Slick 60's

my friends in the us have it made with your southern states providing so many rust free vehicles i dont understand why you would ever purchuse a rusty vehicle (unless you like the grief that comes along with it ) now i know a rust free vehicle cost a little more maybe even a lot but at the end of the day you still have a rust free vehicle that has retained it's value for resale or doesn't need another body job in 5 yrs i purchased my truck in arizona in 1990 for 1700.00 american took it apart repainted rebuilt and put back together never used a torch or welder during the entire rebuild and it still looks great today. Iguess what i am trying to say is with the cost of body work and paint it would definetly offset the cost to buy rust free

good point.as long as you have the $.
i dont mind fixing a few minor holes.most of the stuff i got is minimal on the rust, with replacement parts for the heavier areas.i took my truck i paid $2K for, drove it home, took it all apart,then found the correct 4x4 frame, took it apart, 2 coats por 15 on it ,por 15 on firewall and both sides cab floor, couple little holes i fixed, used doors with no rust and hood with no rust. bed floor has a few but im happy with the end result as i have a good running 60s Ford 4x4 that looks decent, not perfect.

It all depends on how far you're willing to drive for rust free stuff, I'd say.

yeah its not just the monetary problem with rust free vehicles, its trying to find them.

I live in the Pacific NW. the RAINY part of the Pacific NW. trying to find a rust free older vehicle here is a heck of a lot harder than finding a random ice cold glass of water in the desert. So you just get used to the fact that rust is a natural part of the restoration process, and deal with it from there.

I'm not saying its not wonderful to get a rust free car/truck, but out of the probably 150+ vehicles that have come and gone through our yard since I was a kid, I can honestly say probably only half a dozen of them didnt have some sort of rust somewhere on them.

I would suggest southeastern Washington/Boise ID area to you Rip. Dry as a popcorn fart around there and everyone seems to have at least 14 beaters in their yard, at least 1/2 of them 4x4.

yes I agreee with ya joe. Straight south for me get me to Utah and AZ.. desert and dry. Be the place I would go looking, along with southern Cal, where cheap rust-free unis grow on trees it seems.

I'll tell you why I did it.

1- Price. Not the final price tag on the completed project, but the much smaller initial cost. I feel it allows me to spread the cost over a longer period of time.

2- Availabilty of quality replacement sheet metal at a reasonable cost. Except for the shipping of course, but that's another story. The worst part of my truck is the floor, and all the panels I needed were available from online vendors.

3- Logistics. I agree that buying from UT or AZ makes sense in that it prevents the headache of bodywork. However, in my case I felt that finding a competent welder was more convenient (this ties in with Point 2). In addition, I don't have to pay until my floor is completed (see Point 1). I also feel that, in my case, the cost difference (floor repair vs. hauling a rust-free uni over a long distance) will all come out in the wash. I found my uni about 2 hours from where I was living at the time.

4- Originality. I wanted a bonafide Merc, not a rebadged and VIN-swapped Ford. Perhaps not an important distinction for some, but I feel it gives my truck a certain character.

And finally...

5- Pride. I love a challenge! And who doesn't love a feel-good story about an abandoned basket-case of a truck given new life?


If I intended to do a lot of fabrication, like a frame swap, clip graft, or modern engine install I would definitely look into buying rust-free. That's not the direction I'm headed with my project though. I'm going more old-school. Mostly original (I'm retaining the solid axle and 223) with some traditional custom touches.

My next project will likely be done differently, but buying rust works for me right now.

last year we bought a rust free 1965 F-100 in Seattle but was used in the fire dept. ,, certain places in the country have problems just because it came from AZ. Does not mean its rust free,, We went to a place in Calif. desert that had several rust buckets due to these reasons,,, Sun beats the paint off then the morning dew does its toll,,, The varmits that builds nests & live cause it to rust or finally the vehicle came from another part of the country & is already starting to rust... In Pearsonville Ca. on US 395 North of 58 about 1 1/2 hours is a yard told me that has not rained in a year & half & told I would take a lot but when we got there rust for some of the reasons above Good Luck Hunting cause the crusher will get it also so don't hesitate

I try to avoid rusties as much as possible and won't buy anything I consider too far gone. But part of playing with these old beasts is therapy for me. Reversing the damage and making it look good is pretty satisfying.

I used to avoid rust like the plague in my younger days. Now, it doesn't bother me nearly as much. Mine is definitely rusty, but I'm ok with it. I'll get to it in time.

