Just bought 8' '68 NCO

Tcamp61

New Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Messages
3
Hey all, complete noob here. I just picked up a '68 NCO for $300. I've been looking for a while now because of how light they are (1/2 ton pickup) All in all pretty solid shape (minor blemishes in interior) the rear 2 feet of floor is completely rotted out however. Which leads to my big question. I will start by saying I know what I SHOULD do, but is it that big of an issue if I just replace the rotted section and seal real good? I really don't want to have to gut the inside if I can avoid it
 
Yup...post pics of the floor from above and in the cabinets and from below if you have them...be sure you are COMPLETELY supporting that floor if it is dismounted though! Common indicators of interior damage are not contained to, but include dark stains near the vents or in the front/rear panels where they meet the roof. Damage beneath the windows can also mean the Pirelli seals have been shot for long enough for water on the highway to be thrown up and sucked into the void between top/bottom. On the other hand, some damage to the wood may be attributed to condensation dripping down from the windows and their aluminum frames that soak the wood which is then actually rubbed by a decently working Pirelli seal also.

As you can read in many posts about Alaskans, the weight of them is of concern to those who have 1/2 ton and even some 3/4 ton trucks because while the difference in weight between a stripped down 8 ft. NCO and a fully loaded 10 ft. CO is quite a lot, one needs to consider how much "stuff" you intend on carrying in it as well.

As one might appreciate, not all 1/2 tonners (or 3/4 tonners) can SAFELY carry the same amount of weight on the rear axle!

My first Alaskan was an 8 ft. NCO mounted on a 1985 F-150 4x4 long bed. While I did not have a huge motor in it, it did handle that weight and didn't hardly sag when mounted, and it did fine on flat expanses of freeways....it wasn't gonna win any race to the summit of Emigrant Pass on I-80!
 
My floor was not rotted but I made a sub-frame using 2x3s and insulated in between with Styrofoam. It insulated the floor and gave more strength to the floor. I glued and screwed it to the existing floor. This may work in your case.
 
I would think you could remove just the rot and splice in new floor. I did that with a rotten half square foot rectangle in one corner of mine. I used pre-made filleting compound from System-3 and just butt spliced to the old floor. Stuff is amazing. With an area as large as yours I would probably use a fiberglass strip as well as butt joining. Glassing upside down can be a bit tricky. Let the epoxy mix start to kick off a bit.
 
Ok dumb question (like i said, new) is there a way to upload from a mobile device or do i have to use an actual computer?
 
I bought a older Nikon Coolpix for posting images at a flea market for 3 dollars and use a Mac Mini. I don't need to resize the image because it's already small enough. As you see I stumble through but getting better.
 
I'll try to get some pics up as i do my repairs. I'm going to get some steel to re-do the jack mounts (the right way this time) before i tackle the floor
 

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