howdy all,

it's been a while, but I've been stuck in the -24 that's been southeastern Ohio the last couple weeks. I brought my truck, a 77 f250 with 35,000 miles home with me from Arizona last September, and needless to say the buckeye state hasn't been kind to old blue. mind you the truck was in great shape and rarely gave me a problem for the year i had it before i left.

1)The day i drive it off the trailer, the windshield cracks.
2)Master cylinder and heater core failures. several hundred in repairs,
3)Carburetor diaphragms tore, causing fuel to dump all over the engine. another $150 to get the carb rebuilt.
4)hit a deer this winter, and put a large dent in the door, and quarter panel.

and today, when i walked outside, I'd noticed what i can only describe as the metal got cold and shrunk away from the paint, causing large pieces of paint to flake off the truck, exposing bare sheet metal.

now, on top of getting body work done to fix the door and rear quarter panel, I've got to factor in a repaint. I'm honestly half afraid to call in on insurance, as they might total the truck, since they only value at $1500.

what to do, what to do.

 

You have collision insurance on a 77 truck?

 

You're going to call the insurance company to file a claim on a 38 year old truck because it needs a paint job? .....okaaaayyy.

Most people would call that "restoring it" or "fixing it up". It's 38 years old. It may need some work from time to time.

 

Well not all of us have a nice shop that makes custom fab pieces for these trucks...

I plan on putting full coverage classic car insurance on my truck when it is done., but yeah, there is no way i would pay the premiums for $1500 value.

If your paint actually separated from the metal, I would say she was rebuilt by someone and they didn't prep it right. I just can't even fathom if it was prepped wrong from factory, it would of taken this long to release. Especially if it is just on one panel.

 

I had collision on my truck as it was less than ten dollars more every six months to get it over liability. Made sense to me at the time and still does, especially considering it was a clean, straight, rust free truck that lived it's life on a farm in Arizona.

it's been repainted in it's life, so I'm saying it comes down to paint prep. my problem is sourcing new body panels, as almost all of these trucks around here are rusted into the ground.

 

Full coverage on my Bronco is only 276 every 6 months. Of course my Beautiful Brides Navigator is insured with the same company (state farm). Hers is almost 800 per year. If I remember right mine is only 60 more per year than simple liablity. Might as well.

 

Ill throw some pennies..

*Of all my 7 projects I do not have an uncracked windshield..

*The master cylinder and heater together aren't that expensive and neither are too big a job for the driveway.. At least that's my way of making me feel closer to my old rusty pickups..

*If your Carb still runs good you can buy an accelerator pump kit for 15 bucks and its behind 4 screws on the front of that motorcraft..

*depending on the damage from the deer you can grab a used rust free door for a fair price and a good body guy shouldn't be too bad on massaging that quarter back straight..

* Take that paint issue as a chance to really make her your girl!!

I hate to hear all the trouble at once and trust me I swear to sell mine sometimes for less issues but there are ways to look at with less heartache.. Keep your head up friend!!

 

Another thing, how much money have you paid in to this company that claims your truck to be worth 1500$??

Not long and you'll just be paying them pure profit compared to saving that much and putting it away.. On top of that they total them after 75% damage towards full value has been reached around here..

 

Never, not once has it ever occurred to me to put full coverage on a truck like this. Say the truck was ten years old. An '05 with full coverage has the paint fall off. Usually, the insurance company will tell you, "Sorry about your luck.", unless you hit something, or somebody hits you. It's accident insurance. Not "normal wear and tear" insurance.

.....and the galvanized cowl panel never holds paint. If you ever see a dent that's been sitting out in the weather, the cowl panel is always the first to shed paint.