Hey all. I'm doing this sort of backwards as I've already bought the truck, it kind of fell into my lap.
A good friend's co-worker mentioned they were wanting to get rid of a '98 Chevy pickup, and the scrap guys only wanted to give them $350 for it. They mentioned it had a 350 engine, and my friend thought I might be interested in it as a nice upgrade from the 305 in my '69 C10 project.
They mentioned it had been parked for about 3 years after the brakes failed and it was rusty.
I got some cash and my friend and I went to go look at it. Needless to say it was in way better shape than I was anticipating and so I offered them a few hundred more than the scrap guys. They accepted and seemed glad it wouldn't be getting crushed! Picture from last night as it was being dropped off:
It's really dirty on the outside from trees, but very clean inside and under the hood. It does have rust, but I think it's very saveable. Most of these trucks have disappeared from the road around here, the ones still around are usually rustier than this one.
It has 168,000kms (about 104k miles).
Problems known so far are:
-ruptured brake line/hose/wheel cylinder? PO seems to to think it was one of the rear wheel cylinders, but any evidence of leak has dried up by now from my quick check underneath
-power steering fluid leak somewhere. The reservoir is low and the pump whiny
-rusty rockers, cab corners, and drivers door. The inner rockers looked okay, we'll see when I start poking at them
-hood release handle broken
-battery dead
Anyone have recommendations for what brand patch panels to buy? Common problems I should address or check for right away? Worthwhile mods? Tips on repairing the few issues it has? I'll be going over it closely tomorrow evening and update once I do.