Howdy folks! I haven't posted for a while. Busy with other projects. :3

But now that it is warming up a little, I 'spect that I may get around to doing a little "proper" body work on the $300 Wonder Truck over the next months.

Here's a video I made shortly after getting the truck: The $300 Wonder Truck (part 1 of 2) (1984 F-150 300 Straight 6, 3-Speed Column Shift) - YouTube

It was too cold to do proper work on it, so I slopped some bondo into the holes and shot the worst rust spots with off-brand POR-15.

Anyway, one of my goals this summer is to try to stop the rust and paint the evil thing. Hopefully I'll be able to take the bed off and paint the frame, too (but I am not going to mess with trying to take the cab off).

I want to do a 2-tone paint job, which I plan to do myself with rollers or rattlecans: flat industrial white lower, and flat bluish-purple upper. These colors match the logo of my (piddly) small business, so I'll hang signs on the doors and tailgate.

Based on that video and yourall's experience, will patching in some rust repair panels stop the rust for the most part? I don't mind having to do a little touch-up every couple of years, but I don't want the body to continue to fall apart. Or do I need to be shopping around some junkyards for whole replacement body panels? Keep in mind that I'm on a tight budget ('cos I'm tight, lol), hence the self-painting instead of having someone do it all proper-like. :P

If I go with the repair panels, should I weld them? Or is that automotive body adhesive decent enough? I have to admit that I like the idea of the adhesive, as it won't ruin the primer on the back-side where I can't repaint it like welding would, and that might lead to less rust later.

Ideally, I'd like to get another 30 years out of it.

 

Well, my opinion.....

If you can shut the truck down for a couple months, I would use patch panels welded and as much Por15 as I can afford. That's what I am doing and I am going to lift the cab and do the frame as well. Get the details right and I think we can reasonably shoot for 30 years.

If I were needing the truck during the week, I would spend the money on new panels but realize that I am covering more than I am fixing. 30 years would be very (that's VERY) optimistic. As for used panels I just don't see realistically expecting to find long term fixes on junkyard trucks.

I am an amateur and just getting back to this kind of work after many years but I went through the same decision process this winter and I decided to take it apart, fix what needs fixed, only replace what can't be fixed, put more money under the paint than in the paint and have fun doing it. FTE IS PRICELESS.

Rob
Lewis Center Oh

 

By the way, I am in Beaver WV getting 50,000 lbs of AB beer unloaded as we write, that near Brandywine WV?

 

Nah, I'm in Pendleton County, about 30 minutes from Harrisonburg, VA. The bump at the bottom of the eastern panhandle.

Thanks for the advice! Once I get this sidecar motorcycle done, I ought to be able to do enough hauling with that to shut the truck down for a little while.