OK, so I have been going through many threads, some very long. I bought this 80 swb a few months ago with a bad motor and having a good motor on hand I thought I would swap and flip this truck. I have always liked this body style so i started thinking about keeping it. I notice a few things though.
1. The cab looks to be rusting from the inside out right above both doors. I thought it was just mine but I have seen it on 2 other trucks in pics on this forum. Is it from the inside out? Has anybody dealt with this? My experience with rust is when it is from the inside out on something double walled like this is that you are just prolonging the inevitable, so I might think about changing cabs.
2. The inner fenders are plastic and suck. I think I saw in the LMC cat you could buy repo's but one of the threads I was looking at (and I can't figure out which one it was) some one was welding on some metal inner fenders. Is there something out there close enough to use with a little modification or did any ever have metal ones from the factory?
Anyways, I will have more to ponder and I can add pics if anyone is interested in seeing. I just got the complete front end taken off the truck tonight so I could pull the motor and trans together easily(that's what I told the wife), and I could look over the truck better to determine to keep or not to keep. Looks like it was originally silver. The besides, inner & outer are in great shape(no rust) but the floor has a couple rot places, not big.

 

I knew there would be more. If I kept I would be changing the doors, they have rust along the bottom of both doors. So I was thinking of finding a cab with doors complete.
Then there is the dashpad. Mine has a cover on it that has been glued. The cover has cracks so I can only imagine what the actual pad looks like. I guess the best a person could do is find one in decent shape and die the color you need? Anybody recover these pads?
I know it probably sounds like this truck is in bad shape but it really is pretty solid other than that rust in the door jams above the door. Fronts fenders look awesome. The rest doesn't bother me a bit.

 

I don't understand where the rust problem is? From your description it's in the roof above the doors? Not a common area for rust that I have ever seen. All the common areas for rust are down low in the bottom part of the cab and the doors. You can get patch panels for all the common rust areas, including the bottom part of the doors.

I would consider patching the cab if possible. You will run into VIN and title problems with a new cab, unless you get a title with the new cab. Even then, the VIN may not match your original trucks specs if that's important to you.

I am grateful the inner fenders are plastic. That's one thing that never did rust on these things.

Most all dash pads on all cars and trucks of this vintage crack. You can buy another coverlay piece and cover it over again. I think you might find a repro dash pad, but you will pay dearly for it. If you do find a original one that is not cracked, I am not sure you could take it out and replace it without it cracking in the process. You can dye them like you were thinking though.

 

When I get home I will take a pic of the rust to show you. The truck that Kyle's dad off Craigslist has the same rust maybe not as but I could see it in the pic. I'm on my phone right now so I can't attach a link.

 

The rust may not look bad in the pics there are through holes on both sides. My cab corners have a little bubbling but I've replaced cab corners in the past and that doesn't worry me. This is the state of the engine change right now. All screws have been logged and packaged as I went along.

What happened to the "manage attachments" that allows me to insert pics?

 

This may sound stupid but I remember now that I have to go to my albums to post a pic, however if I go to my albums and I go to my "80 SWB" and I click edit so that I can add pics nothing shows up but a search bar, I can't even see the pics in there already. What might I be doing wrong?

 

This site does not have a very good picture hosting feature. The easiest way is to open a account at photobucket or another picture hosting site like that. Then you can link to the picture in your post here. If you put the image tags (img with the brackets) on both ends of the link, this site will automatically go to photobucket, pick up the picture and put in your post. Photobucket has a link that you can click called "IMG" that will automatically put the image tags on the beginning and end of the link and that makes it easy.

 

OK on the Photobucket but it will have to be tomorrow.

Here is a link to a truck with the same rust, look at post #2.

 

That is not really true anymore; it has gotten LOTS better the past 6 or so months.

From the Advanced-mode editor, click the little mountain icon; you can now drag-n-drop pictures directly from your desktop, or insert from an Album, or....

As for "Where is the Attachment button" it's best to ask that here:

User Gallery & Picture Display Help - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

 

I have a blue dash pad from my '84 that is is pretty good shape, already removed. PM me if interested.

 

Yes sir I am interested. Maybe we can work on a package deal.

 

ctubutis, Thank you and that is probably the easiest way to insert photos though it is hard to take any advice serious from a guy that has an avatar of a guy wearing a "bro" on the outside of his shirt. Thank you really.

 

BOGO! Buy one, get one free! Hows that for a package?

 

Click the QR code in my sig and you can read all about it.

 

Is that where water got behind the seam sealer? I never had that on any of my trucks. But if that's what caused it, I would dig all the old seamer sealer out, get a wire wheel on a drill and clean up the rust, and then paint it and put new sealer in place. If the hole is too big for the sealer to cover, put a little bit of that green fiberglass bondo over it and then paint and seam sealer.

That should be a easy fix, and the repair won't show, it's behind the door. Rust only happens where water sits for a long time. That's down low in the cab and I am guessing it sat behind the seam sealer on that truck. That's why I think a quicky repair would work, water will not be sitting up there if you re-seal it.

Check the seam that shows from the back corner of the door that goes around to the back window on both sides. That seam sealer sometimes cracks and that's what can rust the cab corners out.