overall is decent and solid. My biggest concern is the rust that is along the entire roof:
truck roof

roof 2

Do you all think it would be possible to get by for a year or 2 by fixing the roof with some POR patch or something similar? I figure the best thing to do would be swap out a rust free roof or cab, but I don't see that happening anytime soon with an 8 month old running around the house
The guy is asking $1650 for this, I was thinking of offering him $1400.

Thanks for any input/advice, hope to pick this up within the next week...

In my opinion, it's overpriced about $1K! If there's that much rust showing through the paint, the battle will never be won against the rust monster. Most of those cab panels are multi-layer assemblies, and it will be impossible to do more than temporarily hide the rot. Offer him 500 bucks for it, and if he refuses, count yourself lucky! I bought an 85 C-10 in much better shape for $100.00 recently, with a running-shape 305 engine and a rebuildable turbo 350 transmission. My nephew has been back and forth from Nashville to El Paso, Texas in it twice so far.
Jerry

It really depends on your skills and enthusiasm. Long ago I used to buy old cars based on passion and excitement, and frequently regretted it later. It's often better to wait and buy something in better shape to begin with. It can save countless hours and wasted dollars. With the rust that is showing there is likely a great deal more down in the floors, cab corners, and rockers. But the worst part for me is the roof itself. Expanding the photos 200%, it seems the roof panel has been used for a trampoline. Replacing a roof requires more welding skills than I possess, and once the lid is off it may become obvious far more repairs are needed to the inner skin as well.

Welcome to the forum regardless whether you buy this truck or not!

Justinb76,

Welcome!

Excellent advice in the above two posts. I would recommend steering clear of this one as repairing roof rot takes some serious fabrication skills and requires a donor vehicle or making patch panels from scratch.

Even for $500 I'd pass.

John

Make a convertable.

my roof was alot worse than this one I had a metal fabricator do mine. Well 2500 in labor it was done but that was only cause the truck was a family heirloom, otherwise it would not of been even considered. I would say if you really want it get the price down and maybe patch it up and drive it.

Sad its a big window .

Justin, where in Va are you. I know of 2, one is about a 64/5 step side and the other is about a 60/1/2 and they both seem to be in way better shape than those. One is down on the VA/NC line off I85 and the other is about 4 miles from my moms house near Louisa Va. I haven't stopped to ask anyone about them because I want them to stay where they are instead of going to a scrape yard. If interested you can PM me here and I'll give you good directions, hell I'll even go with you. Larryw

Nope, sorry, but I think you were mistaken, this isn't the right truck.

If the doors and fenders are good, $500 for a donor truck isn't too bad, especially with a good motor and trans.

It's what I call a harvest truck 5 bills is fair 850 it its a driver with decent tires and brakes any more than that is on your conscience. If you are like the rest of us you can never have to many or enough parts or trucks .

Remember that this is a big back glass truck. Anything can be repaired,just takes money and time. I like getting trucks or cars that most people think are not worth fixing and making them new again.

I bit the bullet on my 62...i learned the hard way about hidden roof rust,and i'm sure i overpaid for this truck. however,my front posts were still decent, and i got the eyebrow panel from lmc truck. Removed the cap and did my best. If anything, i have become a much better welder. We dont build these things to make money,it's a labor of love.

Welcome,

I buy trucks for the parts I need. I've built two trucks out of five, but I never buy a truck for more than 500. I'm in the middle of repairing a rotten roof and it takes a lot of time and patience, but it's away from the wife and screaming kids. Blessings come in many different flavors. Good luck.

My new favorite quote

Hi there, I'm new to the forum and did want to state of my '62 Stepside with a horribly bad roof. The truck had every other main part salvageable, except the roof. What I did was to wait patiently for a complete cab alone for sale ($650) on Ebay in Idaho and after 3 years, I found one in excellent shape. Maybe that's another route.