Those west coast trucks are the best alittle surface rust to deal with then just mostly easy stuff brake/fuel lines engine tune up and your on the road. None of those floor and cab mount and other rust issues like us easy coast guys dread dealing with. Where you see rust there's a lot more hidden underneath.

 

Just clear coat it as is , isn't that what the Rat Rod crowd does ?

 

You shame too easily bro.

Some times ya gotta put the ol dog down and get over it.



John

 

i agree with john, RIP.

 

It's barely hanging on and putting it down may be the best thing but sometimes it's just to hard to get rid of it. That's the same case i have with my 64 just can't let it go.

 

You may not have considered that this truck may be so far deteriorated that it can NEVER be made roadworthy again. Having seen the severity of the cab and bed rust I shudder to think of the extent of underbody and chassis rust.

While I guess conceivably this vehicle could be at least temporarily cosmetically "fixed up", you've got to remember that with this much cancer the structural integrity of the truck has likely been significantly compromised. This much deterioration has likely rendered this POS unsafe to be on a public road.
Remember- a component failure (shackle, ball joint, trans mount, frame etc. etc.) could cause a major wreck- maybe even getting you or someone else seriously hurt or even killed.

It pains me to write this but my best advice is to strip off the salable parts of this rustbucket, sell 'em, and use the cash as partial payment for something worth workin' on. Spend two or three thou and get your wrench therapy on something that will eventually be reliable transportation instead of attempting to resurrect junk. Realize that emotional attachment is no substitute for good sense and some cars n trucks are just too far shot to save.
rx

 

Totally agree. The last thing I want to do is get somebody hurt. too bad, I just got the timing set and its starts and runs okay.

 

Personally, I like trying to bring them back from the dead, nothing a grinder and mig welder won't fix...like you said, beef up your mechanical skills, along with your metal working skills.

 

Nothing is ever too far gone!! Post us a few frame pictures

Your best bet would seem to be to get another truck to donate its cab.. The time to fix that damage would be outrageous.

Yes it would definitely be the same truck when its all said and done!

 

My next project is coming from the Southwest.


I figure that I will pay $1000 to much and spend another $1000 to ship it, but $2000 doesn't pay for much rust repair so Im still coming out ahead.

 

Just paid $1330 to have mine shipped 850 miles, called several companies, they all seem to start In the $11,000 range and then add on for things like non-running etc...

 

$1,100 sorry not $11,000

 

I had my 71 crew cab shipped just over 300 miles and it was $450 by a shipping company. Definitely will be getting my next project from the southwest cheaper to buy trucks there and better condition to start with. It's a win win situation for sure.