If you live in Illinois, you live with rust. Don't like it, don't want it, but it's what we've got. If we go to Colorado, I spend all my extra time looking for parts, and trucks. However, it's not easy finding rust free parts there either. In fact, the best truck I've bought came from there, but it's got some rust even so. Good advice but finding one for 1700$ thats rust free, now days is almost the holy grail.

Rich

Mine has been in Ga. I know for a fact for the last 30 yrs. Heat and Humidity. The worst part I have fould so far is the bed supports near the cab.
But moisture ain't the only thing. What about battery acid?
Behind my passenger side headlight is in pretty bad shape too.

as mister dog and aba said, its not always rust that gets ya.

for about 10+ years we had a pristine little MG Coupe (roadsters are easy to find. coupes a lot harder) sitting out in our "little shop" where we thought it was perfectly safe. plus the body is aluminum, what can go wrong?

One day we actually went to get in the little car. upon opening the door we discovered that mice had built a nest inside the drivers door. gotten down in there and made many years worth of nests. The problem wasnt the nest, it was the 10+ worth of mice pee soaked into their nests that rotted the entire lower half of the door out

The elements and or little beasties will get you somehow.

thats why you need some kitty kat's to take care of those pesty little varmits need some on loan thats what I meant in my previous post that salt on roads are not the only thing to worry about,, Battery Acid,, Fumes from the Battery will also kill it,, The Pre-Salt used on roads also

The 37 Plymouth p/u I used to have had a bad case of rat rust. All repairable, but a PITA.

PA to NC to buy my truck.
Was at least $1500 cheaper than buying one here.
Only 3 areas of rust needing dealt with vs replacing floorpans and cab mounts on anything I looked at north of the Mason-Dixon line. I figure I've saved a couple thousand in labor taking a 2 day trip.
Rust never sleeps. Unless you completely remove it, it will be back.

Rust Sucks! I used to live in the Caribbean and everything I own is rusty it seems. Metal zippers, snaps, you wouldn't even notice how much of that stuff you have till it rusts. I had a pretty decent 1991 subaru station wagon and watched a small scratch turn into a fist sixed hole in about a year, it was sad. The car had only been on the island for a couple of years. Even my stainless steel swiss army knife started to rust, I had to wax my stratocaster because the parts won't stay oily.
But,I'm glad that any slick, rusty or not is being saved from the crusher. My truck has the typical foor pan, cab supports and battery tray/ under headlight area rust. For me any more would be too much, but I am not skilled enough or well off enough to mess with an extremely rusty truck. If you wanted to go the least expensive route, I think that it would be cheaper in the long run to spend two grand on a clean(ish) truck than take a free rusty one. (offer me a free one, I dare you )

BTW, how does everyone like the POR-15 ?



______________________________________six-two

There is a lot more to rust, than meets the eye. Truth is, these trucks don't rust thru from the outside, as a general rule. Trouble is not just rat pee. Body cavities on these trucks hold all sorts of trash, which hold moisture. I've seen few 61 to 64 cabs that don't have a collection of dirt in the front cab mounts. I advise anyone with a recently purchased truck to clean out the bottom of the cab vents right away, and don't forget the shelf above the vent in the cowl. The one that sticks out above the front fenders.
Nearly every bed I've seen has the front rust along the front panel because the drains holes have filled up with something. A tool box is just asking for leaves to accumulate under the box. The cross braces on the beds are easy to find from the topside, just look for the rust bubble coming thru. Unless you are extremely lucky, you will have a rust problem sooner or later. There are few exceptions to this, especially if your truck stays outside. Advice, don't park in the weeds or grass.

Rich

good tip on the silt fine dirt from driving on dirt roads in the 60 s does accumulate in the under structure of these trucks had a 64 out of saskatchewan in the late 80 s rust free truck brought it back to ontario fixed it up within 1 1/2 both front body mounts rotted away from the inside out due to wet climate here in toronto and crossmembers being full of dirt salvaged what i could of that truck and bought southern us truck first rhing i did was run coathangers air water solvent etc through all underside croossmembers enough dirt came out to fill a 5 gall bucket once thourally clean undercoated and oiled inside and still clean them regular to this day a very good and forgotten tip brought up by 64 100 thanks rich

Rust free slicks are scarce as hens teeth here in southern Indiana . I bought my 65 in 98 for 300 bucks and it was rusted out in all the usual places and more .It also had left front fender and the right rear panel caved in . Got the cab mostly done and ready for paint. Sill working on the bed. like someone else said ,the price was right or i wouldnt have considered it.

Are there drain holes in the beds of unibodies? Just wondering because I can't find mine!

_________________________________six-two