I am surprised you even got a estimate. Most body shops now only do insurance work.

I can see from the photos, the rear cab corner/floorboard area is gone. I have repaired 2 trucks like this already, and there is no good way to repair the inside corners of the cabs. This is were the rear brace that supports the cab on it's mounts attaches to the cab corner. It is also where the seat belts attach. There are no panels for that area, and then only way I have been able to patch it is with fiberglass, and that's just so stuff stored behind the seat doesn't fall out in the road.

 

Contact this guy, he''s in your area and he will either have a cab on hand or find one for ya quick. And I think he's affordable, so affordable he got me my parts and I shipped them to Chicago.

Name = Matt email is bgrillet0@aol.com (I think the email is actually his Wife's, Barb) Let them know that Trinity gave you their contact info.

 

Easy fix for that problem...Don't go through a body shop. It's their job to stick it to you without even lubing you up or buying you dinner first.

 

Anyone who says your truck is going to be a easy fix is not giving you good advice. Sorry about that.

 

I have decided that in order to save this truck I am going to have to replace the cab. The more I think about it and the more people say it I think it would be best option. The rust issue is the prominant one but I also remembered that when I took it out playing in the mud I tweaked the truck and shifted the cab. There's no way to fix a cab that's bent. Lol

 

nevermind.

 

I think you made a wise choice . I'm sure theres plenty of people here that can give you advise on the project, and the proper way to do it.

 

Ooops!

http://www.dennis-carpenter.com/

 

Body rust repair costs depend a lot on how "pretty" you want the truck to be.

When I was younger I had a real rusty chevy C10 truck (sorry, I was young). Rusted out floorboards, cab corners, bed with rust holes in it. I "fixed" it by:

1) Attacking all the rusty places with drill-driven wire brushes and tin snips - removing as much rust and damaged metal as I could.
2) Painting over all of it with "Rust-X Rust Converter" paint (I think that was the name, it was red in color). I went through several quarts of the stuff.
3) Pop-riveting hand cut pieces of galvanized sheet metal over all the holes. Big pieces in the floorboards, bed, etc. I think I also bought a few repair body pieces that JC Whitney sells.
4) Painting over all this with rattle cans of Rustoleum.

She wasn't "pretty" (except to me) when I was done, but the repairs were sound and I never saw any rust return. That rust converter paint really worked as far as I could tell.

That truck finally died years later by being T-boned by a 50 mph buick oldsmobile who ran a red light and fled the scene with a horribly scrunched in front end. My wife (just girlfriend at the time ) was in the passenger seat, that truck saved our lives and I cried a little when she went to the bone yard with bent I-beams.

My point is, repairs can be cheap and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

The guy that I met with is wanting to look at the truck and give me an estimate if i choose to have a shop do the work. But he also said that if I am really wanting to do it in my own then he will guide me on how to do it correctly so that it is safe. I have no intentions of paying anyone to do the job that I can do.on my own with some help

 

Good luck. I hope everything works out for your truck.

 

Got fraud?

Good attitude!!

 

Now here's a question...
When it comes time to swap the cab, what do I do about the vin?

 

Hmmmmm. I'm guessing you missed the part I posted about taking both tittles to the mva, eh?

 

I would suggest going to your local DMV and tell them what you plan on doing. Let them tell you their policy when it comes to switching cabs.

I have heard of DMVs issuing NEW titles to situations like yours. EXAMPLE, guy put a 85 cab on a 84 truck. Goes to DMV w both titles. State inspects truck to make sure it was put together right. He was issued a 2007 title(truck was finished in 2007) for his 84 truck. Now try insurring a 2007 truck, it is big $$$$$$$$$$$$ and when it get crashed, they sure as hell will not pay you for a 2007 truck, they will say it is a 80s truck and here is $500. F#CK all that.

I have switched plenty of cabs in my lifetime and have NEVER used the title for the donor cab. I have just drilled out the rivits, put the original vin tag in the donor cab and DONE. No one will ever know the cab was switched And there is no paperwork involved with the state either. In my eyes there is nothing illeagal about it. It still retains 90% of the original truck.