Allright , I paid the $50. On its way from Amazon.

Tried to rent it Charlie , but its backordered . Must be a lot of people getting ready to chop their trucks lol

 

All of Covell's videos are good. His "Basic Techniques for Working with Steel" is a must have for anyone attempting body work. I learn something each and every time I watch it.
I wasn't as impressed with the chopping and sectioning one tho, it's really his friend doing the work while Ron mostly comments with little detailed instruction. I was especially disappointed when they made an entire new roof skin for the chop, not the way most would do it, few have the skill and a big enough english wheel to wheel an entire roof panel. Not as much for the DIYer.

 

Well , after further review , the ruling on the field is ... I think I may need to shop for a better cab anyhow . This one was previously " fixed " by someone . kinda hard to tell by this pic because of the paint , but they seemed to have patched the hell out of this floor with like 10 different patches , none of them are a good job . :



The A pillars are also going to need some extensive repair . I was wondering why the hinges were welded to the pillar inside the cab ...



And this was my favorite gem of a repair .It is the back cab corner , drivers side . I reckon it has to be at least an inch thick. I had to chuckle a bit when I seen it , imagining someone giving themselves a big ol pat on the back for knowing how to fix stuff



Also , the bottom portion of the rear of the cab is pretty rusted out , so thats gonna need fixed , as well as ALOT of smaller dents on the roof skin , all 4 cab corners , and both rocker panels ...

Thoughts ?

 

It all depends on how much work you are willing to do and what the market possibilities are for finding a better cab in your area.

I am going through the same thing now (no chop intended though). I have replaced of the corners, patched the passenger toe board, and am part way through making a firewall patch where the PPO decided to cut out about a 12" square to fit in a scabbed gas pedal. All of it is doable with my meager body skills. I bought a passenger front corner and door pillar from Classic Haulers (enough to do both sides it turned out) and made my own patches for the driver's side rear corner.

Also part way through skimming the roof dents, which is a major PITA.

Oh well, I have more time than money, and my time is free.

If nothing else, you could try the chop on this cab. If it turns out well, do the rest of the repairs. If it doesn't , you are only out a rusted cab.

 

I quartered the roof on my 2" chop. The hardest part was getting the bubble shape back after tacking it all back together. It really wanted to dip in the center. I had to put a jack in the cab after I welded it back and push the center back into shape. I left the doors hanging on the truck and chopped them last so that I could get a perfect fit/alignment all the way around the top of them. Good advice on here already. I might add that I jacked the truck up and set the frame on blocks to level it and take out any twist that sitting on the springs might be causing. Then like others mentioned, weld a cage up inside the cab to keep it from twisting when you cut the top off. It was very time consuming for me, but I have very little experience welding, cutting, shaping. I am at the point where I can tell it worked. If I can do it, with your experience you should have no problems.

 

Here's where I am so far. You can check my album and see more pictures of my process. Good luck, post pictures!

 

The dip in the center was due to the shrinkage along the weld seams. Hammer welding as you proceeded would have kept the shrinkage under control and the contour correct. Your solution didn't fix the underlying problem since it did not stretch the seams but stretched the metal around them. It just got it closer to even but likely still needed a fair amount of filler and left a flat spot in the contour unless you built it up with filler. Not saying it won't work or look good, but that there was a better way that could have resulted in a fillerless or light skim coat finished product.

 

Sounds logical to me. I'd say you are exactly right. I was forced to use more filler than I would have liked, but I'm learning. I think. Thanks for the info.

 

Leroy_J,
if you are going to swap out the cab, likely a good idea, judging from the pictures I'd bet the bottom of the doors are patched as well.
I strongly recommend spending the time and money to locate a truely rust free example to include the doors or even a complete truck minus the drive train. I'd suggest looking in the dry SW states: AZ, NM, NV, Southern CA. Whatever extra it costs, including shipping across the country will still be less expensive than a rusty pile of patch panels that need complete rework to even use much less install cleanly and finish smoothly. You will also spend a year or more patching, which can often result in burnout. Working with solid rust free metal is a pleasure rather than a chore. There will still be plenty of body work to do removing 60 years of dents and dings. Remember the big job cabs are exactly the same as the F1, and are usually less expensive and in better condition. There are members all over the country and most would be willing to check out a find for you rather than buying completely sight unseen. That's the way I bought my panel.

 

I am going to call the guy I bought my truck from today . He had at least 5 more cabs in his yard , and he also told me that he has a whole semi car hauler full of more of them coming here around thanksgiving from Mexico / texas , so I am going to just get one from him most likely. His prices are pretty reasonable . I am sure I can get alot nicer cab from him for less than $400 . I will keep you posted as to what I end up with . I know I can fix this cab , but like you have said , just the patch panels alone are a small fortune . I would have rather had one that needed all those repairs , that someone else didnt hack , making the job 3x harder than it would have been originally .

BGrassGuitar . Looks good . I will deffinitely check out your gallery

 

I think I am gonna have to see the guy about buying another truck anyhow , because the wife " really wants a pink hot rod truck " .

Halp...

 

Success ! . So I went to see the guy again yesterday . Long story short , I bought a cab . He had 2 , both are in ALOT better shape than mine , but they still need some work . He has a guy coming today from another state that says he wants a cab . I told him I would take whatever cab the other guy doesnt want .

I also bought another truck off of him . Looks like project "Pink Rod " is in swing now as well

Scored the cab for $50 , and the truck for $850 . He is also going to deliver them to me next weekend , so Thats a win in itsself imo .