I'm back after 6 weeks 'at sea'... I had to go drive this for a while-



I have been anxious to get back working on the truck.

Most of the body of my 66 is in great shape- there are a few rust issues that I need to deal with in the cab, and I want some opinions on how to do it. Here is what I am dealing with-

Cab Mount-



This is the drivers side, passenger side is a little better.

Floors-





Otherwise, most of the body is in great shape.

I want to repair it. At the moment, however, I don't have the time/resources to take everything off the frame, and do it 'right'. So I need to do a temporary repair.

The floors dont look too bad- I think I should be able to weld some patches in.. The center brace will need to be replaced, too.

My main concern is the cab mounts. It appears that the drivers side one isn't really even holding anything, it's pretty well rusted through. The cab isn't tilting, and feels solid- Is there any way to replace or reinforce it while the cab is in place? Or would I be OK for a while without doing anything to them?? I just don't want to cause any further damage.

Remember, my intended use for the truck is occasional weekend driving. A few years from now, I'd like to take everything off the frame and do it 'right'- Though I never plan to make it a show quality restoration by any means, just s good solid driver.

 

My cab mount looks the same, but I'm just driving it on the weekend. I'd like to fix it, to keep it from getting worse, but I don't think the rustoleum paint will be much of a fix.
Does the cab mount in reality hold much in place?

Dirve it untilthe cab falls off, then it should be a fast fix.

 

If you dont replace the mount you will start to get a wider gap between your door and fender and the top of your fender and door will start to pinch when opening.Looks like your cab mount has been replaced before by the looks of the weld in the picture,mostly spot welded not a long bead weld that i see.

 

I dont believe there is an easy fix for your rust problem. Find a better cab on one that someone is parting out and change the whole cab. Those panels are availble I have seen them for sale they may be replaceable while the cab is still on the frame. Someone with more experience there may chime in on that. I dont believe you have many options once they get that rusted. Good luck.

 

IMO, suggest replace, repair in timely manner because damaged cab mounts can create stress on other components of the front section of the truck assembly; alighnment; suspention, as well as sheetmetal, radiator support, motor mounts, etc.

Bookmarked a couple articles and threads posted by other FTE members. The topic has come up on number of occasions; suggest run a search and narrow the search field to the 61-66 forum, there's possibly addtional pic's and info.

When it comes to welding there are areas that are beyond my level of experience but there's a gread welding shop in the area and I found them very reasonably priced. Also, a mobile welder in the area who will come to the location. Anyhow, food for thought!

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...cs-posted.html

Dynacorn's '65-'68 Mustang One-Piece Floorpan - Floor It! - Mustang & Fords Magazine

How To Replace Floorpans

66 Ford pictures by skipchuck00 - Photobucket

 

I have replaced cab mounts ,i thank this has been covered before dont buy cheap replacements get them from carpenter.They do take some time to remove because they are welded pretty good from the fatory.Air chisel and drill for the spot welds,if you replace the floor board dont skim on the thickness here either,like the other posting these 2 mounts supports alot of different componets like a 3 speed on the colume will bind up.Also by your picture the frame is supporting your cab thats metel to metal.

 

I took it to a body shop not far away that does a lot of restoration work to get an opinion from them... Of course, they need to be replaced- I knew that. But, he really couldn't give me a good idea as to how much it would cost until the carpet, etc is removed. So, I guess I'm going to yank out the carpet and bring it back to them, so they can tell me what I'm in for cost wise... It probably doesn't make much sense for me to put a lot of time/money into anything else until I get this fixed!

 

I decided to rip the nasty old carpet out to see what was REALLY going on down there... It was a little better than I though it would be on the drivers side, and a little worse on the passenger-





Definitely going to need some new pans, center braces, and cab mounts. I guess the only question is if I want to try to tackle this one myself. If it were just the floors, I'd do it- Hell, It would give me an excuse to go buy a new MIG welder

But- The cab mounts intimidate me a bit, I don't know if I'm up to that... I guess I'll see how much it's going to cost to have it done...

 

After getting an estimate from the local restoration/body shop ($2500 in labor, PLUS parts), and looking it over again, I thought first I'd replace the floors and mounts myself.

But, then I started looking at the whole picture. Realistically, I'm going to need to take the cab off to do it right.... I'm looking at several hundred in patch panels & sheet metal... And, there are other (though less serious) issues in the columns, etc.

So- I found a new cab, in decent shape, not far from me, for $300. I'm thinking this is the way to go- MUCH less rust, and the floors and supports are in good shape.

This changes ALL my plans, though. I think if I'm going to go this far, I might as well take the whole body off the frame this winter, rather than just do the quick patch job that I was going to do for now. I just have to get a couple of the boats I've got in the workshop finished up and out of the way first

-Andrew

 

Sounds like a plan. Go for it. I think youll be glad you went the route you choose. See you next spring or summer.

 

I bought a new cab today. This will save me a TON of work, and money-





VERY solid... there are some small holes in the floor- But they're smaller than a dime. The only damage is to the cab corners, which should be an easy fix relative to what I was going to deal with-



It actually cost me less than the sheet metal I was going to have to buy to fix the old one- And it'll be a LOT less work.

Now, I've just got to figure out how to get it home from NE Atlanta...

-Andrew

 

Looks pretty solid.

 

Looks like a great starting point'' the cab is half the battle, haha...keep us informed of
your progress!..and have ''Fun''..

 

For my floorboard on my 66 I patched all the holes, welded in supports where needed, coated heavily with POR-15, then topped it with LINEX. Now it won't rust AND I can hose it out.

I've also used POR-15 on other parts, undercarriage etc... with great success so far. Looks like a great many weekends in the garage, and that's never a bad thing.

 

Bah, your first cab was fixable. Nothing but a few parts, some steel, and a welder.

On the other hand, if you got a good deal on the cab, thats definitely the way to go.

The rear cab corners can be a little bit of a challenge as I found out this weekend. I need to post some pictures of that. The replacement sections they sell are not quite as thick as the original steel, and dont seem to fit perfect. However, it doesnt look like you need to actually replace the corner of your cab, but more like the rear portion. Providing the inner rear cab corner isnt FUBAR, you shoudl have a pretty easy fix.

Take a look at my thread: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...e-version.html Ive had to fix just about everything on mine. In WI you dont just run down to the local yard or check Craigslist and pick up parts. You can also check the link in my signature for a very depth look at my rebuild on my cab.