Now that the boat restoration 'season' is winding down, It's time to start on my truck. I have done a lot of classic boat restorations- Late 50's, Early '60s... And got the truck to match. Little did I know how much I was in for

The plan for this restoration is not to end up with a show truck, but a decent looking driver that will look 'cool' pulling my boats to the show. There have already been some modifications to the original truck, such as a c-6 transmission, power steering (MIGHT be factory??), 4bbl carb, electronic ignition, etc, so I am not worried all that much about it being 'right', although I DO want a 'factory' look when I am done.

This is the 'beast', as she sits now-



Doesn't look TOO bad- However, beneath that still semi-shiny paint job there are a few big issues- And I haven't decided exactly the best way to proceed.

The biggest thing that I need to do is replace the cab. When I bought the truck, I knew that there were some rust issues in the floor- But further poking and prodding found rusted out cab mounts that were 'hidden' under riveted on patch plates and road grime. That, in addition to the floor, led me to seek out a new cab, which I need to strip down, prime, and paint-





The plan, originally, was to just repaint the truck- But after finding the rotten floors and cab mounts (which were well concealed under some riveted-on patch plates and road grime :evil, I decided to be a little more thorough. Since I figured I'd have to take the front clip off anyway to get to the cab, I figured that I might as well keep going, and take it all down to the frame, prime it all, then repaint... The bed floor is bad, so I figure I'll have to do that as well.

So- Any thoughts on this? How to best accomplish it? Things I should watch out for??? I've read many, many threads on here- And think that I know what I'm in for, but I am sure I'll be posting tons of questions!

-Andrew

 

Looks like a nice project. I got some 66 custom cab parts listed in the want ads. I also have a 22 foot 1957 Owens if ya know what that is.

 

Just how bad are the floors and mounts? Pictures please.

If its just the front mounts and a couple of smaller holes in the cab floor, just fix it IMO. Cost you less than $100 unless you have to pay someone to do it.

 

This is the better of the two-



And, as for the floors-



Drivers side it a bit better, but not much.

As you can see in the first pic, the cab is sitting on the frame.

The new cab is MUCH better. I probably could have fixed the old one, but I couldn't have bought the sheet metal that I need for what I paid for it. It needed new floor pans, cab mounts, and center brace.



Just the hours of welding/cutting/grinding that I will save will be well worth it! The only 'issue' with it is the rear corners are a bit dented and crunched, but I think that I will be able to straighten them enough, or use the ones on the old cab as replacements.

 

Yeah, the old was fixable, at least by my definition.

If it was just an issue with the cab mounts, those are easy. But the center brace, and floors are a good deal more pricey, as well as a good chunk of work. If the new cab was less expensive overall, then you made the right choice for sure.

I pretty much rebuilt about 50% of my floor, new floor pans, new center braces, and new front cab mounts. Cost me a good chunk of change, and was a summers worth of work.

 

Yeah, I've watched your threads in awe... Or is it pitty?

You do prove that just about anything IS fixable, if you are skilled and/or stubborn enough. Could I fix it? Sure. But- I paid $350 for a solid cab- I had figured almost that much in replacement sheet metal, plus all the labor of cutting the old stuff out and welding the new in, I'm way ahead at this point.

Then again, if you have ever seen where some of my boat restorations looked like when I started-



But, it all works out in the end-



And, it turns a LOT of heads behind the slick... Or does the slick turn a lot of heads in front of the boat?

Either way, you CAN'T be in a hurry to go anywhere with this rig- EVERYONE wants to look

-Andrew

 

That boat looks about where I started at with my truck! Looks great now.

With me its not so much skill as it stubbornness... Someone told me I couldn't do it, therefor I am.

 

The donor cab looks great; just remenber to transfer the floor pan; there's a different in manaul verse auto type.

 

My truck was originally a manual, the C-6 was a later addition... That black plate that's in the pic of the new cab isn't on there any more- it was just screwed in place, the prior owner was going to use a floor shifter when he built his truck. I'll have to measure the new cab to be sure, but just eyeballing it the floor looks identical. If not, It's an easy fix

-Andrew

 

It looks like a great project. I'll be watching this thread for updates. Good luck!