First thing I did was grind the welds off the steel plate in the bed. Looking under the bed, I knew the original wood bed was still there so I was dying to see what it really looked like. Well., it wasn't all that bad.... The wood had rotted, the front bed panel had rusted in the corners where it met the bed sides and the front cross sill was starting to rust. Nothing beyond saving but the front bed panel only costs 99 bucks so I went ahead and ordered one when I ordered new oak and polished SS hardware all around. I
didn't really expect to save the wood after 42 years but I was really happy to see that there was no rust anywhere else. Frame was absolutely perfect with just a little surface rust here and there. Mr. Baxter had reeally taken good care of the truck. BTW., I bought the truck from Mr. Baxter's son in law who had been using it since Mr. Baxter passed away a few years ago. Mr. Baxter bought the truck new in 1966 from the Chevrolet dealer in
Alex City, AL. He must have gone ahead and coated underneath the truck right away which clearly saved the truck from rust. No rust
anywhere, not cab corners, not inner fenders, nothing whatsoever other than front bed corner. The sides cleaned up nicely with no holes after i put the grinder to it with the scotchbright pads...I believe the 78K miles to be original. The numbers match, no leaks anywhere and truck drives like the GM engineers in '66 intended....Clutch seems a little tired, dang :-)) Everything other than the heater fan seems to be working just fine...Ohh and the green light in the dash which is supposed to come on when the engine is cold doesn't come on either. I may have to call Randy (Mr. Baxter's son in law) and ask for some of my money back. What's up with all the defects., it's just 41 years old, should be good for at least another 20 before I have to change light bulbs and fan switches.....
didn't really expect to save the wood after 42 years but I was really happy to see that there was no rust anywhere else. Frame was absolutely perfect with just a little surface rust here and there. Mr. Baxter had reeally taken good care of the truck. BTW., I bought the truck from Mr. Baxter's son in law who had been using it since Mr. Baxter passed away a few years ago. Mr. Baxter bought the truck new in 1966 from the Chevrolet dealer in 
Alex City, AL. He must have gone ahead and coated underneath the truck right away which clearly saved the truck from rust. No rust 
anywhere, not cab corners, not inner fenders, nothing whatsoever other than front bed corner. The sides cleaned up nicely with no holes after i put the grinder to it with the scotchbright pads...I believe the 78K miles to be original. The numbers match, no leaks anywhere and truck drives like the GM engineers in '66 intended....Clutch seems a little tired, dang :-)) Everything other than the heater fan seems to be working just fine...Ohh and the green light in the dash which is supposed to come on when the engine is cold doesn't come on either. I may have to call Randy (Mr. Baxter's son in law) and ask for some of my money back. What's up with all the defects., it's just 41 years old, should be good for at least another 20 before I have to change light bulbs and fan switches.....
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