Looking over my new truck I found that the previous owner had did alot of stupid things to hide stuff.....

Well I saw a BUNCH of silver tape on the truck and as I would pull it off rust would be under it.... and I mean ALOT OF RUST!!! Where it was coming through the metal....

The crossmember was rotted out on one side....

So how much rust is expected? How much should a typical 69' Ford truck have?

Also anyone have any suggestion how to deal with the problem? Patch Panels? Anybody know where I can find tech articles on patch panels.....?

Obviously I have alot of work ahead of me so I better get off here....

As always-

Tyler

 

Believe it or not, in the Western states(AZ, Cali, etc) these trucks can be found in original condition with absolutely no rust! Unfortunately here in the Eastern U.S., rust was a pretty major issue with these trucks. Typically, a 69 Ford found in the Eastern U.S. would have a fairly decent amount of rust. I used to have a 68 F250, and it had some severe rust problems(all of the typical areas:lower front fenders, lower doors, cab corners, door jambs, on the bed along the seam, undercarriage). Sounds like your truck has a "normal" amount of rust for its' age. As far as repairs, patch panels are one option, or you could replace whole body panels(fenders, doors, etc) with rust-free parts. You should be able to find some good tips on how to work with patch panels on this site. Check the paint/body work forum and do a search for patch panels.

 

I picked up my truck from Denver. I took the owners word on how little rust there was without actually checking it out. It was riddled with rust. Outer fenders, inner fenders, core support, floorboards, front cab mounts, bottom door jams, cab supports, cab corners, right lower cowl, rear lower bedside, on the bed down the top side of the bump, and tailgate. I bought floorboards and front cab mounts thru LMC, but it's alot of work to get them to fit correctly, lots of trimming and prep. The front clip I got from a rust free parts truck for $500. The bottoms of the door jams I fabricated from 16 guage sheetmetal. Access to a sheetmetal brake, plasma cutter and a steel roller has helped immensly. So far my truck has been down for 3 months taking care of these problems. I recomend being patient, thinking thru what you need to do and what you have the ability to do, and how proffessional you want the results to be. Check all ends for a cheap parts truck in which you can get as much out as possible, classifieds, Craig's list, and word of mouth. I urge you to avoid e-bay unless you can check out the truck youself. So far I've found that you can get repair/patch panels from LMC, NPD, or Dennis Carpenter, though many of the sheetmetal parts all three companies source from the same place. I'd say DC has the best looking front cab mounts.
Unfortunately, I ended up being on the wrong side of a truck bought with extremely shoddy bodywork done. If I knew who had done the work, I would consider cracking him over the skull repeadedly with a section of rusted out, bondo-filled steel. But....ultimately it's my fault for not checking it out before buying, so now I have to deal with it. I plan on doing a write up soon.

 

One other thing to add to comments above. Get all the old original caulking out and sand blast the seams. Prime them with a good quality primer. The ones that require activator are good. Ones with Zinc even better. The recaulk all the seams. I couldn't believe how much rust was going on in those areas even though none was visible through the paint.

 

Thanks for everyone that posted!

JohnT,
Thanks for the help on where to find patch panels! Found some good write ups....

Dusto5,
Thanks also for all the help..... Will definatly take all the time needed...

Thanks again!

Tyler