RUST FREE OR FREE RUST and IN SEARCH OF THE RIGHT BODY
by Seth Doulton
When you're doing your restoration, no matter what kind of truck or car you're working on, the most important part you need to be in good condition is the sheet metal. Without good sheet metal, your paint doesn't look good; therefore, your truck doesn't look good. As trucks get older, it is obvious that the used sheet metal gets more difficult to find. N.O.S. sheet metal for the 1955-59 trucks has been hard to find for many years. They were even hard to find thirty years ago when I first began scrounging for Chevy truck parts. Back then, I found thirty NOS doors or fenders a year, and I thought I was doing well! The best part was the price, because no one else was buying truck parts from the dealers. They were happy to see me and priced truck parts low. Back in those days, there were scroungers such as Dave Graham buying Chevy and Ford car parts, but they would leave the truck parts behind.
In later years, as the N.O.S. parts dried up, I concentrated on good rust-free used sheet metal. Over the years, I have assembled a good network of scroungers together to help me keep my warehouse full of used sheet metal and other good used cores (like grills and other hard-to-find parts). You might not know that a lot of used parts are still available! A lot of companies say, "Good luck! You'll never find a rust-free 1957 front fender or a rebuilt original wiper motor," but not Golden State! One of our mottos is, if we don't make it, and can't find good used cores, we'll make it. We supply every part, bumper to bumper, except engine, transmission and rear end parts. One more thing about the good luck statement. Maybe I do have good luck in finding the used sheet metal because we sell over 300 pieces a year at swap meets, and those are just the pieces that I personally think are too rough to send to mail-order customers. When I say *rough," I mean they usually have some dents down behind the bumper or around the wheel openings, but no rust. The sheet metal we sell through the mail and through our Anaheim store is rust-free and has little or no dents. Usually, the dents are no larger than a golf ball and can be straightened easily enough when the customer does the final body work.
Normally, the fenders and the doors have the original paint on them or, at
least a twenty-year-old paint job. We sell them just like we buy them and only prime the area that we repair. The only repair we ever do to fenders sent mail order are perfect specimens of doors or fenders. They may have some minor rust spots smaller than a dime on the back brace or outer skin. We would grind it out and weld up the hole. When we repair sheet metal like that, we always tell the customer and they can tell by the primer. However, most of the fenders are shipped out needing no repair.The hardest to find and consequently the best-selling sheet metal between the years 1947 -1972 (Chevy & GMC trucks) are the 1955 through 1959 front fenders and doors. There's good news for you, 1967-1972 owners: Golden State Parts now has new front fenders, doors and short Fleetside bedside reproductions available. They are excellent reproductions and really fit well. Because of the deep-draw tooling on the 1955 through 1957 front fenders, these will not be easy to remanufacture. Don't look for them in the near future. However, the 1955-59 doors are not too far off. So, for now, we will have to keep scrounging for those rust-free ones for you.
When you`re out there beating the streets and thumbing through Want Ads,
no matter what year or body style you're looking for, each model has some generic problems that need to be heeded. Some of the problems only show up in certain parts of the U.S. because of the weather or salty roads. Don't think for a minute that if you see an ad for a west coast truck that it automatically means *rust free." We’ve got our rust out here on the left coast as well. I've seen complete roofs that could be lifted off a 1967-72 truck that was parked near the beach. The dampness and fog worked on the roof on the outside and also from the inside out. As a rule of thumb, I like to find a good core of a truck when I'm looking for a project to restore. Then I refer to the core, I mean the frame and cab. If you have a good core, then you can always replace a door or fender here and there. I know that in some parts of the country, you can't even find a rust-free cab and frame. Try to do the best you can. Let me tell you that you would be better off spending more money at the start of your project because it will save you lots of dollars in pain and suffering later on.
On any year truck between 1947-1987, the first place I look for problems is in
the corners of the floor where the floor meets the kick panels. This area is especially prone to rust on 1967-1972 trucks. It's also a fairly easy place to fix, and it's covered by the carpet or floormat. The 1967-1972 truck had a sound deadener or tar paper foam pad under the carpet or floormat, and this seemed to hold a bit of moisture under the mat, but not as bad as the jute or rubber under the mat in the earlier year trucks. The floor rust for the most part was caused by leaky windshield rubbers and door jam leaks that kept the floor wet whenever the outside of the truck was wet.
We sell a lot of steel cab mounts, so I know that there are a lot of trucks
that need them, but they can be a lot of work, especially for the 1955-1959 years. Don't be angry with me, but try to find a cab with good mounts; you'll save yourself some headaches. The reason I asked you not to be angry is because I know that in some parts of the U.S. it's impossible to find good cores. I've been there and seen that for myself. The only other area on the 1947-1955 first series that was really hit hard, besides the much talked about cab corners that rust first most of the time on all year Chevy and GMC trucks, was the cowl and where the rear fender meets the running board. In the cowl area, there were three different pieces on each side that rusted; the outer, the inner and a piece in-between. The doors on these years were engineered against rust better than any other door - probably an accident!
The 1955-1959 model pictured would first show signs of rust in the lower
front fender area because dirt would get stuck behind the fender and the fender brace and stay out all the time. This also was true for the area right above the headlight assembly, especially on the 1958-1959's. The cab corners and doors were obviously also a trouble area on these years. The lower door hinge pockets would also fill up with dirt and moisture and be an early problem area. I would venture to say if you had a 1955-59 truck and kept it clear of dirt
in these areas, you would not have a rust problem, no matter how much rain you drove through. The 1960-1966 year models started the ever-popular rusty rocker panels. The 1955-1959 trucks had a single skin rocker under the cab step that held up pretty well. The 1960-1966 inner and outer rockers have been a target area for heavy rust. Fender bottoms, cab corners, hood sides, grill supports, inner fenders, radiator supports and doors are all magnets for rust for these years. The 1960-1966 doors seem to rust worse than any of the other years. The front sheet metal rusts so badly on these models that I have made many of the pieces and now they are available brand new. The inner fenders, outer fenders and radiator supports are all available now brand new at less than the cost of a used part. They are selling like hot cakes because so many trucks rust in those areas.
The 1967-1972 trucks had the cab corner and rocker problems but I also see
a lot of rust in the floors of these trucks. Lower fenders and a lower right hand front fender rust spot is characteristic of these models because of the right hand batteries.These also get rust in the front inner fenders and radiator supports so you guessed it: we make them! The 1973 through 1987 models experienced a lot of the same problems that these earlier models had, but also in a couple of new places. The hood front and the Fleetside beds and tailgate became a hot spot. I hope I haven't discouraged anyone by leaning too hard on the Chevys and GMCs, but rust is a real problem that can hide and later surface to ruin a restoration long after you've spent your money.
Keep in mind that I see thousands of healthy-bodied trucks every year without major or even minor rust problems. Give Golden State a call on their 800 line and one of their sales people can help you with your rust problems or any other questions.