Quote:
Originally Posted by dsraven
things to look for in a 55-59 chevy truck
consider this, then look into these area.
the vent in front of the windshield feeds a plenum that goes to the footwell vents and eventually drains out the bottom of the side "cowls". the cowls have a small vent hole for the size of the area and when these trucks sit around they tend to collect leaves and pine needles etc that plug off the drain holes. when it rains fast enough or the area collects enough snow over the winter, these areas can fill up with melt water or collection water and they tend to drain through the footwell vents onto the floor inside the truck. when this happens enough over time the floor will rot out along with the hinge pillar and front lower fender mount. a tell tale of a problem is when the door is initially opened and it sags right away like the hinges are worn out, then when you look inside under the carpet or rubber floor mat you will see there is some rusty spots. some are so bad the floor has holes, some are bad enough so the floor doesn't seem to be flat like you would expect.
check
-the floor
-the front cab mount supports under the floor
-the front fender lower rear mount areas
-hinge pillars
-cab corners
-steps and panels around the steps
-area under fuel tank, these were spots where previous drivers would store rags etc which collect and hold water and cause rust
-the area around the roof drip rail, they get soft spots which are really just spots that haven't rusted through yet
-the eyebrow area above the windshield can collect mouse nests etc and rust from the inside out
-the doors in the lower hinge area because the inner sheet metal cracks and rusts so the hinge becomes impossible to adjust even if the hinge is new
-the door underneath for rust etc. the skin folds under and around and collects moisture so causes rust
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This is what I’m looking for. Thank you. I have an old Jeep Wrangler and I’m familiar with what areas to look for issues in those. This is a totally different animal and I assumed they would have their own problem areas to look for.
Thanks again